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Hey, 90s Kids! A Lot of Your Bands Are Back

Nostalgic for the 90s? You’re in luck. Here’s a story on 90s artists that appeared in both the Toronto Star and the Hamilton Spectator.

’90s rockers resume transmission; Tea Party, Matthew Good and their peers aren’t on the radio as much any more, but nostalgic fans want them back in concert

It was no small feat that Canadian rock band the Tea Party headlined the 1998 edition of Edgefest. Summer music festivals live and die by their headliners, making the fact that the Windsor trio took top billing on the national tour over international stars such as Green Day and Foo Fighters all the more impressive.

“The Canadian music industry at the time (was) truly championing rock bands,” recalls Tea Party drummer Jeff Burrows. “It was a very cool time.”

Canadian music had always been thought of as separate and, frankly, lesser.

But by the mid-‘90s, Canadian rock bands were competing with their American counterparts for album sales and radio play allowing acts such as Tea Party, Matthew Good and Age of Electric to carve out substantial careers in Canada even as they were mostly ignored south of the border.

“We wanted music that reflected our needs, wants, wishes, demands and fears,” says Alan Cross, radio broadcaster and creator of The Ongoing History of New Music show on Edge 102.1.

“And we got it.”

Today, artists from this era are coming out of the woodwork to celebrate the era and the records that made it (and them). Transmission, Tea Party’s double-platinum third album including the hit “Temptation,” turns 20 this summer and the band members are embarking on an anniversary tour that will see them play the record in its entirety.

They’re not the only ‘90s Canadian rockers hitting the cold Canadian road this winter. Vancouver’s Matthew Good is revisiting Beautiful Midnight, the 1999 behemoth that housed “Load Me Up” and “Hello Time Bomb,” with a complete-album tour and a new EP, I Miss New Wave, which reworks several tracks from the album.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 37899 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

3 thoughts on “Hey, 90s Kids! A Lot of Your Bands Are Back

  • Link is broken

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  • Finger 11. Everclear. Rancid. We want more, more, more. And they r comin’.

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