SUPERGRASS In It For The Money 1997

Discogs

Artist Biography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Like many other British bands of the '90s, Supergrass' musical roots lie in the infectiously catchy punk-pop of the Buzzcocks and the Jam, as well as the post-punk pop of Madness and the traditional Brit-pop of the Kinks and Small Faces. Perhaps because of its age -- two of the trio were still in their teens when they recorded their debut single -- the band also brings in elements of decidedly unhip groups like Elton John, as well as classic rockers like David Bowie, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. With an exuberant, youthful enthusiasm, Supergrass tied all of their influences together in surprising new ways, where a Buzzcocks riff could slam into three-part harmonies out of "Crocodile Rock," or have a galloping music hall rhythm stutter like the best moments of the Who.

Consisting of guitarist/vocalist Gaz Coombes, bassist Mickey Quinn, and drummer Danny Goffey, Supergrass released their first single, the semi-autobiographical "Caught by the Fuzz," in the summer of 1994 on the indie label Backbeat; Parlophone signed the band and reissued the single in the fall of the year. "Caught by the Fuzz" generated a significant amount of buzz, including praise from Blur and Elastica. "Mansize Rooster," the group's second single, was released in the spring of 1995; it made it into the pop charts, as did "Lenny," which was released right before their debut album, I Should Coco.

Released in May 1995, I Should Coco received glowing reviews in the U.K. press and debuted in the Top Ten. The band's popularity continued to grow, leading to the number two double A-sided single, Alright/Time. Staying in the Top Three for nearly a month, the effervescent "Alright" pushed the album to number one. I Should Coco was released in the U.S. three months later and a buzz began to build there as "Caught by the Fuzz" began receiving MTV and radio play. Supergrass earned fans in some quarters -- allegedly, Steven Spielberg was interested in developing a Monkees-styled sitcom around the trio -- but I Should Coco never quite caught on in the U.S. the way it did in the rest of the world. Following a year of touring, Supergrass capped off 1996 with the single "Going Out," the first taste from their second album, the psychedelic In It for the Money. Appearing in the spring of 1997, In It for the Money had greater ambitions than I Should Coco, a shift critics responded to enthusiastically, but it was also a success in the U.K., going platinum and spawning the hit singles "Richard III," "Sun Hits the Sky," and "Late in the Day." Despite support from Foo Fighters and Pearl Jam, a further attempt to crack the American market didn't take, and the group never again prioritized the U.S.

Two years after In It for the Money, Supergrass returned with an eponymous third album whose stomping lead single "Pumping On Your Stereo" suggested a poppier record than they delivered. "Pumping on Your Stereo" and its sequel, the Top Ten hit "Moving," helped propel the album to platinum status in the U.K. Supergrass then went on an extended break, adding Gaz's brother Rob Coombes as a full-time keyboardist during the hiatus and coming back in 2002 with Life on Other Planets. Despite reaching the British Top 10, Life on Other Planets was the beginning of Supergrass' commercial downslide -- of the four singles, only "Grace" made it into the Top 20, with "Seen the Light" topping out at 22. An anniversary compilation called Supergrass Is 10 arrived in 2004 and the following year the group released the reflective, moody Road to Rouen, a record that had a pair of modest hits in "Kiss of Life" and "St Petersburg" and wound up garnering respectable reviews.

As the band prepared the release of their louder, glammy follow-up Diamond Hoo Ha, Mickey Quinn broke his heel bone in September of 2007, leading Gaz and Danny to do a quick club tour under the name the Diamond Hoo Ha Men. The album itself came out in the spring of 2008. It was their last for Parlophone and it performed modestly well on the charts, generating no hit singles. Sometime in 2009, Supergrass attempted a seventh album, provisionally entitled Release the Drones, but during the recording the group fractured. They abandoned the record and split up after a brief farewell tour in the summer of 2010, just after Gaz and Danny released a self-titled album by their covers side project the Hotrats. Quinn went on to assemble the DB Band and Gaz Coombes launched his solo career with Here Come the Bombs in the spring of 2012. 

