Foo Fighters
While he was drumming with Nirvana, Dave Grohl was recording original songs at home that never received public release. Those tapes would become the foundation of Foo Fighters, the band he formed in 1995, after the death of Kurt Cobain. Like Nirvana, Foo Fighters melded loud, heavy guitars with pretty melodies and mixed punk sensibilities with a...
The Killers
Brandon Flowers (vocals/keyboards), David Keuning (guitar), Mark Stoermer (bass), and Ronnie Vannucci (drums) took the fashionista pop world by storm in summer 2004 with "Somebody Told Me." The perfectly stylish song pulls from the band's influences -- the Smiths, New Order, Oasis, and the Cure -- and it was just enough to get them on MTV. Part...
Beck
One of the most inventive and eclectic figures to emerge from the '90s alternative revolution, Beck was the epitome of postmodern chic in an era obsessed with junk culture. Drawing upon a kaleidoscope of influences -- pop, folk, psychedelia, hip-hop, country, blues, R&B, funk, indie rock, noise rock, experimental rock, jazz, lounge, Brazilian...
Gnarls Barkley
The Gnarls Barkley collaboration didn't bring producer Danger Mouse to the top of the British charts for the first time, but it did mark his debut as the pilot of a hit record. Mouse, born Brian Burton, first gained the ears of discriminating listeners when he concocted The Grey Album, a bootleg that mashed the vocals from The Black Album by...
Fall Out Boy
The four members of Chicago's Fall Out Boy came together in suburban Wilmette around 2000. Vocalist/guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist/lyricist Pete Wentz, drummer Andrew Hurley, and guitarist Joe Trohman had all been in and out of various units connected to Chicago's underground hardcore scene. Most notably, Hurley drummed for Racetraitor, the...
Evanescence
The goth-inspired Arkansas rock band Evanescence, with its Linkin Park-meets-Tori Amos sound backed by chugging guitars, easily made it to the top of the charts in 2003 with its Wind-Up Entertainment debut album, Fallen. Singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist/songwriter Ben Moody formed the band at the end of the '90s after meeting in their early...
Panic! at the Disco
Just barely out of high school, emo-pop outfit Panic! at the Disco burst out of suburban Las Vegas in 2005 with their full-length debut, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. Taking their name from a line in Name Taken's "Panic," the group materialized when friends Spencer Smith (drums) and Ryan Ross (guitar) grew tired of covering blink-182 tunes...
My Chemical Romance
Based in New Jersey, My Chemical Romance is an alternative pop/rock and punk-pop band that has been compared to Thursday and, to a lesser degree, Cursive. Their name was inspired by author Irvine Welsh (of Trainspotting fame), and while many of their songs are loud, fast, hyper, and aggressive, My Chemical Romance's work also tends to be melodic...
Snow Patrol
Featuring a dynamic fusion of several alternative stylistic touchstones, Snow Patrol's compositions combine songwriting aptitude with guitar rock's sharpest strains. Originally from Northern Ireland, Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar) and Mark McClelland (bass, keyboards) first got together in Dundee, Scotland, where they were studying, prior to...
AFI
Hardcore punk revivalists AFI (A Fire Inside) originally formed in 1991 when their members -- vocalist Davey Havok, guitarist Markus Stopholese, bassist Vick, and drummer Adam Carson -- were attending high school in Ukiah, CA. Vick was replaced by Geoff Kresge after several months, and the band played a few local gigs and released a split 7"...
30 Seconds to Mars
Initially known as an actor (most notably on the '90s TV drama My So-Called Life and in movies like Requiem for a Dream), Jared Leto also had musical ambitions. His band, 30 Seconds to Mars, debuted in 2002 with a self-titled effort featuring a post-grunge sound suggestive of groups like Chevelle or Incubus. 30 Seconds returned three years later...
Wolfmother
Truly a band out of time, Australian power trio Wolfmother were conceived in 2000 -- about 30 years too late, considering that their psychedelic brand of proto-heavy metal sounds like a ringer for late-'60s/early-'70s bands such as Blue Cheer and Black Sabbath. Comprised of vocalist/guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist/organist Chris Ross, and...
Papa Roach
The Northern Californian alt-metal group Papa Roach consists of Coby Dick, Jerry Horton, Dave Buckner, and Tobin Esperance. They formed in 1993 and began releasing EPs soon after, including 1994's Potatoes for Christmas and 1995's Caca Bonita. By 1996, the group replaced original bassist Will James with Esperance and hired a new manager; the...
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Foo Fighters at the 2006 Bridge School Benefit.
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