Various Artists

Born in Omaha Nebraska and raised in Dallas Texas, singer / songwriter Elliott Smith made his musical start in Portland, OR in 1991 with his band Heatmiser, which also featured Neil Gust (No.2) and Sam Coomes (Quasi). While still in Heatmiser, Smith released Roman Candle on Cavity Search Records in 1994. After the Heatmiser’s demise in 1995, Smith continued writing and recording music, releasing Elliott Smith in 1995, and Either/Or in 1997 on Kill Rock Stars. Elliott Smith was nominated for a Grammy in 1998 for his song “Miss Misery” which was featured on the Goodwill Hunting soundtrack. Since that time, the multi-instrumentalist has released XO and Figure 8 on the Dreamworks label. The 30 minute film Strange Parallel (directed by Steve Hanft) about Elliott and his music is also available for viewing on many Smith-related web sites.

– Maurice S. Teilmann (June, 2002)

Accomplished multi-instrumentalist Ben Kweller received his first recognition as a songwriter when he was awarded an honorable mention in the youth songwriter category from Billboard Magazine at the age of 9. The Texas-born youngster formed Radish in 1993 with bassist Bryan Blur and drummer John Kent and signed to the independent Practice Amp Records, releasing the Helllo EP and Dizzy full-length album a year later. Mercury signed his band in ’96, who released Restraining Bolt the following spring. The band didn’t live up to the supercharged major label hype, and disbanded in 1999. Finding his balance as a solo artist, he self-released an EP, Freak Out, It’s Ben Kweller which was highly successful in Europe. In 2002, at the age of twenty, he released the fuzz-pop infused Sha Sha on Island Records.

–Maurice S. Teilmann (August, 2002)

Originating from Oklahoma City in 1983, The Flaming Lips purportedly assembled when singer / guitarist Wayne Coyle stole music gear from a local church hall and formed the group with Michael Ivins (bass guitar) and brother Mark Coyle. Since then the group has cycled through drummers (eventually adding Steven Drozd to the mix in 1992) and guitarists (Jonathan Donahue of Mercury Rev joined in 1989, was replaced by Roland Jones in ’92, who departed after 1995’s Clouds Taste Metallic), but has always maintained a cutting edge approach to music. For instance, 1997’s Zaireeka was a four disc album that required each disc to be played simultaneously, while 1998’s The Soft Bulletin explored the limits of sonic orchestration within a pop format. Their highlight, however, was being featured on Beverly Hills 90210 as a party band following 1993’s unforeseen smash hit, “She Don’t Use Jelly” off of Transmissions From the Satellite Heart, prompting the famous Ian Ziering quote: "You know, I've never been a big fan of alternative music, but these guys rocked the house!".

– Maurice S. Teilmann (July, 2002)