1. KUNST are two girls and two boys from Lausanne. 2. Kunst (Au) were formed in August of 2008 by guitarists Peter Mengede (Helmet/Handsome) and Dale Watkinson (Manzuma/PornFunk Revivalist Allstars) who are joined by Damian Burge (Bolus) on bass, Ross McLennan (Lovejoy/The GoBetweens) on drums and Jimmy Sky (Flowers for Lily/A name Will Come) on vocals. Kunst combine their influences – which they cite as themselves...
Leonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz (born May 26, 1964. New York, USA) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, guitarist and actor whose retro amalgam of rock, pop, funk, and even techno is inspired by such music icons as David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon. Like Prince and Sly Stone before him, Kravitz uses a multi-ethnic, mixed-gender backing band.
Kravitz plays guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, percussion, and sitar. He often plays these instruments on each recorded track, but frequently collaborates with other musicians as well when recording.
His 1989 debut album Let Love Rule was a moderate success. In 1991 he released his second album, Mama Said, which reached the top 40 of the Billboard album charts. In 1993, the album Are You Gonna Go My Way was released, reaching #12 on the Billboard 200 and Kravitz earned a Brit Award for best international male artist in 1994. He released the Circus album in 1995, which reached number 10 on the Billboard chart on the back of his past achievement. With 5 (1999), Kravitz embraced digital technology such as Pro Tools and samplers for the first time. He would win the first of his four consecutive Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards of 1999.
His cover version of The Guess Who's hit "American Woman" won him another Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards of 2000. Kravitz released a Greatest Hits compilation in 2000. It proved to be his most successful album. The single "Again" would earn him his third consecutive Grammy for the Best Male Rock Vocal in the Grammy Awards of 2001. Kravitz released his sixth album Lenny in October 2001. He won his fourth consecutive Grammy for Best Male Rock Vocal at the Grammy Awards of 2002. Kravitz's seventh album Baptism was released in May 2004. His album, It Is Time For A Love Revolution was released in 2008. He has always edited his albums on Virgin Records America. The lead single from Kravitz’s ninth album, Black and White America, "Stand" was released on June 3, 2011. (Stand Songfacts).
He is the son of Ukrainian-Jewish American NBC television news producer Sy Kravitz, and Bahamian American actress Roxie Roker, best known as her character Helen Willis on the hit 1970s television sitcom The Jeffersons. Black and White America's title track is an autobiographical look back at his upbringing in New York. (Black and White America Songfacts).
Artist website: www.lennykravitz.com
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Swervedriver are a 1990s British guitar band initially associated with "shoegazing", however their heavier rock & roll style also related them to the grunge genre coming from the U.S. Pacific Northwest. Some music writers considered them to be Britain's answer to this sound. Regardless of labels, the band's mix of storming and swirling guitar experimentation often crossed into psychedelia, coupled with mystical lyrics that often praised the nihilism of sports cars, racing and the open road.
History
Early years
Their origins sprung from Oxford, United Kingdom in 1984 with the formation of a group called Shake Appeal, named after a song from one of their main influences, The Stooges. Consisting of vocalist/guitarists Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge, lead vocalist Graham Franklin (Adam's brother), bassist Adi Vines, and drummer Paddy Pulzer; Shake Appeal went ahead reproducing the sounds of American garage rock of the late 60's and early 70's. The group wrote what would become Swervedriver's first classic "Son of Mustang Ford," however after a few years the band began to fall apart when both Graham and Paddy left.
The remaining three members drafted drummer Graham Bonnar, but by this time the group's sound mutated significantly under the influence of re-invented guitar music by American bands like Dinosaur Jr., and Sonic Youth. So with a new lineup and new sound came a new name, Swervedriver. Their hometown colleagues from fellow shoegazing group Ride passed their re-recorded demo of "Son of Mustang Ford" to Alan McGee of Creation Records; who, as legend has it, played the tape for the first time while cruising the inner streets of Los Angeles in a limo. The experience caused him sign the band immediately.
