Showing 1 - 9 of 9
Artist: Johnny Mendel
Change a single vowel in the name of trumpeter Johnny Mendel and you might wind up with a songwriter whose hits have been recorded thousands of times. There is no evidence, however, that Mendel ever cashed a royalty check actually meant for Mandel, proving that accountants are somewhat more careful than the people who proofread publishing... [+] Read More
Artist: 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... [+] Read More
Artist: The Fire Theft
The final implosion of Seattle's Sunny Day Real Estate in 2002 was pretty anticlimactic, since at that point the band had splintered and re-formed at least three times during its temperamental, yet influential existence. Quests for faith and gigs with the Foo Fighters had caused them to part, but in 2003 the Fire Theft brought them back... [+] Read More
Artist: Jeremy Enigk
Jeremy Enigk first emerged as the frontman of the highly-touted Seattle band Sunny Day Real Estate, which issued their Sub Pop debut Diary in 1994. In the midst of recording the group's sophomore effort, Enigk underwent a radical spiritual transformation and left the group; although he later returned to complete the eponymously-titled release,... [+] Read More
Artist: Sunny Day Real Estate
Considering their relatively brief existence, Sunny Day Real Estate racked up enough dramatic twists and turns to rank with some of the great rock soap operas. Its key members have engaged in just about every rock cliché imaginable, including finding religion, refusing to work with the media, breaking up, and joining a big-name group, and even... [+] Read More
Artist: Juno
Juno has existed in relatively the same form since the band began in 1995. Although the Seattle emo-core group initially had "Spinal Tap luck with drummers," as one band member admits, Greg Ferguson signed on permanently in 1997 after a quick succession of hired guns, some of whom include Erik Akre, Joe Plummer, and Steven Cobb. Their poignant... [+] Read More
Artist: Tut Soper
Little is known about Tut Soper, and he seems to have made very few recordings, so why should we care about him? The answer to this question materializes when we consider the many accomplished Chicago musicians who considered him solid enough for regular employment in their various bands. The earliest definitive example would be Tut's inclusion... [+] Read More
Artist: Dave Grohl
Rarely in the history of rock has a musician switched bands and instruments simultaneously with such a high degree of success as Dave Grohl. Born on January 14, 1969, Grohl grew up in Washington, D.C., teaching himself to play drums and guitar while listening to such heavy metal acts as Led Zeppelin, Kiss, Motorhead, and Black Sabbath, plus the... [+] Read More
Artist: Mickey Katz
Long before Allan Sherman and Woody Allen showered the public with Yiddish slang -- and decades before the klezmer revival breathed new life into a once-popular ethnic music -- a little clarinetist with a lot of chutzpah blazed the trail, exposing "crossover" audiences to the language and the melodies of his forebears with a series of... [+] Read More
