Machinery Hall

Machinery Hall, which takes its name from Le Palais des Machines, the hall that hosted the 1889 Exposition in Paris, was a leading East Coast three piece that toured around the nation and was featured on some 600 radio stations across the country. Playing from the winter of 1992 to late 2003, Machinery Hall released 10 albums, played 340 shows a year in its prime, and was featured on MTV and ESPN extreme sports. Mark Nelson and Paul Buhl, who played guitar/vocals and drums respectively, stayed with the band for all 11 years. David Dunn was replaced on Bass by Mark's brother Michael in 1995.
Origins
Before forming Machinery Hall, Mark Nelson played solo on everything from street corners to small rock clubs. In 1991, while performing solo in a band slot at a local club, Mark Nelson met future drummer Paul Buhl. In 1992 Buhl offered his services as a drummer while in three other bands. After trying several different bassists they decided on David Dunn, lead singer of a local band, Life In Between whom Buhl was playing drums for.
11 Years
Starting out, the band relied on Nelson's fan base to get gigs, yet after their first song, Herd aired on Boston's WFNX, attendance skyrocketed. Eventually with the release of their Self-Titled CD the band started their first of 7 national tours. They released their first single on England's Placebo/Beggars Banquet in 1994. Due to differences between Dunn and the band, they parted ways and he was replaced by Nelson's brother Michael. Shortly after another tour, the band recorded Inness in 1996 on the Boston label Wickedisk. In 2000, Tear It Down was released on Rockbox Records a subsidiary of Warner Brothers, and the band was in sight of a national breakthrough. That is, until the record deal collapsed due to tensions between the label and band. Then, bassist Michael Nelson took a break from performing and long time fan and friend, Kevin Cassidy took over and finished recording the album Equilibria as bassist. The band's final album was the Separation of Music and State. A live double CD, "Machinery Hall, Live at the Paradise, Boston" was recorded for Clear Channel in 2003. Michael Nelson joined the band again for their last show in Boston in late 2003. Paul Buhl resides in Los Angeles, Michael Nelson resides in Massachusetts, and rumor has it that Mark Nelson lives a hermetic and cloistered life somewhere in the northern hemisphere currently working on a five-disk solo box set. He kept his guitar.
List of Albums
*Yellow Tape - 1992
*Machinery Hall - 1993
*Purple Tape 1994
*Tile - 1995
*Inness - 1996
*Notebook I - 1997
*Notebook II - 1998
*Tear It Down - 2001
*Equilibria - 2002
*The Separation of Music and State - 2003
*Nelson has written 1,700 songs and has recorded 22 solo albums.
*A Single, "Herd" was released on Placebo/Beggars Banquet Records in 1994 and was #1 in Scotland and #3 on Melody Maker.
Awards
Out of 18 award nominations from WFNX/Phoenix Awards, Boston Music Awards, and Boston Magazines Boston Music Awards, Machinery Hall won 9. These nine include best new artist, best rock band, and best rock/alternative act. Tile won best album in 1996, "Vincent", a song from Tile won best song in 1996.

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