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Green Day were part of the northern
California underground punk scene and out of all the post-Nirvana American
alternative bands to break into the pop mainstream, Green Day were second
only to Pearl Jam in terms of influence. At their core, Green Day were simply
punk revivalists, recharging the energy of speedy, catchy three-chord punk-pop
songs. They brought the sound of late-'70s punk to a new, younger generation
with Dookie, their 1994 major-label debut. They opened the doors for a flood
of American neo-punk, punk metal, and third wave ska revivalists. |
| Prior to Nirvana, alternative music
was consigned to specialty sections of record stores and major labels considered
it to be, at the very most, a tax write-off. After the band's second album,
1991's Nevermind, nothing was ever quite the same, for better and for worse.
Nirvana popularized punk, post-punk, and indie rock, unintentionally bringing
it into the American mainstream like no other band before it. While its
sound was equal parts Black Sabbath and Cheap Trick, Nirvana's aesthetics
were strictly indie rock. While Nirvana's ideology was indie rock and melodies
were pop, the sonic rush of their records and live shows merged the post-industrial
white noise with heavy metal grind. And that's what made the group an unprecedented
multi-platinum sensation. Since Nirvana was rooted in the indie aesthetic,
but loved pop music, they fought their stardom while courting it, becoming
some of the most notorious anti-rock stars in history |
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A product of New York City's early-'70s rock scene,
Twisted Sister were faithful students of the New York Doll's glam school,
with Kiss' theatrics and the shock rock of Alice Cooper thrown in for good
measure. While excellent role models from an artistic standpoint, the Dolls'
decadent and unreliable behavior would set a terrible precedent, turning
the signing of a New York band into an industry taboo. Twisted Sister were
among the most obvious victims of this problem, struggling for nearly a
decade before getting their big break in the early '80s. And when this break
finally came, the band would become one of the most gruesome examples of
over exposure in the history of rock & roll, bringing an abrupt end
to their brief moment in the sun. |
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For a very brief moment, Quiet
Riot was a rock & roll phenomenon. The first heavy metal band to top
the pop charts, the California quartet was an overnight sensation thanks
to their monster 1983 smash Metal Health. But their road to success had
been long and far from easy, and when their star power quickly began to
fade, the band's fall from grace was accelerated by the man most deserving
of credit for taking them so far with his dogged persistence, singer Kevin
DuBrow. Arguably the only rock star to talk himself out of a gig, DuBrow
began turning his frustration into verbal attacks toward all in sight,
eventually isolating the band even more and almost single-handedly sealing
their fate. |
| Primus is all about Les Claypool; there
isn't a moment on any of their records where his bass isn't the main focal
point of the music, with his vocals acting as a bizarre side-show. Which
isn't to deny guitarist Larry LaLonde or drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander
any credit; no drummer could weave in and around Claypool's convoluted patterns
as effortlessly as Alexander, and few guitarists would willingly push the
spotlight away, like LaLonde does, just to can produce a never-ending spiral
of avant-noise. They're a post-punk Rush spiked with the sensibility and
humor of Frank Zappa. Primus' songs are secondary to showcasing their instrumental
prowess. Their music is willfully weird and experimental, yet it's not alienating;
the band was able to turn their goofy weirdness into pop stardom. And in
the meantime have a multitude of side projects with all sorts of confusing
biographies. |
Charlie Hunter
Frog Brigade
Laundry
Holy Mackerel
M.I.R.V.
Oysterhead
Porch
Sausage
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While quite a few arena rock acts of the '70s found
the transformation into the '80s quite difficult, several acts continued
to flourish and enjoyed some of their biggest commercial success. Foreigner's
leader from the beginning has been British guitarist Mick Jones. By the
mid-'70s, Jones had relocated to New York City, where he was a brief member
of the Leslie West Band and served as an A&R man for a record company.
But it wasn't long before Jones felt the urge to be part of another rock
outfit as he sought to put together a band that would be able to combine
elements of rock, progressive, R&B, and pop into a single, cohesive
style. |
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Buckethead is one of the most bizarre and enigmatic
figures in American underground and experimental music since Parliament-Funkadelic
birthed their bevy of cosmic characters in the mid-'70s. An accomplished
multi-instrumentalist best known for his command of the electric guitar,
Buckethead is one of the instrument's most recognizable contemporary innovators,
his rapid-fire riffing, near-robotic fretwork, and idiosyncratic lead lines
combining elements of Yngwie Malmsteen, Adrian Belew, Slayer's Kerry King,
P-Funk's Eddie Hazel, and avant-improv artist John Zorn's Scud-attack sax
abuse. |
