The Greenhornes - Gun for You (1999)

"Wake Me, Shake Me" by The Greenhornes

Zee Avi had gone viral with her song "No Christmas for Me" but it took drummer Patrick Keeler to begin the journey of getting her name to the right people, specifically, to his manager Ian Montone.  

Patrick Keeler has drummed in a few bands but started out with the retro garage rock band The Greenhornes.  The quintet released their debut album Gun for You in 1999, and it is the sole release of Prince Records (likely the band's own label.)

The title of the album and its cover are the only indicators for the listener that this is a nineties release.  Play any track at random and it could be the start of a compilation album featuring decent but forgotten Midwestern garage rock gems of the 1960s.  But, The Greenhornes are not a sixties band and they're not musical archaeologists though they make a good act of it.  Rather, they are more akin to geneticists, and their cloning project is a scientific success.  From the lyrics and song structures to the vocals and harmonies to the guitar riffs and audio production, they sound exactly like a band formed amidst the long shadow of The Rolling Stones that never managed to sonically get out from under it.  If the album were a rediscovery from a past era, it might have enjoyed cult status as an album of the lost "very good" from creative middle America.  Instead, The Greenhornes have crafted an album as a very good bar band: playing for patrons originals that sound like covers which are just trying to recapture, for the players and for the listeners, the love of a past era now gone.

Here is the discography surrounding The Greenhornes's debut album:

The End of the Night (1999 single)

Gun for You

"Hold Me" by The Greenhornes

"I've Been Down" by The Greenhornes

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Extinction - Hypocrisy Breeds Traitors (1999)

"Dying for Tomorrow" by Extinction


The community of Degrassi also attracts a lot of talent.  Most of the time this talent comes to town as visiting bands that play local concerts or do interviews for the school paper, but Degrassi also attracts famous musicians that go undercover and, weirdly, pretend to be locals.  For bassist Pete Wentz, it seems he simply enjoyed the local vibe and hung out downtown for a while.

Before he was famous for being in a nationally popular pop-punk band or hanging around Degrassi high schoolers, Pete Wentz was a figure of the underground Chicago hardcore movement where he, alongside many other young hardcore musicians, formed bands; recorded demos, compilation songs and singles (sometimes, an EP); then disbanded.  It wasn't until 1999 when his band Extinction shook up the formula and managed to release a (short) album Hypocrisy Breeds Traitors.  They then disbanded.

Here is the discography surrounding Extinction's discography:

Everlast (1993 demo by Everlast)
...Drown the Self... (1994 single by Everlast)
The Cold War (1994 compilation song by Everlast)
'94 Demo (1994 demo by Plagued With Rage)
I Won't Forget (1994 single by Plagued with Rage)
Outcast (1996 demo by Birthright)
Outcast / Final Judgement (1996 split single with Birthright)
Birthright (1996 single by Birthright)
Ascension (1997 EP by Birthright)
The First Crush Compilation (1997 compilation song by Yellow Road Priest)
For the Sake of Dedication (1997 compilation song by Plagued With Rage)
What Have You Created... (1997 EP)
The Difference Between Us (1997 compilation song)
All Systems Go! (1997 compilation song)
Out of Darkness (1998 EP by Birthright) 
Glenview Hardcore (1998 compiation song by XFirstborn)
Milemarker / Yellow Road Priest (1998 split single with Yellow Road Priest)
Hypocrisy Breeds Traitors
The Path of Compassion (2002 compilation song by Everlast)
These Words Run in My Veins (2008 compilation album by Birthright)

Extinction Live in Louisville


Extinction Live in Toronto


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Laszlo - Laszlo (1999)

"Freak" by Laszlo

Laszlo is a jazz rock band from Denton, Texas that was active in the late 1990s. Made up mostly of high schoolers, they recorded one album before breaking up and losing their vocalist, who ventured off to New York to try and hit the big time with her singing career. How the tour got from Anoushka Shankar to Laszlo will be dutifully explained in the next entry.

