W16 Horsepower was an American alternative country music group based in Denver, Colorado, United States. Their music often invoked religious imagery dealing with conflict, redemption, punishment, and guilt through David Eugene Edwards's lyrics and the heavy use of traditional bluegrass, gospel, and Appalachian instrumentation cross-bred with rock. For the bulk of its career, the band consisted of Edwards, Jean-Yves Tola, and Pascal Humbert, the latter two formerly of the French band Passion Fodder. After releasing four studio albums and touring extensively, the group broke up in 2005, citing "mostly political and spiritual" differences. The members remain active in the groups Woven Hand and Lilium.
WThe Bambi Molesters were a surf rock band from Sisak, Croatia. Since their formation in 1995, they have taken part in the revival of the 1960s surf genre and continue to contribute to its survival and further development with their music. They have managed to build their reputation as a contemporary surf rock band.
WBlaudzun is the stage name of the Dutch singer-songwriter Johannes Sigmond who played for years in various bands and projects before pursuing a solo career in 2006.
WBoss Hog is an American punk blues band including the husband and wife duo of Jon Spencer (guitar) and Cristina Martinez (vocals) along with Jens Jurgensen (bass), Hollis Queens (drums) and Mickey Finn (keyboard). The band achieved some notoriety, not only due to their abrasive sound, but more to Martinez's confrontational use of nudity on the band's record sleeves. In their 27-year history, the band's releases have been relatively sporadic, but comprised four full-length albums, a mini-album, three EP's and several singles. Between 2008 and 2010, the band played live and toured Europe and the US.
WRichard Buckner is an American singer-songwriter born in California, United States. After living in Edmonton, Alberta, for a number of years, he relocated to Brooklyn, New York.
WNeal Graeme Casal was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and photographer. First rising to prominence as lead guitar with Rickey Medlocke's Blackfoot from 1988 to 1993, he is also known as a member of Ryan Adams' backing band the Cardinals from 2005 until 2009, with whom he recorded three studio albums. He played in several groups, including the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Hard Working Americans, The Skiffle Players, GospelbeacH and Circles Around the Sun– and released twelve albums as a solo artist.
WCodeine was an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in New York City. They released two full-length albums—Frigid Stars LP in 1990 and The White Birch in 1994. The band broke up in 1994 shortly after the release of The White Birch, but reunited to play a handful of shows in 2012.
WCows were a post-hardcore/noise rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The band formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1998. They were known for a unique mixture of punk rock played with large amounts of noise and surreal humour; their music is often considered noise rock. Their CD releases are often difficult to find, as most of them are out of print, with the exception of Whorn and Orphan's Tragedy. Some of their albums were never released in CD format. After disbanding, Shannon Selberg went on to front The Heroine Sheiks.
WHelios Creed is an American guitarist, singer and bandleader. He first came to prominence in the mid-1970s with the San Francisco band Chrome, who were considered an early influence on industrial rock. Chrome broke up in the mid-1980s when founding member Damon Edge moved to Paris. Helios then recruited some local hard rock musicians and launched a solo career.
WJohnny Dowd is an American alternative country musician from Ithaca, New York. Typical of his style are experimental, noisy breaks in his songs and strong gothic elements in the lyrics as well as in the music. There is also a strong undercurrent of black humor and the absurd in his work.
WThe Fluid was an American rock band from Denver which formed in 1985, disbanded in 1993, but reconvened in 2008. The group cited the Rolling Stones and MC5 as inspirations for their sound, and was the first group based outside the Pacific Northwest to sign with influential Seattle label Sub Pop.
WFreakwater is an American alternative country band from Louisville, Kentucky, with one co-founding member living in Chicago. Freakwater is known for the lead vocals of Janet Bean and Catherine Irwin, who mix harmony and melody in idiosyncratic dissonant country-folk that is reminiscent of the Carter Family.
WButch Hancock, is an American country/folk music recording artist and songwriter. Hancock is a member of The Flatlanders along with Joe Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, but he has principally performed solo.
WPenelope Houston is an American singer-songwriter best known as the singer for the San Francisco-based punk rock band the Avengers. She was raised in Seattle. In the mid-1970s she attended Fairhaven College in Bellingham, Washington. In 1977, Houston moved to San Francisco, attended the San Francisco Art Institute, and shortly after became the lead singer and songwriter for the Avengers. That band released one album, their eponymous debut in 1983.
WMark William Lanegan is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He released more than 10 studio albums and was the lead singer for Screaming Trees. He was also a member of Queens of the Stone Age. Lanegan is known for his baritone voice, which has been described as being "as scratchy as a three-day beard yet as supple and pliable as moccasin leather."
