Third Eye Blind

 

     Third Eye Blind (frequently abbreviated 3eb) is an American alternative rock band formed in the early 1990s in San Francisco. The band’s current line-up is Stephan Jenkins (vocals, guitar), Brad Hargreaves (drums, percussion), Tony Fredianelli (guitar, vocals), and Leo Kremer (bass guitar, vocals).
     Half-sung, simple vocal lines, dirty — but not dangerous — guitars, and hummable melodies have made 3EB a bundle of dough. Ex-3EB guitarist Kevin Cadogan filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit against the band, saying he was let go without just cause. “Semi-Charmed Life,” Third Eye Blind’s first Top 40 hit, was a catchy pop song about crystal meth addiction. According to vocalist Stephan Jenkins, Camper Van Beethoven is one of his favorite bands of all-time. Third Eye Blind built their own recording studio in SF, complete with a mixing board used on vintage Rolling Stone sessions.
     After the massive success of their eponymous debut album in 1997, the band released one more album, 1999’s Blue, before guitarist Kevin Cadogan was released under circumstances that still elicit controversy among fans. More recently, bassist Arion Salazar has not been playing with the band, and his future as part of the quartet is unclear. Leo Kremer has been filling in for Salazar during concerts, and on the band’s MySpace page, he is now listed as a full time band member.

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The Police

    The Police are a three-piece rock band consisting of Sting (vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar, vocals) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion, vocals). The band became globally popular in the early 1980s, playing a style of rock that was influenced by jazz, reggae, ska, and punk music. Their 1983 album, Synchronicity, was number one in the UK and the US and sold over 8,000,000 copies in the US. The band broke up in the mid-1980s, but reunited in early 2007 with the announcement that they were undertaking a world tour. The tour was scheduled from the middle of that year on until mid-2008, in celebration of the 30th anniversary of their hit single “Roxanne” and also, to a lesser extent, that of their formation as a group. To date The Police have sold over 50 million albums worldwide. Rolling Stone ranked The Police number 70 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
     They came from the punk-inspired, DIY scene in the late ’70s, but carefully crafted, reggae-tinged pop made them superstars. Since quietly calling it quits in 1986, the Police reunited for Sting’s wedding in 1992 and again in 2007 for a world tour. Guitarist Andy Sumners played with Eric Burdon’s New Animals in the late ’60s, way before he joined the Police. Sting was a former teacher and liked to drop literary references (from Nabakov to Carl Jung) into his pop songs. Before they recorded their debut, they were all asked to dye their hair blonde for a Wrigley’s gum advert. The color stuck.

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