* En anglais uniquement
Just about every rock & roller nowadays lists '70s rock as a major influence, but few rockers are down with the misunderstood genius
Prince. Unlike others, though,
Satchel has no problem admitting their worship of the Purple One (vocalist
Shawn Smith in particular, who explores his
Prince fixation even more in his two-man side project
Pigeonhed).
Satchel's roots lay in the band
Brad, which was originally put together as a one-shot side project for
Pearl Jam guitarist
Stone Gossard. It was essentially an excuse for a group of friends to unwind and make music for the sheer fun of it. After releasing the album
Shame in 1992,
Gossard returned to
Pearl Jam, while drummer
Regan Hagar and singer
Smith decided to form a permanent band. After hooking up with guitarist
John Hoag and bassist
Cory Kane, the newly named
Satchel (originally called Bliss) secured a record deal with Epic Records. Their debut,
EDC, was released in 1994, and was an unfortunately overlooked masterpiece. The band toured relentlessly, and soon bassist
Kane exited, with his replacement being Mike Berg. The album didn't sell in vast quantities as hoped, so the band regrouped and began writing their next one.
Stone Gossard was signed on to co-produce their next album, and the resulting
The Family (released in 1996) was a surprisingly mellower affair than the debut.
Satchel again embarked on a long tour, and again their album went unnoticed (even an opening slot on an
Afghan Whigs tour didn't help). By tour's end,
Gossard expressed interest in re-forming
Brad with
Smith and
Hagar, and in contrast to
Brad's debut, this time they would tour. The group accepted, and
Hoag promptly quit
Satchel.
Brad's superb
Interiors received glowing reviews upon its spring 1997 release. And although the album wasn't a smash, the group obtained a loyal fan base, who made the tour a sold-out success.
Brad bassist
Jeremy Toback was unable to tour (even though he played on the record), so
Satchel bassist Berg stepped in for the duration. This left the future of
Satchel up in the air, along with
Hoag's exit and the fact that many fans felt
Brad should become a permanent band, putting out albums and touring on a regular basis. ~ Greg Prato