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Hazel | |
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Origin | Portland, Oregon, United States |
Genres | Grunge, alternative rock, power pop |
Years active | 1992–1997 |
Labels | Sub Pop, Cavity Search Records, Candy-Ass/Caroline |
Past members | Jody Bleyle Pete Krebs Brady Smith Fred Nemo |
Hazel was an American alternative rock band based in Portland, Oregon. The band was a quartet, consisting of Jody Bleyle (drums and vocals), Pete Krebs (guitar and vocals), Brady Smith (bass), and Fred Nemo (dancer). It lasted from 1992 to 1997. [1]
The group was formed on February 14, 1992. Although based in the Pacific Northwest and active during the grunge movement in rock music, Hazel's music was different from most grunge in that it featured both male and female vocals as well as a more melodic sound that could be described as noise pop.[ citation needed ] Hazel's music was not particularly intricate musically, relying on a few chords, sheer energy (many songs being played at breakneck speed), and vocal intensity.[ citation needed ] Rather than singing together in harmony, Krebs and Bleyle often sang completely different parts that answered or intertwined with one another. The majority of lyrics dealt with problems regarding relationships, including the regret and resentment following a breakup ("Everybody's Best Friend") or the anxiety felt while attempting to begin a relationship ("Day-Glo").
The group was also notable for featuring the dancer Fred Nemo as a full member. Often dressed in fanciful costumes, Nemo, a tall, bearded man, cavorted crazily about the stage, climbing atop speaker cabinets and swinging heavy objects through the air.
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Cavity Search Records was founded as a small, independent record label in Portland, Oregon in 1992. Later in 1992, Hazel's "J. Hell" b/w "Day-Glo"/"Joe Louis Punchout" was the first single the label released. [2]
The group released two full-length albums, Toreador of Love and Are You Going to Eat That on the Sub Pop label. A five-song EP on Candy-Ass/Caroline, Airiana , was their last release in 1997. Intermittently plagued by personality conflicts,[ citation needed ] Hazel formally broke up on February 13, 1997[ citation needed ], following their last show in their hometown of Portland, Oregon, though they generally have played a couple of shows a year since then.
As of 2005, Nemo performs with Tara Jane O'Neil and works as a bicycle activist in Portland. Krebs, also living in Portland, teaches guitar and performs with a wide assortment of ensembles. Bleyle, now based in Los Angeles, continues to perform around the United States, including reunion shows with punk band Team Dresch; Family Outing, a duo with her brother Allen; touring with Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls; and singing jazz standards in L.A. dives. Smith was the founding principal of Validus Preparatory Academy, a public high school in The Bronx, New York. He is currently the principal of Beacon High School in New York City.
The U.S. state of Washington has been home to many popular musicians and several major hotbeds of musical innovation throughout its history. The largest city in the state, Seattle, is known for being the birthplace of grunge as well as a major contributor to the evolution of punk rock, indie music, folk, and hip hop. Nearby Tacoma and Olympia have also been centers of influence on popular music.
Wipers was a punk rock band formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1977 by guitarist and vocalist Greg Sage, along with drummer Sam Henry and bassist Dave Koupal. The group's tight song structure and use of heavy distortion were hailed as extremely influential by numerous critics and musicians. They are also considered to be the first Pacific Northwest punk band.
7 Year Bitch was an American punk rock band from Seattle, Washington. The band was active between 1990 and 1997 and released three albums over that time. The band formed at the same time as the emergence of the riot grrrl sub-genre, which is a subgenre of punk music from the early to mid-1990s that emphasized the role of women in rock music. The Riot Grrrl movement began as a feminist response to the violence and misogyny that became more prominent in punk music in the mid-to-late 1980s, and 7 Year Bitch, an all-female punk band, emerged as part of that sub-genre.
Team Dresch is an American punk rock band originally formed in 1993 in Olympia, Washington.
Candy Ass Records was an independent record label in Portland, Oregon that was run by Jody Bleyle, a member of the bands Team Dresch and Hazel and of the queercore bands Family Outing and Infinite Xs.
"Candy"/"Molly's Lips" is a vinyl-only split-single from the American rock bands the Fluid and Nirvana. It was released in January 1991 on Sub Pop records and includes two live tracks: "Candy" by the Fluid; and "Molly's Lips", a cover of a song by the Vaselines, performed by Nirvana.
New Bad Things were a Portland, Oregon, indie rock band active during the 1990s. They recorded for Candy Ass Records, Rainforest Records, Lissy's Records, Pop Secret, Punk in my Vitamins Records, Kill Rock Stars, and Freewheel Records.
Donna Dresch is an American punk rock musician, perhaps best known as founder, guitarist and bass guitarist of Team Dresch.
The Fluid was an American rock band from Denver which formed in 1985, disbanded in 1993, but reconvened in 2008. The group cited the Rolling Stones and MC5 as inspirations for their sound, and was the first group based outside the Pacific Northwest to sign with influential Seattle label Sub Pop.
Pond was a band from Portland, Oregon. They formed in 1991 and broke up in 1998. They were signed to Sub Pop and the Work Group records sub-label of Sony Records.
Cavity Search Records is a record label in Portland, Oregon that was formed in 1992 by Christopher Cooper and Denny Swofford. Pete Krebs debuted solo on CSR in 1995.
Pete Krebs is an American musician from Portland, Oregon, best known as a member of the punk-pop band Hazel, and for No Confidence Man, a split single with Elliott Smith.
Rachel Carns is an American musician, composer, artist and performer living in Olympia, Washington, U.S. Raised in small-town Wisconsin, she went on to study painting and drawing at Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City, where she completed her B.F.A. in 1991. Carns began her career as drummer for Kicking Giant, later collaborating with several bands, including The Need. She is a celebrated graphic designer, working under the name System Lux, and plays drums and percussion with experimental performance art group Cloud Eye Control.
Jack Endino is an influential audio engineer and musician particularly associated with Seattle label Sub Pop and the grunge movement.
"Dive" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic. It was released as the B-side to the band's second single, "Sliver" in September 1990. The same version was re-released as the opening track on the compilation album The Grunge Years in 1991, and again on the Nirvana rarities compilation, Incesticide, in December 1992.
Best Kissers in the World is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1989 in Phoenix, AZ.
Valerie Agnew is an American musician best known as the drummer of 7 Year Bitch.
Elizabeth Davis-Simpson is an American musician and songwriter best known as the bassist of the punk rock band 7 Year Bitch. She later worked on projects such as These Streets with Valerie Agnew, and has participated in a band named Clone.
Golden Delicious were a Portland, Oregon-based band active in the mid- and late-1990s. Their members included, at various times, Pete Krebs (guitar), Kevin Richey (banjo), Paul Bassett (washboard), Marilee Hord (fiddle), Jesse Spero (drums), and David Reisch (bass). Their music has been described as country, bluegrass, and having "a punk rock energy and a slightly irreverent attitude." David Goodman wrote in Modern Twang that the band "combines the spirited new old-time style of groups like the Highwoods String Band or the Freight Hoppers with the madcap attitude of the Holy Modal Rounders." Hord told No Depression that the band did not like when they were labeled as a specific genre like "alt-country", saying, "When you categorize music, you degrade it." The band released their debut album, Old School, on Cavity Search Records in 1997.
Choices, Chances, Changes: Singles & Comptracks 1994–2000 is a 2019 compilation album from American riot grrrl band Team Dresch.