An Angle

At the center of An Angle is youthful Sacramento songwriter Kris Anaya. He tapped various pals in area bands to record And Take It With a Grain of Salt, the project's debut, which he released on his own imprint in 2002. It proved to be a rambling indie pop sensation, incorporating comfy folk and emo touches and suggesting a little of everyone from Bright Eyes to the Pogues. The album was picked up by Drive-Thru, which offered its re-release in November 2004. Next was a tour with Drive-Thru act Steel Train, and then Angle returned to the studio to record more music. We Can Breathe Under Alcohol (Drive-Thru) appeared in May 2005. It featured a similarly revolving cast of musicians and instruments, and the same intuitive pop sense. An Angle launched a spring and summer tour in support. The band's third release, The Truth Is That You Are Alive, emerged two years later. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide

Amy Winehouse

Much can be said about Amy Winehouse, one of the U.K.'s flagship vocalists during the 2000s. The British press and tabloids seemed to focus on her rowdy behavior and heavy consumption of alcohol, but fans and critics alike embraced her rugged charm, brash sense of humor, and distinctively soulful and jazzy vocals. Her platinum-selling breakthrough album, Frank (2003), elicited comparisons ranging from Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan to Macy Gray and Lauryn Hill. Interestingly enough, despite her strong cockney accent and vernacular, one can often hear aspects of each of those singers' vocal repertoire in Winehouse's own voice. Nonetheless, her allure has been her songwriting -- almost always deeply personal, but best known for its profanity and brutal candor.
Born to a taxi-driving father and pharmacist mother, Winehouse grew up in the Southgate area of northern London. Her upbringing was surrounded by jazz. Many of the uncles on her mother's side were professional jazz musicians, and even her paternal grandmother was romantically involved with British jazz legend Ronnie Scott at one time. While at home, she listened to and absorbed her parents' selection of greats: Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Frank Sinatra among others. However, in her teens, she was drawn to the rebellious spirit of TLC, Salt-N-Pepa, and other American R&B and hip-hop acts of the time.
At the age of 16, after she had been expelled from London's Sylvia Young Theatre School, she caught her first break when pop singer Tyler James, a schoolmate and close friend, passed on her demo tape to his A&R, who was searching for a jazz vocalist. That opportunity led to her recording contract with Island Records. By the end of 2003, when she was 20 years old, Island had released her debut album, Frank. With contributions from hip-hop producer/keyboardist Salaam Remi, Winehouse's amalgam of jazz, pop, soul, and hip-hop received rave reviews. The album was nominated for the 2004 Mercury Music Prize as well as two Brit awards, and its lead single, "Stronger Than Me," won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song.
Following Winehouse's debut, the accolades and inquiring interviews appeared concurrently in the press with her tempestuous public life. Several times she showed up to her club or TV performances too drunk to sing a whole set. In 2006, her management company finally suggested that she enter rehab for alcohol abuse, but instead, she dumped the company and transcribed the ordeal into the U.K. Top Ten hit "Rehab," the lead single for her second, critically acclaimed album, Back to Black. Containing evocative productions from Salaam Remi and British DJ/multi-instrumentalist Mark Ronson, the album somewhat abandoned jazz, delving into the sounds of '50s/'60s-era girl group harmonies, rock & roll, and soul. The fanfare over the release was so great that it started to spill over onto U.S. shores; several rappers and DJs made their own remixes of various songs -- not to mention covers by Prince and the Arctic Monkeys.
One month after Winehouse won Best Female Artist at the Brit Awards in February 2007, Universal released Back to Black in the U.S. The LP charted higher than any other American debut by a British female recording artist before it, and it remained in the Top Ten for several months, selling a million copies by the end of that summer. Just as in the U.K., she became the talk of the town, landing on the covers of Rolling Stone and Spin magazines. Not long afterward, though, Winehouse canceled her North American tour. Early reports revealed that she was entering rehab for alcohol and drug addiction, but her new management denied the claims, stating it was due to severe exhaustion. ~ Cyril Cordor, All Music Guide

