Origin story (1991 to 1992)
The band was originally formed by Noah Mintz and Brendan Canning after the duo met as students at Brock University [3]
They were originally as an acoustic duo and played under the name The Happy. [4] They eventually evolved into a harder rock band, echoing the grunge sounds of the early 1990s. [5]
Mintz and Canning called their new band Head but soon added a second h after discovering that another band was already recording as Head, although both hHead and the Vancouver band Rymes with Orange regularly joked in promotional interviews that the extra h had been traded between the bands by either donation or theft. [6]
The band employed a series of drummers during their career. This includes Mark Bartkiw, who previously played in Fancypants Hoodlum (a project led by Merrill Nisker, who'd later go on to perform as electroclash superstar Peaches). [7]
Career highlights (1993 to 1997)
The band's first album, Fireman, was released independently in 1992. It became popular on Canadian campus radio [8] , receiving wider distribution in 1993. [9]
hHead became a popular live act in Toronto, playing at such clubs as the Drake Hotel, Lee's Palace and The Rivoli. At the latter, one performance saw a young Stone Temple Pilots open for hHead. This was STP's first Toronto appearance. [10]
hHead also toured Canada and the United States as both as a headliner in rock clubs and as an opening act for a wide range of artists. hHead opened shows for international acts like My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr., Letters to Cleo, Goo Goo Dolls, The Lemonheads and Stone Temple Pilots. [11] hHead also played Canadian tours with The Tragically Hip, The Watchmen, Sloan and Eric's Trip.
In 1993, the band won CFNY-FM's Discovery to Disc contest, which awarded them $100,000 toward the recording of a new album. [5] [12]
The band landed a contract with IRS Records in 1994, releasing their second album, Jerk, that year. [5] The album was supported by a large-scale national tour as an opening act for Moist, [13] and by an appearance on the Edgefest bill in 1995. [14] However, IRS Records was at this point in financial trouble, and declared bankruptcy in 1996.
The band then moved to the Canadian independent label Handsome Boy Records for their final album, Ozzy in 1996. [15]
hHead played their final show at Edenfest in 1996 [16] and the band broke up in 1997. [17]
