Willard was an American rock band from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, formed around 1989. Though they sought to challenge the

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 ...

image of Seattle, they are acknowledged as a part of the grunge music scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

History

Jeff Gilbert and

Tad Doyle Tad (often styled as TAD) was an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1988 by Tad Doyle. They are often recognized as one of the first bands of the grunge era.

were instrumental in Willard's record deal, which resulted in the Endino-produced ''

Steel Mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finish ...

'' in 1992. Gilbert called Willard the "drunkest band in Seattle" in his ''

Rocket A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...

'' article. They had previously released a self-titled four song EP on Jerry O'Neill's a.k.a. Gerald Weymeth's Green Gel Records.Brenda Herrmann, "''Willard: Steel Mill''", ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', December 17, 1992, Sec. Tempo, p. 7 After performing an outdoor show for the "Pain in the Grass" Festival at the

Seattle Center Seattle Center is an arts, educational, tourism and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington, United States. Spanning an area of 74 acres (30 ha), it was originally built for the 1962 World's Fair. Its landmark feature is the tall Space Needl ...

, Willard was banned from further performances by the Seattle Police Department and the City of Seattle, resulting in band shirts displaying "Banned by the SPD". The music of Willard was sonically similar to another grunge band,

Melvins Melvins (sometimes The Melvins) are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Initially, they performed as a trio but later also sometimes appeare ...

. Otis was an early member of

Napalm Beach Napalm Beach is an American rock band formed in Portland, Oregon. They are considered early innovators of the grunge sound. Nicholas Pell, writing for the ''Portland Mercury'' said "a huge influence on the grunge and alternative rock of the 1990s ...

, Clint and Peters played in H-Hour, while Wied was the original drummer for Tad. They disbanded after recording eleven songs in November 1993. These songs were transferred from 2" tape to digital by Stuart Hallerman at Avast! Mark Spiders and Aaron Skok mixed the songs, and Black Guitar Records published the album, ''Underground'', in 2018.

Band members

* Johnny Clint – vocals * Mark Spiders – guitars * Otis P. Otis – guitars * Steve Wied – drums * Darren Peters – bass (1989–1993) * Tyson Garcia – bass (1994–1997)

Discography

Full releases *''Sunshine Spread the Love'' EP (1989) * ''Willard – EP'' (Green Gel Records, 1991) *''

'' (

Roadrunner Records Roadrunner Records is an American record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock bands. Founded in the Netherlands in 1980, it is now a division of Warner Music Group and is based in New York City. History The label was launched in 1980 in t ...

, 1992) * ''Underground'' (Black Guitar Records, 2018) Appearances *''Roadrunner Records Promo PR063'' features "Sweet Kali" (Roadrunner Records, 1992) * ''Metal Detector CD Metal Monsters'' features "Stain" (FMBQ, 1992) *''Best of Grunge Rock'' features "Fifteen" (

Priority Records Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice-T, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Big L, Silkk the Shocker and Westside Connection. It also distributed hip hop record labels including Death Row R ...

, 1993) * ''Seattle Music Scene Volume 2'' features demo version of "Larie" from ''ABV Sessions'' (Insight Records, 1994)

References

{{Authority control American grunge groups Musical groups from Seattle Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 1992