Favorite bands of today

[The Watcher]

Evenesence
Godsmack
Blues Traveler
Green Day
Puddle Of Mudd "the song - She Hates Me"
Natalie Imbruglia

[The Watcher]

I am going to add a little info about the bands I listed as my fav. bands so we can all learn a little more about these great groups....

Amy Lee - Vocals
Ben Moody - Lead Guitar
John LeCompt - Guitar
Rocky Gray - Drums



Founded by teenagers Amy Lee and Ben Moody at the end of the 90’s in the Midwestern town of Little Rock where Evanescence built their reputation, with the help of the local radio station playing their second song Understanding which appears on their first album.

Albums

Evanescence EP, Released December, 1998 on CDR. Limited Edition of 100
Tracks: Where Will You Go, Solitude, Imaginary, Exodus, So Close, Understanding

Whisper EP / Sound Asleep EP, Released 1999 on CDR, Limited Edition of 50
Tracks: Give Unto Me (Sound Asleep), Whisper, Understanding (Sound Asleep Version), Forgive Me,
Understanding (Original Version), Ascension of the Spirit

Origin, Released November 4, 2000 on CD,
Tracks: Origin, Whisper, Imaginary, My Immortal, Where Will You Go, Field of Innocence, Even In Death, Anywhere, Lies, Away From Me, Eternal

Fallen, Released March 4, 2003 on CD,
Tracks: Going Under, Bring Me To Life, Everybody’s Fool, My Immortal, Haunted, Tourniquet, Imaginary, Taking Over Me, Hello, My Last Breath, Whisper

Bio

The whole enchilada!




Although the band's name may suggest a sudden vanishing, the music of Evanescence is poised for longevity. Fallen, the Wind-up Records debut of this talented quartet from Little Rock, Arkansas, is an emotional, ethereal work of undeniable potency guided by the heavenly vocals of Amy Lee. "We're definitely a rock band," says the 20-year-old Lee. "But the twist is that the band's music is epic, dramatic, dark rock."

Co-founders Lee and guitarist/songwriter Ben Moody met while in their early teens. "We were at a youth camp," Moody recalls. "During some sort of recreational period held in a gymnasium, I heard Amy playing Meat Loaf's 'I'd Do Anything for Love' at the piano. So I went over to meet her, and she started singing for me. I was pretty much blown away, so I suckered her into joining a band with me." Since that day, the musical relationship has remained dependably loyal. "We have the same exact vision regarding what we love about music," Moody says. "When it comes to songwriting, we finish each other's thoughts."

Evanescence first took shape in Little Rock at the end of the '90s. Predictably, the band didn't quite fit the mold of most others lingering around the Midwestern state. "It's typically death metal or really soft, older-people music there," says Lee. "I don't even know of any local bands that have female singers."

Influenced by a wide-ranging collection of artists such as Bjork, Danny Elfman and Tori Amos, the band started releasing EPs of its material. Even without the benefit of live performances, Evanescence began to establish a reputation.

"A lot of it developed by being elusive," Moody remembers. "The second song we ever wrote was this seven-minute, ridiculous Goth anthem called 'Understanding.' And for some reason, the local rock station decided to play it a lot. We gained this popularity around town, even though no one knew who we were or where to find us. It was because we could never afford to play a show -- it was just Amy and I -- and we couldn't pay any musicians."

Fallen was tracked in Los Angeles with producer Dave Fortman (BOYSETSFIRE, Superjoint Ritual). The album successfully finds that intangible balance between lush beauty and primal heaviness. Typical of the record is the first single, "Bring Me To Life," a piano ballad-turned-riff-driven barnburner. Highlighted by a guest vocal from Paul McCoy of 12 Stones, the song is featured prominently in the Daredevil film and soundtrack.

"'Bring Me To Life' is about discovering something or someone that awakens a feeling inside them that they've never had before," says Moody. He continued, "You discover there is a world that is bigger than just your safe bubble." Also significant is the vibrant anthem "Tourniquet" and the eerie "Haunted," with its pummeling beats and jarring melodies (augmented by chamber choir arrangements courtesy of Lee). Of the latter, Moody asserts, "It's the song that is the most 'us'. That best sums up what we strive to sound like."

