Showing 51 - 75 of 117
Artist: Steve Leggett
Steve Leggett was born in Big Rapids, MI, but grew up in Manistee, MI. He attended Central Michigan University, where he earned a degree in anthropology and literature. Since 1994 he has been a member of Ann Arbor folk-rock band the Buzzrats. The group has released four albums, A Tiny Speck in a Ruthless Universe (1997), Cartoon Twilight (1998),... [+] Read More
Artist: NunZilla
Etymological detective work has explained many a punk band, and Nunzilla is no exception. According to that pillar of strength, the Oxford English Dictionary (which all true punks have read), Godzillas original name, Gojira, was actually a transliteration of the Japanese words for gorilla (gorira) and whale (kujira). The odz... [+] Read More
Artist: Front
Kansas City rockers the Front first got together in the late '80s, and were led by vocalist Michael Franano and his keyboardist brother Bobby Franano. The pair hooked up with guitarist Mike Greene, Randy Jordan on bass, and Shane Miller on drums. The five musicians were soon signed to CBS Records and in 1989 they released their self-titled debut... [+] Read More
Artist: Trees
In 1970, this British quintet released a couple of albums that made no bones about aping the approach of Fairport Convention (then at their peak). A mixture of traditional folk songs and originals, extended electric-guitar heavy arrangements, and a female singer who took many of the lead vocals -- it worked for Fairport. It didn't work as well... [+] Read More
Artist: Annie Gosfield
Keyboardist, composer, and improviser Annie Gosfield is originally from Philadelphia, then lived in California for some time, and by the close of the '90s was established in New York. In the early '80s, she performed in L.A.'s underground venues with the Apes of God, a free improvisation group. Through the '90s, Gosfield has consistently... [+] Read More
Artist: The Rockin' Vickers
A competently energetic but relatively faceless British mid-'60s band, the Rocking Vickers are mostly remembered today because the guitarist for the bulk of their recording career was Ian Willis, who would eventually gain international fame as Lemmy with Hawkwind and Motorhead. The Blackpool band were still Lemmy-less when they made their debut... [+] Read More
Artist: Blind Mr. Jones
Presumably taking their name from the first two songs on Talking Heads' Naked and jokingly referred to as the Jethro Tull of shoegazing for their frequent use of flute, Blind Mr. Jones formed in the early '90s in Marlow, England, quickly becoming regarded as a young band to keep an eye on. Guitarist James Franklin, guitarist/vocalist Richard... [+] Read More
Artist: Tatiana Bustos
Singer and songwriter Tatiana Bustos started getting involved in show business while representing her school at a local festival called the Voice of the New Generation, getting the opportunity to make her first single recording a Eduardo Valenzuela's song called "Son Mis Sueños Para Ti." While studying English, Tatiana Bustos started singing at... [+] Read More
Artist: Gluecifer
Scandinavian cock- rock combo Gluecifer was formed in Oslo, Norway in 1994 by frontman Biff Malibu, guitarists Captain Poon and Sinduru Khan, bassist Jon Average and drummer Glueros Hellfire. Debuting the following year with the single "God's Chosen Dealer," in 1996 Gluecifer returned with the twelve-inch Dick Disguised as Pussy; swapping Khan... [+] Read More
Artist: The Frosted Ambassador
If one is to believe his label Kindercore Records, home-recording enigma the Frosted Ambassador "started out in 1977 in the group Chronicle Ape and the New Sound. A disappointing solo career in the early 80's prompted his retirement from music and relocation to Belgium to study toast." Furthermore, the original master of his self-titled debut... [+] Read More
Artist: Str8 Young Gangstaz
Among the many Christian gangsta rap artists that popped up in the late '90s, Str8 Young Gangstaz came out of South Central with a sound that was heavily reminiscent of Dr. Dre's early-'90s work for Death Row Records. Put together by rapper Big Tone for his G-Like Records, Str8 Young Gangstaz were born out of Tone's conversion to Christianity in... [+] Read More
Artist: Barbara Cue
Barbara Cue is not a person but a five-piece "super group" from Athens, GA, that came together in 1997, spurred by their mutual affection for NRBQ. The band combines country, blues, rock, and R&B sounds, and while the NRBQ influence is certainly evident, Barbara Cue avoids the trap of simply aping their heroes. The group boasts a talented roster... [+] Read More
Artist: Hear 'n Aid
Who would have thought that heavy metal had a heart? But when it came to summoning relief funds for African hunger in the 1980s, even the members of this most anti-social musical community saw fit to lend a hand. Led by the well-intentioned but terminally glib Ronnie James Dio, 40 artists convened in Los Angeles' A&M Studios on May 20-21, 1985,... [+] Read More
