Bob Whelan -vocals, guitar
Hale Pulsifer-drums
Brian Vesco-bass
Alex Grossi-guitar
Angry Salad formed in 1993 at Brown University and they could tell they were on to something from the start. First the band was handed their absurdly unforgettable name across a Caribbean hotel bar by the late Freddie Mercury.
Then they entered Providence, Rhode Islands WBRU Rock Hunt among over 200 New England bands – and won.
Still students, they decided to hit the road and begin building, through relentless touring, the live show and national following for which they are best known.
Says lead singer Bob Whelan, “What seemed to make the most sense for us was to take a page out of the playbook of great touring bands we emulate who came before us. I think it was Billy Squire who said, Its better to die on your feet than live on your knees.”
In 95 the band moved to Boston, joined up with Brian Vesco and Alex Grossi, recorded and released “The Guinea Pig EP.” With no label to support it, it still found its way onto the CMJ Top 200 chart where it remained for six weeks. As sales from the stage topped 10,000 records, the band was nominated for Best Debut Album at the Boston Music Awards.
One of the rare American touring bands that is song-based, Angry Salad prides itself on uplifting its audience and is anything but angry. Drummer Hale Pulsifer: “Were all aware that people could be out doing something else with their money and we take that pretty seriously. We put out hard every single night so that no one looks stupid – us or the people who recommended us to their friends.”
And Angry Salad is grateful for the band chemistry that has always just worked. Bob Whelan: “I could spew forth a list of great bands from Boston who deserved the ear of the country, but for whatever reason they never toured. Maybe they just didnt want to. Maybe they didnt think they could. A lot of bands cant drive to Worcester without breaking up.”
By 1998, the band had developed into a national road entity, touring the country in their custom-built van known among bands on the circuit as The Salad Shooter. They also began recording a new album with the working title “Bizarre Gardening Accident.”
Continuing in their philosophy of self-determination, Angry Salad identified a record label that suited their criteria: small, solid, built for the developing artist and a place where the bands point person could not leave or be fired.
The band then walked unannounced into the offices of The Blackbird Recording Company, an artist development label affiliated with The Atlantic Group. They sought out Senior VP of A&R Cathy Burke and handed her an album and a beer.
They were offered a record deal within days.
“Bizarre Gardening Accident” was subsequently completed and mixed by the legendary Tom Lord-Alge. Now simply called “Angry Salad,” the album will be released on May 25th.
Billboard Magazine has said of the bands first single, “The Milkshake Song”: “Angry Salad snags the listener with a barbed chorus hook and pulls. This is one of those songs that wont let you go, so you might as well take it on before the competition sniffs this out as the runaway hit that it is.”
Boston press has called Angry Salad the “working mans band” and “the thinking mans band.” Now poised for radio success, the band is just happy to be making a career of it. “People pay thousands of dollars for programs like Outward Bound or NOLS to experience the type of grueling adventure that we get paid to live through,” says Bob Whelan. “Sometimes as much as a dollar fifty a day.”
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