Amy Studt

Tori Amos

Tori Amos (born Myra Ellen Amos) was one of several female singer/songwriters who combined the stark lyrical attack of alternative rock with a distinctly '70s musical approach. Her music falls between the orchestrated meditations of Kate Bush and the stripped-down poetics of Joni Mitchell. In addition to reviving the singer/songwriter traditions of the '70s, Amos revived the piano as a rock & roll instrument. With her 1992 album Little Earthquakes, Amos built a dedicated following that continued to expand with her second album, Under the Pink.
Born in North Carolina but raised in Maryland, Amos was the daughter of a Methodist preacher. By the age of four, she was singing and playing piano in the church choir; she began writing her own songs shortly afterward. Amos won a scholarship to Baltimore's Peabody Conservatory based on her instrumental prowess. While she was studying at Peabody, she became infatuated with rock & roll, particularly the music of Led Zeppelin. She began writing pop ballads and performing in local bars. Amos moved to Los Angeles in her late teens to become a pop singer. Atlantic Records signed her in 1987, recording an uninspired pop-metal album called Y Kant Tori Read the following year. The record was a complete failure, attracting no attention from radio or press and selling very few copies; nevertheless, she didn't lose her record contract. By 1990, Amos had adopted a new approach, singing spare, haunting, semiconfessional piano ballads that were arranged like Kate Bush but had the melodies and lyrical approach of Joni Mitchell. Atlantic sponsored a trip to England in 1991, where she played a series of concerts in support of an EP, Me and a Gun.
The harrowing "Me and a Gun" was an autobiographical song, telling the tale of Amos' own experience with rape. It gained positive reviews throughout the media, and both the EP and the concerts sold well. Little Earthquakes, Amos' first album as a singer/songwriter, was released in late 1991 and sold well in both the U.S. and the U.K. In 1992, she released the Crucify EP, which featured three covers, including Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Led Zeppelin's "Thank You." Delivered in early 1994, Under the Pink, the full-length follow-up to Little Earthquakes, was a bigger hit, selling over a million copies and launching the minor hit singles "God" and "Cornflake Girl." Two years later, Amos delivered her third album, Boys for Pele, her most ambitious and difficult record to date. The album debuted at number two and quickly went platinum. Amos spent much of 1997 dealing with personal matters, including a miscarriage and a marriage, and working on her fourth album, From the Choirgirl Hotel, which was released in the spring of 1998. The two-disc To Venus and Back followed in 1999 to coincide with a tour with Alanis Morissette. In 2001, Amos returned with the covers album Strange Little Girls, which also marked her last release for Atlantic.
The next year, she found a new label home with Epic and followed with Scarlet's Walk in October. Her eighth studio album, an autobiographical record titled The Beekeeper, was released in 2005. The massive five-disc Piano collection arrived in 2006, boasting a cornucopia of album cuts, B-sides, unedited and alternate versions, demos, and seven previously unissued tracks, followed by the typically eclectic and hard-rocking American Doll Posse in 2007, an all-new collection of songs that found the artist assuming five archetypal personalities, all of whom were based on feminine gods in Greek and Roman mythology. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Amon Amarth

Swedish death metal band Amon Amarth originally formed in 1988 under the name Scum; by the time the new moniker was adopted four years later, the line-up consisted of vocalist Johan Hegg, guitarists Olli Mikkonen and Anders Hansson, bassist Ted Lundstrom and drummer Niko Kaukinen. In 1993, the quintet recorded their first demo Thor Arise, which went unreleased due to sound problems; a second demo, Arrival of the Fimbul Winter, followed in 1994, quickly selling out all 1000 copies. Signing to the Singapore-based Pulverised label, Amon Amarth issued the EP Sorrow Throughout the Nine World in mid-1996; soon after Kaukinen exited, and was replaced by drummer Martin Lopez for 1998's full-length Once Sent from the Golden Hall. When both Hansson and Lopez defected from the line-up, the remaining members of Amon Amarth tapped new guitarist Johan Söderberg and drummer Fredrik Andersson for 1999's The Avenger. Crusher followed three years later. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

Amil

Amil is a female rapper from New York whose vocals were featured on the popular rap singles "Can I Get A..." and "Jigga What?" by Jay-Z. She is the child of a black father and a European/Cherokee mother, raised in all five boroughs of New York. Her earliest influences were classic rap groups, such as Run-D.M.C., who she would mimic and practice rapping over when she was young. When she was 12, Amil started rapping at talent shows, beginning her local popularity as a female rap artist. In 1997, she became part of the group Major Coins, through which she met rapper Jay-Z. At the time Jay-Z was recording his third album, Vol. 2 Hard Knock Life, and wanted one of the women in Major Coins to do vocals on the album. By chance, Amil accompanied the group member to the studio, and Jay-Z asked her to freestyle on the album. Soon after Major Coins broke up, Amil decided to follow a solo career. She became a part of the group associated with Jay-Z's label, Roc-A-Fella, joining the 1999 Hard Knock Life Tour. After the tour she appeared as a guest on albums for Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, and Funkmaster Flex. Amil released her first solo project through Roc-A-Fella, All Money Is Legal, in late 2000. ~ Diana Potts, All Music Guide

