HANSON BROTHERS

1992

1996

 

Discogs

 

Artist Biography by Erik Hage

When Rob and John Wright weren't busy fronting the eclectic and bizarre punk group Nomeansno -- which stormed out of Victoria, British Columbia, in the early '80s -- they were busy playing with a few friends in the less challenging side project the Hanson Brothers. The Hanson Brothers, named after the pugilistic hockey siblings in the Paul Newman film Slap Shot, forewent the complex rhythms and funk-jazz tendencies of their mother group to revel in a dumb-punk tribute to the Ramones. While the Hanson Brothers fall far short of sounding like the Ramones, they do shout out song countdowns like their heroes and offer such parody offerings as "Blitzkrieg Hops" (sample lyric: "Hey! You! Let's brew!"). The group's debut LP, 1992's Gross Misconduct, made no bones about being in the spirit of dumb fun and little else (especially with lyrics that rhyme, for example, "Zamboni" and "spumoni"). A sophomore effort, Sudden Death, followed in 1996. Like its predecessor, it abounded with silliness and hockey themes.

 

Gross Misconduct 

 

Tracklist

1	No Emotion
2	It's A Secret
3	A Night Without You
4	My Girlfriend's A Robot
5	Sabrina
6	Butthead
7	Go Away
8	Comatose
9	Road Pizza
10	No More Headcheese
11	Duke It Out
12	Lovesick
13	Jack Off
14	Total Goombah!
15	Blitzkrieg Hops
16	You Are Not For Me
17	Bad

 

Sudden Death

 

Tracklist

1	The Hockey Song
2	Stick Boy
3	We're Brewing
4	Not For Mary Lou
5	You Can't Hide The Heino
6	Third Man In
7	Danielle (She Don't Care About Hockey)
8	I Never Will Forget Her
9	Four Heads, One Brain
10	Rink Rat
11	Pea, Pie And Pud
12	I'll Ask The 8-Ball
13	My Problem
14	He Looked Alot Like Tiger Williams
15	Sudden Death

 

 

EDNASWAP self titled 1995

Discogs

 Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny

The nightmares of frontwoman Anne Preven served as the inspiration behind the name of her alternative rock band Ednaswap; also featuring guitarists Rusty Anderson and Scott Cutler, bassist Paul Bushnell and drummer Carla Azar, the group formed in Los Angeles in 1993, soon after recording an acoustic demo that resulted in a deal with the East/West label. Their self-titled debut followed in 1995; Ednaswap's stay at the label was anything but pleasant, however, and when the band returned a year later with the EP Chicken they'd jumped to Island Independent. Wacko Magneto followed in 1997; soon after, singer Natalie Imbruglia scored a major hit with her cover of Ednaswap's "Torn," although the song's success failed to stir up interest in the group's subsequent LP, 1998's Wonderland Park, and so they disbanded in the spring of 1999.

 Tracklist 

1	This Is A Song	3:21
2	Clown Show	4:35
3	Acrobat	3:36
4	Ted And Joe	3:48
5	Pale	3:13
6	Blown Away	4:26
7	The State I'm In	4:08
8	Therapy	3:46
9	More	4:34
10	Minor Crap	6:07
11	Glow	4:26
12	Torn	4:23
13	The Goodnight Moon	3:23

ARAB ON RADAR Queen Hygiene II 1997

Discogs

Artist Biography by Stephen Howell

In 1994, the members of what was to become Arab on Radar were all applying for jobs at Electric Boat, a Groton, CT-based company that manufactures nuclear and Trident submarines. After going back and forth to the company for three days and taking a series of three tests lasting 17 hours, the members became friends. On the final day of testing, the members went out for drinks to celebrate. After a few beers, they decided to start a band. A girl named Andrea was sitting in the bar at the time and said she would play bass. Ironically, she had just been fired from a clerk position at Electric Boat. After a short period of time, the rest of the band that had taken the tests received rejection letters from the company. Having no other place to turn for a full-time job since Electric Boat was one of the only jobs available to the uneducated -- which the band was at the time -- Arab on Radar was born.
After some rough beginnings, Arab on Radar finally started to become a cohesive unit that was desperate and downtrodden enough to take an attempt at redefining music. They even went so far as to drop their names from association with the group, because they felt the focus was on the songs and the idea of Arab on Radar, as opposed to the people creating the music. The band's first album, titled Queen Hygiene II, appeared on the Providence, RI, label Herapin Records in 1997. Herapin's owner, Jeff Toste of Laurels and Bossman fame, took an interest in the group. Then, in November 1998, the Boston-based OpPoPop imprint issued Arab on Radar's second full-length album, Rough Day at the Orifice. Andrea left the band shortly after the release, leaving them without a bass player, yet the band decided to continue onward.

