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Why it sounds like the '90s this summer
Hot bands from 15 years ago are touring, but the shows aren't just about nostalgia
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ATLANTIC CITY - Early on a recent Sunday morning, Maya Estes and Jorge Viera passed by the lounge at the House of Blues Atlantic City. They didn't plan on stopping inside until they heard the J.D.V. Band start playing Radiohead's 1993 hit "Creep."
The Brooklyn, N.Y., couple sat on a couch and sang along with the group to the tune's chorus. Estes was 12 years old when the single was released.
"I was into grunge. I had a little altar to Kurt Cobain (the late lead singer of Nirvana). I love Smashing Pumpkins," said Estes as she sat in her one shoulder, glitter, zebra-print mini-dress. "When I was 13, I went to Lollapalooza with the Beastie Boys, Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day and Luscious Jackson."
People, such as Estes and Viera, who love the music of the 1990s will bask in the glory of their youth this summer.
Acts that have been missing in action for years - for instance, Jane's Addiction, Limp Bizkit and Faith No More - join those who never went away, including Pearl Jam, Radiohead and Tool, to stage a virtual 1990s music revival.
The punk rock revolution that changed the music scene in England during the 1970s arrived 20 years later in America with the rise of grunge, a mixture of punk and metal, played by Seattle-based bands such as Nirvana. The music industry opened its eyes to the commercial potential of alternative rock when it saw the popularity of the first Lollapalooza traveling rock and culture festival in 1991.
Grunge eventually died out, and the charismatic rock bands of the 1990s were replaced by groups that could produce a more radio-acceptable sound.
Now, the 1990s acts want to reclaim their place on the music scene. Old fans and recent converts buy tickets to their tours. Some rock stations have pumped up their playlists with more 1990s songs.
Steve Gietka, vice president of entertainment for Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., said two factors fuel the resurgence in 1990s rock music.
First, there is a void in rock at the moment. Second, it's just time for a return to the 1990s in the typical 10-to-15-year cycle of nostalgia. Nostalgia used to move in cycles of about 20 years. But the gap seems to be getting shorter, Gietka said. He booked Green Day in 2005 at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort and the reunited Alice in Chains in 2006.
"It (the 1990s) was a great time for rock, so I'm glad to see these bands working," Gietka said.
More than just a concert business phenomenon, the demand for more music from the 1990s impacts rock radio also. The audience at active rock station WJSE-FM 102.7 has been asking for more 1990s grunge and alternative music, according to Paul Kelly, the operations manager for the Atlantic Broadcasting Group, which includes WJSE.
"It's interesting because 1990s rock has come back, but other genres of 1990s music have not. You don't see people clamoring for a Color Me Badd reunion," Kelly said, referring to the R&B vocal group with hits including "All 4 Love" and "I Wanna to Sex You Up" in the early 1990s. "The fact that it only seems to be the rock stuff that's seeing the resurgence speaks volumes about the quality of the music."
WJSE is playing more Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Jane's Addiction, Blink-182, Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins and The Offspring. The radio station also plays the No Doubt songs "Just A Girl" and "Spiderwebs" from 1995. The station played its part in building the excitement for the first concert tour in five years by No Doubt with lead singer Gwen Stefani, which kicked off May 2 at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa.
The concert attracted No Doubt fans including Suzanne Morrison, 35, of Linwood. She had just turned 21 and was attending college in Rochester, N.Y.,when she first heard No Doubt.
"I had 'Tragic Kingdom' (the band's most successful CD from 1995). There was a club in Rochester, N.Y. We would go dancing," Morrison said.
Morrison received a text message from her girlfriend, Stef, the Wednesday before the Saturday concert offering her a ticket. Morrison wanted to see the concert. She just needed to find a babysitter to stay with her two little ones, age 2 1/2 and 5. It took her two days, but she succeeded.
"It was fantastic. She was amazing," Morrison said of Stefani. "Her energy was enormous. It was a lot of fun, exactly what I expected."
