So this is my first of a series of posts about bands from the past or as I like to call it “Times Of Yore”. Recently I have been digging deep into my collection and found some real great acts from the past and have decided that people need to know about them or at least need to be reminded of their existence. I already have a few in mind and will continue to look. Most of the bands I have discovered were from the 90’s when I was buying everything I could get my hands on.
So let’s kick thinks off shall we?
In the day and age when Soundgarden was more grunge metal than adult contemporary and Helmet was still united there was a band that I found at Disc Den called Stompbox. The CD was called Stress
Already being a huge fan of Helmet, this band was right up my alley. They had a port-hardcore grunge sound that may have been replicated by many bands at the time, but they sounded so good with their hard striking chords and heavy riffs. The lead singer’s voice, sounding like Page Hamilton (Helmet) mixed with Neil Fallon (Clutch),was even tolerable throughout the entire CD. It’s too bad that the band did not continue after their first release.
Not much can be found on the internet about why they disbanded. Formed in 1991 the band hailed from Boston. From what I have gathered they were picked up Sony/Columbia and then dropped after the release. They just didn’t catch on like other bands did and it is a shame.
The lead singer of the band went on to pursue other projects and the remaining members stayed together and changed their band name to Slower (which I am still looking for). I am still trying to confirm this, but there is a possibility that some of the members even helped out The Blue Man Group and even Juliana Hatfield. I can not find any proof though…
There is no band website, no Wiki even. There are some reviews out there from fans and everything is thumbs up. I just wish I could find out a little more about what the members have been up to these days.
I do remember this band having a lot of promotional material for a debut release. There were posters and fliers all over the place after I bought the CD. I was also handed a couple of sampler cassettes to give out to my friends as well as a square 2 song record…and I still am kicking myself for doing whatever I did with it. I wonder if the over-the-top-promotion resulted in this band’s dismay. I know that kind of happened to Sponge and they were out around the same time as Stompbox….hmmmm….
It’s sad nothing else ever came from Stompbox. You look at bands like STP and Soundgarden who got their start around the same time and look at how they have progressed. I can only wonder what would have happened to Stompbox if they would have continued.
This was one band I never got to see live during their heyday. Luckily YouTube exists.
The CD is long out of print but you can find it for $5.00 or less at a used music shop if you look hard enough. I myself saw quite a few come in to The Exchange when I happily worked here (sarcasm at it’s finest). It is worth dishing out the cash if you are looking to hear a straight forward rock album.
Here’s a couple of videos I found of the band. Boy do these bring back memories.
Hey, nice blog. I was in that band. Zap me an email if you want, I can fill in the blanks.
AWESOME F*ING BAND THAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO SINCE 1994 – a blind purchase for me, as well
If you haven’t found it already, check out:
http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podshows/1123879
It’s a recording from a live radio performance
I also managed to track down 2 studio tracks, not on the Stress album:
1)Pick It Up
2)Crackerlung
I’d be happy to e-mail them to you. Also, if you or anyone reading this has any other Stompbox material I would love to hear it!!!
bfite@hotmail.com
I remember this band from the days of Z-Rock and Wounded Radio. Had the album, loved it. Sold it when I was low on cash and never found it again. D:
Stompbox was one of the best bands of that time. I wish they were still releasing albums. And, for those of you saying that you could never find the CD again, check amazon. I swear they have everything. I just picked up the Stompbox CD today.
Oh man oh man I also bought this CD cause I liked the cover…. BRILLIANT work… but after a divorce I lost it…. can someone point me in the right direction so i can purchase this again wether it be digital or hard copy ill pay the price… (btw anti iTunes)
y’all probably already found these but just in case…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJrPZVo-jBY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnke4zRoF5A
Yes, Stompbox – Stress is the best album of all time. It is timeless. If the world knew what was good for it, Stompbox would be the only name anyone could remember from the 90’s. That album is really that good. This band is good as well, if you like Stompbox, you will probably like this band…
http://www.soihadto.com/
…they remind me alot of Stompbox. Which is a good thing.
Cobzilla.com
Where can i find a copy?
I’m from Boston and was living in Allston when this CD came out. It was all the rage at the time. It was recorded at Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, New York around ’93 or ’94. Jeff Buckley was recording Grace there at the same time. If you look closely at the liner notes of Grace, you’ll see that Buckley thanks his “Stompbox brethren”.
I have a 45 from Stompbox, it has a remix track on it. Pretty rare, and an awesome find.
Stompbox was/is and incredible band. One of the few that got my heart pounding. Why is it some of the best bands just disappear? I would love to know what they are up to now. Fantastic CD.
Patrick, the bass player (see his comment above) has made the album available for download here:
http://iamajackass.blogspot.com/2008/12/stompbox-stress.html
We are putting out music with Erich Thaler and Chuck & Glen Stilphen (Gang Green) as Celebrity Death Certificate. 2 Songs will be on an old school compilation coming out this fall of 2013. Will feature Celebrity Death Cert and Smegma And The Nunz from 1982. Members of Gang Green and The Freeze. Drop The Needle: Boston Punk Anthology on Trev Records. TREVREC.COM. Digital single “Dead Reckoning” available now
I was turned onto these guys when I saw them play the New Daisy in Memphis. I think they were opening for Biohazard and I have to say that I enjoyed the first half of the night much more than the latter. I too wish they had stuck it out and we could see what might have evolved. It was just a really good mix of talent and the sound was thick and raw. I do hate that I never got another disk out of them. I wore a hole in that CD and I know that the friends that I turned on to it did the same thing. R.I.P. STOMPBOX
Everybody had that album back in the day. We got our hands on everything heavy. Incredible all the way through; I still listen to it.