First album and possible breakup
Merging the whirling qualities of the shoegazer genre with heavy distorted guitars, and lyrics often featuring cars and escapism, the group debuted with a series of EPs; "Son of Mustang Ford," "Rave Down" and "Sandblasted," before issuing their full-length album debut "Raise" in 1991. Then after a U.S. tour in support of Soundgarden, Bonner left the band; the departure of Vines followed shortly afterwards. Bonner and Vines would eventually go on to form a new group called Skyscraper. Swervedriver's final release with the original lineup, 1992's "Never Lose That Feeling" EP, appeared to be the group's last.
Release of Mezcal Head
But in 1993, Swervedriver re-emerged with the core of Franklin and Hartridge along with newly recruited drummer Jez, and released their landmark album "Mezcal Head." If "Raise" was a product featuring a love of Americana, escapism and the open highway, then "Mezcal Head" was all that, but broadcast in IMAX with Dolby surround sound. Production and sound were greatly improved, and the album gave them their most successful single "Duel," hailed as one of the premier songs of the shoegazer genre. The album clearly forged a permanent link with their American fans, and made them more popular there than in their own native Britain. During this era, the fabled b-side "The Hitcher" found a release on the "Last Train to Satansville" EP. "The Hitcher" is widely considered to be a fan favorite.
Ejector Seat Reservation & Britpop
1994 found the band adding new bassist Steve George, along with extensive touring of the U.S. (supporting The Smashing Pumpkins), Japan and Europe. However by then the shoegazing genre in Britain was dead, replaced by the more mainstream Britpop movement hi-lighted by bands such as Oasis and Blur. The massive rise of Britpop caused Creation Records to drop the band just one week after the U.K. release of 1995 album "Ejector Seat Reservation." It was never released in the U.S. where they could have capitalized on the momentum of "Mezcal Head." ESR was another leap forward for the band, incorporating a wider number of influences from Elvis Costello to Bob Dylan. It saw the group grow into rebel visionaries and received the highest critical acclaim; however without any record company support it was doomed to be their poorest selling venture. This began a period of protracted record label problems for the band which fans dubbed the Swervedriver label curse.
Final years
In 1996, Swervedriver signed on with Geffen Records with a multi-record deal, and promptly began recording their fourth album. However their contract was terminated when their A&R (Artists & Repertoire) representative was fired in a corporate downsizing. Once the legal dust settled the band was awarded their own recording studio along with the finished album, however it was still a major setback. Their fourth and final album "99th Dream" was finally released in 1998 after signing on with Zero Hour Records of the U.S., and it continued the evolution that began with "Ejector Seat Reservation." Drawing less from their earlier ‘grunge' sound, the band never the less maintained their swerving, pyschedelic guitar rifts coupled with Franklin's magical lyrics and droning vocals, and was another brilliant body of work. The group continued to draw on a broader range of musical influences; for example the title track "99th Dream" was written as a prequel to Bob Dylan's song "115th Dream." Despite this album easily containing a half dozen possible hit singles, and a successful tour of the U.S., Britain and Australia; they did not break out beyond their traditional cult following. The "Wrong Treats" EP released in 1999 would become the bands last body of work as an extant group; they announced a hiatus later that year that persists to this day. Adam Franklin continues to release albums under his new band Toshack Highway.
In 2005, Castle Music released a Swervedriver anthology album titled "Juggernaut Rides" which brought together 33 songs; including many only available on rare EPs, and four that were previously unreleased..
In Late 2007 the Creation Records web site confirmed Swervedriver was reuniting for a 2008 tour.
Origins of name
How Swervedriver settled on their name has been the subject of debate among their fans for many years. During interviews whenever questioned on this topic, the band would simply respond that it was just a name; as The Beatles were just a name (in reference to that band's simple response in many early interviews). However Adam Franklin had once mentioned the band liked the connotation of a speeding driver, swerving and ultimately losing control of their car.
