War Babies | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
Genres | Hard rock, glam metal |
Years active | 1988–1993 |
Labels | Columbia, UlfTone Music, Bad Reputation |
Members | Brad Sinsel (vocals) Guy Lacey (guitars) Tommy "Gunn" McMullin (guitars) Shawn Trotter (bass) Richard Stuverud (drums) |
War Babies was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1988, fronted by former TKO vocalist Brad Sinsel. Although associated with hard rock, the band's sound incorporated some elements of grunge music. They only released one album, in 1992, the self-titled War Babies.
After the break-up of TKO, vocalist Brad Sinsel and guitarist Rick Pierce (ex-TKO, Q5, Ze Whiz Kidz) teamed up for a project called Suicide Squad, aided by Seattle drummer, Richard Stuverud who had played with punk rock band, The Fastbacks, and was working with the power metal band Fifth Angel. Suicide Squad released the one-off album, Live it While You Can, (1988), an EP engineered by Jack Endino, on the Music For Nations label in Europe. [1]
After Suicide Squad, Sinsel spent time in Los Angeles but was eventually contacted by Stuverud to check out his new band, War Babies with guitarist, Tommy 'Gunn' McMullin. Stuverud and McMullin persuaded Sinsel to join War Babies and the band began to gig around the Seattle area, playing with popular local bands such as Mother Love Bone, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, and others. In 1990, at the time of Andrew Wood's death and the end of Mother Love Bone, Jeff Ament joined War Babies for a brief period before he left to join Stone Gossard's new band, Pearl Jam.
War Babies, featuring the line-up of Brad Sinsel (vocals), Tommy "Gunn" McMullin (guitars), Guy Lacey (guitars), Shawn Trotter (bass), and Richard Stuverud (drums) scored a contract with Columbia Records in 1991. They recorded their debut album, War Babies (1992) at A&M Studios in Hollywood, CA with noted producer, Thom Panunzio and engineer, Bill Kennedy. [2] Their first single and MTV video, "Hang Me Up", was co-written by McMullin and Paul Stanley of Kiss. Two other singles were released, "Blue Tomorrow" (a song dedicated to Andrew Wood, who was a friend of Sinsel and McMullin's), and the power ballad, "Cry Yourself to Sleep", co-written by Sinsel and Stanley. [3] The song "In The Wind" can be heard in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer but was not included on the official soundtrack.
By 1993, the War Babies' sound was deemed too glam metal, and the band broke up. They played their last show on June 6, 1992, as part of the "Rock the Environment" benefit with headliners Queensrÿche, Heart, The Walkabouts, Metal Church, Bananafish, and Rumors of the Big Wave, among others. [4]
War Babies was re-issued by German label UlfTone Music in 2003 and French company Bad Reputation [5] in 2007; both contain radio edits of "Hang Me Up" and "Cry Yourself to Sleep" and an alternate 'guitar version' of the latter as bonus tracks.
After War Babies, McMullin started the band The Dead Letters while Lacey and Trotter formed 8 Days In Jail and later joined Seattle punk rock band Sledgeback. McMullin has been fronting Gunn and the Damage Done for the past several years; they released their debut album, Bury My Heart, in 2010. [6]
Stuverud joined and recorded with several Seattle bands, the most notable being Three Fish, a side-project featuring Pearl Jam bassist, Jeff Ament and Robbi Robb of Tribe After Tribe. Three Fish released the albums Three Fish (1996) and The Quiet Table (1999), through Epic Records. Stuverud also contributed to Tribe After Tribe albums, Pearls Before Swine (1997) and M.O.A.B. (2007). Stuverud and Ament's other collaborations include Tres Mts., Three Mountains (2011), with Doug Pinnick of King's X and guest guitarist Mike McCready, [7] [8] and RNDM (pronounced "random") with singer/songwriter Joseph Arthur; RNDM issued their debut album, Acts , in 2012, [9] and followed up in 2016 with the album, Ghost Riding. [10]
Sinsel's recent projects include American Standard with Flipp guitarist Brynn Arens who issued the "Send Me An Angel" b/w "My Only Friend" single in 2009, Americana act The McClellans, and Angels Of Dresden. The latter released a digital single, "Doomday", via Suna Sounds [11] in May 2014, with a guest appearance by Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready.
Mother Love Bone was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1988. The band was active from 1988 to 1990. Frontman Andrew Wood's charisma and songwriting helped to catapult the group to the top of the burgeoning Seattle music scene at the time. Wood died shortly before the scheduled release of the band's debut album Apple, resulting in the breakup of the band. The album was released a few months later, though many recollections of demos, b-sides, and live performances were released and given to the general public as well.
Ten is the debut studio album by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released on August 27, 1991, through Epic Records. Following the dissolution of their previous band Mother Love Bone in 1990, bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard began rehearsing with new guitarist Mike McCready. The group recorded a five-song instrumental demo tape that included contributions from Matt Cameron on drums. Copies of the demo were eventually given to drummer Dave Krusen and vocalist Eddie Vedder, both of whom were invited to audition for the band in Seattle. Many of the songs on Ten were instrumental jams or reworked Mother Love Bone songs for which Vedder provided lyrics.
