Alternative Rock Nostalgia Buzz

Discography: Libido Speedway (A&M, 1997) Tonedeaf (Lunch Records, 2000) XLr8r (Lunch Records, 2001) The Lost Album  (A&M, 2011) Vapor Trails  (Lunch Records, 2020) Orbit were a three piece out of Boston that burst onto the modern rock scene in 1997 with their instantly infectious song “Medicine.” The relative success of the song and its album, Libido Speedway allowed the band the chance to tour Lollapalooza ’97, among other opportunities. A second album was shelved when A&M Records was sold and chopped up but the band kept recording, with the help of their own Lunch Records. Subsequent to the band’s hiatus around the early 2000’s, Robbins began a new career as a web developer, something he still does successfully today. Orbit have just released a new-ish album, Vapor Trails , brought together with unearthed tracks from the sessions for their third album. Definitely a band worth checking out. Pete Crigler: How did you get interested in playing music? Jeff Robbi...

Discography: Bird Medicine (A&M, 1995) Back in 2013, I published my second book, essentially a long essay entitled Majorlabelland and Assorted Oddities . It was about alternative rock bands who got the shaft from major labels and saw their music and ultimately their careers ended prematurely by the boardroom of a record label. One of the most interesting bands I came across was Pretty Mary Sunshine, out of Seattle. Led by Mazzy Star guitarist Kurt Elzner and vocalist Patrice Tullai, the band were an eclectic combination of shoegaze and indie rock while coming from the grunge capital of the world. Some people might be familiar with them if they love the 1994 indie satire S.F.W. starring Stephen Dorff and a baby Reese Witherspoon. They had one track “Can I Stay?” on the soundtrack alongside Paw, Marilyn Manson, Hole and others. The band’s career was stalled by the powers that be at A&M as you will see as Kurt delighted in telling the band’s story. Pete Crigler: How did you beco...