The Afghan Whigs

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The Afghan Whigs

Background information
Origin Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Genre(s) Indie rock
Years active 1986–2001, 2006–present
Label(s) Sub Pop, Elektra, Columbia
Members
Greg Dulli
John Curley
Rick McCollum
Michael Horrigan
Former members
Steve Earle
Paul Buchignani

The Afghan Whigs are an American soul-influenced alternative rock band of the 1990s. While they achieved moderate success—Rolling Stone described the band as spending "the bulk of their career on the brink of stardom"—they've "never quite broken beyond a substantial legion of devotees enamored of their thinly veiled sleaze."

Contents

[edit] Band history

Greg Dulli (vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick McCollum (lead guitar), John Curley (bass), and Steve Earle (drums -- not to be confused with country musician Steve Earle) formed the band in Cincinnati in 1986. Their 1988 debut album Big Top Halloween on their independent record label called Ultrasuede created a buzz in the independent music community, and the band soon signed to Sub Pop of Seattle in 1989, the first non-local band to do so. In 1990, Up in It was released; the blistering pace and yowling, effects-heavy guitars on tracks like "White Trash Party" gave no hint of the stylistic about-face to come. With the critically acclaimed 1992 album Congregation and a covers EP, Uptown Avondale, the Whigs adopted what became their signature sound: mid-tempo songs in minor keys complemented by gloomy angst-ridden lyrics.

The Afghan Whigs then signed to a major label, Elektra Records, and released another critically acclaimed album, Gentlemen that failed to break the band into the mainstream, though it spawned the minor hits "Debonair" & "Gentlemen". They contributed "Fountain and Fairfax" to the soundtrack for the television series My So-Called Life in 1994.

For the next few years, despite personnel problems interfering with recording and touring, the band released two more albums - Black Love in 1996 (with Paul Buchignani taking over drumming duties) and 1965 in 1998 (with Michael Horrigan replacing Buchignani) on Columbia Records - before they broke up in 2001.

In 1994, Greg Dulli was a lead vocalist in the Backbeat Band, an alternative-rock supergroup that recorded the soundtrack to the Beatles biopic, Backbeat. Other members of the Backbeat Band were Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Don Fleming (Gumball), Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Dave Grohl (Nirvana, later Foo Fighters) and Dave Pirner (Soul Asylum). The Backbeat soundtrack was produced by Don Was.

In 1996, Greg Dulli served as executive producer for the soundtrack for the Ted Demme film Beautiful Girls. The Afghan Whigs appeared in the film as a bar band and contributed the Frederick Knight cover "Be For Real" and the Barry White cover "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" to the soundtrack.

In 2006, according to Pitchfork Media, The Afghan Whigs have reunited. [1] According to the Twilight Singers website, the most recent lineup is recording new material for a Rhino Records retrospective called Unbreakable.

[edit] Current projects

  • Greg Dulli is currently recording and performing as The Twilight Singers
  • John Curley is the bassist of the Staggering Statistics
  • Rick McCollum is the guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for Moon Maan
  • The song "Conjure Me" is featured on the Xbox 360 video game Saints Row

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

[edit] EP's

[edit] Singles

  • 1989 I Am the Sticks/White Trash Party (Sub Pop)
  • 1990 Retarded (Sub Pop)
  • 1990 Sister Brother/Hey Cuz (Sub Pop)
  • 1991 My World Is Empty Without You (Sub Pop)
  • 1992 Turn On The Water (Sub Pop)
  • 1992 Conjure Me (Sub Pop)
  • 1993 Debonair (Blast First)
  • 1993 Gentlemen (Blast First)
  • 1994 What Jail Is Like (Sub Pop)
  • 1994 The B-Sides b/w The Conversaion (Sub Pop)
  • 1996 Going To Town (Mute Records)
  • 1997 Live at Howlin' Wolf, New Orleans (Elektra)
  • 1998 Somethin' Hot (Columbia Records)
  • 1998 Historectomy (Columbia)
  • 1999 66 (Columbia Records)

[edit] Bootlegs

  • 1993 Debonair Gentlemen June 6 1993 Passage de Nord Ovest (Alley Kat)
  • 1994 Black Soul Gentlemen 1994 Europe (Octopus)


[edit] External links

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