Down is a metal band, but they never get enough credit so I had to mention them. The original lineup: singer Phil Anselmo from Pantera, guitarist Pepper Keenan from Corrosion of Conformity, and bassist Todd Strange and drummer Jimmy Bower from Crowbar.
Queens of the Stone Age is debatable as it’s mostly a vehicle for Josh Homme to do what he wants, which just happens to sometimes include input from members of other bands. Plus it’s more metal than alt or punk or indie.
The Mars Volta and Sparta are the remnants of At the Drive-In, which was a super group
If Temple of the Dog counts, then so does Mad Season, consisting of Alice in Chains vocalist Layne Staley, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin, and blues bassist John Baker Saunders (who previously played with such blues artists as Hubert Sumlin and the Lamont Cranston Band, among others).
Ugly Casanova is Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse, Brian Deck and Tim Rutili of Califone (and Red Red Meat), Paul Jenkins of The Black Heart Procession, and John Orth of Holopaw.
I find that indie artists tend to collaborate often with one another quite often. Many groups, while not “supergroups” per se, are conglomerations of bands and/or involve a revolving door of other artists. Bands like Built to Spill, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, and Silver Jews not only have a continually changing line-up (by design or not), but they also contribute to other bands individually and as a group.
Nobody seems to have mentioned The Bens yet. Ben Folds, Ben Kweller and Ben Lee get together for random gigs or EP releases whenever they seem to be bored.
I like all those guys singly, but I’ve somehow never managed to hear anything they do collectively.
No one’s mentioned the original punk supergroup, The Lors of the New Church. Stiv Bators from Dedd Boys, Brian James from The Damned, and Dave TRegunna from Sham 69.
But they’re very much like newer metal bands, especially as you dig further back in their catalogue. Add to that the fact that for some time they were basically Kyuss with a different name, and it’s a bit tough to place them anywhere else. That’s not to say that they’re not part of the modern alternative scene.
Fantomas is: Mike Patton (Faith No More, Mr Bungle), Trevor Dunn (Mr. Bungle, Trevor Dunn’s Trio Convulsant), Buzz Osbourne (Melvins), Dave Lombardo (Slayer)
You forgot Destroyer, the most critically successful band to contribute a member to the New Pornographers. As long as Destroyer continue making incredible records that are significantly better albums than the New Pornographers albums - in fact, Rubies is already the first great album of '06 - the New Pornos will only be a supergroup, regardless of how much Newman hems and haws.
In fact, as Dan Bejar’s contributions to the New Pornographers continue to lessen, their albums seem to get less interesting. His sole contribution to Twin Cinema, “Jackie, dressed in cobras,” is the best song on the record.
While Smear was a touring member of Nirvana on their final tour, he’s most famous for being in the legendary punk band The Germs, which made the Foo Fighters even more of a legitimate “supergroup” - Sunny Day + Nirvana + The Germs.