Lyrically, Evanescence explores dark, introspective themes of love, desperation, and despair. But the group insists its fundamental message is a positive one. "The point of this whole record and band is to let people know that they're not alone in dealing with bad feelings or pain or anything that they go through," says Lee, who pens most of the words. "That's life and that's human. They're not alone, and we're going through it, too."

Live, Evanescence functions as a quartet with John LeCompt (guitar) and Rocky Gray (drums) rounding out the line-up. "As a four-piece, we are able to carry out the intricate harmonies and orchestrations of the memorable material on Fallen," Moody emphasizes. "We're very sincere about what we do. There's so much pre-packaged teen angst these days in music. That's not us. We're not trying to sell an angle, we're just here writing from our heart."

[The Watcher]

is a Boston-based band who were simply too undeniable to be ignored. Their self-titled major label debut isn't a calculated, big-budget offering. In fact, it started out as a self-released CD the band recorded in 1996 for about $2,500 with money they borrowed from a friend. Expecting maybe to make back the costs of recording, they peddled the disc to a local radio station WAAF embraced the song "Keep Away" and began playing the song on hi weekly evening program. Meanwhile, the band was performing regularly on the Boston club scene and soon drew the attention of Paul Geary, a long-time friend of Sully's and former drummer and manager of the group Extreme, who inevitably signed the band to his management company PGE.

Before long, airplay increased dramatically. With the blistering track "Whatever" (a combustive cut that grooves as it grinds) being spun regularly on WAAF, sales grew at a staggering rate. The disc became the #2 best-selling album at Newbury Comics.

"I was really shocked," recalls Sully, "Our album began selling 900 to 1000 copies a week!" After meeting with several interested labels, Godsmack chose to sign with Republic Records in July 1998.

Before Sully formed Godsmack, he played drums in a band called Strip Mind, which broke up in 1994. For a year, he went into hibernation, then he started getting that itch to write music again, so he called up his friend/bassist Robbie Merrill and asked him if he was interested in jamming on some new stuff. The two hooked up with drummer Tommy Stewart (ex-Lillian Axe) and local guitarist Lee Richards. A few months later, both Richards and Stewart quit the band. Guitarist Tony Rombola skillfully slipped into the guitar slot and a guy named Joe Darko filled the drumseat for a few years, although he didn't actually play on the band's record. That honor was held by Sully, who has been playing drums since age four. In 1997, after the band's star sign had begun to rise, Darko left and Godsmack invited original drummer Stewart back into the fold.

Throughout the album, Sully sings about the emotional extremes that often shadow people with intense lifestyles. "Timebomb" addresses the day-to-day pressures and frustrations that life often dished out, "Immune" is about urban vampires who suck the identities from their victims by emulating their fashion sense and behavoir patterns and "Voodoo" is based on the bizarre film epic The Serpent and the Rainbow.

"There are a lot of emotional highs and lows in my songs, but they're genuine emotions" says Sully, "I seem to do my best writing when I'm down. For me, writing is a release of energy." In addition to channeling his energies through Godsmack's aggressive music, he channels that energy via more spiritual paths as well. He is practicing Witch of the Celtic Religion (WICCA) under Salem Witch Laurie Cabot, and he continues to weave the Wiccan arts and rituals into the fabric of his daily life. "It's been my salvation," he says candidly. "A lot of people are confused about witchcraft, it's simply about worshipping the power of the earth, and that's it! It's a positive religion that has helped me through a lot of bad times."

[The Watcher]

