Alternative Rock Nostalgia Buzz

When I set out to work on my second book, Majorlabelland and Assorted Oddities , one of the strangest cases of major label interference I’ve come across was of Headstrong. An alternative metal band from Canada, the band hit the big time when they were invited to perform on the short-lived USA Network show “Farmclub.com” that ended up with them scoring a deal with RCA. The band were at loggerheads with the label over practically everything and less than five months after the release of their album, with a song on the radio and out on the road supporting Tommy Lee, the label pulled the rug out from under them and by 2003, the band was over, with a lot of bad memories left behind. I’ve talked to guitarist Joel Krass several times about the band but this was the first time we had a definitive, all-encompassing interview about the band’s history. Krass pulled no punches and the result is one of the most striking and hard-hitting interviews I’ve conducted. Enjoy and afterwards, go on YouTube...

What can be said about Alice Donut? Without a doubt, one of the unique and different bands to come out of the New York punk scene, Alice Donut made their mark by being themselves. When doing covers of popular songs like Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs,’ drummer Stephen Moses broke out his trombone and made the song almost his own. The band never catered to the mainstream but they stayed definitive in their sound. True to form, the band had a ball with this interview, refusing to take even the simplest question seriously.  Alice Donut  Discography: Donut Comes Alive (Alternative Tentacles, 1988) Bucketfulls of Sickness and Horror in an Otherwise Meaningless Life (Alternative Tentacles, 1989) Revenge Fantasies of the Impotent (Alternative Tentacles, 1990) Mule (Alternative Tentacles, 1990) The Untidy Suicides of Your Degenerate Children (Alternative Tentacles, 1992) Dry Humping the Cash Cow (Alternative Tentacles, 1994) Pure Acid Park (Alternative Tentacles, 1995) Three S...

D ink were an alternative/industrial band from Kent, Ohio. Industrial sounding bands were springing up in all sort of obscure locations like Missouri (Gravity Kills) and Arizona (Machines of Loving Grace) but Dink were different. They had two singers and had more of a punk vibe in their approach and their sound. Listen to songs like “Never Go to Sleep Again,” “3 Big Bags” and their modest hit single “Green Mind.” The band were notable for about a year before internal struggles and label problems pulled the band apart circa 1997 but singer/guitarist Jer Herring sat down for an interview about the band’s history including the D.I.Y. documentary that was made about the band several years ago. Do yourself a favor and go on YouTube and listen to some Dink, because none of their catalogue is available digitally. Discography: Dink (Capitol, 1994) Blame it On Tito EP  (Capitol, 1996) Notable Songs : Green Mind, Angels, 3 Big Bags Pete Crigler: How did you become interested in music? Je...

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...