Artist: Mandrill
One of funk's most progressive outfits, Mandrill paid the price for their ambitions in commercial returns -- not that they never earned a reputation or an audience, but their expansive, eclectic vision often worked better when given an album's worth of room to roam, rather than being condensed into hit singles. Mandrill's jam-heavy brand of funk... [+] Read More
Artist: Lancelot Link
Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp was a live-action children's program that aired on ABC television from September 12, 1970 to September 2, 1972. Created with the intention of cashing in on two proven successful television formulas, spy shows (Get Smart) and pop music (the Monkees and the Banana Splits). It was the Mr. Ed formula taken to the ultimate... [+] Read More
Artist: Jackie Martling
A longtime fixture of radio's Howard Stern Show, comedian Jackie "The Joke Man" Martling was born and raised on Long Island, NY, earning a degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University in 1971. He initially pursued a career in rock & roll with his college band the Pillowcayse, and after relocating to Denver, CO, in 1973, he... [+] Read More
Artist: Robert L. Hubbard
Robert L. Hubbard is a product of the Midwest; born in St. Louis, MO & raised in Cape Girardeau, MO. He attended Baker University in Baldwin, KS & Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, IL majoring in Cinema. While residing in San Francisco, CA, he established a career in film production, working as a camera assistant (OTHER AMERICAN... [+] Read More
Artist: Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp
Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp was a live-action children's program that aired on ABC television from September 12, 1970, to September 2, 1972. Created with the intention of cashing in on two proven successful television formulas -- spy shows (Get Smart) and pop music (The Monkees and The Banana Splits) -- it was the Mr. Ed formula taken to the... [+] Read More
Artist: Sugarcoma
Guitarist Claire Simson and drummer James Cuthbert had been best friends since the age of three, and both had grown up with heavy music being the motivating force behind their musical ambitions. Both musicians met Heidi McEwen, a bassist, when they were teenagers at the same school. The three were all aware of one another's talents, but hadn't... [+] Read More
Artist: Birdsongs of the Mesozoic
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic began as a side project by Roger Miller and Martin Swope, who were members of the Boston band Mission of Burma. They were joined by Rick Scott and Erik Lindgren for their debut recording, a self-titled EP, in 1983. With Mission of Burma dissolving at about this time, Birdsongs of the Mesozoic became a full-time band.... [+] Read More
Artist: The Ford Blues Band
After leaving Ukiah, CA, and moving south to San Francisco to form the Charles Ford Band (named for their father) in the late '60s with harmonica player Gary Smith, brothers Pat (drums) and Robben (guitar) were enlisted by Charlie Musselwhite and were pivotal members of one of the best aggregations the harpist ever led. Leaving Musselwhite after... [+] Read More
Artist: James Carter
After Wynton Marsalis, no one caused more of an uproar than James Carter did when he appeared on the New York jazz scene from his native Detroit. Carter's debut recording, JC on the Set, issued in Japan when he was only 23 and in the States a year later in 1993, was universally acclaimed as the finest debut by a saxophonist in decades. Critics... [+] Read More
Artist: Sonny Lester
Sonny Lester was a producer of big band, jazz, and easy listening albums, and followed in the limelight of his contempories like Enoch Light. He also wound up, unintentionally, becoming influential among the sample-hungry DJs of the 1990s as the originator of the Groove Merchant label. Lester was born in New York City in 1924, and began his... [+] Read More
Artist: Ron Haydock
The short career of Ron Haydock took many different turns, including actor, monster magazine editor to porno novel writer. But his best known and remembered came at the tail end of rock'n'roll first golden era. In 1958, he fronted as lead singer-guitarist of the Boppers, soon to change their name to Ron Haydock & the Boppers. Haydock was a... [+] Read More
Artist: The Platters
The Platters started out as a Los Angeles-based doo wop group with little identity of their own to make them stand out from the pack. They started out making their first records for Federal, a subsidiary of Cincinnati's King Records. These early sides don't sound anything like the better-known sides that would eventually emerge from this group,... [+] Read More
