Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Like many groups, San Francisco’s Third Eye Blind got going in fits and starts. The original incarnation fractured leaving only guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Stephen Jenkins and bassist/vocalist Arion Salazar. They hooked up with guitarists Kevin Cadogan and Tony Fredianelli. In ’94 Fredianelli left but the group was able to find drummer Brad Hargreaves. Barely surviving the local…
INXS started with the Farris Brothers (guitarist Tim, keyboardist Andrew and drummer Jon) in ’79. School friends, bassist Gary Beers, guitarist/sax player Kirk Pengilly and vocalist Michael Hutchence soon came on board. Interestingly, this line-up remained intact through the band’s lengthy history (’79 to ’97). Honing their act, INXS (in excess) set out on a…
Where does this story begin? For most, any awareness of Courtney Love or Hole probably began with Kurt Cobain. Kurt and Courtney, the John and Yoko of the ‘90s, living in the pop culture spotlight – married with child. “Oh, she’s just riding on his fame,” was often heard. Love had founded Hole, along with…
An appearance on the “FM” soundtrack (“Breakdown”) helped establish Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers. “Refuge,” “Don’t Do Me Like That,” “The Waiting,” and “You Got Lucky” followed. Solo, Petty came up with “I Won’t Back Down” and “Running Down A Dream,” which gave a nod to the late Del Shannon, whose career Petty had worked…
Taking Old School Hip-Hop, Classic Rock and electronic elements into the mix, Linkin Park burst out of the So. Cal music scene. Their debut, “Hybrid Theory” was released in late ’00. Interestingly, the CD’s title was the group’s original name. The aggressive Rap/Rocker “One Step Closer” led the way with Joseph Hahn’s scratching and Brad…
When you get kicked out of a group called Snakepit Banana Farm you might want to reconsider your career options. And what could be going through your mind when you start a ’60s cover band called Trash? You might also have second thoughts about the music business when the guy who got you signed to…
If you had long hair in the late-60s you probably also had pencil arms. So having a gym teacher who hated longhairs was a particular horror. One Leonard Skinner was notorious for putting Jacksonville, FL, longhaired high school boys through the ringer. To Skinner, long hair meant you were a hippie, in cahoots with left…
High school is a great place to start a Rock band. However, it’s difficult to keep the thing going once everyone graduates. In ’91, Incubus came together with school chums Brandon Boyd (vocals), Mike Einziger (guitars), Alex Katunich (bass) and Jose Pasillias (drums). Soon the group was playing the all-ages club circuit throughout their native…
With a touch of AC/DC, a dose of the Ramones and a shot of classic Stones, Jet is closest to The Pretenders. But they are far more than the collective sum of their influences. Guitarist/vocalist Nic Cester and his younger brother, drummer Chris, ceaselessly listened to their parent’s Rock records. Reacting negatively to early ’90s…
Falling In Reverse scored a #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart with “All My Life,” a Country-Rock collaboration between the band and Jelly Roll (Jason Bradley DeFord). Later in 24, the band’s fifth album, “Popular Monster” dropped followed by a U.S. tour. Next was a U.K. run of dates. But the band was denied entry…