A New York-based blues-rock quartet formed in 1988 by singer/harmonica player John Popper, guitarist Chan Kinchla, bassist Bobby Sheehan, and drummer Brendan Hill, Blues Traveler was part of a revival of the extended jamming style of '60s and '70s groups like the Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin. Signed to A&M, they released their first album, Blues Traveler, in May 1990 and followed it with Travelers & Thieves in September 1991. Popper was in a serious car accident in 1992, leaving him unable to perform for a number of months. Fortunately, he recovered, yet he still had to perform in a wheelchair for a period of time. In April 1993, Blues Traveler released its third album, Save His Soul, which became its first to make the Top 100. Blues Traveler's aptly named fourth album, Four, released in September 1994, at first looked like a sales disappointment, but it rebounded in 1995 when "Run-Around," a single taken from it, became the group's first chart hit. "Run-Around" became one of the biggest singles of 1995, spending nearly a full year on the charts and sending Four into quintuple platinum status.
As the group prepared the follow-up to Four, Blues Traveler released the live double-album Live From the Fall in the summer of 1996. The group returned in the summer of 1997 with its fifth studio album, Straight on Till Morning. After completing his 1999 debut solo effort Zygote, Popper -- who'd been experiencing chest pains for months -- was forced to undergo an angioplasty; weeks later, tragedy struck on August 20, 1999, when Sheehan was found dead in his New Orleans home. He was just 31 years old. The new millennium saw a newly charged Blues Traveler, and their sixth record, Bridge, appeared in May 2001. The next winter, Blues Traveler released the reflective What You and I Have Been Through.

[The Watcher]

Out of all the post-Nirvana American alternative bands to break into the pop mainstream, Green Day were


second only to Pearl Jam in terms of influence. At their core, Green Day were simply punk revivalists, recharging the energy of speedy, catchy three-chord punk-pop songs. Though their music wasn't particularly innovative, they brought the sound of late-'70s punk to a new, younger generation with Dookie, their 1994 major-label debut. Green Day weren't able to sustain their success -- Dookie sold over eight million, while its follow-up, Insomniac, only sold a quarter of its predecessor -- yet their influence was far-reaching because they opened the doors for a flood of American neo-punk, punk metal, and third wave ska revivalists.


Green Day were part of the northern California underground punk scene. Childhood friends Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar, vocals) and Mike Dirnt (bass; born Mike Pritchard) formed their first band, Sweet Children, in Rodeo, CA, when they were 14 years old. By 1989, the group had added drummer Al Sobrante and changed its name to Green Day. That year, the band independently released its first EP, 1,000 Hours, which was well-received in the California hardcore punk scene. Soon, the group had signed a contract with the local independent label, Lookout. Green Day's first album, 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hour, was released later that year. Shortly after its release, the band replaced Sobrante with Tre Cool (born Frank Edwin Wright, III); Cool became the band's permanent drummer.


Throughout the early '90s, Green Day continued to cultivate a cult following, which only gained strength with the release of their second album, 1992's Kerplunk. The underground success of Kerplunk led to a wave of interest from major record labels; the band eventually decided to sign with Reprise. Dookie, Green Day's major-label debut, was released in the spring of 1994. Thanks to MTV support for the initial single, "Longview," Dookie became a major hit. The album continued to gain momentum throughout the summer, with the second single, "Basket Case," spending five weeks on the top of the American modern rock charts. At the end of the summer, the band stole the show at Woodstock '94, which helped the sales of Dookie increase. By the time the fourth single, "When I Come Around," began its seven-week stay at number one on the modern rock charts in early 1995, Dookie had sold over five million copies in the U.S. alone; it would eventually top eight million in America, selling over ten million copies internationally. Dookie also won the 1994 Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance.

Green Day quickly followed Dookie with Insomniac in the fall of 1995; during the summer, they hit number one again on the modern rock charts with "J.A.R.," their contribution to the Angus soundtrack. Insomniac performed well initially, entering the U.S. charts at number two, and selling over two million copies by the spring of 1996, yet none of its singles -- including the radio favorite "Brain Stew/Jaded" -- were as popular as those from Dookie. In the spring of 1996, Green Day abruptly canceled a European tour, claiming exhaustion. Following the cancellation, the band spent the rest of the year resting and writing new material, issuing Nimrod in late 1997. Their long-awaited follow-up, Warning, was released three years later.

[The Watcher]

One of the first acts signed to Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst's label, Flawless Records, was the alt-metal quartet Puddle of Mudd -- consisting of Wesley Reid Scantlin (guitar and vocals), Paul James Phillips (guitar), Douglas John Ardito (bass), and Greg David Upchurch (drums). While their songs expectedly contain the rage of such contemporaries as Korn and Rage Against the Machine, Scantlin's voice at times is eerily similar to Nirvana's late great frontman Kurt Cobain, containing unmistakable elements of traditional hard rock (unlike the other aforementioned band's penchant for rap). August 2001 saw the release of their major label debut, Come Clean (which was preceded by the independent release Abrasive), as they embarked on a European tour with Godsmack a month later, before touring the U.S. as part of the Family Values 2001 tour, alongside Stone Temple Pilots, Linkin Park, and Staind.

