Before They Were Famous: Volume I

Our favorite artists weren’t always making the music we love them for—so what were they doing? WBRU is here to reveal the sometimes strange and often surprising stories behind the big names.   Back before Alt-J’s album An Awesome Wave had gained traction and long before their current tour for This Is All Yours was selling out arenas, they had achieved a sort of international coverage: they played for a Russian company’s corporate retreat. In Iceland. That was Viking themed. According to keyboardist Gus Unger-Hamilton, the whole company was dressed as Vikings, the band was dressed as Vikings, and there was enough roast ox and mead to go around. Luckily (or unluckily?) for us, the band doesn’t usually masquerade as old Norse seafarers these days. Instead, they’re busy making excellent music. Check out our review of Alt-J’s latest, This Is All Yours, here! Vampire Weekend’s connection with Cape Cod is evident in the title of their song “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa,” one of the singles from their self-titled debut album, but the ties to the Cape run deeper. “Vampire Weekend” was the name of a short film that lead singer Ezra Koenig filmed a couple years before the formation of the band. He and some high school friends created this East Coast horror-vampire film while on summer break in the Cape. After a couple days of filming, he lost interest. The footage didn’t resurface until right around the time the band began, when the name took on a new life. Swedish artist Tove Lo is now known for the debauchery referenced in her single “Habits”—going to sex clubs, being high all the time, and trolling playgrounds looking to pick up dads—but apparently that wasn’t always the case. She led a quiet childhood in a waterfront suburban house. As a twelve-year-old, things changed: she rebelled against her academically-oriented parents, dyed her hair pink, and got into Kurt Cobain. Her teenage years saw stints with grunge and a math rock band before she settled into the electropop of her latest album, “Queen of the Clouds.” Weezer first got together way back in 1992, when lead singer and guitarist Rivers Cuomo moved to Los Angeles and met his future bandmates. Before they made it big, though, they played LA clubs and filled odd jobs. One of these jobs? Telemarketing: among other things, the band sold dog shampoo and tanning lotion over the phone. Cuomo even tried to get people to drop hundreds of dollars on knife sets. We’re guessing that was more difficult than convincing fans to snap up their music a couple of years later, when they broke through with their self-titled debut. We review Weezer’s latest, Everything Will Be Alright in the End, for you here.   And here’re your Five Fast Facts of Volume I:

1. Coldplay was at first called “Pectoralz” (perhaps based on their college-aged physique?). They later switched to Starfish (much fishier) before settling on their final, famous moniker.
2. Lorde‘s mother is a well-known poet, but Lorde rejected poetry in a young age in favor of songwriting and short fiction.
3. KONGOS‘ “Come With Me Now” blew up in the states this past year, but the band (composed of four brothers–talk about family time!) has been touring their home country of South Africa for years.
4. The Black Keys, The Strokes, Radiohead,Kings of Leon, and The Beatles all got their start in high school. That’s a lot of talent to come out of some small places.
5. Before his breakthrough, Hozier toured for years with Anúna, an Irish choir. During this time, the choir collaborated with none other than the recent WBRU interviewee, Simon Pryce of The Wiggles.