5 of the Best Bands of the 90's that you've never heard of

5 of the Best Bands of the 90’s that you’ve never heard of

By: Brian Cotnoir

I’m so glad this remembering how awesome the 90’s was is still a trend.  I love turning on the radio and still being to hear awesome musical acts such as Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Bush, Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains, Oasis, and many other great bands.  However, there were so many other bands that didn’t get as much credit as the other groups in the 90’s for whatever reasons; maybe it was a lack of play on radio or MTV, maybe they were only popular around one geographic location, maybe they didn’t have a record label that could distribute their records to a wide enough audience, or maybe the band was only together for a very short time.  Any who, we are fortunate enough to live in a time where we have a much wider access to music (both old and new) and I’m here to pay tribute to those bands who deserved more credit and notoriety in the 90’s.

1.) Silverchair

Now this is one band that I’ll never understand how they never became more successful in the U.S.  Everyone talks about the Seattle Grunge scene in the 90’s, and scores of fans proclaimed their love for two of the biggest bands from Seattle: Nirvana and Pearl Jam.  And one band managed to encompass the best parts of both those bands; that band was Silverchair.  This Alt Rock Band from Australia wrote and recorded their first album when they were just 14, and they had some mild success in the U.S. early in their careers, but they just didn’t have the staying power of most groups of that time, which is crazy considering how long they’ve lasted.  Silverchair’s original line up (Daniel Johns, Chris Janou, and Ben Gillies) played together for over 20 years, and when you consider that Nirvana’s final line up (Cobain, Novoselic, and Grohl) was around for only 3  years and is still considered one of the most successful bands at all time, it’s amazing that Silverchair wasn’t as popular.

Tomorrow

Ana's Song (Open Fire)

2.) HUM

Another obscure band from the 90’s has to be Champaign, Illinois, HUM.  Now people say that Weezer was the dorkiest looking band of the 90’s, but I’d make the argument that award should probably go to HUM.  I also think that was the ultimate downfall of the band HUM, other than having a pretty silly band name, the band really did not have any member who stood out that could be the face of the band.

Stars

3.) Veruca Salt

Staying in the state of Illinois we have another band named after the spoiled brat from the Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  What’s most surprising about Veruca Salt’s lack of success is that the band was fronted by two attractive young women, Louise Post and Nina Gordon.  Now you would have thought in the same time with other popular female musicians and bands like L-7, Alanis Morissette, Liz Phair, and The Breeders that they would have been able to stand the test of time, but alas Veruca Salt faded into obscurity.  However, I was beyond thrilled a few years back when they made live appearance and performance of their biggest hit “Seether” on the Conan O’ Brien show.  And by the way, did you know that the rock band Seether, took their name from that song too?  Just goes to show that the unknowing influence they’ve had on your musical tastes.

Veruca Salt perform "Seether" live at Glastonbury

4.) School of Fish

School of Fish should have been one of those quintessential 90’s groups, but surprisingly they didn’t last that long.  The band called it quits in 1994, and unfortunately their lead singer and rhythm guitarist Josh Clayton-Fell passed away in 2000 from testicular cancer, so there’s no chance of them reuniting.  However, the other members of the group have gone on to find some success in the music industry, and the band did leave us with one of the Most 90’s Music Videos of All-Time, for their song “Three Strange Days”.

3 Strange Days

5.) Local H

And we take one more trip back to Illinois to talk about another band from just outside of Chicago.  I’ve actually had the pleasure of seeing Local H play live when I was in college (it was the first show I ever went to without my parents).  This two man group managed to have some success in the mid 90’s touring the U.S. with Silverchair, and despite the fact that Scott Lucas is the only remaining member of the group, the band continue to be known for their energetic live shows, and their most popularly recognized song “Bound for the Floor”.

"Bound for the Floor"

Local H performing "Eddie Vedder" live