Richard Patrick (vocals, guitars, bass, programming, drums) and Brian Liesegang (programming, guitars, keyboards, drums) both experimented with electronics early in their careers. Patrick was a member of the original touring incarnation of Nine Inch Nails. After NIN finished its lengthy first tour in the early '90s, Patrick and Liesegang met... [+] Read More

Richard Patrick (vocals, guitars, bass, programming, drums) and Brian Liesegang (programming, guitars, keyboards, drums) both experimented with electronics early in their careers. Patrick was a member of the original touring incarnation of Nine Inch Nails. After NIN finished its lengthy first tour in the early '90s, Patrick and Liesegang met through a mutual friend and began to record industrial rock together. Their debut album, Short Bus, released on Reprise in 1995, was recorded by the two at a small house on the outskirts of Cleveland. Short Bus became a surprise hit, thanks to the MTV and alternative radio hit "Hey Man, Nice Shot"; by the end of the summer, the album had reached gold status. Liesegang departed in 1997, but Patrick retained the Filter name for 1999's Title of Record. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Alanis Morissette was one of the most unlikely stars of the mid-'90s. A former child actress turned dance-pop diva, Morissette transformed herself into a confessional alternative singer/songwriter, in the vein of Liz Phair and Tori Amos. However, she added enough pop sensibility, slight hip-hop flourishes, and marketing savvy to that formula to... [+] Read More

Alanis Morissette was one of the most unlikely stars of the mid-'90s. A former child actress turned dance-pop diva, Morissette transformed herself into a confessional alternative singer/songwriter, in the vein of Liz Phair and Tori Amos. However, she added enough pop sensibility, slight hip-hop flourishes, and marketing savvy to that formula to become a superstar with her third album, Jagged Little Pill.

Morissette was born and raised in Ottawa, Canada. In her childhood, she began playing piano and writing songs. At the age of ten, she joined the cast of You Can't Do That on Television, a children's television program. Using money that she earned on the show, Morissette recorded an independent single, "Fate Stay With Me," which was released when she was ten. After leaving the show, she concentrated on a musical career, signing a music publishing contract when she was 14. The publishing contract led to a record deal with MCA Canada. In 1991, she moved to Toronto and released her debut album, Alanis.

Alanis was a collection of pop-oriented dance numbers and ballads that was successful in Canada, selling over 100,000 copies, and leading to a Juno Award for Most Promising Female Artist. However, no other country paid any attention to the record. In 1992, she released Now Is the Time, an album that closely resembled her debut. Like its predecessor, it was a success in Canada, even if it sold half of what Alanis did. Following the release of Now Is the Time, Morissette relocated to Los Angeles, where she met Glen Ballard in early 1994. Ballard had previously written Michael Jackson's hit "Man in the Mirror," produced Wilson Phillips' hit debut album, and worked with David Hasselhoff. Despite the duo's mainstream pop pedigree, they decided to pursue an edgier, alternative rock-oriented direction. The result was Jagged Little Pill, which was released on Maverick Records, Madonna's label.

On the strength of the single "You Oughta Know," Jagged Little Pill gained attention upon its release in the summer of 1995. Soon, the single received heavy airplay from both alternative radio and MTV, sending the album into the Top Ten and multi-platinum status. The second and third singles from Jagged Little Pill, "Hand in My Pocket" and "All I Really Want," kept the album in the Top Ten. In early 1996, she was nominated for six Grammys. Shortly after the nominations, Morissette released her fourth single, "Ironic," which proved to be her biggest crossover success. Morissette won several Grammy awards in 1996, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year.

Her much-anticipated follow-up, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, was released in the autumn of 1998. An Unplugged set appeared a year later, and in 2002 Morissette released Under Rug Swept. So-Called Chaos followed in 2004, and a year later she took Jagged Little Pill on the road as an acoustic tour. That tour became Jagged Little Pill Acoustic, an album originally -- and tellingly -- sold exclusively through Starbucks outlets. Morissette and her fans had grown up. Collection, an 18-track retrospective of her work, followed in November 2005. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Early in their career, Buffalo natives the Goo Goo Dolls were frequently dismissed by critics as mere imitators of the Replacements; however, the band refined and mainstreamed their sound enough to become of the most popular adult alternative rock bands of the latter half of the '90s, selling millions of records to audiences largely unfamiliar... [+] Read More

Early in their career, Buffalo natives the Goo Goo Dolls were frequently dismissed by critics as mere imitators of the Replacements; however, the band refined and mainstreamed their sound enough to become of the most popular adult alternative rock bands of the latter half of the '90s, selling millions of records to audiences largely unfamiliar with their inspirations. That's no knock on the band, either -- their music simply improved in craft and accessibility as the years progressed, and radio happened to be receptive to what a decade earlier would have been considered collegiate power pop. Thus, the band landed two huge hits with the acoustic ballads "Name" and "Iris."


