Ugly Kid Joe | |
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.jpg) Ugly Kid Joe atHellfest 2022 | |
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| Origin | Isla Vista, California, U.S. |
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| Website | uglykidjoe |
Ugly Kid Joe is an Americanhard rock band fromIsla Vista, California, formed in 1989.[3] The band's name spoofs theglam metal bandPretty Boy Floyd's name.[4][5]
To date, Ugly Kid Joe have released five full-length albums, two compilation albums and two EPs. Their best selling records areAs Ugly as They Wanna Be (1991) andAmerica's Least Wanted (1992), which were both certified double platinum by theRIAA;[6] the former is notable for being the first EP to go platinum.[7] The band broke up in 1997, but announced a reunion in 2010 and subsequently recommenced activity.[8]
Childhood friendsWhitfield Crane and Klaus Eichstadt took an interest in music while growing up inPalo Alto, California. In 1989 James Lambert and Eichstadt joined Crane's band in Isla Vista, California, and the trio recorded a demo with another Palo Alto native, record producerEric Valentine. After several band member changes, the band signed withMercury Records in 1991. By this time theAs Ugly as They Wanna Be line-up was formed; consisting of Crane, Eichstadt, Mark Davis, Roger Lahr, and Cordell Crockett.[9]
Initially named Overdrive, then Suburban White Alcoholic Trash, the band got its name Ugly Kid Joe as a parody of L.A. glam bandPretty Boy Floyd, initially for a one night show in Santa Barbara opening for Pretty Boy Floyd. Pretty Boy Floyd would pull out of the show and have the gig cancelled, but the band decided to keep the name.[9]
The band became popular in the early 1990s, mixing satirical humor andheavy metal. Its logo was a cartoon embodiment of an "ugly kid" wearing a backwards baseball hat and givingthe finger. Heavily influenced byBlack Sabbath, Ugly Kid Joe covered several of the veteran band's songs, including "Sweet Leaf" and "N.I.B." The group toured theUnited States several times, making its second tour in support ofScatterbrain, and later opening for former Black Sabbath lead vocalistOzzy Osbourne.
The band released the EPAs Ugly as They Wanna Be in October 1991, garnering success in 1992 with the single "Everything About You", which peaked at No. 3 in theUK Singles Chart and made it into the Billboard Top 10. Later in the year, the song would be used in the movieWayne's World.As Ugly As They Wanna Be went on to sell over one million copies in the U.S. alone.
The band spent two months in the studio to recordAmerica's Least Wanted. During the process, Roger Lahr left the band due to musical differences and was eventually replaced bySugartooth guitaristDave Fortman in April 1992. Lahr is credited in the song "Come Tomorrow" and is included in the album's liner notes, as the band thanked him for spending his time with them.Rob Halford ofJudas Priest was a guest vocalist on the song "Goddamn Devil". The band sped up the recording process for their album in order to get a spot as a supporting act forOzzy Osbourne's "No More Tears" tour. The band eventually landed a spot for the tour, only to have Crane fly back to L.A. several times to finish edits on the album. The album caused controversy with its cover, which features the band's mascot posing as the Statue of Liberty holding up the middle finger and holding a porno magazine in his hand instead of the Declaration. As some stores would not carry the album due to the cover image, the band decided to have an alternative cover made using the album's back photo, which featured the band's mascot chained and gagged.
America's Least Wanted appeared on the U.S. charts at No. 27 having sold over 600,000 units upon release and was considered a favorite among fans and critics. One critic praised the album as, "A rock record you can play all day." The album achieved Gold status in both Canada and Australia, Silver status in the United Kingdom, and went Platinum in the U.S. A cover ofHarry Chapin's "Cat's in the Cradle" was subsequently released as a well-received single that sold over 500,000 copies in the United States alone and peaked at No. 7 in the UK Singles Chart.
After finishing up with Ozzy, they opened up forDef Leppard on the European leg of their tour which was sold-out in 6 weeks. Ugly Kid Joe then made a stop at the 1992MTV Video Music Awards and thereafter spent 3 weeks playing sold-out shows in Australia and Japan. They became the Reader's Choice for Best New Artist voted byMetal Edge andRaw magazine. They also presented The Favorite Heavy Metal band award toMetallica at theAmerican Music Awards in 1993. The band would also get nominated for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock New Artist but lost toPearl Jam.
After their tour in support of their 1992 albumAmerica's Least Wanted, the band searched for a replacement drummer, as Mark Davis left to pursue a life away from the spotlight. The band tried out several new drummers, for example Bob Fernandez, who only recorded once, on a cover of Black Sabbath's "N.I.B." for theNativity in Black Black Sabbath tribute album. He also performed in Brazil with the band at theHollywood Rock festival in 1994 as headliners along withAerosmith,Poison, among others. After attending aSouls at Zero show in Colorado, Crane became immediately impressed with the band's drummer,Shannon Larkin. Crane later called up Larkin to join Ugly Kid Joe to which Larkin agreed. The band then wrote some new song material with Larkin and embarked on a short tour titled the "Excuse To Go Snowboarding Tour" with guestsDog Eat Dog andGoldfinger. Larkin's contributions led to a grittier sound for the second albumMenace to Sobriety, released in the summer of 1995. The album was recorded in Palacio Del Rio in northern Santa Barbara.