Tracklist 

1	In It For The Money	3:05
2	Richard III	3:12
3	Tonight	3:09
4	Late In The Day	4:43
5	G-Song	3:27
6	Sun Hits The Sky	4:55
7	Going Out	4:16
8	It's Not Me	2:56
9	Cheapskate	2:43
10	You Can See Me	3:40
11	Hollow Little Reign	4:08
12	Sometimes I Make You Sad	2:48

 

CRUNCH Trigger Happy Trespasser 1995

 noise rock from Italy 

Discogs

Tracklist

1	Shift' Clash	3:32
2	In A Split Of Second	3:21
3	Free Thinking Vacant Bullet	3:55
4	False	3:49
5	To Luke	3:18
6	Monoeurope	3:45
7	Easy Butt	3:54
8	Urban Safety Book	3:30
9	Pea Brain'n'cooked Dog	3:34
10	Slug	4:24
11	School	2:22

ECHOLYN Suffocating the Bloom 1992

Discogs

Artist Biography by John Bush

Echolyn's style has been termed updated progressive rock, due to the band's classically trained, highly professional members -- vocalist Ray Weston, guitarist/vocalist Brett Kull, keyboard player Chris Buzby, bassist Tom Hyatt and drummer Paul Ramsey. After honing their instrumental prowess and close harmony vocals on three independent releases, Echolyn was signed by Sony. The group recorded with Glenn Rosenstein and released As the World in March 1995. The band called it quits late that same year, and put out an album of unreleased demos and live recordings (including their last song recorded, "This Time Alone"), called When the Sweet Turns Sour, in 1996. After four years, the band regrouped without Hyatt; Weston took over the role of bass, and newcomer Jordan Perlson joined Ramsey on drums. The new Echolyn recorded Cowboy Poems Free (2000). 

Tracklist

1	21	5:49
2	Winterthru	3:45
3	Memoirs From Between	8:01
4	Reaping The Harvest	1:41
5	In Every Garden	4:39
6	A Little Nonsense	4:20
7	The Sentimental Chain	1:40
8	One Voice	5:20
9	Here I Am	5:21
10	Cactapus	2:51
11	Only Twelve	1:17
12	A Cautious Repose	4:55
13	Bearing Down	3:49
14	Cash Flow Shuffle	0:39
15	Mr. Oxy Moron	3:23
16	Twelve’s Enough	2:21
17	I Am The Tide	1:15
18	Cannoning In B Major	1:19
19	Picture Perfect	0:55
20	Those That Want To Buy	6:45
21	Suffocating The Bloom	4:03

THE JENNIFERS Just Got Back Today 1992

Discogs

Tracklist

1	Just Got Back Today	3:53
2	Rocks And Boulders	2:39
3	Danny's Song	2:40
4	Tomorrow's Rain	3:09

DEAD HOT WORKSHOP River Otis 1994

Discogs

Artist Biography by Andrew Leahey

Along with the Gin Blossoms, the Refreshments, and the Pistoleros, Dead Hot Workshop helped transform Tempe, AZ -- the Phoenix suburb that houses Arizona State University -- into a musical hotbed in the 1990s. The guitar-driven lineup was led by singer/songwriter Brent Babb, who formed the band during the late ‘80s with help from guitarist Steve Larson, drummer Curtis Grippe, and bassist Brian Griffith. Dead Hot Workshop built up a sizable following with shows at Long Wong’s, Sun Club, and other Tempe venues, and the band began pursuing a wider audience after signing a contract with Tag Recordings, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records, in 1994.
Like a number of Tempe-based groups, Dead Hot Workshop’s sound owed a good deal to the band’s surroundings. They played desert rock & roll with a country bent, taking influence from the likes of Neil Young, Johnny Cash, and the Replacements. Tag Recordings first unveiled that sound with the 1994 EP River Otis, which was followed one year later by the full-length album 1001 (the title of which referred to the Sun Club’s street address). Dead Hot Workshop supported those releases with several tours, but they failed to find the national audience that the Gin Blossoms had secured several years prior. Following the termination of their record contract, Larson quit the lineup in 1997 and later joined Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers, a regional supergroup that also featured former members of the Refreshments and Gin Blossoms. Meanwhile, Dead Hot Workshop recorded their second album, Karma Covered Apple, as a trio. Brent Babb kept Dead Hot Workshop alive during the following decade with the help of several different lineups, although the closure of Tempe’s most influential clubs -- particularly Long Wong’s, which shut its doors in April 2004 -- signaled an end to an era. 