The Goo Goo Dolls were formed in Buffalo, NY, in 1985 by guitarist/vocalist Johnny Rzeznik, bassist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska, initially under the name the Sex Maggots (the new name was chosen from an ad in True Detective magazine at the behest of a local club owner). Originally a cover band with a taste for power pop and classic rock & roll, the group soon began writing its own songs. Their early sound recalled the Replacements' origins as a bratty punk band (circa Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash) -- melodic, snotty, and a little bit thrashy. That sound was the reason the band attracted the interest of the heavy metal label Metal Blade, which issued their debut album in 1987 (known either as The Goo Goo Dolls or First Release). 1989's Jed continued in a similar vein; the college radio breakthrough came with 1990's Hold Me Up, a Replacements-ish power pop record.


1993's Superstar Car Wash was the Goo Goo Dolls' artistic breakthrough; though it did nothing to quell the Replacements comparisons, it was a finely crafted pop/rock record, and its lead single, "We Are the Normal," was co-written with Replacements leader Paul Westerberg himself. Still, Superstar Car Wash wasn't the commercial force the band hoped it would be, especially in light of the success of similar bands like the Gin Blossoms. That all changed with 1995's A Boy Named Goo, when an L.A. rock station put the acoustic-driven ballad "Name" into heavy rotation. It was eventually released as a single nationwide, and went Top Five late in the year; platinum sales for the album followed close behind. Unfortunately, drummer Tutuska was no longer around to enjoy the band's success; prior to the album's release, he'd been sacked and replaced by drummer Mike Malinin.


Dissatisfied with the royalty rates in their Metal Blade contract, the band waged a legal battle that wound up allowing them to jump to parent company Warner Brothers. Somewhat drained, Rzeznik and the band shook off a case of writer's block to contribute the ballad "Iris" to the soundtrack of the 1998 Nicolas Cage/Meg Ryan romance City of Angels. Appearing that April, the song was a monster smash, although it was never released as a single (so its official Top Ten pop chart status doesn't convey how popular it was); for a better indicator, "Iris" spent nearly a year on Billboard's airplay charts, including an astonishing 18 weeks at number one, and was nominated for three Grammys. The band's next album, Dizzy Up the Girl, was released in September, during the middle of "Iris"'s marathon airplay run, and sold over three million copies. Its clean, polished sound completed the Goo Goo Dolls' transformation into mainstream pop/rockers who happened to have alternative roots. Further hits from the record followed over the next year, including "Slide," "Dizzy," and the Grammy-nominated "Black Balloon," and the band toured heavily in support. The Goo Goo Dolls revamped their sound for 2001's career retrospective, Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce. A year later, the trio hit the charts with "Here Is Gone" from their seventh studio album, Gutterflower. The CD/DVD combo Live in Buffalo: July 4, 2004 helped fans endure the long wait for the band's next studio album, Let Love In, which didn't appear until 2006. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide [-] Hide

The Santa Barbara, CA, band Dishwalla made a big splash in 1996 with their catchy pop single "Counting Blue Cars." With the gritty heart and soul of those who came before them, Dishwalla's hard rock sound was enough for fans to make "Counting Blue Cars" one of the most-requested songs of that year. The song also garnered the band a Billboard... [+] Read More

The Santa Barbara, CA, band Dishwalla made a big splash in 1996 with their catchy pop single "Counting Blue Cars." With the gritty heart and soul of those who came before them, Dishwalla's hard rock sound was enough for fans to make "Counting Blue Cars" one of the most-requested songs of that year. The song also garnered the band a Billboard award for Rock Song of the Year and allowed their debut album, Pet Your Friends, to sell more than a million copies.

Dishwalla, which emerged out of the early stages of post-grunge, is composed of J.R. Richards (vocals), Scot Alexander (bass), Rodney Browning (guitar), Jim Wood (keyboards), and George Pendergast (drums). They spent the mid-'90s touring with the likes of Sheryl Crow, Blind Melon, and the Goo Goo Dolls in support of Pet Your Friends. Prior to making a second album, the band was caught in the middle of the Polygram/Universal merger and such a move left Dishwalla pondering what to do next. Their second album And You Think You Know What Life's About was released in 1998; promotion and sales were lackluster due to label downsizing. Dishwalla's time with A&M was shortlived and exhausting because of such corporate behavior, but they stuck it out to contribute their cover version of "Policy of Truth" for the Depeche Mode tribute album For the Masses. By the new millennium, Dishwalla left behind major-market America for a third album. They signed with Immergent while Pendergrast left the band. Pete Maloney, a drummer picked up on the 1998 tour, resumed percussion duties. In 2002, Dishwalla appeared sound and sane, issuing the experimental third album Opaline. A self-titled album followed in 2005. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Along with such similarly styled outfits as the Goo Goo Dolls, the New Orleans trio Better Than Ezra helped open the floodgates for countless chart-topping mainstream alt-pop acts of the late '90s (Sugar Ray, Semisonic, Matchbox Twenty, Third Eye Blind, etc.) by merging rock with melody and creating a more easily digestible form of alternative... [+] Read More

