The Pixies are an American alternative rock band formed in 1986, in Boston, Massachusetts. Until 2013, the band consisted of Black Francis, Joey Santiago, Kim Deal and David Lovering (drums). They disbanded acrimoniously in 1993 but reunited in 2004. After Deal left in 2013, the Pixies hired Kim Shattuck as a touring bassist. She was replaced that year by Paz Lenchantin. She became a full member in 2016, and recorded three studio albums with the band before departing in 2024.
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1970 by Freddie Mercury, Brian May, and Roger Taylor, later joined by John Deacon (bass). Their earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock, and heavy metal, but the band gradually ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly works by incorporating further styles, such as arena rock and pop rock.
Portishead are an English band formed in 1991 in Bristol. The band comprises Beth Gibbons (vocals), Geoff Barrow, and Adrian Utley (guitar). Dave McDonald, an audio engineer who helped produce the band's first two albums, is sometimes regarded as the fourth member.
Power pop is a subgenre of rock music and a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and cheerful sounding music underpinned by a sense of yearning, longing, despair, or self-empowerment. The sound is primarily rooted in pop and rock traditions of the early-to-mid 1960s, although some artists have occasionally drawn from later styles such as punk, new wave, glam rock, pub rock, college rock, and neo-psychedelia.
Lostprophets were a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997 by singer Ian Watkins and guitarist Lee Gaze. The group was founded after their former band Fleshbind broke up. They later recruited Mike Lewis on guitars, Stuart Richardson on bass and Mike Chiplin on drums.
A Day at the Races is the fifth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 10 December 1976 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and by Elektra Records in the United States. Recorded at The Manor, Sarm East, and Wessex Sound Studios in England, it was the band's first completely self-produced album, and the first completed without the involvement of producer Roy Thomas Baker; engineering duties were handled by Mike Stone. It serves as a companion to Queen's previous album, A Night at the Opera, with both taking their names from Marx Brothers films and having similar packaging and eclectic musical themes.
"Teen Age Riot" is a song by American rock band Sonic Youth, and the first single from their 1988 album, Daydream Nation. It received heavy airplay on modern rock stations and considerably expanded their audience.
Ted Ansani is an American musician who is most known as the bassist/vocalist of 1990s power pop group Material Issue.
Glenbard North High School, or GBN, and locally referred to as "Glenbard" or "North", is a public closed campus four-year high school located at the corner of Kuhn Road and Lies Road in Carol Stream, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Glenbard Township High School District 87, which also includes Glenbard South High School, Glenbard East High School, and Glenbard West High School. The North campus is the largest among the four high schools in Glenbard Township District 87, serving approximately 2,200 students from Carol Stream, Glendale Heights, Hanover Park, and Bloomingdale.
The Prayer Chain was a 1990s Christian alternative rock band. The band has been called "the epitome of the Christian underground". The Prayer Chain was known for producing moody, angst-ridden music which was, in turn, the result of creative differences within the band and with their record label.
James Walter Ellison was the frontman for the band Material Issue. He tirelessly promoted his band, booked tours, and secured a major-label deal in 1990. Ellison — along with bassist Ted Ansani and drummer Mike Zelenko — would lead the renaissance of power pop in the early 1990s. He committed suicide on June 20, 1996, by carbon monoxide poisoning.
The International Pop Overthrow is an American-originated music festival, devoted to power pop music and related genres. The festival is dedicated to bring classic pop music to the public, and is run by CEO and founder David Bash and Rina Bardfield. Although the festival has over the years featured several major label acts, such as Phantom Planet, Maroon 5, and The Click Five, Bash tries to maintain the grassroots feel of the festival by featuring primarily unsigned bands, and presenting them in a festival platform with similar minded artists.
Victoria Davitt, better known by stage name Victoria Vox, is a singer, songwriter and musician specialising in the ukulele. A native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Vox now resides in Costa Mesa, California when not on tour.
International Pop Overthrow is the debut studio album by Material Issue, released on Mercury Records on February 5, 1991. The album was recorded in multiple recording sessions between 1988 and 1991, with the total recording costs reaching only $5,000. Mercury Records only expected the record to sell about 70,000 copies. However, it initially sold about 180,000 copies, with final sales exceeding 300,000. It reached number 86 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The album was produced by Jeff Murphy, guitarist/vocalist for the band Shoes, at the Shoes' Short Order Recorder studio, in Zion, Illinois.
V Sparks is an American glam rock band based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Formed in 2005, by guitarist Prescott Kagan and vocalist/keyboardist Alan Lewis, V Sparks recorded their self-titled debut album in 2007, along with Mike Durband on bass and Ashok Warrier on drums, as well as a host of other studio musicians. In 2008, Durband and Warrier were replaced by new, full-time members, bassist Keith Hosmer and drummer Adam Long. With the addition of Hosmer and Long, the band began performing on a regular basis and writing new material. Biscuits and Tea, a three-song EP, was released in early 2010.
Freak City Soundtrack is the third studio album by Material Issue, released on Mercury Records in 1994. It was the last studio album the band would record before frontman Jim Ellison committed suicide in 1996.
Destination Universe is the second studio album by the American band Material Issue, released on Mercury Records in 1992. "What Girls Want" made the top ten on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. The band promoted the album with a "Pop Against Recession Tour".
"Valerie Loves Me" is a song by American power pop trio Material Issue, released in 1991 as a single from their debut album International Pop Overthrow. The song, written by the band's singer-guitarist Jim Ellison, peaked at number three on the U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Sound ... Goodbye to Your Standards is an album by the English band the Mighty Lemon Drops, released in 1991.
Telecommando Americano is an album by the American band Material Issue, released in 1997, one year after frontman Jim Ellison's suicide. It was the band's fourth album. The band's debut six-song EP, released on vinyl in 1987, was included with the album.
