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~*~*~*~*~*~ Silverchair ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
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Grunge trio Silverchair was formed in Newcastle, Australia in 1992 by Ben Gillies (drums), Chris Joannou (bass) and Daniel Johns (guitars and vocals). Initially these three schoolmates received more attention for their age than their music; all three members were just 15 when their 1995 debut album, Frogstomp, became an international hit.
Gillies, Joannou and Johns began playing together under the name the Innocent Criminals in Joannou's parents' garage, taking their musical cues from Nirvana and Pearl Jam. In 1994 they submitted a demo tape to an Australian radio contest and won first prize: a recording session and a video for their song "Tomorrow." The single became a radio hit in Australia and attracted the attention of record label Murmur, a Sony subsidiary, who signed the up-and-coming band.
The group changed their name to Silverchair -- derived from a misspelling of Nirvana's "Sliver" and You Am I's "Berlin Chair" In 1999 Silverchair returned with their third release, Neon Ballroom, a more eclectic less grungy effort that includes an appearance by the schizophrenic classical pianist David Helfgott.
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Kurt Cobain smashed his first guitar in 1988 and a rock icon was born. In their brief seven-year history, Nirvana unwillingly brought alternative music into the mainstream and defined a generation of young people alienated by baby boomers, Michael Jackson and Madonna.
Nirvana's roots lie in the underground hardcore scene of the mid-1980s.; the Olympia-based Melvins and New York's Sonic Youth were early mentors of the band. Nirvana's crossover appeal was rooted in their ability to blend the hardcore fury of drummer Dave Grohl and bassist Krist Novoselic with Cobain's doleful, introspective lyrics and melodies. Rumors of Cobain's heroin use were ever-present and as the band grew into a multi-million dollar commercial entity, he began to withdraw into his own drug-induced world. The band's stability was questioned in the wake of a variety of bizarre stunts including Cobain's penchant for showing up at concerts in women's clothing and mocking his way through songs, and Novoselic and Grohl's nationally televised kiss following a "Saturday Night Live" performance. Cobain's marriage to hardcore diva Courtney Love in 1992 only fueled the negatiIn early 1994 Nirvana embarked on a European tour that was cut short in February by Cobain's much publicized drug overdose in Rome. At the end of March Cobain entered a drug rehab facility in Los Angeles and on April 1 he escaped from the center and returned to Seattle. Cobain's body was found April 8 in his Seattle home with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the headve publicity fire.
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-o-o-o-o-o-o-o- I\I | R \/ /-\ I\I /-\ -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
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* * MaRiLyN MaNsoN * *
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Imagine Alice Cooper times 10. Picture KISS on an acid and whiskey bender. Marry the gross-out hilarity of G.G. Allin with the ubiquity of Howard Stern. Combine the "search and destroy" frenzy of Iggy Pop with the godless zeal of Ozzy Osbourne. Take two cups of the devil and throw in a pinch of P.T. Barnum, and you still can't fathom all that is...Marilyn Manson.
Marilyn Manson's brand of shock-rock simply knows no bounds. Since their discovery by Nine Inch Nails' leader Trent Reznor, Marilyn Manson (the band and the aliased individual that leads same) has been on a non-stop campaign of crassness.
Spawning a cult following to rival all others, Manson and his rotating band of serial-killer sidemen have created a powerful concoction of Satanic imagery, face-splitting guitars and performance spectacle that has drawn the ire of countless keepers of the public good.
In true rock form, Manson and his bandmates are cackling all the way to the bank; their 1996 breakthrough, Antichrist Superstar entered the American charts at No. 3 and their concert dates continue to sell out around the world (when not banned altogether).
Marilyn Manson's latest release, Mechancial Animals, was released in the fall of '98 on Nothing/Interscope Records.
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