Willard (band)
Willard was an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed around 1989. They were a part of the grunge music scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Willard | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Genres | Grunge,[1] doom metal,[1] sludge metal, alternative metal |
| Years active | 1989–1995 |
| Labels | Green Gel, Roadrunner, Black Guitar |
| Past members | Johnny Clint Mark Spiders Otis P. Otis Steve Wied Darren Peters Tyson Garcia |
History
Jeff Gilbert and Tad Doyle were instrumental in Willard's record deal, which resulted in the Endino-produced Steel Mill in 1992.[2] Gilbert called Willard the "drunkest band in Seattle" in his Rocket article. They had previously released a self-titled four song EP on Jerry O'Neill's a.k.a. Gerald Weymeth's Green Gel Records.[3] After performing an outdoor show for the "Pain in the Grass" Festival at the Seattle Center, Willard was banned from further performances by the Seattle Police Department and the City of Seattle, resulting in band shirts displaying "Banned by the SPD". The music of Willard was sonically similar to another grunge band, Melvins. Otis was an early member of Napalm Beach, Clint and Peters played in H-Hour, while Wied was the original drummer for Tad.
They disbanded after recording eleven songs in November 1993. These songs were transferred from 2" tape to digital by Stuart Hallerman at Avast! Mark Spiders and Aaron Skok mixed the songs, and Black Guitar Records published the album, Underground, in 2018.
Band members
- Johnny Clint – vocals
- Mark Spiders – guitars
- Otis P. Otis – guitars
- Steve Wied – drums
- Darren Peters – bass (1989–1993)[2]
- Tyson Garcia – bass (1994–1997)
Discography
Full releases
- Sunshine Spread the Love EP (1989)
- Willard – EP (Green Gel Records, 1991)
- Steel Mill (Roadrunner Records, 1992)[2]
- Underground (Black Guitar Records, 2018)
Appearances
- Roadrunner Records Promo PR063 features "Sweet Kali" (Roadrunner Records, 1992)
- Metal Detector CD Metal Monsters features "Stain" (FMBQ, 1992)
- Best of Grunge Rock features "Fifteen" (Priority Records, 1993)
- Seattle Music Scene Volume 2 features demo version of "Larie" from ABV Sessions (Insight Records, 1994)
References
- Everley, Dave (September 6, 2021). "10 obscure but brilliant grunge bands who should've been huge". Louder Sound. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
- Colin Larkin, ed. (1999). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock (First ed.). Virgin Books. p. 485. ISBN 0-7535-0257-7.
- Brenda Herrmann, "Willard: Steel Mill", Chicago Tribune, December 17, 1992, Sec. Tempo, p. 7