Amerie

Singer Amerie is the daughter of a Korean mother and an African-American father who was a career military member. She grew up on bases from Alaska to Germany, meanwhile gaining an appreciation of the classical arts from her mother and of R&B music from her father. She studied dance from an early age and performed in talent contests throughout her youth. After her high school graduation, her family finally settled down in Virginia, while she began to attend Georgetown University, from which she later graduated with a degree in English and fine arts. While living in Washington, D.C., she met producer Rich Harrison, who worked with such performers as Mary J. Blige, and began developing demos with him. They led to a deal with Rise Entertainment and, in turn, Columbia Records. In the spring of 2002, Rise/Columbia released Amerie's debut single, "Why Don't We Fall in Love." By the time her first album, All I Have, appeared that July, the single had reached the Top 20 of the R&B/hip-hop charts and the Top 40 of the pop charts. Her follow-up, Touch, was released in 2005, peaking at number five on the Billboard album chart while yielding the number one single "1 Thing." Because I Love It, her third album, followed in 2007. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

American Minor

American Minor is a five-piece guitar-driven rock and roll band that hails from the Kanawha River valley of southern West Virginia, not exactly known for being a hotbed of musical activity or a hotbed of anything else really. For the past year, when their van hasn't been breaking down on the highway, they've been practicing at blistering volumes in a run-down century old farmhouse in Champaign, Illinois.

Four out of the five members have spent time living in a trailer, three have done construction work, none of them come from musical families, and while all five will agree that Deep Purple is an awesome rock group, all five will say the same thing about Fugazi. Ask these young men anything more about their influences and they'll gladly admit to worshiping at the altar of the classics: Stones, Skynyrd, AC/DC, Ramones, Heartbreakers, Mats', Lennon, Sabbath. They speak 'indie-rock' with equal fluency and are just as likely to give it up for Pavement or The Refused. Must be a generational thing -- or maybe these boys just love great music and don't really care what you call it.

These West Virginians pride themselves on writing songs with no pomp or circumstance, about things they experience in everyday life: the mentally ill struggling in the streets of their dilapidated hometown, the police interrogating a suicidal neighbor late at night in their apartment building and the deranged people they wished they never had the opportunity to meet.

When asked about their "mission" as a band, lead vocalist Robert McCutcheon points out the absurdity of that question, "Last time I checked, rock bands don't go on missions, the only thing I can really think to say in response to that question is that we're an American band. And in accordance to the well-established and long-standing tradition of the 'American Band', we're coming to your town--we come to party down."

American Hi-Fi

Drummer Stacy Jones already had his hand in rock & roll prior to his gig with American Hi-Fi. Having been a part of some of the 1990's biggest alternative acts, Letters to Cleo and Veruca Salt, Jones turned his experience inside out for his own musical project. While working on Nina Gordon's Tonight and the Rest of My Life solo album, Jones looked toward the vibrancy of Cheap Trick and cast the healthy rock sounds of American Hi-Fi. Jones, guitarist Jaime Arentzen, bassist Drew Parsons, and drummer Brian Nolan established home base in his native Boston and signed to Island to issue their eponymous debut in 2001. The album spawned the catchy radio single "Flavor of the Weak", and was followed by plenty of touring, Live From Tokyo (2002), and Art of Losing (2003). And yet, soon after Losing's release, Island gave American Hi-Fi the heave-ho. Undeterred, Jones moved Hi-Fi's HQ to Los Angeles, hooked up with producer Butch Walker, and got to work recording a new record. Hearts on Parade was released in Japan first, and as they shopped for a domestic label Jones and his band went out on tour with Walker. Maverick eventually expressed interest, and Parade was issued stateside in April 2005. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide

Amen (hardcore)

