Splendora was an American all-female alternative rock band from New York City. Formed in 1993 by Janet Wygal (lead vocals, guitar), Tricia Wygal (lead vocals, bass), Delissa Santos (drums), Cindy Brolsma (cello), and Jennifer Richardson (violin), the band released one studio album, ''In the Grass'' (1995), before disbanding in 2002. The band is best known for performing "You're Standing on My Neck", which was featured as the opening theme to the

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

animated series '' Daria''. Splendora also performed "Turn the Sun Down" and "College Try" for the ''Daria'' television films '' Is It Fall Yet?'' and '' Is It College Yet?'', respectively.

History

Formation and ''In the Grass'': 1993–1996

After the break up of her power pop band The Wygals, Janet Wygal began recreationally composing music with her sister Tricia Wygal. By 1993, these music sessions expanded to include friends of the two sisters, including Delissa Santos, Cindy Brolsma, and Jennifer Richardson. In an interview with ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'', Tricia Wygal described the formation of the band to be a "labor of love," recalling that " plendorarehearsed ''all the time''. It was just fun." The band originally struck a development deal with Geffen Records, although the record label ultimately chose to work with Lisa Loeb instead. Following this dismissal, Splendora signed with Koch Records. Splendora's debut studio album ''In the Grass'' was released on September 9, 1995, by Koch Records. Produced collaboratively between Splendora and Gene Holder of The dB's, the title of the record is a spin on the 1961 teen melodrama '' Splendor in the Grass''. "Rattle" was released as the only single from the effort, by Really Fast Racecar Records. The band also recorded a music video for "Bee Stung Lips," which was directed by

Carey Burtt Carey Burtt is a filmmaker and musician based in New York City, mainly working in the underground genre. Films Known for their disturbing humor and dark narratives, the films of Carey Burtt include ''The Psychotic Odyssey of Richard Chase'' and ...

. ''In the Grass'' received little promotion and failed to achieve any considerable commercial success, with the album now being out of print and unavailable on music streaming services. However, the album did receive some positive critical reception from music publications such as ''Billboard''. Janet Wygal attributes the album's lukewarm commercial reception to a lack of support from Koch Records, explaining: " plendoradidn’t have a booking agent, the tour that we did, I booked, I think… I remember going in there and calling radio stations myself, and asking if they’d received our CD."

''Daria'' theme songs and breakup: 1997–2002

In 1997, cellist Cindy Brolsma began work as a producer on the then-upcoming

adult animated sitcom '' Daria''. For the show's theme song, MTV was in search of an "unknown" band. Interested in this opportunity, Brolsma shared a copy of Splendora's debut album ''In the Grass'', with fellow ''Daria'' producer

Susie Lewis Susie Lewis is an American writer and producer who co-created the MTV animated series ''Daria''. Personal life Lewis attended Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and graduated from New York Institute of Technology in New York ...

, who ultimately asked the band to write and record a theme song for the show. Splendora recorded a four-track demo for the producers, building these songs around certain phrases that the producers asked them to include in their lyrics, such as "excuse me" and "you're standing on my neck". A song titled "You're Standing on My Neck" was chosen as the show's theme, with elements of the song also acting as incidental music in the show. The full song was also featured in the 2000 puzzle adventure video game '' Daria's Inferno''. Splendora produced two further original themes for the ''Daria'' television movies '' Is It Fall Yet?'' and '' Is It College Yet?'', being "Turn the Sun Down" and "College Try" respectively. Following the release of "College Try" in 2002, the band announced their decision to break up. With the exit of Delissa Santos and as other members began getting married and having children, there was a general lack of enthusiasm among band members. Tricia Wygal explained that these events had left the group feeling dissatisfied, stating, "It wasn’t quite the same band. It felt a little different".

Post-breakup

In 2013, lead vocalists Janet and Tricia Wygal briefly reunited for a performance of "You're Standing on My Neck" at the tavern and music venue Maxwell's. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of ''Daria'' in 2017, Andrew Unterberger of ''

'' interviewed Janet and Tricia Wygal, in which they discussed Splendora's history and the group's three ''Daria'' theme songs. On July 6, 2020, "You're Standing on My Neck" was officially released onto music streaming services under the title "Daria (Official MTV Theme)".

Musical style and influences

Splendora drew inspiration from a variety of genres, including CBGB, sunshine pop, and

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of p ...

. Late-'60s and '70s bands such as the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

, Television, Talking Heads, and The Free Design were formative influences on the band. Janet Wygal explained that the musical style of Splendora was meant to display "this aggressive-sounding bed, with pretty vocals floating over it".

Band members

Former members * Janet Wygal –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

, guitar (1993–2002) * Tricia Wygal – bass guitar, lead vocals, percussion, flute (1993–2002) * Delissa Santos –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(1993–2002) * Cindy Brolsma – cello, whistling (1993–2002) * Jennifer Richardson – violin (1993–2002)

Discography

Studio album

Single

Promotional single

Music video

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups disestablished in 2002 1993 establishments in New York City 2002 disestablishments in New York (state) All-female bands Alternative rock groups from New York (state) Grunge musical groups