The revived interest in 1990s rock also benefits music retailers. Fans work up excitement again to spend money on bands and songs from a decade ago. Customers, who lived through that era, will replace CDs that got lost or beat up, according to Chuck McGinty, manager of CD Exchange in Northfield. A great deal of the grunge stuff, especially Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Nirvana, always sells. Green Day's back catalog also sells, McGinty said.
"'Dookie' and 'Jagged Little Pill' always sell," said McGinty about Green Day's 1994 disc and the 1995 breakthrough album by Alanis Morissette.
When the J.D.V. Band went back in time during a recent Sunday morning at the Showboat Casino-Hotel, they didn't just revisit "Creep." A girl, who looked no older than a college student, sat right in front of the group. She begged them to play her favorite song, "Save Tonight" from 1997 by one-hit wonder Eagle-Eye Cherry, which they did.
The band's cover songs for its final set of the night included "Hey Jealousy" from 1993 by Gin Blossoms and "Sober" by Tool, also from 1993.
For a rock perspective, the 1990s were all about grunge and seriousness as a reaction to the silliness and party ethos of 1980s bands such as Culture Club and Motley Crue respectively, according to Philadelphia's J.D. Valenteen, the leader of the J.D.V. Band.
"At the 10-year mark, everybody starts looking back and saying, 'Oh, that was cool,'" Valenteen said.
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Still rocking
How hot are bands from the 1990s? Here's a list of groups from the decade who are back in the public eye.
Alice In Chains: The Seattle-based band formed in 1987, went on hiatus in 1996 and broke up in 2002 when singer Layne Staley died. The group reformed with new vocalist William DuVall in 2002. The group will release a new CD, "Black Gives Way to Blue," on Sept. 29.
The Black Crowes: Led by brothers Chris and Rich Robinson, the Crowes released its first album in 1990 and dissolved in January 2002. The Robinson brothers reassembled the group in 2005. The Crowes return to the Borgata on Aug. 29. A new CD, titled "Before the Frost...," is scheduled for Sept. 1. A second album will be available as a free download.
Blink-182: Based out of California, the band worked together from 1992 to 2005. The group reformed in February and will play a sold-out concert in the Event Center at Borgata on Oct. 3. The band has suggested a new CD could be expected this summer.
Creed: The group formed in 1995 in Florida and broke up in June 2004. Creed reunited earlier this year and will play at the Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden on Aug. 13. A new album could be released as soon as August.
No Doubt: Fronted by Gwen Stefani, No Doubt formed in 1986 in California, went on hiatus in 2004 and reconvened late last year. The group performed at Borgata on May 2. The band is finishing up its first studio album in seven years. Its release date is to be announced.
Phish: The quintessential jam band formed in 1983 in Vermont, and many fans consider the group's heyday to have been the mid-1990s. Phish announced a breakup in 2004, but reunited to do a tour this summer. The band played at the Susquehanna Bank Center on June 7. Phish's first studio CD in five years is scheduled for release July 28.
Smashing Pumpkins: This alternative rock band formed in 1988 in Chicago and broke up in 2000. Lead singer and guitarist Billy Corgan reformed the group in 2005. The group played the Event Center at Borgata last November.
Stone Temple Pilots: The rock quartet came together in 1991 in California and broke up in 2003. The band reunited last year and played a sold-out show at Borgata in August. The group returns to the casino July 18. The band is working with producer Don Was on a new CD.
Sugar Ray: Formed in 1992 in California, the group released its last studio CD of original material in 2003, but a new album, titled "Music for Cougars," will be issued July 21. The band stops in the Showroom at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City with another 1990s group, Fastball, as an opening act, Aug. 8.
Third Eye Blind: The San Francisco-based quartet came together in 1995 and took a break in 2003. The band performed in the House of Blues Atlantic City at the Showboat Casino-Hotel on May 15. A new album, "Ursa Major," drops Aug. 18.
Posted in Life on Friday, July 3, 2009 6:00 am Updated: 6:28 am.
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