Some bands are instantly catapulted to stardom with their first line-up. But there are many megastars who first got their feet wet in school bands on the regional scene, and later climbed to the heights of fame in a completely different way. Here are 10 famous musicians and their former, unknown bands:
1. Bruce Dickinson – Samson
The legendary Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson began his career during the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with the band Samson. At the time, he was still known as “Bruce Bruce”. But he soon realised that his bandmates didn’t meet his standards. He himself said: “In my naivety, I thought people who were in rock ‘n roll bands were great artists”. It came as a big shock for him when he realised that they weren’t and didn’t even aspire to be. Dickinson left the band in 1981 to join Iron Maiden as a singer.
2. Lemmy – The Rockin’ Vicars
His father was a clergyman, but the name of Lemmy Kilmister’s band “The Rockin’ Vicars” was by no means meant to be a dig at his old man. Initially, he played in lesser-known Manchester bands for several years out of his love for rock ‘n’ roll, before moving north in 1965 and joining the comparatively professional “Vicars” as a guitarist. Two years later, he moved to London, where he worked as a roadie for Jimi Hendrix and, after a few more stops, finally founded Motörhead.
3. Dave Grohl – Dain Bramage
As a 15-year-old, a certain Dave Grohl saw himself more as a guitarist than a drummer. But after seeing him let loose behind the drum set, his bandmates in the Washington high school band, which changed its name several times before finally settling on “Dain Bramage,” reshuffled the line-up. In the summer of 1986, they recorded their only album, “I Scream Not Coming Down”, with youthful exuberance. In 1987, Dave’s dizzying rise to stardom began at the age of just 17.
4. Ronnie James Dio – Vegas Kings
Before becoming the singer of Rainbow and Black Sabbath and an all-round metal icon, Ronnie James Dio was a high school student in Cortland, New York. In 1957, he formed his first band, the Vegas Kings. Curiously, it wasn’t a metal band, but a pop group in which he initially played bass and trumpet before somewhat involuntarily taking over the vocals. The reason: no one else wanted the job. The band changed its name more often than others changed their guitar strings. But by the time they transformed into the Electric Elves, they had made metal history.
5. Corey Taylor – Smakdab
Just recently, there was a real curiosity. The song “Shadowed” by former nu metal hopefuls Smakdab was long lost, only to immediately go viral after being rediscovered on the web. The guest singer on the song, which was originally released in 1998, is none other than Slipknot and Stone Sour star Corey Taylor. He had already played his first concert with Slipknot a year earlier. However, this recording from his early days showed a completely different side of the motor-mouthed musician, who probably didn’t choose the name “The Great Big Mouth” for nothing. Fans hope that he will overcome his mental health issues.
6. Tom Morello – Lock Up
Before Rage Against The Machine, Tom Morello played with the Los Angeles-based metal band Lock Up. In contrast to the non-conformist, neo-socialist, multi-ethnic rap metal of Rage Against The Machine, Lock Up was a band that did exactly what A&R people, managers, and record companies wanted, according to Morello. However, after the release of their 1989 LP Something Bitchin’ This Way Comes, they were promptly dropped. Proof that genius cannot be planned.
7. Zack de La Rocha – Inside Out
Rage Against The Machine even took their name from a song by Zack’s previous band, the hardcore punks Inside Out from Orange County. Zack was their singer from 1988 until they split up in 1991. After the band released a single 7-inch EP, No Spiritual Surrender, in 1990, copies of the band’s demos and live shows were shared online for several years, with two live sets from the early 90s being unearthed in recent years.
8. Jordan Fish – Worship
Before Jordan Fish joined the Sheffield metalcore giants Bring Me The Horizon on synths and backing vocals, there was some excitement surrounding the synth-rock band Worship, in which he was the bassist and “programmer”. After all, the singles by his former bandmates had already shown real potential and were making waves on the scene. But his departure put an end to their planned endeavours before they could even really get started.
9. Trent Reznor – Exotic Birds
Trent Reznor’s output with Nine Inch Nails was truly incomparable. Founded in 1983, the synth-pop collective Exotic Birds didn’t have much in common with his later work musically – except for an obvious, deeply rooted love of groundbreaking electronic music. Trent joined in 1985 and contributed keyboards, programming and backing vocals. He was involved in the 1986 EP L’oiseau and the accompanying live dates. However, as the singer Andy Kubiszewski remained in charge of the band’s creative direction, they split up in 1988. Trent wanted more.
10. Maynard James Keenan – TexA.N.S. / Children Of The Anachronistic Dinasty
Jack of all trades, loner, genius, eccentric: the singer, actor and winemaking enthusiast Maynard James Keenan fits into just about every pigeonhole outside the mainstream. Splitting his time between Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer, he has never been idle as a singer. He made his first foray into the world of music with TEXA.N.S., whose name was an acronym for Tex And The Anti-Nazi Squad. Two tracks from the opinionated band’s 1986 album were recently released online. Maynard is consistently continuing on his funky, albeit sometimes chaotic path.
10 well-known musicians and their former, unknown bands: Your Feedback
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