Temple of the Dog was an American rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. It was conceived by vocalist Chris Cornell of Soundgarden as a tribute to his friend, the late Andrew Wood, lead singer of the bands Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone. The lineup included Stone Gossard on rhythm guitar, Jeff Ament on bass guitar, Mike McCready on lead guitar, and Matt Cameron on drums. Eddie Vedder appeared as a guest to provide some lead and backing vocals and later became lead vocalist of Pearl Jam. Pearl Jam's debut album, Ten, was released four months after Temple of the Dog's only studio album.
Michael David McCready is an American musician known for being a founding member and lead guitarist of Pearl Jam. McCready was also a member of the side project bands Flight to Mars, Temple of the Dog, Mad Season, and The Rockfords. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a part of Pearl Jam in 2017 alongside the three other founding members, and former member Dave Krusen.
Jeffrey Allen Ament is an American musician best known as the bassist of rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Ament wrote or co-wrote many of Pearl Jam's hits, including "Jeremy", "Oceans", "Dissident", "Nothingman" and "Nothing as It Seems".
Stone Carpenter Gossard is an American musician and songwriter who serves as a guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band.
Andrew Patrick Wood was an American musician who was the lead singer and lyricist for the alternative rock bands Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone. He formed Malfunkshun in 1980 with his older brother Kevin Wood on guitar and Regan Hagar on drums. The band used alter ego personas onstage; Wood performed as Landrew the Love Child. Though the band only released two songs before going on an extended hiatus, "With Yo' Heart " and "Stars-n-You", on the Deep Six compilation album, they are often cited as being among the originators of the Seattle grunge movement. While in Malfunkshun, Wood started using drugs, entering rehab in 1985.
"Jeremy" is a song by American rock band Pearl Jam, with lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music composed by bassist Jeff Ament. "Jeremy" was released in August 1992 as the third single from Pearl Jam's debut album, Ten (1991). The song was inspired by a newspaper article Vedder read about Jeremy Wade Delle, a high school student who shot himself in front of his English class on January 8, 1991. It reached the number 5 spot on both the Album and Modern Rock Billboard charts. It did not originally chart on the regular Billboard Hot 100 singles chart since it was not released as a commercial single in the US at the time, but a re-release in July 1995 brought it up to number 79.
"Even Flow" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music written by guitarist Stone Gossard, it was released in 1992 as the second single from the band's debut album, Ten (1991). The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song was included in Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror . A remixed version of the song was included on the 2009 Ten reissue.
"Animal" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam, released in 1994 as the third single from the band's second studio album, Vs. (1993). Although credited to all members of Pearl Jam, it features lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music primarily written by guitarist Stone Gossard. The song peaked at number 21 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song was included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, rearviewmirror .
Three Fish was an American rock band formed in 1994 by Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament. The lineup featured Ament, Robbi Robb of Tribe After Tribe, and Richard Stuverud of the Fastbacks and War Babies.
"State of Love and Trust" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. Featuring lyrics written by vocalist Eddie Vedder and music co-written by guitarist Mike McCready and bassist Jeff Ament, "State of Love and Trust" first appeared on the soundtrack to the 1992 film, Singles. The song was included on Pearl Jam's 2004 greatest hits album, Rearviewmirror . An early version of the song was included as part of the reissue of the band's debut album, Ten, in 2009.
TKO is an American hard rock and heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, which was mainly active between 1977 and 1986. The group's lead vocalist and only consistent member is Brad Sinsel.
Three Fish is the debut studio album by the American rock band Three Fish. It was released on June 11, 1996, through Epic Records.
The Quiet Table is the second studio album by the American rock band Three Fish. It was released on June 1, 1999 through Epic Records.
War Babies is the only album by the band War Babies, who disbanded in 1993. The album was released by Columbia Records in 1991 and re-issued by German label UlfTone Music in 2003 and French company Bad Reputation in 2007.
Richard Allen Stuverud Jr. is an American drummer from Seattle, Washington. He lives in Oakland, California where he writes, arranges and produces songs. Stuverud played with Pearl Jam on several shows of the Gigaton Tour in May 2022, substituting for drummer Matt Cameron who had tested positive for COVID-19. Drumming duties during these shows were shared with Josh Klinghoffer.
Tone is the debut solo album of American rock bassist and Pearl Jam-member Jeff Ament, released September 16, 2008, on Monkeywrench Records. 3,000 copies of the album were pressed and distributed through independent record stores across the United States, as well as through Pearl Jam's official website. The album has also been made available as a digital download via Pearl Jam's official website for US$4.99.
RNDM is an American alternative rock band formed in 2012, consisting of Pearl Jam's bassist Jeff Ament, singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur and drummer Richard Stuverud. They released their first album, Acts, on 30 October 2012. Their second album Ghost Riding was released on March 4, 2016.
"Mind Your Manners" is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. It was released on July 11, 2013 as a digital download as the lead single from their tenth studio album Lightning Bolt. Writing for The Globe and Mail, Brad Wheeler said the song was "lean, swift and punishing". Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready said "It's my attempt to try to make a really hard edge-type Dead Kennedys-sounding song". Singer Eddie Vedder's lyrics criticize organized religion, which Vedder considers hypocritical for their intolerance and "so many of the things which have come out of those organizations– like the abuse of children and then its cover-up."