[The Watcher]

Born: 1975

Styles: Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie, Singer/Songwriter

By mixing Lisa Loeb/Alanis Morissette-like singing with music that sounds similar to a more mainstream Portishead at times, Natalie Imbruglia has become one of the biggest pop sensations in Europe. Born in Sydney, Australia on February 4, 1975, Imbruglia was one of four sisters and grew up in a tiny beach town. After becoming a teen actress and landing a spot on the Australian soap opera Neighbours, Imbruglia decided that she would rather be a singer, and moved to London in 1996 to try her luck. It was a wise move, as she was soon signed to the RCA U.K. label. Deciding to release a single before her full-length debut, the track "Torn" was issued in 1997, and no one could have predicted its wild success. Produced by former Cure member Phil Thornalley and written by Ednaswap, the single spent a total of 14 weeks at number one, sold over a millon copies, and broke the record for most airplay in U.K. history. Her debut album, Left of the Middle, was a major hit in Australia, the U.K., and the U.S. upon its release in early 1998. Follow-up singles "Smoke" and the album title track did moderately well, but never achieved the massive success as "Torn." After a whirlwind praise, Imbruglia disappeared for the rest of the nineties. She found herself battling writer's block while composing material for a sophomore effort, however Imbruglia trudged on. By fall 2001, she had released White Lilies Island in the U.K. and debut single "That Day" was a favorite among radio play.

Back in 1997 Natalie Imbruglia hit the music scene with her debut single, "Torn", a song that went on to sell millions and win awards in almost every country it was released in.

However, with this kind of success comes a problem - how could she ever better that song? She had reasonable success with other releases in the UK and Australia, however in America no one wanted to hear any other material from Natalie, forcing her to cancel and put back subsequent singles. When eventually "Wishing I Was There" was released stateside, it had very moderate success.

Next came the inevitable tabloid turn - the papers jumped on the fact that Natalie hadn't written her huge hit single, "Torn", they then claimed Ms Imbruglia was simply another soap star turned singer who was controlled like a puppet, by the fat cat label bosses who were eager to jump on the Alanis Morisette craze that was going on at the time. This was not the case, as firstly she had never claimed to have written the single, and secondly Natalie had made a conscious effort to avoid the soap to singer comparisons.

Unlike others in this position before her, Natalie co-wrote 80% of the tracks on her debut album, "Left Of The Middle". Avoided the usual means of promotion for good looking female singers, such as featured spreads in the new wave of "lads" mags, and limited personal appearances to select shows, to avoid people being bored with her.

"Left Of The Middle" was a triumphant success, and the general public were eager for more material from the antipodean pop star, however despite advice to the contrary, Natalie took a four year break to relax, regain her life and write for the new album. On the whole Natalie disappeared from the public eye, occasionally contributing a song for a film soundtrack, but never promoting it.

Then came "That Day". After scrapping the 60 songs she had been working on Natalie found her inspiration again, and set to work recording her follow up album "White Lilies Island". Four years is a life time in pop and critics doubted if Natalie could cut it in the modern charts. And so the first single in the make or break point in Natalie's Career was the guitar-led "That Day". The song was a hit with fans and critics alike, but the general public were reluctant to embrace the song and with very little radio play it charted at a respectable No. 13 in the UK.

"Wrong Impression" was one of the hits of the summer and was played non-stop on the radio, it was also the lead single for the American market, and firmly cemented Natalie as more than a one hit wonder.

On the whole media were full of praise for "White Lilies Island", claiming it to be more consistent and musically more interesting than her debut. The album was a reasonable success gaining Gold status in the UK alone, however, as Natalie has said, she would be happy if it sold enough to let her make another album. This album was a more personal piece for the singer and it seems to have paid of.

Natalie is on the verge of hitting big time again, recently she has changed management to the same team who look after Janet Jackson and Cher. She has also completed her first feature film Johnny English, wrote a single for the film, and working on her third album. Not to mention becoming the face of a cosmetics giant. Natalie's career looks as though it could rocket again.