Floater is an American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

currently based in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. The band was started in 1993 by Robert Wynia, along with Peter Cornett and David Amador. They are known for their progressive

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

s, stylized storytelling, intense live performances, and devoted

fanbase A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant portion of ...

. Floater routinely sells out local venues in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and periodically plays shows in the neighboring states of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. Floater has played a variety of venues, including

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

in New York and the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles. The band was also a musical guest for Live Wire Radio on

OPB Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) is the primary public media organization for the U.S. state of Oregon as well as southern Washington. It provides news, information, and programming via television stations, dozens of VHF or UHF translators, ...

radio. The band was voted the "Best Band" in the ''

Willamette Week ''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture. History Early history '' ...

'' "Best of Portland" reader's poll for 2009 and 2010.

History

Formation in Eugene: ''Sink'' & ''Glyph'' (1993-1997)

The seeds for Floater were planted when Robert Wynia placed a musician-wanted ad in

Eugene Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...

and it was answered by Cornett. By 1992, they had formed the band Henry's Child. Rob and Pete left Henry's Child after the musical direction was not what they wanted, and they formed a band called The Dog's. Sometime after, their guitarist got drunk and ruined a local gig and Dave Amador stepped in to replace him. The moniker of The Dog's was replaced with Floater. It was 1993 and they began playing small garage parties and eventually the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

. In early 1994, Floater recorded their first four-song demo tape ''Stiff & Restless'' at Pro-Arts studio. Later, in early 1994, Floater recorded a nine-song demo tape ''Sink'', which was the four tracks off of ''Stiff & Restless'', plus 5 new songs, which were recorded at the home of a friend in his studio. This tape impressed the indie record label Elemental, when Rob and Pete handed Jonathan Boldt a copy of their demo tape, who a short time later signed them. Floater's first full-length album, ''

Sink A sink (also known as ''basin'' in the UK) is a bowl-shaped plumbing fixture for washing hands, dishwashing, and other purposes. Sinks have a tap (faucet) that supplies hot and cold water and may include a spray feature to be used for fas ...

'', was released on September 9, 1994 and contained some songs from the demos. One year later in October 1995, a second full-length album was released, titled ''

Glyph A glyph ( ) is any kind of purposeful mark. In typography, a glyph is "the specific shape, design, or representation of a character". It is a particular graphical representation, in a particular typeface, of an element of written language. A ...

''. This album increased the band's popularity in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

and allowed tours further east, into

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

as well as an excursion to New York in the fall of 1996. With the popularity of their song "

The Sad Ballad of Danny Boy ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

" and the help of then soon-to-be defunct national

Z Rock Z Rock was a nationally syndicated radio network based in Dallas, Texas, that, from the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s, played heavy metal and hard rock music. The format was one of several 24-hour satellite-delivered music formats offered ...

radio network, Floater's airplay increased greatly. The network shut down in late 1996, but not before acquiring scattered fans across the nation as in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and even outside the U.S. in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. In another deleted internet article, it was mentioned that Floater also received play via Digital Music Express circa 1996. During these first few years, Floater received nominations to the preliminary level of the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s from

NARAS National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

in 1995 under "Best Rock Performance" for ''Sink'' and in 1996 under "Best Alternative Performance" for ''Glyph''. According to ''World Drum!'' a newsletter for CD World in Eugene and Corvallis, Floater sold 21,000 copies of ''Sink'' and ''Glyph'' combined. The newsletter also mentioned Floater ranked in the top 5 of ''Pandemonium''s Annual Readers' Poll for "Best Northwest Band on an Independent Label", consistently in '' The Rocket''s "Northwest Top Twenty Chart", and having garnered the esteemed "Gavin Rocks" selection of the best band of all 300 participating in the NXNW Music Festival conference. At this time, Floater was also playing popular venues like the WOW Hall in Eugene, and La Luna and the Crystal Ballroom in Portland.

