alternative rock Alternative rock (also called alt-rock) is a genre of rock music that refers specifically to the punk/new wave-rooted style that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the early-mid 1990s. The term "alternative" was coined in the 1980s to describe punk rock-inspired bands on independent record labels that did not fit into the mainstream genres of the time. As a musical genre, alternative rock consists of various subgenres that have emerged from the independent music scene since the 1980s, such as grunge, britrock, gothic rock, grebo/crusty and indie rock. These genres are unified by their collective debt to the style and/or ethos of punk, which laid the groundwork for alternative music in the 1970s.
Though the genre is considered to be rock, some of its subgenres are influenced by folk music, reggae, electronic music and jazz among other genres. At times alternative rock has been used as a catch-all phrase for rock music from underground artists in the 1980s, all music descended from punk rock (including punk itself, new wave, and post-punk), and, ironically, for mainstream rock music in general in the 1990s and 2000s.
While a few artists like R.E.M. and The Cure achieved commercial success and mainstream critical recognition, many alternative rock artists during the 1980s were cult acts that recorded on independent labels and received their exposure through college radio airplay and word-of-mouth. With the breakthrough of Nirvana and the popularity of the grunge and Britpop movements in the early 1990s, alternative rock entered the musical mainstream and many alternative bands became commercially successful.
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Birds of Tokyo are a four-piece alternative rock band from Perth, Western Australia that formed in 2004. Their debut album, Day One, gained them domestic success with it reaching No. 3 on the AIR Independent Album charts, spending a total of 36 consecutive weeks in the top 10. In 2008, the band released their second album, Universes, which made it to No. 3 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart. In 2010 the band released its highest charting album to date, Birds of Tokyo, which reached[..]
The record producer/ex-Evanescence co-writer and keyboard player David Hodges fronted band was formerly called Trading Yesterday.
With the release of the long-awaited EP, Everything is Broken, came a change of name and genre, moving away from acoustic-based rock to electronica.
The band members remain anonymous at the moment, giving themselves the names "The Mystic", "The Martyr", "The Architect" and "The Medicine".[..]
Grinderman was an Australian garage rock band, formed by Nick Cave (vocals, electric guitar, organ, piano), Warren Ellis (electric bouzouki, Fendocastor, violin, viola, acoustic guitar, backing vocals), Martyn P. Casey (bass, acoustic guitar, backing vocals) and Jim Sclavunos (drums, percussion, backing vocals), all of whom are members of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
After heavy touring throughout 2005 in support of Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, Cave began writing[..]
Ryder Lee and Stokes Nielson met in a church band as teenagers, and they’ve been making records together ever since. Their high school friendship began a country band of five called The Lost Trailers, who have blazed their way through hundreds of honkytonks, joints, roadhouses, night clubs and concert halls, building a firewall of fiercely loyal fans. They are a band that came together naturally, matured creatively, perform explosively and have poured all of that into Holler[..]
Middle Class Rut play a visceral brand of alternative rock that echoes the intensity of Jane's Addiction and Refused, the pummeling backbone of Rage Against The Machine and the anthemic post-punk core of The Foo Fighters.
Only in their mid-20s, Middle Class Rut, consisting of Zack Lopez (guitar/vocals) and Sean Stockham (drums/vocals), are already veteran musicians; both guys were core members of Leisure, which was signed to DreamWorks back in 2000 when Sean and Zack were[..]
Nine Days is a rock band which was popular in the early 2000s. Formed in Oyster Bay by John Hampson and Brian Desveaux, they released three albums independently during the 90s before their mainstream debut album, The Madding Crowd, was released in 2000. Their greatest popularity came from a handful of hits from The Madding Crowd such as "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" and "If I Am".
Another album, So Happily Unsatisfied was scheduled for release in 2003.[..]
A hugely popular unsigned modern rock band from Jackson/Memphis, TN and Orlando, FL.
With passionate music, intense vocals and songs that parallel the day-to-day issues that we all face, One Less Reason touches people in a way that fosters a fierce loyalty and connection between band and fan that is rare in music today. OLR is Cris Brown (vocals), Ryan Giles (guitar), Brad Butler (guitar), Terry Brown (bass), and Jeff Moore (drums), but it is also much bigger than any of the individual[..]
After months of speculation, Rock Star Supernova, the all-star band featuring Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke and ex-Metallica bassist Jason Newsted have embraced Toronto native Lukas Rossi as their lead vocalist.
The new quartet are in the studio with producer Butch Walker (Avril Lavigne, Pink, Bowling For Soup) to record their Epic Records debut. The album is scheduled for a November 21st release.
Rossi joins the[..]
Silvertide is an American blues rock band. They come from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Silvertide was formed in January 2001 in Northeast Philadelphia. At first, Silvertide (which was originally called Vertigo) had four members: lead singer Walt Lafty, lead guitarist Nick Perri, rhythm guitarist Mark Melchiorre, and drummer Kevin Frank . The lineup was completed with the addition of bassist Brian Weaver. They considered themselves musical outsiders during high school[..]
Broken Iris is a Sacramento based band that originally formed in 2005. The addition of Steve Avery (formerly of Die Trying) and Danny Cocke (formerly of Simplistic) in 2006, influenced the bands musical style towards its current genre of ambient rock.
Adam Roths powerful vocals are backed by a live cello (Alex Ashton), keyboard (David Christensen), guitar (Danny Cocke) bass (Steve Avery) and drums (Chris Brawley), blending together to create a sound that is both dark in tone,[..]
Dave Days is a young boy with big dreams. Ever since he picked up his first guitar he’s been writing music and working his creative mind. His music and abilities were unheard of in the world until the internet came along. By internet, I mean YouTube. Dave began posting videos of his music and other skits gaining over 200,000 subscribers and over 50,000,000 views in a little over a year. Dave is often referred to as an entertainer, musician, comedian, and Miley Cyrus’ boyfriend…[..]
Based in Cincinnati, Frickin’ A was formed by lead singer Jason Phelps (Frickin' A) and guitarist Dave Harris (Frickin' B). The two had played together in other bands but were never quite satisfied with the energy and direction. A and B began experimenting as they played acoustic shows around the Midwest before adding the rhythm section anchored by bassist Jason Short and drummer Scott McCann. "We just want to do something fun," says J. "This isn't rocket science."
[..]
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