Neo-metal act Amen was formed in Los Angeles in 1994 by singer Casey Chaos and guitarist Paul Fig; eventually onetime Ugly Kid Joe drummer Shannon Larkin signed on, bringing with him ex-Snot guitarist Sonny Mayo and ex-Snot bassist John "Tumor" Fahnestock as well, and this line-up signed to the newly-formed Roadrunner imprint I Am Records in early 1999. Their self-titled debut LP followed later that year and their sophomore effort We Have Come for Yor Parents was issued in fall 2000, turning lots of heads. A string of misfortunes and missed opportunities soon followed, including abandonment by bandmates, plunging frontman Casey Chaos into a period of frustration and betrayal, a dark chapter which he documented into songs that can be heard on Amen's latest record, Death Before Musick. Casey Chaos has a history of overcoming adversity, and through his songs he's turned negativity, ongoing health problems, and music industry qualms into an appealing positive. With a new line up, where Chaos found four do-or-die-trying soul mates: Matt Montgomery (guitar), Rich Jones, formerly of the Black Halos (guitar), Scott S. Sorry (Bass), and Luke Johnson (drums), Amen was finally able to deliver Chaos' uncompromising messages with visceral purity. Casey Chaos met System Of A Down guitarist Daron Malakian at Australia's "Big Day Out" festival in 2002, and the two instantly connected through their mutual love of punk rock, black metal and Iggy Pop. Therefore, when Malakian heard Chaos's latest demos, he knew he had to be involved, to the point where he staked his reputation on Amen and made them the first signing to his eatURmusic label. "I see Casey as a visionary" declares Malakian, "Someone who really goes up there and gives 100% of his physical being and self." At this point, the UK has already embraced Amen's abrasive punk/metal genius, and Chaos & co. have amassed a string of magazine covers and high profile awards across the pond, including being voted 'Overall Best Band In The World' and 'Best Live Band In The World' by readers of flagship hard rock magazine Metal Hammer. In 2002 Amen became the first unsigned band to play the main stages at England's prestigious Reading and Leeds festivals, while metal bible Kerrang! magazine drooled that "this is the sound of the 21st Century." Death Before Musick is Amen's most song-driven disc to date, yet retains the signature nothing-to-lose vitriol and unflinching integrity - a black flower in a white desert of increasingly corporate, conformist rock records. Death Before Musick is Amen's definitive musical statement, a furious, frenetic outpouring of pummeling punk irreverence and caffeinated hard-core angst, laced with serrated metal edges and a Sex Pistol's sneer. "In my opinion it's the most influential record we've made," Chaos announces. "There's metal moments, there's real punk moments ... a lot of attitude, honesty and passion." From the ominous opening strains of "Liberation For ...," Death Before Musick channels '70s and '80s punk rock(Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Fugazi), modern metallic menace, and a flailing, anarchistic adrenaline which is all their own. Amidst the crafted chaos, the big hooks still swing: "Hello (One Chord Lovers)" and "California's Bleeding" will pinball around your brain for days. Amen have made a timeless record because rage, alienation and great songs never go out of fashion. With Death Before Musick, Amen are armed to infiltrate airwaves and audiences everywhere. Brace yourselves.

American Head Charge

Born out of a chance meeting in rehab between Cameron Heacock and Chad Hanks, Minneapolis-based industrial metal collective American Head Charge match their brutally executed music with their behavior. Heacock and Hanks, now known as Martin Cock and Mr. H.C. Banks III, formed AHC in the late '90s, releasing their critically acclaimed debut, War of Art, in 2001. The record scored the band -- which by then included guitarist Bryan Ottoson, keyboardist Justin Fowler, and drummer Christopher Emery -- a coveted slot on that year's Ozzfest tour, at which point the group splintered into a violent, drug-fueled nonentity that became known more for its on-stage/backstage mayhem than for its excellent musicianship. As the year progressed, the bandmembers, despite frequent trips back to rehab and the occasional near-suicidal meltdown, managed to continue to filter their rage into creativity, resulting in their 2005 ambitious sophomore effort, Feeding, their first for the Nitrus/DRT label. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide

Amel Larrieux

R&B singer-songwriter Amel Larrieux grew up in New York's Greenwich Village; her mother, Brenda Dixon Gottschild, was a dance critic and professor, and she was raised in an artistic environment. She formed Groove Theory, a duo with former Mantronix member Bryce Wilson (AKA Bryce Luvah), which signed to Epic Records and scored a gold-selling Top Ten pop and R&B hit in October 1995 with "Tell Me," followed by the Groove Theory album, which hit the Top 20 of the R&B charts. In 1996, Larrieux was a vocalist on the self-titled album by Sweetback, an instrumental group made up of former members of Sade's backup band, which reached the charts. Larrieux released her debut solo single, "Get Up," in November 1999, and it reached the R&B charts. Her debut solo album, Infinite Possibilities, was released by Epic/550 Music in February 2000. Larrieux teamed with crooner Glenn Lewis and recorded "What's Come Over Me?" for the Barbershop soundtrack, released in 2002. The two reunited a year later and appeared on Stanley Clarke's 1, 2, to the Bass album with their version of "Where Is the Love," a performance that earned them a Grammy nomination. In 2004, she moved to the Blisslife label for Bravebird, followed in 2006 by Morning. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

Ambulance Ltd.

