After Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet broke up, guitarist Brian Connelly spent several years playing guitar in Neko Case's band, but he apparently wanted to get back to the surf-inspired instrumental sounds of the Shadowy Men, and thus, Atomic 7 was formed with bass player Clinton Ryder and drummer Mike Andriosso. The band's debut album, Gowns... [+] Read More

Yes No

If the recognition of one's peers is the true measure of success, then few men are as successful as composer, arranger, and conductor Henry Mancini. In a career that spanned 40 years, writing for film and television, Mancini won four Oscars and twenty Grammys, the all-time record for a pop artist. For 1961's Breakfast at Tiffany's alone, Mancini... [+] Read More

Yes No

As part of the surf revival movement of the early '90s (Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, Laika & the Cosmonauts, the re-emergence of the great Dick Dale, etc.), Auburn's Man or Astro-man? specializes in a slightly different variation on the genre, self-described as space-age surf. Formed in 1992, the quartet originally consisted of members who... [+] Read More

Yes No

Combining jagged, roaring guitars and stop-start dynamics with melodic pop hooks, intertwining male-female harmonies and evocative, cryptic lyrics, the Pixies were one of the most influential American alternative rock bands of the late '80s. The Pixies weren't accomplished musicians -- Black Francis wailed and bashed out chords while Joey... [+] Read More

Yes No

Presidents of the United States of America were one of the most unlikely success stories of the post-grunge alternative rock scene in Seattle. Where the rest of their Seattle brethren traded in heavy guitars and heavy angst, the Presidents rejected torment for humor, writing short, simple, and absurd punk songs that relied more on goofy attitude... [+] Read More

Yes No

The Reverend Horton Heat is perhaps the most popular psychobilly artist of all time, really rivaled only by genre founders the Cramps. The Reverend (as both the three-man band and its guitar-playing frontman were known) built a strong cult following during the '90s through constant touring, manic showmanship, and a twisted sense of humor. The... [+] Read More

Yes No

Best known for supplying the theme song to the popular TV comedy show The Kids in the Hall, Toronto's largely instrumental trio Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet originally formed in 1984, consisting of members Brian Connelly (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Reid Diamond (bass, lead vocals), and Don Pyle (drums, backing vocals). The band... [+] Read More

Yes No

Named after a Nintendo controller, the Advantage offered their own brand of specialized rock, playing covers of their favorite NES songs. The idea for the Advantage began in 1999 at a talent show in Nevada City, CA, when drummer Spencer Seim saw a two-person band perform video game songs. He joined the group immediately, and after the two... [+] Read More

Yes No

Taking their name from explicit comics that originally surfaced in the 1930s, the Tijuana Bibles formed in Toronto in 1997 to provide the soundtrack for local Super-8 filmmaker Stacey Case's project, Arriba! The Parkdale Wrestler. When the band made the leap to live venues in 1999, they created stage personas to conceal their identities. With... [+] Read More

Yes No

With a fashion sense of Don Ho and a quirk of instrumental lounge-surf, The Tiki Tones were never seen without their Hawaiian button up shirts. Consisting of Koro (drums), Ku (bass), Lono (guitar) and Lord Wahini (organ), Doctor Dream Records debuted their first full-length Idol Pleasures in 1996. Following a handful of singles and compilation... [+] Read More

Yes No