Alternative Rock | Musicosity

Alternative Rock

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (since 2004 known simply as Blues Explosion) is an American garage rock band, which was formed in New York in 1990. Singer Jon Spencer was previously the leader of the noise punk band Pussy Galore before hooking up with Judah Bauer (guitar) and Russell Simins (drums) to form the Blues Explosion, a band that was part of the 1990s alternative rock boom. This bass-less combo had their breakthrough in 1993 with the album "Extra Width" on Crypt Records. In 1994 "Orange", a more accessible album followed along with a growing base of fans.

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The Wallflowers

The Wallflowers (US)
A rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States
The Wallflowers, best known for hits like One Headlight and 6th Avenue Heartache from their 1996 album Bringing Down The Horse. Their lead singer, Jakob Dylan, is the son of folk legend Bob Dylan. The Wallflowers started out in 1989 playing alongside other aspiring rockers at Canter's delicatessen in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles. The band signed to Virgin Records and made a self-entitled album, the cover of which had a picture of all the band members' feet, and drummer Peter Yanowitz' dog.

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Regular John

Regular John guitarist Brock Tengstrom remembers one family gathering where he was primed to meet his cousin’s boyfriend: “He’s in a band,” Tengstrom’s folks told him. Turns out the weird skinny guy with big sunglasses and black fingernails was Grinspoon frontman Phil Jamieson, pre-Guide to Better Living. “He gave me a copy of that Green EP,” recalls Tengstrom, “and I taught him how to play a few Nirvana songs.”

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Shihad

Shihad are a four-piece band from New Zealand, comprising Jon Toogood (guitar/vocals), Tom Larkin (drums), Karl Kippenberger (bass) and Phil Knight (guitar). Their style is best described as "hard rock", although they were described as "metal" in their formative years. Shihad were formed in 1988 in Wellington, New Zealand. They were briefly known between 2002-2004 as "Pacifier". During this time the band was attempting to break into the US market and it was decided that Shihad sounded too much like the arabic word 'jihad', thus the name change. Their major albums and EPs include:

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Mayday Parade

Mayday Parade was born in 2005 when two popular Tallahassee bands, Kid Named Chicago and Defining Moment, decided to merge and form one group. Both bands had been friends for a long time but they each seemed to have different kind of holdups. They pooled their resources, booted out the undedicated members and decided to take the good from each band and move forward. Armed with a dynamic lead singer Derek Sanders of Defining Moment, Mayday Parade explodes with energy and personality. Fans of both bands came together in support of the Parade and it wasn't long until thousands of other new fans got into the action. Mayday Parade knew they'd have to start at the grassroots level and began to work themselves to the top. Through their catchy tunes and fun attitude, they have hooked fans at their shows and online with an interactive MySpace selling 10,000 EPs without label support.

With the work hard, play hard, do whatever it takes to spread your music philosophy that most young bands need to have these days, the band took to the road and started winning over kids not just in Florida, but across the country. Mayday Parade was consistently in the top 30 unsigned artists on MySpace. They've consolidated over 50,000 friends and growing and have totaled over 2.4 Million plays. With labels hot on their tail, Mayday Parade decided that Fearless Records was the one for them and signed at the end of the summer 2006.

They then released their first professional record, A Lesson In Romantics, in 2007. Shortly after, one of the lead singers/vocalist Jason Lancaster ( lead guitarist/vocalist of Kid Named Chicago) left the band over a songwriting dispute. He then started his own band, Go Radio. There are no hard feelings between the two bands, although Lancaster later commented, "I wish it could have gone down differently."

In 2009, the band released their second album and first without Lancaster, Anywhere But Here.

Mayday Parade's live show also conveys their personality by assuring that they are intensely full of life. The band knows how to put on an engaging show with five energetic members. There's no escaping the energy that Mayday Parade brings. They're all over the stage, making sure the audience goes home happy and wanting more. They love to get the crowd engaged!

In 2011, the band released their third, self titled album. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

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MM9

MM9 (also known as Many Machines On Nine) formed in 1998, first brought their brand of hard-edged electro-rock to the stages of their hometown of Sydney, Australia and created a groundswell of support that has firmly established them as one of Australia's premier touring acts. Equally at home playing traditional rock venues, mainstream music festivals, dance clubs, or massive underground rave parties; MM9 is a band whose versatility is matched only by the sheer potency of their stage presence.

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New Medicine

"WOW, such an uproar over the name people!! Perhaps this resistance to change is bred from a place of genuine curiosity (because the unknown is our greatest fear, right?!?). So.... it’s my job in the next few paragraphs to alleviate your panic, here it goooooooes. First of all, stop freaking out. You’re being ridiculous. Thank you. Secondly, this name change was born because of some transitions in the members of this band.

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Dredg

dredg is a progressive alternative band from Los Gatos, California, USA formed in 1993. Their first studio album, Leitmotif, was released by the Universal music label on September 11, 2001. Prior to that, it had been self-released by the members of the band. After the album hit music stores, Dredg acquired an almost immediate cult following thanks to Leitmotif's unique sound and concept. There has also been a movie planned for release as a music video for the entire album, though the project has been scrapped due to the death of the lead actor.

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Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell (1964, Seattle, WA, United States) is an American singer/songwriter and guitarist. In 1984 he formed the band Soundgarden with bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Throughout the late 1980s and 90s, Soundgarden experienced major success as one of the major grunge bands (along with groups such as Alice in Chains, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam). In 1990, Chris Cornell worked together with the (then) Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron, and Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament and Mike McCready (who would later form Pearl Jam) in a project named Temple of the Dog.

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The Chevelles

The Chevelles are still a great big POWER POP band with loads of guitar action and heaps of soaring harmonies. From day one the critics have raved and the kids of the confection generation have danced and screamed... from their hometown of Perth right across to Europe, USA and South America. In 1992 their debut Album “Kids Ain’t Hip” heralded the arrival of a new power pop force in Australia. With blistering guitars, soaring harmonies and a kick ass live show the band has blazed a significant musical trail over the last 14 years in many corners of the world.

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