Do you miss the 90s?

There's been a slew of 90s rock band coming back this year. While maybe you see them through a veil of nostalgia you may think it's a great idea - but are they still viable today?

Compiled today are recent news and releases from bands from the 90s:

BETTER THAN EZRA
betterthanezra.com ♥ myspace.com

Technically, this band's been around since the late 80s, but they weren't well-known until they signed to Elektra Records in the mid-90s with the re-release of Deluxe (the album with their hit song "Good").

I guess the weird thing is that they've never revealed where the name comes from:

We have never revealed it, even under duress.

- singer Kevin Griffin

I'm sure it's probably best if we didn't know the origin of the name. What's the fun in knowing anyway?

Their latest album is called Paper Empire, released just recently in May on Ezra Dry Goods.

THIRD EYE BLIND
3eb.com ♥ myspace.com

Tour Dates 06/12/09 Hard Rock Pool Las Vegas, NV 06/13/09 Marquee Theatre Tempe, AZ 06/16/09 Roseland Ballroom New York, NY 06/20/09 Showbox SoDo Seattle, WA 06/21/09 Crystal Ballroom Portland, OR 06/23/09 Ventura Theatre Ventura, CA 06/24/09 House of Blues Anaheim, CA 06/25/09 Palladium Hollywood, CA 06/27/09 Pipeline Cafe Honolulu, HI

You may remember Third Eye Blind in the late 90s with their self-titled album blowing up with such hits as "How's It Going to Be" and "Semi-Charmed Life" (which was honored by Weird Al in one of his Polka songs). Well, they are back with Ursa Major on the Sony/Red record label* (see note below) (I can't be sure, but I thought I read it was coming out in August). What is interesting is that they're basically harnessing the power of their fans and the internet to help drive interests.

I know a lot of bands do this, but through contests, they're able to get people to basically remix songs for them (via indabamusic.com) or, just very recently, they needed a support act for their June 16^th show at the Roseland Ballroom. The show is almost sold out and it would be a nice break for any band - they ask that you email your myspace page to openfor3eb[a]gmail.com. NOTE: deadline for bands is 10am EST on Sunday, June 14^th.

Since they had recorded so much music, whatever doesn't make it on Ursa Major will be collected in another album, tentatively called Ursa Minor. Keep an "eye" on the band at news.weheartmusic.com.

* Update 6/12/09 11:53am: I just received this breaking news: "the upcoming Third Eye Blind album will be released on August 18^th via Mega Collider"

ALICE IN CHAINS
aliceinchains.com ♥ myspace.com

Tour Dates 07/18/09 Comerica Park Detroit, MI 08/01/09 Marlay Park Dublin 08/02/09 Sonisphere Festival Knebworth 08/06/09 Cologne, GR Essigfabrik 08/08/09 Berlin, GR Columbia Club 08/10/09 Hamburg, GR Grunspan 08/11/09 Amsterdam, NE Melkweg

Riding the coat tail of Seattle's grunge sound, Alice in Chains found themselves selling a ton of their EP Jars of Flies, followed by their '95 self-titled album (the 3-legged dog on the cover, aka 'Tripod'). All the success and money played out like a typical VH-1 Behind the Music story, when you hear that lead singer Layne Staley died of a drug overdose years later.

William DuVall is the new singer, who joined the band in 2006. They seem to be very excited about their upcoming album, Black Gives Way to Blue, out on September 29^th, 2009, on Virgin/EMI records.

Just prior to the album's release, they are planning on playing through Europe (particularly in Germany). Their upcoming gig on July 18^th is with Kid Rock at the Comerica Park in Detroit.

Can't get enough? More at news.weheartmusic.com.

SOUNDGARDEN
chriscornell.com ♥ myspace.com

Chris Cornell - Scream (Album Cover) Tour Dates 06/13/09 Download Festival Donington 06/14/09 Olympia Dublin 06/17/09 New Exhibition Centre Tel Aviv 06/20/09 Nova Rock Festival Nickelsdorf 06/21/09 Roxy Prague 06/23/09 Markthalle Hamburg 06/24/09 Huxley’s Berlin 06/25/09 Szczecin Rock Festival Szczecin 06/27/09 Peace & Love Festival Borlange 06/29/09 Vega Copenhagen 07/01/09 Train Aarhus 07/03/09 Quart Festival Kristiansand 07/06/09 Alcatraz Milan 07/07/09 Ostia Antica Rome 07/10/09 Bilbao Live Festival Bilbao 07/11/09 Optimus Alive Festival

Okay, that's deceiving. I just thought Soundgarden/Alice In Chains combo was more attention-grabbing. Well Soundgarden's lead singer Chris Cornell's third album Scream, was just released in March under Interscope Records.

As far as I know, Soundgarden broke up in 1997 and remained so. Along with Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Alice in Chains, Soundgarden destroyed the world with grunge/metal/rock music. They supernova with their major hit song "Black Hole Sun" (which incidentally failed to get mentioned on my the Sun article).

That summer of '95 saw the band doing some major touring that would've permanently damaged Cornell's vocals cords if he had kept going:

I think we kinda overdid it! We were playing five or six nights a week and my voice pretty much took a beating. Towards the end of the American tour I felt like I could still kinda sing, but I wasn't really giving the band a fair shake. You don't buy a ticket to see some guy croak for two hours! That seemed like kind of a rip off.

- Chris Cornell

The band canceled and rescheduled the concert dates at a later time. The band split up shortly after concluding their 1996 Lollapalooza tour with Metallica.

So, recently, you may have actually heard about Cornell with his high profile work with former Rage Against the Machine members in a band called Audioslave as well as hearing his theme song on the James Bond movie "Casino Royale" with "You Know My Name".

More info at news.weheartmusic.com

Update 6/12/09 1:35pm: Wow so many bands from the 90s...

MEAT PUPPETS
themeatpuppets.com ♥ myspace.com

Tour Dates 06/12/09 Mercury Lounge - New York, NY 06/13/09 Rock n Roll Hotel - Washington, DC 06/14/09 Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC 06/16/09 The Earl - Altanta, GA 06/17/09 Exit/In - Nashville, TN 06/19/09 Cambridge Room - Dallas, TX 06/20/09 The Parish - Austin, TX

Incidentally, I know Dinosaur Jr is still around. I did see that Meat Puppets are around and I just got this late news that they're appearing on NPR/World Cafe today at 3pm.  The note I got sums up their successful tour and promotion: "The band is currently in the middle of their sold out tour with another sold out show at the Mercury Lounge tonight. Plus, they have a big feature in the current issue of Rolling Stone."

You may remember this band as closely tied to Nirvana in the early days, as Kurt Cobain was a huge fan of the band.  Their most famous album is probably Too High to Die in 1994, the album was produced by "worst band name ever" Butthole Surfers' Paul Leary.

The band broke up and recently reunited in 2006.  The new album is called Sewn Together on Megaforce Records and was released on May 12^th.