Following their second LP, Arab on Radar signed to Skin Graft in 1999 at the insistence of Weasel Walter, known for his work with the label's Flying Luttenbachers and Lake of Dracula. This signing led to the April 2000 release of their third full-length, Soak the Saddle, which was produced by Walter. A month after the album came out, the band issued a split 7" on the GSL label with experimental rock band the Locust. Arab on Radar followed the releases with their first European tour in late summer 2000.

Tracklist

1	Attack On Tijuana	1:55
2	A Kidney Problem	2:00
3	Cop Song	2:01
4	St Patricks Gay Parade	2:21
5	Molar System	2:24
6	Capt Mouth	2:31
7	99c Lipstick	3:28
8	Human Type 2	2:45
9	Rubber Robot	3:00

NED'S ATOMIC DUSTBIN Bite 1991

 

Discogs

Tracklist

1	Aim	2:13
2	Plug Me In	2:16
3	Grey Cell Green	3:45
4	Terminally Groovy	2:47
5	She's Gone	1:45
6	The Old New'un	1:49
7	Kill Your Television	2:56
8	That's Nice	3:20
9	Sentence	2:53
10	Kill Your Remix	4:13

RUSTY JAMES Save the Last Dance for Me 1996

by request

 

German emo band 

Discogs

Tracklist

	Boys Side
A1	Birthday
A2	A Movie
A3	Bow
A4	I Hate Goodbyes
A5	Candle Burned Down
	Girls Side
B1	Two Out Of Ten
B2	Don't Wake Me Up
B3	...I Even Hate Cleaning Up
B4	April Rust
B5	Dry Tongue
B6	Realize I'm 25

NED'S ATOMIC DUSTBIN God Fodder 1991

Discogs

Artist Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Ned's Atomic Dustbin's stylish fusion of punk and funk earned them a fair number of fans in the early '90s, just as England's Stone Roses-inspired "Madchester" scene was drawing to a close. Comprised of Jonn Penney (vocals), Rat (guitar), Matt Cheslin (bass), Alex Griffin (bass), and Dan Warton (drums), the group began as a neo-goth rock outfit in the late '80s. By the beginning of the '90s, the band had developed a dense, assaultive sound that was distinguished by their thundering two-bass attack. Ned's released their first single, "Kill Your Television," in 1990; on the back of a slick, sloganeering marketing attack (epitomized by the 86 T-shirts the band had designed in their first three years), the single reached the U.K. Top 50 and led to a record contract with Sony Music. The band released its debut album, God Fodder, in 1991; it entered the charts at number four. For the rest of the year, the group toured the world and released singles drawn from God Fodder. Though they remained popular in the U.K., they weren't able to gather anything larger than a cult following in America. Released in 1992, Are You Normal? also failed to expand their following. For 1995's Brainbloodvolume, Ned's decided to expand their trademark sound by experimenting with techno music, yet the album proved a commercial failure.

Tracklist

1	Kill Your Television	2:59
2	Less Than Useful	4:01
3	Selfish	3:50
4	Grey Cell Green	3:45
5	Cut Up	3:03
6	Throwing Things	3:20
7	Capital Letters	2:50
8	Happy	3:58
9	Your Complex	2:33
10	Nothing Like	2:40
11	Until You Find Out	3:05
12	You	1:56
13	What Gives My Son?	2:43

JENNYANYKIND Etc... 1994

by request

 

Discogs 

 

Tracklist

1	Etc...	0:59
2	Windchimes	2:46
3	Shiny, Shiny	2:46
4	The Way It Goes	3:22
5	Through The Day	4:16
6	Etc...	0:48
7	Below The Chifforobe	3:12
8	Long	4:25
9	In The Evening	5:14
10	Starlite, Starbrite	4:02
11	Etc...	0:25
12	Garden	5:50
13	Etc...	0:29

 

SLAPSHOT 16 Valve Hate 1996

by request

Discogs

Artist Biography by John Bush

The remnants of several Boston hardcore bands formed Slapshot in the early '80s. The band released its debut, Back on the Map, in 1984. Albums followed in 1988 and 1989; the lineup consisted of vocalist Choke, guitarist Darryl Sheppard, bassist Chris Lauria, and drummer Barry Hite until the mid-'90s, when Lauria and Hite left.