Tracklist

1	Mr. S.O.B.
2	E Minor
3	Incorporated
4	Rise And Decline
5	G-Daddy
6	257

THE V-ROYS All About Town 1998

Discogs

Artist Biography by John Bush

Formed in Knoxville, TN, the V-Roys began to walk the fine line between rootsy country and cutting-edge alternative rock with their formation in 1994, comprising vocalist/guitarist Scott Miller, lead guitarist John Paul Keith, bassist Paxton Sellers, and drummer Jeff Bills. The quartet signed to Praxis Records, but the label folded soon after, prompting Steve Earle to sign the V-Roys to his E-Squared Records. He also produced the band's debut album, Just Add Ice. Just before the album was released in September 1996, Keith left the band and was replaced by Mike Harrison. In 1998, the V-Roys issued their sophomore effort, All About Town, again co-produced by Steve Earle. Two years later, Are You Through Yet? was released. 

Tracklist

1	The Window Song	3:33
2	Mary	1:59
3	Amy 88	2:20
4	Arianne	3:26
5	Strange	2:31
6	Hold On To Me	3:15
7	Miss Operator	2:30
8	Testify	2:07
9	Sorry Sue	3:43
10	Over The Mountain	1:59
11	Virginia Way / Shenandoah Breakdown	3:10
12	Fade Away	3:39

THE WALTONS Cock's Crow 1995

Discogs

Artist Biography by Stewart Mason

A Canadian acoustic folk-rock trio who might be the true successors to Ian & Sylvia or 3's a Crowd, the Waltons make low-key, largely acoustic music that thankfully bypasses the twin bear traps of preciousness and pretentiousness. The group formed in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 1987 when college friends Jason Plumb (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), Keith Nakonechny (bass and vocals), and Dave Cooney (drums) began performing Plumb's songs in clubs around town. After gigging around western Canada for four years, the trio moved to Toronto in 1991, where they quickly established themselves on the thriving local folk scene.

Guitarist John Switzer, who had started on this same circuit with Jane Siberry a decade before, discovered the Waltons' music and agreed to produce their debut album, Lik My Trakter, which the group self-released in 1992. After bagging a couple of local music awards, the Waltons were signed to Warner Music Canada, which reissued Lik My Trakter in Canada and the U.S. in 1993. For a tour with the Barenaked Ladies, keyboardist Todd Lumley was added to the group to flesh out their sound; he became a full-fledged member of the band in 1994, the same year the group won a Juno (the Canadian Grammy) for Best New Artist thanks to the gold-selling reissue of Lik My Trakter.

Simple Brain, a six-song EP of live tracks and early demos, was released in early 1995, followed by the all-new Cock's Crow, produced by Barenaked Ladies producer Michael Phillip Wojewoda. Dave Cooney left the group just before that album's tour, replaced by Sean Bryson. The group returned in 1998 with the new Empire Hotel, also produced by Wojewod.

Tracklist

1	End Of The World
2	The Longest Line
3	Wait Up For Me
4	Surprise
5	Heartless
6	Sky's Limit
7	You, Ewe, U
8	Heels Upon My Head
9	Wascana
10	Steel In Your Heart
11	Something Wrong
12	Michelangelo's Tummy
13	My Eye

SPLEEN Little Scratches 1998

by request

 

Discogs

Tracklist

1	It's A Sin To Tell A Lie
2	Roadsong
3	My Tracks
4	Like A Watermelon
5	In A Silent Violent Way
6	The Drone Chorus Of Home
7	Thatman/Throbbin'
8	203
9	Little Scratches
10	Underwater Christmas
11	It's OK To Laugh

STILTSKIN The Mind's Eye 1994

by request

 

Discogs

Artist Biography by Greg Prato

Stiltskin was a short lived grunge rock quartet that lasted for only a single album, 1994's The Mind's Eye. Although they remain virtual unknowns in the U.S., the group scored a big hit in the U.K. with the track "Inside" (used at the time in a commercial for Levi's), which was criticized by many for being too similar to the Smashing Pumpkins -- Pumpkin leader Billy Corgan went as far as announcing from the stage at a 1994 show in Munich, "Hi, we're Stiltskin." The group broke up before a second album could be issued, as their singer, Ray Wilson, went on to replace Phil Collins in Genesis (appearing on the lukewarm received album Calling All Stations). Two years later, Wilson's new group, Cut, issued their debut album, Millionairehead. 

Tracklist

1	Inside	4:40
2	Sunshine And Butterflies	3:52
3	Rest In Peace	2:55
4	Footsteps	3:36
5	When My Ship Comes In	3:52
6	Horse	4:24
7	An Illusion	3:49
8	Scared Of Ghosts	4:01
9	Shouting In My Sleep	3:07
10	Prayer Before Birth	2:35
11 (a)	America	9:05