Along with such similarly styled outfits as the Goo Goo Dolls, the New Orleans trio Better Than Ezra helped open the floodgates for countless chart-topping mainstream alt-pop acts of the late '90s (Sugar Ray, Semisonic, Matchbox Twenty, Third Eye Blind, etc.) by merging rock with melody and creating a more easily digestible form of alternative music for the masses. Better Than Ezra began as a roots rock outfit with slight elements of both country and punk; originally formed in 1988, the band consisted of members Kevin Griffin (vocals, guitar), Joel Rundell (guitar), Tom Drummond (bass), and Cary Bonnecaze (drums) while all were attending Louisiana State University. Their first gigs were expectedly at college bars and fraternity houses, which was followed by a debut cassette-only release in 1990, Surprise, which received positive press and comparisons to such alt-punk stalwarts as the Replacements and Dinosaur Jr. But despite the accolades, the group's future was suddenly thrust into doubt when Rundell committed suicide on August 8, 1990.

Immediately following Rundell's passing, the remaining members opted to go their separate ways, but by the end of the same year had reunited as a trio. Deciding that a change of scenery would be a good idea, Better Than Ezra relocated to Los Angeles shortly thereafter, where they laid down tracks at a friend's home studio, resulting in the 1993 independent release Deluxe. The album continued to raise the band's profile further, resulting in several major labels vying to sign up the band. Signing on with Elektra, Better Than Ezra's new label reissued Deluxe two years after its original release, which spawned a sizeable radio hit with the track "Good," helping push the album to platinum status by the end of 1995. But despite enjoying a hit right off the bat, Bonnecaze opted to leave the group in early 1996 and was replaced by a fellow New Orleans native (who at the time was living in San Francisco), Travis McNabb.

The latest lineup of Better Than Ezra entered the recording studio shortly after welcoming their new member into the fold and issued their second major-label release, Friction, Baby, in 1996. Although the album was comparable musically to its predecessor, it failed to match the commercial success of Deluxe, as the album came and went rather quickly on the charts. The group proceeded to create their own recording studio in their hometown of New Orleans (called Fudge Studios), where they recorded their fourth release overall, 1998's How Does Your Garden Grow? The album failed to re-establish the group back to their heady Deluxe days, resulting in Better Than Ezra parting ways with Elektra and issuing a compilation of rare tracks, Artifakt, via their official website. Undeterred, the trio signed on with the independent Beyond Music label, issuing their next release, Closer, in 2001. BTE took a break before resurfacing in 2004 with a live album for Sanctuary. A greatest hits collection came along the following year, but to the delight of their devoted fanbase (the "Ezralites"), Better than Ezra were not finished. Before the Robots (Artemis) appeared in May that same year, and the band headed out to tour through the summer. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Eccentric and quirky are the best ways to describe the Eels' debut effort, Beautiful Freak. Concise pop tunes form the backbone of the album, yet tinges of despair and downright meanness surface just when you've been lulled into thinking this is another pop group, as titles like "My Beloved Monster," "Your Lucky Day in Hell" and "Novocaine for... [+] Read More

Eccentric and quirky are the best ways to describe the Eels' debut effort, Beautiful Freak. Concise pop tunes form the backbone of the album, yet tinges of despair and downright meanness surface just when you've been lulled into thinking this is another pop group, as titles like "My Beloved Monster," "Your Lucky Day in Hell" and "Novocaine for the Soul" indicate. All in all, Beautiful Freak is a satisfying first record. ~ James Chrispell, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Of the dozens of grunge (or "heavy alternative") bands that emerged in the wake of Nirvana's success, one of the few that managed anything close to Kurt Cobain's emotional resonance was Local H. Just as much of Nirvana's early material was informed by Cobain's experiences growing up as a misfit in blue-collar Aberdeen, Washington, Local H's... [+] Read More