Discography
Full length albums
* Raise (1991)
* Mezcal Head (1993)
* Ejector Seat Reservation (1995)
* 99th Dream (1998)
* Juggernaut Rides 1989-1998 (2005) - 2 CD set
Singles/EPs
* Son of Mustang Ford (1991)
* Rave Down (1991)
* Sandblasted (1991)
* Reel To Real (1991)
* Never Lose That Feeling (1993)
* Duel (1993)
* Last Train To Satansville (1993)
* My Zephyr (1994)
* Magic Bus (1994) - from Day Tripper movie soundtrack
* Last Day on Earth (1995)
* Swervedriver / Sophia Split (1996)
* 93 Million Miles From the Sun ... and Counting (1997)
* Space Travel Rock 'n' Roll (1998)
* Wrong Treats (1999)
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Death in Vegas are a psychedelic rock and electronic band from the United Kingdom, currently comprising two permanent members: Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes. Influenced by a wide range of musical genres including psychedelic rock, electro, krautrock, dub and industrial, the band's sound is constantly in flux, moving between live acoustic and electronic sounds. The band was formed in 1994 by Fearless and Steve Helier and signed to Concrete Records under the name of Dead Elvis.
Enigmatic songwriter and front man for Bluebottle Kiss, Jamie Hutchings is also a solo artist and producer. The son of professional jazz musician, Jamie was born, grew up and continues to live in Sydney, Australia. Fifteen years of leading one of Australia's most consistently creative and critically acclaimed rock bands, Bluebottle Kiss, saw Jamie Hutchings write and release over 130 songs. During that time the band relentlessly toured the country, the US and Europe playing with bands as diverse as Beck, Midnight Oil and Dinosaur Jr .
Infectious Grooves (n., in-fek-shus groovz) are a funk metal band led by Suicidal Tendencies frontman Mike Muir. It also featured ex-Suicidal Tendencies, now Metallica, bassist Robert Trujillo, and ex-Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins. Though Muir's sense of humor was often obvious with Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves often brought out a goofier type of humor: their albums contain comedy skits by a reptilian lover named Sarsippius. The band can be seen (and heard) performing as the prom band in the 1992 Pauly Shore film Encino Man
Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968, in Eureka, California) is an American singer, songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and video game voice actor, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Faith No More from 1988 to 1998, which recently reunited in 2009 and will be touring Europe this summer. He has also handled lead vocals and composed music for Mr. Bungle, Tomahawk, Lovage, Fantômas, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Moonchild Trio and Peeping Tom.
Jack Hody Johnson (born May 18, 1975 in North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii) is a singer-songwriter, accomplished professional surfer and filmmaker who has achieved critical and commercial success and a dedicated following since he first appeared on G. Love & Special Sauce's album Philadelphonic. The release of his 2001 debut album, Brushfire Fairytales further cemented his popularity and he has since released four more successful albums including 2003's On and On, 2005's In Between Dreams, 2008's Sleep Through the Static and 2010's To The Sea.
Bad Religion is a punk band from Los Angeles, California, known for poignant, erudite lyrics, and biting social commentary. The band was formed in 1979 by high school students Greg Graffin (vocals), Jay Bentley (bass guitar), Jay Ziskrout (drums), and Brett Gurewitz (guitar). In 1981, they released their eponymous debut EP on their own newly-formed label, Epitaph, managed and owned by Gurewitz. 1982 saw the release of their first full-length album, How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, which gained them a sizable following.
Cage the Elephant are an alternative rock band which formed in 2005 in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States.The band consists of Matt Shultz (vocals), Brad Shultz (guitar), Lincoln Paris (guitar), Daniel Tichenor (bass, vocals) and Jared Champion (drums). Their breakthrough single was Ain't No Rest For The Wicked, which peaked at #83 on the Billboard Hot 100, #32 on the UK Singles Chart and #3 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. The band have released two albums: "Cage The Elephant" (2008) and "Thank You Happy Birthday" (2011).