Wings to Portland - ''Angels In the Flesh... / Burning Sosobra'' (1998-2001)

Just before Floater released their third album, '' Angels in the Flesh and Devils in the Bone'' in May 1998, the band moved to

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, Oregon where they remain today. Coinciding with this move, the band's sound slightly changed with the release of ''Angels''. In an article from ''The Rocket'', it was mentioned the band was ready to "ditch some of heir more rude fans. The album is noted for the college radio single "Mexican Bus". Prior to and throughout this time, Floater was being visited by interested major labels including Zoo Records, but they would remain unsigned by a major label. In September 2000, '' Burning Sosobra'' was released and it marked a shift in the use of samples that Floater was known for. Rather than sampling movies and television, the band began creating the majority of their own sounds for inclusion on their albums. ''Burning Sosobra'' represented a lifting of burdens for Floater, symbolized by the burning effigy on the cover of the album. With ''Sosobra'', Floater moved into a new phase, having purged a dubious manager and beginning to work with Cassandra Thorpe, who bought Elemental Records on September 9, 1999. The sculpture in the cover photo was a collaboration between Floater and Mark Orme. "Exiled" is considered the single of ''Burning Sosobra''. Other notable tracks with "Independence Day" and "Waiting for the Sun," a cover of

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

''Alter'' & ''Acoustics'' (2002-2006)

Floater experimented with acoustic in-store performances throughout the late 1990s, but around the time of their

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

show in 2000/2001 at the Aladdin Theater, Floater began including entire acoustic sets in their performances. A part of the Aladdin show would be released on their second live album, '' Live at the Aladdin''. Floater subsequently released ''

Alter Alter may refer to: Computing and technology * ALTER, a command in older implementations of COBOL * Alter (SQL), a command in a data definition language within SQL Music * ''Alter'' (album), 2002 album by Floater * ''Alter'', a 2006 remix alb ...

'', their fifth full-length album in July 2002. The album was noted as a first step in ''altering'' their sound; however, the shift in sound was markedly less than expected. Floater's sound shifted from a focus on heavy riffs to a well-rounded and eclectic sound. The band's exploration in sound fruited with their 2004 album ''

Acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

''. This would coincide with an increase in acoustic performances abroad. Floater regularly plays back-to-back shows with one electric set and one acoustic set.

''Stone By Stone'' (2006 to 2008)

Floater's 2006 release, '' Stone By Stone'', is their most critically acclaimed record to date. The album bridged a familiar older Floater sound in the case of "An Apology" and coupled it with a new creativity infused in their songs like "Weightless," "Breakdown," and "Tonight No One Knows." "An Apology", considered the single of the album, has lyrical content suggesting a sarcastic apology: as one eye looks to the future and the other in the past. The album also marks a time of increased effort to tour more extensively in the

western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

. Floater has expanded greatly, playing larger venues in some cities, like

The Showbox The Showbox (originally known as the Showbox Theater) is a music venue in Seattle, Washington, United States. It has been owned by AEG Live since 2007. History and usage Founded in 1939, the Showbox has hosted a diverse offering of music over t ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

and the McDonald Theatre in Eugene, Oregon. They also began playing more cities along their tours through

, Utah,

, Arizona, and

''Wake'' - Setting a new course (2009 to present)

By 2009, Floater started work on recording their eighth full-length album. Some of the tracks that were expected to appear on the upcoming album were previously recorded during the ''Stone By Stone'' sessions. By this time, Floater hired Alex Steininger as their new manager. The band set its sights on achieving national recognition. Floater released its eighth studio album, ''Wake'' in 2010 and paid for it out of their own pockets. The album received both positive and negative reviews from both the ''Willamette Week'' and ''

The Portland Mercury ''Portland Mercury'' is an alternative bi-weekly newspaper and media company founded in 2000 in Portland, Oregon. It has a sibling publication in Seattle, Washington, called '' The Stranger''. History A prior version of ''The Mercury'' was ...

''. Already, Steininger's influence can be felt as Floater has made appearances on PDXposed and

's '' Live Wire'' program. Floater was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in 2017. In the lead up to the band's ninth album, the band switched drummers. Mark Powers replaced Pete Cornett on December 31, 2017 when he made his debut at the Star Theater in Portland. Floater released their ninth album ''The Thief'' in May 2018 after an 8-year interval. Powers is also featured on this album. ''Willamette Week's'' "Best of Portland Reader's Poll" selected Floater as Best Local Musician/Musical Group for 2018. On November 20, 2021, it was learned that Peter Cornett, the band's original drummer, had passed away.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1994) * ''

'' (1995) * '' Angels in the Flesh and Devils in the Bone'' (1998) * '' Burning Sosobra'' (2000) * ''

'' (2002) * ''

'' (2004) * '' Stone By Stone'' (2006) * '' Wake'' (2010) * '' The Thief'' (2018)

Live shows

Floater adds further variety to their live performances by adding various cover songs into their

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

, and also integrating new verses into their own songs. They are also known for covering songs that do not necessarily coincide with their genre. Here is just a small sample of covers they have done: *

- "Waiting for the Sun" is featured on their album '' Burning Sosobra''. * U2 - "Seconds" - "Party Girl" *

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experiments ...