Tracklist  

1	Watch Me Bleed	2:16
2	How Much Can I Take	2:26
3	Secrets	2:03
4	Do What You Want	1:39
5	16 Valve Hate	3:50
6	Teach Me To Kill	3:29
7	Johnny Was	2:56
8	The Truth Hurts	2:08
9	Desensitized	2:24
10	108	2:14
11	I Want You Dead	1:42
12	Big Mouth Strikes Again	3:03
13	L.O.S.E.R.	2:34
14	If You Had	2:07
15	I Knew I'd Lose	2:36

IMPERIAL DRAG self titled 1996

by request

 

Discogs

Artist Biography by Eduardo Rivadavia

Born from the ashes of psychedelic pop geniuses Jellyfish, Imperial Drag released a single eponymous album through the Work Group in 1996. Featuring vocalist and guitarist Eric Dover (fresh off a stint fronting Slash's Snakepit), keyboard player Roger Manning, bassist Joseph Karnes, and drummer Eric Skodis, the band lacked only one critical ingredient to replicate the winning Jellyfish formula: drummer, vocalist, and principal songwriter Andy Sturmer. Furthermore, their unorthodox retro-rock style and brazenly glamorized imaging didn't help matters either, failing to endear the band with the flannel-wearing, grunge-obsessed rock audience of the mid-'90s. Put simply, there was to be no victory of style over substance here, and both band and album soon sank without a trace.

 Tracklist 

1	Zodiac Sign	3:29
2	Boy Or A Girl	4:05
3	Crosseyed	3:42
4	The Man In The Moon	4:22
5	"Breakfast" By Tiger (Kiss It All Goodbye)	4:22
6	Playboy After Dark	3:09
7	Illuminate	4:52
8	Spyder	4:50
9	Overnight Sensation	4:40
10	The Salvation Army Band	3:58
11	Dandelion	2:50
12	Stare Into The Sun	5:16
13	Scaredy Cats And Egomaniacs	4:56
14	Down With The Man	2:53

SICKO

1995

1997

Discogs 

Artist Biography by Mike DaRonco

The scene: Seattle, Washington. A town known for its rainy days, the grunge explosion, and the Microsoft Corporation was also the home town of three recovering metalheads who just wanted to form a band that didn't resemble Soundgarden or Queensrÿche. Having a common interest in the Fastbacks and Hüsker Dü, along with an extended background playing in "horrific cover bands," Ean "Sicko" Hernandez (guitar/ vocals), Denny "Sicko" Bartlett (bass/guitar/vocals), and Josh "Sicko" Rubins (drums) got together in 1991 to form Sicko. Not shying away from their geek-core credibility, Sicko maintained their trademark sound of hyperactive pop-punk without an ounce of taking themselves too seriously. Among all the Pearl Jam and Nirvana wannabes that flooded their city in 1992, a small fan base welcomed them as a relief, as something different, along with their debut four-song EP on Empty Records. Followed by a split 7" with the Mr. T Experience, their first album single, "Can You Feel the Love in This Room," was released in early 1994.

Accompanied by their happy-go-lucky sound and Indigo Girls cover of "Closer to Fine," Sicko mounted an unsuccessful tour of the United States, and a drummer change would soon follow. In 1995, Johnny Ray Young briefly filled in on the skins while they recorded Laugh While You Can Monkey Boy. Not too long after those sessions, Rubins rejoined the group, Chef Boy R U Dum was also recorded, and both of these albums were released that same year. Unfortunately, after the release and supporting tour of 1997's You're Not the Boss of Me, Sicko announced their separation in July of 1998. The following year, frontman Ean Sicko moved on to form his own project, Tales from the Birdbath. Accompanied by members of the Primitive 5, they released their first album on Empty in 1999. 

Laugh While You Can Monkey Boy

Tracklist

1	Wave Motion Gun
2	Farm Song
3	When To Quit
4	Johnny Be Not So Good
5	Bad Year
6	Rehashed
7	Snowcone
8	Little Star
9	The Juice Is Loose
10	Who Owes
11	Mom
12	What's On

You Are Not The Boss of Me

Tracklist

1	Window Of Opportunity
2	A Song About A Rabbit
3	Mike TV
4	An Indie Rock Daydream
5	The One That Got Away
6	Hipster Boyfriend
7	Attention Please
8	My Tribute To The Misfits (Aka: Your Sister Is A Werewolf Tonight)
9	Washington My Home
10	What Happened
11	High Hopes
12	In So Many Words
13	If I'm Vacant
14	Summer Never Came
15	Yakuri Abe
16	The Best Thing In The World
17	Wrathchild