… And the biggest of all, ever: Pigface
Formed by drummers Martin Atkins (Minsitry/Killing Joke) and Bill Rieflin (Ministry, Revolting Cocks), the band has also included, among many others, :
Steve Albini (Big Black, Rapeman and Shellac and producer)
Paul Barker (Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Lard)
Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys, Lard)
Bob Dog (Evil Mothers)
Mary Mary (Gaye Bykers on Acid, Apollo 440)
Meg Lee Chin
Chris Connelly (Ministry, Revolting Cocks and solo)
Danny Carey (Tool)
Duane Dennison (The Jesus Lizard, Revolting Cocks)
Hanin Elias (Atari Teenage Riot)
En Esch (KMFDM)
Paul Ferguson (Killing Joke, Murder Inc, The Orb)
Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
Frank Black (Pixies and solo)
Fuzz (Silverfish)
Dwayne Goettel (Skinny Puppy)
Michael Gira (Swans)
Chris Haskett (Rollins Band)
Marc Heal (Cubanate)
Sean Joyce (Revolting Cocks)
cEvin Key (Skinny Puppy)
Keith Levene (Public Image Ltd)
Jared Louche (Chemlab)
Lydia Lunch
Groovie Mann (My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult)
Doug McCarthy (Nitzer Ebb)
Nivek Ogre (Skinny Puppy, Revolting Cocks, Ministry)
Genesis P-Orridge (Psychic TV, Throbbing Gristle)
Alex Patterson (The Orb)
Chris Randal (Sister Machine Gun)
Lesley Rankine (Silverfish, Ruby)
Paul Raven (Prong, Murder Inc, Killing Joke)
Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails)
Shonen Knife
Siggy (The Sugarcubes)
David William Sims (The Jesus Lizard, Scratch Acid)
David Suycott (Stabbing Westward)
J. G. Thirlwell (AKA Clint Ruin) (Foetus, Wiseblood, Steroid Maximus and many others)
Chris Vrenna (Nine Inch Nails, Tweaker, The Smashing Pumpkins)
Geordie Walker (Killing Joke)
Andrew Weiss (Rollins Band, Butthole Surfers, Ween)
David Yow (The Jesus Lizard, Scratch Acid)
Golden Smog’s 1998 release Weird Tales featured Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, Dave Murphy of Soul Asylum, Gary Louris and Marc Perlman of the Jayhawks, Jody Stephens of Big Star, and Kraig Johnson of Run Westy Run.
Also The Golden Palominos, the project of Anton Fier from The Feelies, The Lounge Lizards, and Pere Ubu, has counted Michael Stipe (R.E.M.), Matthew Sweet, Fred Frith, John Zorn, Richard Thompson (Fairport Convention), Bob Mould (Husker Du), Arto Lindsay (D.N.A.), and John Lydon (The Sex Pistols, Public Image Ltd.) among its members.
I can see both arguments – I think it’s tricky with indie bands to figure out the difference between a supergroup and a band that has members that came from other bands. Newman was mostly complaining that interviewers, because of the label’s promotion of the NPs as a supergroup, still ask him about Zumpano, which disbanded before the NPs formed. I’d say Behar and Case are the NPs’ greatest links to supergroup status, and both are more like regular guest stars in the group than core members.
They’re core guest stars.
Did you get one of those copies without “Sing Me Spanish Techno”? Oh, wait – this is one of those difference of opinion things. Got it. (“Jackie” is another of my favorite songs from the disc.)
I do find it funny that I’ve had exactly the opposite conversation about Behar in the NPs, though – at least a couple of people I know wish he’d just give up on the group and take his “boring” songs with them. Me, I think he’s a McCartney to Carl Newman’s Lennon (or vice versa), inspiring greater stuff than either of them has come up with individually. (I find both Zumpano and Destroyer fine, but neither as good as the Pornographers.)
The band has featured a revolving cast of drummers. Chris Mars from The Replacements originally, followed by Noah Levy from the Honeydogs (probably only famous in the Twin Cities), then on to Jody Stephens. I’ve heard that a new Smog record is in the works, though not who the drummer is this time.
In addition to Dan Murphy, Soul Asylum’s Dave Pirner has also guested with the band on a couple recordings.
Man, I HATE “Spanish Techno!” Seriously, I just despise that song for some unidentifiable reason. I think it has something to do with what seems to have become Newman’s stock-in-trade - really lazy, arbitrary, “random” lyrics or song subjects.
Heresy! If anything, Newman is the Mccartney, with his three-chord pop songs and banal “i’m so-oh drunk/they’ll have to send the wrecking crew after me/and stuff”-style lyrics, while Bejar is all about the weird minor seventh chords, three bridges, literary, obtuse-as-hell lyrics, and so on.
Transplants consists of Tim Armstrong (Rancid, Operation Ivy), Travis Barker (blink-182, The Aquabats), and singer Rob Aston (no previous band that I’m aware of)
If anything, Newman is the Mccartney, with his three-chord pop songs and banal “i’m so-oh drunk/they’ll have to send the wrecking crew after me/and stuff”-style lyrics, while Bejar is all about the weird minor seventh chords, three bridges, literary, obtuse-as-hell lyrics, and so on.