The Presidents of the United States of America were an American alternative rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1993. The three-piece group's initial line-up consisted of vocalist and bassist Chris Ballew, drummer Jason Finn, and guitarist Dave Dederer. The band became popular in the mid '90s for their hits "Lump" and "Peaches", released in 1995 and 1996 respectively, which helped their self-titled debut album go 3× platinum.
The Obsessed is an American heavy metal band from Potomac, Maryland, led by Scott "Wino" Weinrich. The band combines elements of doom metal, stoner rock, and punk rock. Formed in 1980, they recorded a few demos and played a handful of live shows until they first split up in 1986 when Weinrich joined as lead vocalist for Saint Vitus, but reformed four years later. After releasing three albums, the Obsessed broke up for a second time in 1995. After briefly reuniting for some shows in 2012 and 2013, the Obsessed announced their third reunion in March 2016.
Operation Ivy was an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California, formed in May 1987. The band was stylistically important as one of the first bands to mix the elements of hardcore punk and ska into a new amalgam called ska punk and was critical to the emergence of Lookout Records and the so-called "East Bay Sound."
Pleasant Dreams is the sixth studio album by American punk rock band the Ramones, released on July 20, 1981, through Sire Records. While the band members wanted Steve Lillywhite to produce, Sire chose Graham Gouldman in an attempt to gain popularity through a well-known producer. The recording process brought about many conflicts between band members, most notably the strife between Joey Ramone and Johnny Ramone, due to Johnny starting a relationship with Joey's girlfriend. There were also disputes about the overall direction of the album, with Johnny leaning towards hard rock and Joey towards pop music. Ultimately, the album incorporated high production values and varying musical styles, straying from traditional punk rock on songs such as "We Want the Airwaves", "She's a Sensation" and "Come On Now". It is the first Ramones album not to feature any cover songs.
Gogol Bordello is an American punk rock band from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, formed in 1999 by musicians from all over the world and known for theatrical stage shows and persistent touring. Much of the band's sound is inspired by Romani music mixed with punk and dub, incorporating accordion and violin.
Catch 22 is an American ska punk band from East Brunswick Township, New Jersey. The band was formed in 1996 by guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Tomas Kalnoky, who left the band in 1998 and later formed Streetlight Manifesto. Founding members still in the band are vocalist/saxophonist Ryan Eldred, trumpeter Kevin Gunther and drummer Chris Greer. While largely inactive since 2012, the band announced a spate of shows in 2015.
Foghat is an English rock band formed in London in 1971. The band is known for the use of electric slide guitar in its music. The band has achieved eight gold records, one platinum and one double platinum record, and despite several line-up changes, continue to record and perform.
The Babys are a British rock group best known for their songs "Isn't It Time" and "Every Time I Think of You". Both songs were composed by Jack Conrad and Ray Kennedy, and each reached No. 13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 8 on the Cashbox chart in the late 1970s. The original Babys line-up consisted of founding member keyboardist/guitarist Michael Corby, and, in order of joining the group, vocalist/bassist John Waite, drummer Tony Brock, and guitarist Wally Stocker.
The Planet Smashers are a Canadian ska punk band from Montreal. Since their formation in 1993, they have been a staple of the Montreal music scene. During the third wave of ska, they performed nationally and later internationally, with tours in the United States, Europe, and Japan. Founding member Matt Collyer helped establish Stomp Records in 1994, which featured many ska and ska punk bands, including Montreal's The Kingpins, The Flatliners, The Know How, and Bedouin Soundclash. Their music has been used in the Japanese flash series Catman, Canadian show Radio Free Roscoe, and MTV's Undergrads. Lyrics by The Planet Smashers often deal with topics such as love, partying and good times, and sometimes use tongue-in-cheek innuendo.
Juliette and the Licks is an American rock band led by actress and singer Juliette Lewis. Other band members have included guitarist Craig Fairbaugh and guitarist Emilio Cueto, bassist Jason Womack and drummer Ed Davis. Their popular songs include "You're Speaking My Language" and "Hot Kiss". The band broke up in 2009. They reunited for a Los Angeles show in 2015, followed by extensive touring in 2016. In June of 2016, Juliette Lewis announced a solo tour leaving the future of The Licks undetermined. In May 2018 members of the band tweeted that they were in the studio working on new music as Juliette And The Licks.
Undercover is an American Christian punk band based in Fullerton, California, formed in the early 1980s by Joey "Ojo" Taylor and James "Gym" Nicholson. Through more than two decades and a few lineup changes, the band released eight studio albums and two live albums, and were pioneers in what would later be called Alternative music in the Christian world. The band was known for the spiritual growth shown in their music as their career progressed; CCM Magazine once called them "the band that grew up in public."
Scaterd Few was a Christian punk band originating from Burbank, California. CCM magazine described their music as "pure punk for dread people," stating that it was a cross between Janes Addiction and Charlie Mingus.
Joey "Ojo" Taylor is an American bassist, vocalist and keyboardist. He is best known for his work with the Christian rock band Undercover. He produced and was a studio musician for Nobody Special, the stage name for his brother, Pat "Nobody" Taylor.
Shotgun Messiah was a Swedish glam metal band originally from Skövde formed by guitarist Harry Cody, bassist Tim Skold, and drummer Stixx Galore. Cody and Skold were the mainstays of the band, and along with various personnel released three albums—Shotgun Messiah, Second Coming and Violent New Breed.
Mosaics is an album by Mark Heard, released in 1985 on Home Sweet Home Records. According to the liner notes in Ashes and Light, this album was recorded first but delayed by the record company who wanted the less rock-oriented Ashes released first. Consequently, this was the first album recorded in Heard's own Fingerprint Recording Studio.
Monolith is the second studio album by the British crust punk band Amebix, released in 1987 by Heavy Metal Records. Short after its release, Amebix disbanded, and Monolith would be their final studio album until they reunited in 2008 and released Sonic Mass in 2011.
Hey Monday is an American rock band from West Palm Beach, Florida, formed in 2008. The band is on a hiatus as of December 2011. They released their debut album Hold On Tight in 2008, which produced the singles "Homecoming" and "How You Love Me Now". The album was followed up with their 2010 EP Beneath It All, which achieved moderate commercial success, and Candles EP in 2011. Their final release, The Christmas EP, was released on December 6, 2011. The band is on hiatus and claims to not be "broken up". Cassadee Pope has since released three studio albums as a solo artist and became the first female winner of The Voice.
The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving only limited commercial success initially, the band was highly influential in the United States, Argentina, Brazil and most of South America, as well as Europe, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Belgium.
Can of Pork is a compilation album of various punk rock artists. It was released as two 12-inch vinyl records or one CD in April 1992 by Lookout Records. The vinyl version has a booklet of lyrics and photography and the CD version has information on contacting the bands and a detailed description of the compilation's production.
Everything Ever Written is the eighth studio album by Scottish indie rock band Idlewild, released on 16 February 2015 on Empty Words Records. Produced by guitarist Rod Jones, the album was recorded after a lengthy hiatus, during which the future of the band was uncertain. The album is the first to feature keyboardist Luciano Rossi and guitarist and bassist Andrew Mitchell.
