Tinker - Soft Shell Friend (1996)

After the release and relative success of Blinker the Star's debut album, Jordon Zadorozny moved the band to Ontario to join a much larger music scene.  He continued to perform with them promoting a local following, but he also joined another band in 1994 called Tinker.

Tinker was made up of Jordon on guitar and vocals, Steve Durand on guitar and vocals, Melissa Auf der Maur on bass, and a non-specific Tony on drums.  Tinker released two singles and bartered a handful of high-profile gigs in the area, but the main lineup dissolved after Melissa was recruited to join Courtney Love's band Hole.  Of the original four, only Steve Durand stayed on board Tinker and recruited replacement players in bassist Eric Digras and drummer Patrick Conan.  The trio continued to record a sort of alternative metal (much removed from the group's original indie sound) and released Tinker's only album in 1996.  The band ceased soon after.

Here is the discography surrounding Tinker's debut album:

Realalie (1994 single)
Green Machine (1994 single)
Receiver (1995 EP)
Soft Shell Friend
Sunshine (1996 single)

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Blinker the Star - Blinker the Star (1993)

"Hunting at the Zoo" by Blinker the Star


Mark Mason helped engineer Joan Osborne's debut and many other works.  One of his jobs was on the first album by Canadian indie band Blinker the Star.  Blinker the Star revolves around the personality and work of songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jordon Zadorozny.  Other possible members include Phil B (bass), Reg Wick (drums), and Roger Pederson (guitar) though it's a little difficult to confirm at the moment.  Another thing I cannot confirm is that the band's first album Blinker the Star came out in 1993.  (It could be an incorrect date or not due to possible self- releases or re-releases.  It's listed as also having been released in 1994 and 1995).

The album is largely made up of amateur recordings made in Pembroke, Ontario and released on the Treat & Release label.  Although Jordon was given the chance to re-record the album professionally in studio, he turned the chance down because he knew the album would lose the little accidents (happy or otherwise) and off-the-cuff experimentations that could not be recreated.  The band, at this early stage in their career, falls into the loosely defined world of indie rock but finds influences from metal, grunge, punk, power pop, and psychedelia, executing them all with passion and recklessness.  The album is refreshing and each song stands apart and carries its own tone, making for a well-paced listen.

Here is the discography surrounding Blinker the Star's debut album:

Blinker the Star

"Nectarina" by Blinker the Star


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Joan Osborne - Relish (1995)

"Dracula Moon" by Joan Osborne


Joan Osborne shared the same circles and management as the Spin Doctors and can even be heard as a back up vocalist on Blues Traveler's debut.  Although active since 1989, Osborne didn't release her debut album Relish until 1995 (although she did self-release a live album on her own record label Womanly Hips).  The album went triple platinum in the United States on the coattails of her hit single "One of Us".  The other songs on the album reflect Joan and her co-writers' influence of blues, country, gospel, and classic rock (with a debt to Janis Joplin).  For a time, Joan Osborne sat at the top as one of the biggest singer-songwriters of the 90s.

Here is the discography surrounding Joan Osborne's debut album:

Soul Show: Live at Delta 88 (1991 live album)
One of Us (1995 single)
Relish
St. Teresa (1996 single)
Right Hand Man (1996 single)

"One of Us" by Joan Osborne


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Spin Doctors - Pocket Full of Kryptonite (1991)

"Jimmy Olsen's Blues" by Spin Doctors


John Popper was part in forming another New York band Spin Doctors, but dropped out in favor of Blues Traveler when it started to gain popular traction locally.  Popper retains a close relationship with the Doctors and often guests his harmonica on recordings or at their live sets.

Spin Doctors formed in 1988 whose core consisted of vocalist Chris Barron, guitarist Eric Schenkman, drummer Aaron Comess, and bassist Mark White.  Live, the band comes off an honest offshoot of the classic, jam rock.  Their delightful spin on the genres came mainly from White's funky bass even if their sets could be tiresomely long.  On their recordings, they were a much different band.  They still took time for solos, but their overt debt to jam disappeared in favor of a more restrained, commercial pop-alternative sound (Barron's voice and inflections would probably have more influence on the genre than anybody aside from Billie Joe Armstrong) with dabbling changes of mood in rock ballads and harder rock.

Signed to Epic Records in 1991, they released a live EP and their debut album Pocket Full of Kryptonite that year but both sold unremarkably, that is, until one of their singles blew up and became one of the most definitive songs of the decade (for better or for worse).  After the Doctors finished supporting their album with the first H.O.R.D.E. tour (see previous post), the music video for "Two Princes" came out in 1993 on MTV.  The popularity of this song (in particular) and the band's other catchy singles that followed on the success ("Little Miss Can't Be Wrong", "Jimmy Olsen's Blues") boosted the sales for the album to triple platinum and beyond, as well as.  The commercial success came with critical regard for being standard bearers of a pure rock sound.  "Two Princes"'s overkill on radio stations, MTV, TV shows, and movies helped cement its status as one of those songs that just makes people think of the 90s whether you were sick of it or not.  The song is simultaneously deemed one of the best and worst songs of the decade depending on the publication.  Nevermind that the song sounds very little like the Spin Doctors.

Here is the discography surrounding Spin Doctors's debut album:

Up for Grabs...Live (1991 live album)
Pocket Full of Kryptonite
Homebelly Groove...Live (1992 live album)
Little Miss Can't Be Wrong (1993 single)
Two Princes (1993 single)
Jimmy Olsen's Blues (1993 single)
What Time Is It? (1993 single)
How Could You Want Him (When You Know You Could Have Me?) (1993 single)

"Two Princes" by Spin Doctors


"What Time Is It?" by Spin Doctors


Spin Doctors Interview


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