Superconductor was a Canadian alternative rock band from

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, active in the 1990s."Guitar army on march: Superconductor declares war and wages melodic mayhem". ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'', December 16, 1993. Led by

Carl Newman Allan Carl Newman (born April 14, 1968) is a Canadian musician and singer–songwriter. He was a member of the indie rock bands Superconductor and Zumpano in the 1990s. Following the breakup of those bands, he reemerged as the leader of the Ne ...

, the band was known for an unusual instrumental approach which saw up to six guitarists and two bassists performing simultaneously on each song.

History

Formed soon after Newman finished high school,Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, '' Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995''.

ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholarly book ...

. . p. 640. the band included guitarists Sean Elliot, Pat Hogue, Scott Gubbels, Brian Gillard and Warren Westling, bassists Mike Kerley and Mike Rohaly, and drummer Keith Parry. They released the single "The Most Popular Man in the World" in 1991 and the EP ''Heavy with Puppy'' in 1992. In 1993 Superconductor released their full length debut album ''Hit Songs for Girls'', which included aspects of metal and punk music mixed with rock. The band toured to support the album as an opening act for Guided by Voices."The New Pornographers: Together Forever"
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'', August 27, 2014. Around the same time, Newman joined the side project

Zumpano Zumpano was a Canadian power pop group in the 1990s. The band, whose music style resembled such contemporaries as Sloan (band), Sloan and The Super Friendz, consisted of vocalist/guitarist Carl Newman, keyboardist Michael Ledwidge, bassist Ste ...

, to concentrate on more pop-oriented music. The band followed up in 1994 with ''Anvil to the Fucking Head'', an eight-song EP released in the vintage

8-track tape The 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8; commonly called eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, and eight-track) is a magnetic tape sound recording technology that was popular from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, when the compact cassette, wh ...

format. Their second and final album, ''Bastardsong'', was released in 1996."Superconductor: Bastardsong". ''

The Province ''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the ''Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's only ...

'', November 28, 1996. The band broke up following ''Bastardsong'', with Zumpano continuing as Newman's primary band until he formed

The New Pornographers The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band, formed in 1997 in Vancouver. Presented as a musical collective of singer-songwriters and musicians from multiple projects, the band has released eight studio albums to critical acclaim for th ...

References

{{Authority control Canadian alternative rock groups Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups disestablished in 1996 Musical groups from Vancouver 1990 establishments in British Columbia 1996 establishments in British Columbia