- "Run Like Hell" *

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

- "Helter Skelter" *

The Fixx The Fixx are a rock band from London, England, founded in 1979. The band's hits include " One Thing Leads to Another", " Saved by Zero", " Are We Ourselves?", and " Secret Separation", each of which charted in the top 20 of the ''Billboard'' ...

- "Red Skies" (partial - included with "Settling" live) *

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

- "Rocketman" *

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

- "Personal Jesus" * Traditional Irish ballad - "Wild Irish Rover" *

- "Animals (Complete Work)"

Samples

Samples are used extensively in Floater's live performances and earlier

albums An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

. Samples from the early albums were primarily from movies. While samples are present on later albums they are not as common. Those that were included, occurred infrequently and were created by the band and local actors. Their albums ''Sink'' and ''Glyph'' included samples from movies such as ''

Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American psychological epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius, and Michael Herr, is loosely inspired by the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkn ...

,'' ''

THX 1138 ''THX 1138'' is a 1971 American social science fiction film co-written and directed by George Lucas in his feature directorial debut. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola and co-written by Walter Murch, the film stars Robert Duvall and Donald Pl ...

'', ''

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest may refer to: * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Ken Kesey * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (play), a 1963 stage adaptation of the novel starring Kirk Douglas * ''One Flew Over the ...

'', '' The Shining'', '' The Last Temptation of Christ'', ''

Nice Dreams ''Nice Dreams'' is a 1981 American action adventure comedy film directed by Tommy Chong and starring Cheech & Chong, in their third feature film. Released in 1981 by Columbia Pictures, the film focuses on the duo having gotten rich selling cann ...

'', various episodes of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' and old radio programs.

Associated personnel

Guest performers * Keith Brown of Threscher, Two Minutes Hate, Drumattica, TV:616 and Sentenced To Life * Pianist for Burning Sosobra CD release tour * TV:616 for cover of Run Like Hell * Jen Folker of Dahlia * Jeff Chase; fire breather for 1998 performances of Mosquito * King Black Acid for 2009 performances of the Beatles' Helter Skelter * Unkle Nancy of Unkle Nancy and the Family Jewels * Jesse (Juice) Fletcher Lighting and Live Samples Anthropomorphic Personifications * Omar - Omar

Side projects

* Sentenced to Life - Sometime around the fall of 1995, Rob Wynia and Pete Cornett collaborated with Keith Brown to develop a short-lived side project. A cassette tape of this exists called ''Reminders of the Soul'', with the first side being live tracks performed at the WOW Hall and the second side being studio demos. About 50 copies of the cassette tape were handed out according to Keith Brown, and around a dozen shows played in the Eugene area. At the time of this collaboration, Keith Brown was a part of the band Threscher. Keith would eventually go on to play several shows with Floater as a guest performer, filling in on acoustic guitar, bass and vocals. * Drumattica - A tribal/dance electronic groove band featuring Robert Wynia and David Amador. * Riverboat - Peter Cornett's solo project. * Robert Wynia / Robert Wynia and The Sound - The spoken word and solo music of Rob Wynia.

Floater in the press

Here are some examples of Floater in the media: *

KUFO KUFO (970 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Portland, Oregon. The station, owned by Alpha Media, calls itself "Freedom 970" and airs a conservative talk radio format. KUFO's offices and studios are on Southwest 5th ...

Marconi Show video interview
Part 1Part 2
* ''

Eugene Weekly ''Eugene Weekly'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published on Thursdays in Eugene, Oregon. It began publication in 1982 and was originally named ''What's Happening''. Overview The free newspaper, published every Thursday, has a circulat ...

'' interview from 2004
Floater Rising
* '' The Synthesis'' interview
Waiting for Floater
* ''The Synthesis'' interview
Cult of Personality is Dead
* ''Willamette Week'' interview
Stone by Stone
* ''Willamette Week'' article
Floater
* PDXposed Press TV interview
"Floater" Rocks the Crystal Ballroom
* '' Daily Vanguard'' interview from 10-2008
Float On interview
* The Commuter publication audio interview
Floater Audio Interview
* '' Weekly Volcano'' article
Floater - Grunge band from back in the day plays Hell's Kitchen

References

External links

Floater.com
(official website)
Stiff & Restless
(fan archive site)
Floater at Discogs
(Floater discography) {{Authority control Musical groups from Eugene, Oregon Musical groups from Portland, Oregon Alternative rock groups from Oregon Musical groups established in 1993 1993 establishments in Oregon