Brooklyn, New York's Ambulance LTD resurrect the British shoegazing movement of the late '80s and early '90s, employing swirling, dreamy guitars in an indie rock landscape cluttered by emo purists and punk opportunists. Formed by Marcus Congleton (vocals/guitar), Benji Lysaght (guitar), Matt Dublin (bass), Andrew Haskell (keyboards), and Darren Beckett (drums), Ambulance LTD were greeted with positive reviews for their live performances before signing with TVT Records. The band's reverb-drenched riffs gave critics My Bloody Valentine and Ride flashbacks while the boyish harmonies recalled Teenage Fanclub. However, instead of being labeled derivative, Ambulance LTD were seen as a refreshing change of pace in an underground rock & roll scene that had turned dull and predictable. In 2003, they recorded their self-titled debut EP; it was quickly met with praise from the alternative press. LP followed in spring 2004. After much touring (including a slot on the bill at 2005's Lollapalooza) and the defection of keyboardist Andrew Haskell, the group released the New English EP in the winter of 2006. With four new songs, the record featured a stripped-down sonic approach and the same high-quality songcraft the album displayed. ~ Michael Sutton, All Music Guide

Aly & AJ

Sister acting/singing duo Aly & AJ -- whose full names are Alyson and Amanda Joy Michalka -- showed a passion for both kinds of performing at a very young age: they started playing piano at age six and began acting classes soon after. Born in L.A., the Michalkas moved to Seattle in the early '90s, where their parents exposed them to a wide variety of music and supported their excitement about both acting and making music. As the girls learned piano and guitar, they also landed acting and modeling gigs, which prepared them to pursue both careers more seriously once the family returned to southern California.

AJ Michalka won roles and appearances on shows as diverse as Birds of Prey, Oliver Beene, General Hospital, and Six Feet Under; Alyson earned the part of Keely Teslow on the Disney Channel series Phil of the Future, which allowed her to show off her musical skills as well as acting chops, performing songs such as "Protecting Me." As Aly & AJ, the Michalka sisters recorded a cover of the Lovin' Spoonful's "Do You Believe in Magic," which appeared in the Disney Channel movie Now You See It and became a number one most-requested song on Radio Disney. Their follow-up single, "No One," appeared on the soundtrack to 2005's Ice Princess, and their Hollywood Records-issued debut album -- which featured songs penned entirely by the Michalkas -- dropped that same year. The holiday album Acoustic Hearts of Winter followed in 2006. In 2007 the sisters released their sophomore record, Insomniatic, accompanied by starring roles in the MTV movie version of the hit television show My Super Sweet 16. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide

French-born pop singer Amanda started getting involved in music after her family settled in Taby, Sweden. While taking dance classes, the artist joined the musical The Sound of Music, and was soon singing "Little Stars" at Gottenburg's World Athletic Games. Amanda became the first young female pop act to sign with Madonna's Maverick Records, making her professional debut with "You Don't Stand a Chance," from Rugrats in Paris' movie soundtrack. In the year 2000 the singer recorded her debut album, called Everybody Doesn't. ~ Drago Bonacich, All Music Guide

A fortuitous 2000 meeting with a talent scout in her native Fort Wayne, IN, led to Amanda Perez being signed by California-based indie Powerhouse. A versatile performer who wrote, sang, and produced her own material, it wasn't much of a step for Perez to find herself in a studio helming the creation of her debut record. Where You At? dropped in 2001. Buoyed by success in minor markets like San Antonio, TX, and her hometown, the album soon caught the attention of Virgin, which released it in wider distribution and issued the smooth urban soul single "Angel." The track was a crossover hit, and Perez was a star. She released the more upbeat follow-up "I Like It" soon after, and finished out 2003 with a round of club dates in select cities. The albums Angel and I Pray followed in quick succession. Both releases peaked within the Top 100 of the Billboard 200 album chart. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide