Unrest was an indie rock band from the Washington, D.C., area. It was one of Mark Robinson's projects for what would eventually become the TeenBeat label, also created by Robinson while in high school. Developing from an experimental approach of never playing the same song twice, earlier material seemed to be influenced by everything from punk to funk to Ennio Morricone. Original members Robinson (guitar) and drummer Philip Krauth were joined by Bridget Cross on bass in 1990 and their sound evolved into a minimalist but lively kind of pop. The two full-length albums released with this line up, 1992's Imperial f.f.r.r. and 1993's Perfect Teeth featured pop songs interspersed with avant-garde percussive and sonic tracks, sometimes featuring nothing but white noise, beeps or sirens. EPs released around the same time period reveal a more pronounced gap between pop and experimental elements. The group broke up in 1994 with Krauth pursuing a solo career and Robinson and Cross continued for a time as Air Miami, which released two singles and one album, me me me. Since Air Miami's demise in the mid '90s, Robinson has continued to release various solo projects, as well as albums with his bands Cotton Candy and Flin Flon, and continues to run the TeenBeat label as well.
Jawbreaker is an American punk rock band that was active from 1986 to 1996, and again since 2017. The band is considered to be extremely influential to the 1990s emo and punk genre with their "poetic take on hardcore." Their influence on the punk scene has led some critics to label Jawbreaker as the best punk rock band of the 1990s.
Imperial Teen is a San Francisco–based indie pop group made up of Roddy Bottum, primarily on guitar/vocals; Will Schwartz, primarily on guitar/vocals; Lynn Truell, primarily on drums and backing vocals; and Jone Stebbins, primarily on bass and backing vocals. Imperial Teen became known for its boy–girl harmonies and for all four members switching off and on instruments during shows.
"Man or Astro-man?" is an American surf rock group that was formed in Auburn, Alabama in the early 1990s and came to prominence over the following decade.
Velocity Girl was an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in College Park, Maryland, and active in the Washington, D.C., area. The band released three albums before splitting up in 1996. The band reunited for one-off concerts in 2002 and 2023.
Teen Beat is an American independent record label, originally based in Arlington, Virginia, now based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was founded by Mark Robinson in 1984 at Wakefield High School, along with Phil Krauth, Andrew Beaujon, Tim Moran, and Ian Zack.
Seaweed was an American band from Tacoma, Washington, who were active throughout the 1990s. Their style of music was a combination of different rock subgenres, including post-hardcore and punk rock. They were signed to various notable record labels, such as Sub Pop Records, Merge Records, and Hollywood Records. The band released six albums between 1989 and 1999, followed by a hiatus that lasted until 2007. They then disbanded a second time in 2014.
The Rondelles were an American indie pop band, originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Their first album Fiction Romance Fast Machines, was released in 1998 by Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley's Smells Like Records.
Parasites are an American pop-punk band. They were formed in the late 1980s by guitarist / singer Dave Parasite and bassist Ron Nole in New Jersey. Dave later relocated to Berkeley, California, and continued with a new lineup during the heyday of Lookout! Records and the Bay Area pop-punk revival.
Engine 88 was a rock band that spawned out of the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1990s.
+/-, or Plus/Minus, is an American indietronic band formed in 2001. The band makes use of both electronic and traditional instruments, and has sought to use electronics to recreate traditional indie rock song forms and instrumental structures. The group has released two albums on each of the American indie labels Teenbeat Records and Absolutely Kosher, and their track "All I do" was prominently featured in the soundtrack for the major film Wicker Park. The group has developed a devoted following in Japan and Taiwan, and has toured there frequently. Although many artists append bonus tracks onto the end of Japanese album releases to discourage purchasers from buying cheaper US import versions, the overseas versions of +/- albums are usually quite different from the US versions - track lists can be rearranged, artwork with noticeable changes is used, and tracks from the US version can be replaced as well as augmented by bonus tracks.
Dump is a vehicle for releasing the four-track home recordings of Yo La Tengo bassist James McNew. His recordings occasionally feature guest performers such as Sue Garner and Fontaine Toups. For live performances McNew has been joined at various times by Ira Kaplan, Georgia Hubley, Todd Barry on drums, and David Ramirez on guitar.
Whysall Lane was an American indie rock band based in San Francisco whose music combines elements of 1990s indie rock and classic rock with lyrics inspired by romantic obsession. The band's members were Richard Baluyut, Mikel Delgado and Adam Pfahler.
Lynn Perko-Truell is an American musician, best known as the drummer, bass guitarist, and co-singer for the San Francisco indie rock band Imperial Teen. She is also known as the drummer for the San Francisco-based blues grunge band Sister Double Happiness, and the San Francisco version of the hardcore punk band The Dicks. Perko-Truell was an iconic figure and a pioneering female in the American hardcore punk and alternative rock movements of the 1980s and 1990s and remains active.
Whysall Lane is the eponymous debut album by Whysall Lane. The album was recorded by Jerry diRienzo at Hot Pie studios in California between 2002 and 2005.
The Pacific Ocean was an American indie rock band formed in 1996 and based in New York City.
Tsunami is an American indie rock band from Arlington, Virginia, formed by housemates Jenny Toomey and Kristin Thomson in late 1990 to play at New Year's party. They enlisted former housemate John Pamer to play drums and Andrew Webster from Bricks and Jenny's previous band Geek to complete the line up.
The Little Deaths was an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1997. The band was associated with the 1990s Queercore movement and became part of the San Francisco Bay-Area's late-1990s musical renaissance which spawned bands like Subtonix, The Phantom Limbs, Erase Errata, The Vanishing, and the 7 Year Bitch offshoot, Clone. The Little Deaths toured and played shows with bands such as The Need, Le Tigre, The Haggard and Imperial Teen extensively until 2000. They released one critically acclaimed album entitled Destination: Sexy on New York-based Queercore label Heartcore Records in 1999. The Little Deaths went through several line-up changes before disbanding in 2002.
Flower is a New York City indie rock band formed by guitarist Richard Baluyut, singer and bassist Ian James, drummer Rob Hale, and keyboardist Yosh Najita. Flower was originally active from 1986 to 1990. As of 2018, Flower had reunited for at least one show with Caithlin De Marrais of Rainer Maria and Pohgoh.
Secret Swingers is an album by the American indie rock band Versus, released in 1996.