Of the dozens of grunge (or "heavy alternative") bands that emerged in the wake of Nirvana's success, one of the few that managed anything close to Kurt Cobain's emotional resonance was Local H. Just as much of Nirvana's early material was informed by Cobain's experiences growing up as a misfit in blue-collar Aberdeen, Washington, Local H's Scott Lucas spun a loose concept album out of life in Zion, Illinois, a dead-end town in the industrial Midwest, for the group's second disc, As Good As Dead. Though Kurt Cobain's artier ambitions added an oddball sonic undertow to his neo-Sabbath dropped chords, Lucas's tastes obviously run to meat-and potatoes hard rock, with just enough of a melody line to give you something to hum while you bang your head. But while Lucas has the guitar (and bass) style of a rock dude, like Cobain, he has the soul of a punk rocker, albeit one growing up in a nowhere town who isn't sure how to get out. Thirteen songs written in the voice of a guy who never got past the city limits, As Good As Dead is a litany of bitterness over a life that's being wasted before your very eyes, from the dumb-ass machismo of "High-Fiving MF" and the delusional nostalgia of "Back In The Day" to the self-destructive dysfunctional relationship of "No Problem" and the alcoholic self-loathing of "Fritz's Corner." Even the album's funny moments speak of disappointment and dashed hopes -- in "Lovey Dovey," Lucas sounds happiest when his best friend is fighting with his girlfriend, and while the line "If I was Eddie Vedder/ Would you like me any better?" cuts several ways at once, there's something in the delivery that suggests Lucas knows the answer ... and doesn't want to hear it. Musically, As Good As Dead sounds just as brutal as its lyrics; while there's a graceful minor-key lyricism to quiter number like "No Problem" and "Eddie Vedder," Lucas and drummer Joe Daniels bash with an unsettling intensity on "Nothing Special" and "I Saw What You Did And I Know Who You Are." While the two sludgy slow numbers that close the album bring As Good As Dead to a disappointing conclusion, maybe it's appropriate -- you can't end an album about failure on a note of triumph, and anyone who grew up in a one-paper town will doubtless wince with recognition at the bitter hoplessness of As Good As Dead. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide [-] Hide

"Open up your eyes, don't let your mind tell the story now," reverberates the chorus of Tonic's feverish radio hit single. For this group, it meant bringing a message of openheartedness and vitality to its listening fan base. Certainly, Tonic's sounds can be linked to many of the heavy-hitting alternative rock groups during their heyday in the... [+] Read More

"Open up your eyes, don't let your mind tell the story now," reverberates the chorus of Tonic's feverish radio hit single. For this group, it meant bringing a message of openheartedness and vitality to its listening fan base. Certainly, Tonic's sounds can be linked to many of the heavy-hitting alternative rock groups during their heyday in the mid-'90s, such as Stone Temple Pilots and Pearl Jam, though Tonic has a style and charm uniquely its own. "Casual Affair" displays a charging guitar riff during the chorus, overlapped with soul-baring lyrics. "It's a casual affair when everybody loves you," shouts the lead singer, getting across that he's not afraid of change. Tonic brings a whole new light to its sound with the light and romantic "If You Could Only See." The sound on the track is very textured, and what's most appealing are the sharp slide guitars, overlaying the charm of an opening acoustic guitar track. The record as a whole is full of the heavy, distortion-laden Tonic sound, and guitars that make them who they are. Although the recordings are murky at times, like shoes splashing through muddy puddles of water, the record's highlights -- such as the uplifting acoustic track "Mountain" and the rawness of "Wicked Soldier" -- are still full of rich musical creativity. ~ Shawn M. Haney, All Music Guide [-] Hide

Candlebox rode the alternative bandwagon to the top of the charts with their self-titled debut album. Taking the heaviest moments of Soundgarden and Alice in Chains and adding both the confinements of a pop song and the attitude of album rock, Candlebox managed to sell over two million copies of their first album. Nothing on Candlebox is... [+] Read More

Candlebox rode the alternative bandwagon to the top of the charts with their self-titled debut album. Taking the heaviest moments of Soundgarden and Alice in Chains and adding both the confinements of a pop song and the attitude of album rock, Candlebox managed to sell over two million copies of their first album. Nothing on Candlebox is particularly catchy -- the singles "You" and "Far Behind" are the closest they come to memorable melodies -- but there is enough sheer riff power to satisfy fans of their singles. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide

On their second album, Friction, Baby, Better Than Ezra becomes a bit more ambitious than they were with their debut album, Deluxe. Lead singer Kevin Griffin's lyrics are more detailed and brooding, moving the band closer to their doom-laden post-grunge contemporaries. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

On their second album, Friction, Baby, Better Than Ezra becomes a bit more ambitious than they were with their debut album, Deluxe. Lead singer Kevin Griffin's lyrics are more detailed and brooding, moving the band closer to their doom-laden post-grunge contemporaries. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide [-] Hide