The band embarked on a tour in support of the album. They did a snowboard tour, a small club tour, and later a stadium tour opening forBon Jovi andVan Halen. The band excluded "Everything About You" from their set list in order to show the fans that they stand tall on their recent material. At a show in Wembley Stadium in London, the band was joined on stage by Ozzy Osbourne's son,Jack Osbourne before playing Sabbath's "N.I.B".
Menace to Sobriety received much praise from the press and fans, andUK rock magazineKerrang! ranked it as a contender for album of the year. Despite success overseas and a successfulEuropean tour, the album was given little encouragement fromMercury Records and subsequently failed in the United States.
After being dropped by Mercury, Ugly Kid Joe formed its own independent label, Evilution Records, for the release of the band's next album. With distribution support fromCastle Communications,Motel California was released in late 1996, and again the band toured Europe to smaller crowds. The tour was named "Late Check-out Tour", underlining the band's characteristic sense of humor.Motel California, an album lead vocalistWhitfield Crane described as "heavy, funky, and has everything in it", initially received lukewarm reviews and sold poorly, though it has gained a minor cult following in recent times.
Ugly Kid Joe disbanded in 1997. Drummer Shannon Larkin has been a member ofGodsmack since 2002, while lead vocalist Whitfield Crane took the then-vacant vocalist spot for New York City rock bandLife of Agony whose former singerKeith Caputo had left the group in 1997. After his quick departure from Life of Agony, Crane collaborated with someSoulfly members on a new project calledMedication (1999–2003) and Godsmack members onAnother Animal (2006–2009).
In 2005, an unreleased video for "Bicycle Wheels" was made public onto the Ugly Kid Joe forum site (created in January 2004 by J.Goldman, aka DMJ). In 2007, an official Myspace page was made of the band, with old photographs of the band and other candid pictures along with promotional artwork and uploaded live footage and another unreleased music video for "Sandwich". Some of the other footage included footage of the band playing at the UC Santa Barbara campus before getting signed. Soon videos were appearing on YouTube by fans. Some even included live recordings of them in concert and television recordings. Meanwhile, the band's main page featured live tracks and rare songs including a demo of "C.U.S.T." and a few tracks fromMotel California andMenace to Sobriety.
Klaus Eichstadt stated in the December 2009 issue of the German edition of the music magazineMetal Hammer, that the members of Ugly Kid Joe were planning to reunite in summer 2010, although did not specify whether their intent was to produce a new album or simply to perform together. However, rumors of a reunion were confirmed on their MySpace page on May 27, 2010.[10] Their MySpace page also says that the reunion lineup would be the same as the last one before their breakup.
In July 2011, according to drummerShannon Larkin, a new album had been completed. He revealed the album's status in an interview with California's107.7 The Bone at theMayhem Festival, saying "It's a fun band – it's funny, you listen to the songs and it makes you laugh. Just a good-time rock band, y'know?"[11]
On September 9, 2011, vocalistWhitfield Crane made an update on the band's official Facebook page stating he appeared107.7 The Bone the day before and played a new track called "Love Ain't True" and stating that a 6 track EP and was mixed and finished. According to official website "also in the works is anEPK documenting the reunification and the latest recording sessions along with some rare old footage of interviews, behind the scenes stuff, and live performances".
The new EP,Stairway to Hell, was released digitally on June 5, 2012, while a physical version surfaced a month later, July 9.[12] In order to promote the recording, Ugly Kid Joe played a series of festivals that summer, includingSweden Rock in Sweden,Download in England,Gods of Metal in Milan, Italy, and Belgrade Calling in Serbia. They were the main support act forGuns N' Roses in Tel Aviv, Israel on July 3, 2012, and also forAlice Cooper on his "Raise The Dead" tour in October 2012.
Ugly Kid Joe started a joint co-headlining European tour withSkid Row in October 2013 kicking off the tour in Southampton, UK.
In February 2015, Ugly Kid Joe successfully used pledgemusic.com in acrowdfunding effort to pay for the recording of their next album, to be titledUglier Than They Used ta Be, is the first full-length studio album since they break-up after the album was completedin nearly 19 years,[13] set to be released on October 16, 2015.
Ugly Kid Joe's first studio album in seven years,Rad Wings of Destiny, was released on October 21, 2022.[14]
In January of 2023, the band announced its first U.S. tour in 27 years.[15] The tour includesFozzy and Pistols at Dawn.
Ugly Kid Joe is currently working on a new album, which is tentatively due for release in 2026.[16]
Ugly Kid Joe has been categorized under several genres, includinghard rock,[3][17][18][19]pop metal,[3][20][21]heavy metal,[22][23][19]alternative metal,[24][25][26]funk metal,[27][28]glam metal[29] andgrunge.[30][31]AllMusic described them as a "fun-loving hard rock/funk/alt-metal group" that has a "knack for crafting infectious pop-metal".[3]
The band has citedJudas Priest,Motörhead,Black Sabbath,AC/DC andVan Halen as its major musical influences, though it also cited the likes ofRed Hot Chili Peppers andMötley Crüe for their funky and heavy musical approach, evident in the band's unique esthetic especially on its debut EPAs Ugly As They Wanna Be and debut albumAmerica's Least Wanted.[29]
| 1987–1989 |
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| 1989 |
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| 1989–1992 |
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| 1992–1993 |
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| 1994 |
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| 1994–1997 |
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| 1997–2010 | Disbanded |
| 2010–2021 |
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| 2021–present |
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