Divine Weeks

Divine Weeks were perhaps one of L.A.'s best could-have-been bands -- certainly the hype and attention they received through their existence was close to that given to groups like U2, but at least the music was good enough to warrant it. Childhood friends Bill See, singer, Rajesh K. Makwana, guitar, and George Edmondson, bass, formed in late fall 1983 and started writing songs in the Edmondson basement. George invited fellow UCLA dorm mate and drummer Brad Holtzman down to rehearsals and soon the four christened themselves The Need. In 1985, they released “Obviously Four Believers,” a collection of demos produced by Ethan James on their own 221B Records. Slowly the band began to garner rave reviews and developed a loyal local following. A chance meeting with producer and The Last’s keyboardist Vitus Matare was a turning point for the band. In the middle of building his own studio, Vitus offered the band his counsel and a place to rehearse regularly in exchange for some help putting together his studio. In early 1987, the band parted ways with drummer Brad Holtzman and then changed its name to Divine Weeks. The Dream Syndicate’s Steve Wynn signed the band to his own Down There label and lent them his drummer Dennis Duck for the recording of their debut LP Through & Through produced by Matare. Drummer Dave Smerdzinski joined the band in April and soon the band gained attention as one of the best live acts in town. Through and Through was released in May and the band embarked on its first national tour that summer.