Here is the complete discography for Laszlo:

Laszlo

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椎名林檎 - 無罪モラトリアム (1999)

"歌舞伎町の女王" by Sheena Ringo


Do As Infinity's own Dai Nagao did a bulk of the production work on Break of Dawn, but producer Seiji Kameda helped out on a couple of the album's tracks.  Seiji Kameda is another producer who works closely with budding J-Pop stars.  His most famous partnership, however, is with J-Pop rocker Sheena Ringo (椎名林檎) with whom he'd arrange her songs.

Sheena Ringo started writing songs and recording her own demos in junior high.  Through high school, she performed in several music star search competitions both as a solo performer and member of an all-girl band.  Sheena's last competition saw her offered a contract by the event's sponsor, Yamaha, which she turned down.  Her hopes for a better contract came quickly from Toshiba EMI.  Sheena's relationship with her record label started out uneasily as the label criticized her lyrics and refused her creative insight.  But after the poor showing of her debut single, she was allowed more creative input into the managing of her career.  Sheena's next two singles did incrementally better, and her debut album 無罪モラトリアム (Muzai (Innocence) Moratorium) would peak at #2 on the charts.  It was notable for her sonic mix of traditional J-Pop with western alternative.

Here is the discography surrounding Sheena Ringo's debut album:

幸福論 (1998 single)
歌舞伎町の女王 (1998 single)
ここでキスして。 (1999 single)
無罪モラトリアム
幸福論 (1999 single re-release)

"幸福論" by Sheena Ringo


"同じ夜" by Sheena Ringo


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鈴木あみ - SA (1999)

"Love the Island" by Suzuki Ami


hitomi's success is largely attributed to her legendary Japanese producer Tetsuya Komuro.  In the 90s, he could do no wrong as whichever artist who benefited from his production would surely perform well on the charts.  Suzuki Ami was another such young singer to be sponsored by Komuro.

Suzuki Ami (鈴木あみ) won her record deal at the age of 15 through a television talent show (Asayan similar in format to American Idol, I suppose) of which she topped 13,499 other contestants.  Already familiar to the audience by the time she would properly release music, she only got more publicity by having her first two singles utilized by the Japanese government's efforts to promote tourism to Guam.  All six of her singles from her debut album, SA, would peak in the top five of the Oricon singles charts bringing the album behind them to #1.  She would go on to win the Japan Record Award for Best New Artist.

Here is the discography surrounding 鈴木あみ's debut album:

Love the Island (1998 single)
Alone in My Room (1998 single)
All Night Long (1998 single)
White Key (1998 single)
Nothing Without You (1999 single)
Don't Leave Me Behind (1999 single)
SA

"Alone in My Room" by Suzuki Ami


"All Night Long" by Suzuki Ami


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Macy Gray - On How Life Is (1999)

"I Try" by Macy Gray


Macy Gray followed a long road to become an overnight success. While working as a cashier in LA, she met producer Joe Solo. Together they wrote songs and Gray began performing in cafés under his guidance. She was originally signed to Atlantic Records but was dropped to be picked up by Epic Records. After meeting Solo, it took almost ten years to hear her voice on a label-released record. Her first recording was as a featured guest singer on the Black Eyed Peas song 'Love Won't Wait'.

Her debut On How Life Is followed a year and some months later. On the record, Macy exemplifies Nu Soul. While traditional soul music combines elements of gospel music and Rhythm and Blues, Nu Soul mixes and matches a few more elements like funk, hip hop, pop, and jazz. In 2000, Macy Gray blew up. With the release of her second single "I Try", her album went onto sell over seven million copies worldwide and go triple platinum in the US. The critical reaction was generally unimpressed seeing her debut as an average album. Still, "I Try" infected nearly the whole world with a powerful earworm. Her success led Macy to be sought after by both musicians and directors as she grew into a pop cultural icon.

Here is the discography surrounding Macy Gray's debut album:

Do Something (1999 single)
On How Life Is
I've Committed Murder (1999 Gang Starr Remix)
I Try (2000 single)
Still (2000 single)
Why Didn't You Call Me (2000 single)

"Why Didn't You Call Me" by Macy Gray


If you have any ideas for where the tour should go next, please give a shout. I'm open to whatever as long as the artists are historically related in some way and go in an artist's chronological order.

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