Failure (band)
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Failure was an influential American alternative and space rock band active in the 1990s.
History
Failure formed around 1991 by Ken Andrews (vocalist, guitarist and songwriter), and Greg Edwards (bassist, guitarist and songwriter). Ken Andrews and Greg Edwards met one another through classified ad in Los Angeles. From there the two started recording four track demos and playing gigs around LA with Gauss. Just over a year after forming, Failure was signed to Slash Records, a Warner Brothers imprint label, around 1991. At this time, Failure went on their first of several tours with Tool; San Diego band, rust, opened. After the release of Comfort (1992), drummer Robert Gauss left the band. Greg Edwards played drums on the band's sophomore effort Magnified (1994), with John Dargahi assisting. Following the release of Magnified, Failure went on tour with fellow rockers Tool. Each night of this tour, Adam Jones from Tool played second guitar on the Failure song, "Macaque". The band's third and final album Fantastic Planet (1996) was released after a year and a half delay. Each subsequent tour, Failure was supported by the bands rust, Inch, or returned to support Tool. Troy Van Leeuwen joined the band as lead guitarist when the band toured to support Fantastic Planet. Of note, Failure joined the Lollapalooza tour in 1997, playing double duty on both the side stage as well as the main stage, filling in for another band who had dropped out of the show. Also in 1997, they recorded a cover of Depeche Mode's Enjoy The Silence for a tribute album, For the Masses. On November 19, 1997, the band decided to break up. Their decision to quit was in part due to poor support from the label, the delay in release of Fantastic Planet, and substance abuse.
Though largely forgotten today outside their fanbase, they did score an alternative rock hit with their single "Stuck On You" from Fantastic Planet. "Stuck On You" was later recorded by the band Paramore in 2006 on their latest release, The Summer Tic EP. The band remains very influential among other bands and musicians through their legacy throughout the rock world and through the band members' other projects. While never gaining wide-spread fame, they garnered high critical praise throughout their seven year career.
In 2004, Edwards and Andrews released a CD/DVD set entitled Golden. This collection of B-sides includes a complete set of their music videos and live concert footage. Also featured was a 40-minute long documentary that details the history of the band along with some behind-the-scenes footage of the band members.
Discography
-
Comfort
(1992) -
Magnified
(1994) -
Fantastic Planet
(1996) -
Golden
(2004)
Post-Failure projects
Before releasing one more album as Failure, Fantastic Planet, in 1996, Ken Andrews and Greg Edwards formed a side project with Paul D'Amour, formerly of Tool, and Chris Pitman entitled Replicants. The band recorded one album, comprised entirely of covers of musicians such as The Cars, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Steely Dan and Pink Floyd, among others. The album is known for pitting John Lennon's bitter slam against Paul McCartney, "How Do You Sleep?", against McCartney's more lighthearted "Silly Love Songs" (feat. Maynard James Keenan of Tool) within 3 tracks of each other.
Ken Andrews has moved on to become a well-known producer, mixer and engineer. He has also remained active creatively, starting two new projects: On, a solo endeavor, and Year of the Rabbit, an alternative rock band comprised of Tim Dow (drums, background vocals), Jeff Garber (lead guitar, background vocals), Solomon Synder (bass guitar, background vocals) and Andrews (lead vocals, rhythm guitar). He also produced Mae's The Everglow, among other albums. He also mixed a number of Tenacious D's self-titled album's tracks.
Troy Van Leeuwen played with A Perfect Circle, who covered Failure's "The Nurse Who Loved Me" on their album Thirteenth Step. Troy is currently a member of Queens of the Stone Age, whose latest album, Lullabies to Paralyze, was released in spring 2005. He is also working on his own long term project entitled Enemy, who released their album Hooray for Dark Matter late 2005.
Greg Edwards is the guitarist and one of the vocalists of the art rock band Autolux, who released their debut album, Future Perfect, on October 26th, 2004 to general critical praise. They opened for Nine Inch Nails and Queens of The Stone Age in 2005.
Kelli Scott was a member of Blinker the Star and is now the new drummer for Campfire Girls. He remains a very active musician. He also plays drums with Enemy. Currently he is drummer for alternative rock band Veruca Salt.