WMonster Magnet is an American rock band. Hailing from Red Bank, New Jersey, the group was founded in 1989 by Dave Wyndorf, John McBain (guitar) and Tim Cronin ; they have since gone through several lineup changes, leaving Wyndorf as the only constant member. Monster Magnet has released ten studio albums to date, and they are best known for their 1990s hits "Negasonic Teenage Warhead" and "Space Lord". The band has also been credited for developing and popularizing the stoner rock genre, along with Masters of Reality, Kyuss, Fu Manchu and Sleep.
WScott William Matthew is a singer-songwriter born in Queensland, Australia. He was a member of alternative pop band Elva Snow (2001–2006), which he co-founded with Spencer Cobrin. On 7 March 2008 he issued his solo debut eponymous album. His second album, There Is an Ocean That Divides, appeared on 24 April 2009. On 10 June 2011, Matthew followed with his third album, Gallantry's Favorite Son. He resides and performs as an independent artist in New York City.
WWolfgang Michels was a German singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer.
WThe Minus 5 is an American pop rock band, headed by musician Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows, often in partnership with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.
WMark Olson is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of alternative country bands The Jayhawks and the Original Harmony Ridge Creekdippers.
WPere Ubu is an American rock group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. The band had a variety of long-term and recurring band members, with singer David Thomas being the only member staying throughout the band's lifetime. They released their debut album The Modern Dance in 1978 and followed with several more LPs before disbanding in 1982. Thomas reformed the group in 1987, continuing to record and tour.
WJeffrey Lee Pierce was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and author. He was one of the founding members of the band The Gun Club, and also released material as a solo artist.
WHugo Justin Race is an Australian rock musician and record producer who had been based in Europe from 1989 to 2011. He was a member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (1983–85), and The Wreckery (1984–89) with Nick Barker and Robin Casinader. As from October 2013 he was simultaneously a member of Hugo Race and the True Spirit, Hugo Race Fatalists, and Dirtmusic. True Spirit have released 12 albums. Race returned to live in Australia in 2011.
WSeachange were a band from Nottingham, England, that played a mixture of melodic folk and pop with a strong influence of alternative rock.
WSpain are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1993, and led by singer/bassist Josh Haden. Their syncretic music contains elements of country, blues, folk, jazz, and slowcore. In a career spanning more than two decades, Spain has released five studio albums, a live album, and a best-of collection.
WAdrian Nicholas Godfrey, known as Nikki Sudden, was a prolific English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He co-founded the post-punk band Swell Maps with his brother, Epic Soundtracks, while attending Solihull School in Solihull.
WTamikrest is a group of musicians who belong to the Tuareg people. The band was founded in 2006 in Kidal, Mali. They mix traditional African music with Western rock and pop influences and sing in Tamashek. The main songwriter and leader of the band is Ousmane Ag Mossa.
WJoe Volk is an English musician and songwriter from Bristol now based in Bern, Switzerland. He was lyricist and singer with the bands Gonga and Crippled Black Phoenix, and is a solo recording artist.
WThe Walkabouts were an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984. The core members were vocalist Carla Torgerson and vocalist and songwriter Chris Eckman. Although the rest of the line-up changed occasionally, for most of the time the other members were Michael Wells, Glenn Slater and Terri Moeller.
WWillard Grant Conspiracy (WGC) was an alt-country band based originally in Boston, Massachusetts and later near Palmdale, California, U.S.. The band operated as a collective, with vocalist and songwriter Robert Fisher the only permanent member throughout its existence. Fisher's voice and Americana style have been compared to both John Cale and Johnny Cash, with most songs being acoustic.
WRobert Neil "Bob" Wiseman is a film composer, songwriter, author and music teacher. Wiseman discovered or produced many artists including Ron Sexsmith, The Lowest of the Low, Bruce McCulloch of Kids in the Hall, Anhai, and former Canadian member of parliament Andrew Cash. He is a founding member of Blue Rodeo with whom he won 5 Juno Awards.
WWovenhand is an American alternative country band from Denver, Colorado, United States, led by former 16 Horsepower frontman David Eugene Edwards. Wovenhand's music combines influences from Southern Gothic music, old-time music, folk music, gospel music, and rock and roll, among other genres and styles of music.
WSteven Lawrence Wynn is an American singer and songwriter. He led the band The Dream Syndicate from 1981 to 1989 in Los Angeles, afterward began a solo career, and then reformed The Dream Syndicate in 2012.
WBen Zabo is a Malian Afrobeat-musician from Bamako. He was born at Tominian in the Ségou Region. He released his self-titled debut album on the international record company Glitterhouse Records in 2012.