10 forgotten modern supergroups
Before the 1960s, the idea of supergroups had no precedent. In the jazz age, sit-ins and collaborative albums were commonplace, but they weren’t considered permanent. The first wave of rock stars often played on the same stages or headed up the same films, but these were usually one-offs. The idea of forming a new group with established names to explore something completely different only came of age once rock music was entering its second generation.
When three of Britain’s most prominent blues musicians – Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker – joined together to form Cream in 1966, the notion of a “supergroup” first began to spread among the public. Clapton and Baker even went back to the well with their next group, Blind Faith, featuring Traffic’s Steve Winwood and Family’s Ric Grech. From that point on, the supergroup entered a golden age. Some were exponentially more popular than their original projects, like Bad Company or Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Others, however, crashed and burned after a short time, like The Firm or Bad English.
Today, the term “supergroup” has something of a negative connotation. It usually signifies a short-term vanity project that attempts to profit off members’ reputations with their past works. That’s usually true, but modern supergroups like Atoms for Peace and Boygenius have begun to subvert that notion. There will always be supergroups as long as there are famous musicians, but there have been far more than most people remember.
Here are ten supergroups from the 21st century that haven’t endeared. Whether it was because of their relatively short time together, negative reception, or bizarre pairings, these groups never had the opportunity to grow and achieve the same successes that the members had with other projects.
10 forgotten modern supergroup:
Art of Anarchy
Supergroups are tricky propositions. Scott Weiland found that out the hard way after his first supergroup, Velvet Revolver, fell apart in 2008. After reuniting with Stone Temple Pilots, Weiland was asked to add vocals to the new project from Guns N’ Roses guitarist Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal, along with brothers Jon and Vince Votta. Thus, Art of Anarchy was born.
…only for Weiland to promptly call the group a “scam” and refuse to tour behind their debut album. Weiland died a few months after the album’s release, and the rest of the group responded by hiring Scott Stapp as his replacement… only for the band to sue him for lack of live show appearances. Art of Anarchy is still technically together, now with one-time Journey vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, but none of the band’s material has matched their lead vocalist drama.
Ataxia
For Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, it remains imperative for him to keep busy outside of the rap-rock quartet. Various solo albums and side projects helmed by him would come out throughout the 2000s, but perhaps the most prescient of them all was Ataxia, his short-lived experimental rock trio Ataxia.
Largely a drone-rock freak-out group, Ataxia also featured Fugazi bassist Joe Lally and drummer Josh Klinghoffer, the then-former member of The Bicycle Thief. Of course, Klinghoffer went on to replace Frusciante in RHCP in 2009, only for Frusciante to reclaim his spot in the band in 2019. It doesn’t seem like there’s that much bad blood between the two, with the pair collaborating on a number of albums throughout the late 2000s.
Dreamcar
It must be hard being the other three guys in No Doubt. The once-powerful 1990s ska-pop act is now at the mercy of Gwen Stefani and her busy schedule, hosting television shows and embarking on solo projects. No Doubt has been completely inactive since 2015, and in 2017, the non-Stefani members got tired of waiting around.
Instead of replacing Stefani, Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont, and Adrian Young opted to work with AFI lead singer Davey Havok on a new project, Dreamcar. Mostly a new wave project, Dreamcar was yet another supergroup that released one self-titled album before largely becoming inactive as Havok continued to focus on AFI. New band, same old supergroup story.
Eyes Adrift
3rd Secret is one of the newest supergroups in the rock world, bringing together members of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. But before that, Krist Novoselic assembled a much stranger group. His first choice seemed natural: Meat Puppets guitarist Curt Kirkwood, with whom Novoselic shared the stage during Nirvana’s legendary MTV Unplugged appearance in 1993. The second was left obvious – former Sublime drummer Bud Gaugh.
Eyes Adrift attempted to play off of the trio’s shared punk roots, but their mixing in of country music styles was simply bizarre. After releasing their only album in 2002, the group broke up as Gaugh and Kirkwood gave the whole supergroup thing another shot with their next band, Volcano. The sole Eyes Adrift album went out of print and can’t even be found on streaming services, illustrating the sad end that many forgotten supergroups face.
FFS
It was one of those strange team-ups that seemed to come from out of this world: Scottish indie rockers Franz Ferdinand were pairing up with art rock heroes Sparks. When it was announced that the two bands were becoming one, few people realized how far back their mutual admiration had stretched. In fact, the two bands had discussed making an album together as early as 2004, shortly after Franz Ferdinand released their debut album.
After more than a decade, the two acts finally came together and put out one psychedelic genre-blending album that was… pretty good. The group never officially toured and only made a few scattered promotional appearances before returning to their normal activities. Today, FFS feels more like a bizarre fever dream than a real band, but they did wind up making some fascinating songs together.
Gizmodrome
Supergroups aren’t just for the indie kids. After all, the early rock generation built the concept of the supergroup from the ground up, so modern variations have to include some mega-talented old-timers. Stewart Copeland was no stranger to assembling famous friends into bands, having previously tapped Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio and Primus leader Les Claypool to form Oysterhead in the early 2000s.
For his second stab at forming a supergroup, Copeland got former Frank Zappa/Talking Heads/King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew to come together with Level 42 bassist Mark King and Italian jazz pianist Vittorio Cosma to form Gizmodrome in 2017. You know the deal: one album, some live performances, and then a whole lot of nothing from the group.
Machinegum
Another group that is technically still together, Machinegum is an indie rock supergroup largely focused around The Strokes drummer Fab Moretti and Nation of Language leader Ian Devaney. Mostly focused on performing at art galleries, Machinegum at least gets credit for attempting something different from the standard supergroup.
Unfortunately, Machinegum has so far fallen victim to the main trappings of all supergroups: one album, conflicting schedules, and not enough interest in their work compared to their day jobs. The releases of The Strokes’ The New Abnormal and Nation of Language’s Introduction, Presence in 2020, plus the pandemic, probably put a permanent halt on Machinegum.
SuperHeavy
After The Rolling Stones finished up their ‘Bigger Band Tour’ in 2007, Mick Jagger decided that he needed a supergroup that fused nearly every genre of music. Well, technically, it was former Eurythmics guitarist Dave Stewart’s idea, but it was impossible for Jagger not to take the lead. Initially looking to fuse reggae with traditional Indian music, Jagger and Stewart compiled a crack team of superstars from across multiple genres.
Damien Marley represented reggae, Joss Stone represented soul, A. R. Rahman represented Indian pop, and Jagger brought the rock and roll with Stewart. The result was SuperHeavy, a “Jack of all trades, master of none” type of group that released one full-length self-titled album in 2011 before disbanding that same year. The album is a bit of a mess, but the group gets props for the massive scope of their intentions.
Tinted Windows
Of all the 21st-century supergroups that have come together, I am confident in saying that Tinted Windows had the most bizarre amalgamation of talented musicians from across decades and genres. Here’s the lineup: middle Hanson brother Taylor Hanson, then-former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, Fountains of Wayne bassist and songwriter Adam Schlesinger and Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos.
You’ll never guess what happened next: one self-titled album, some tours, and an amicable break-up so that each member could focus on something else. While most supergroups are defunct without fully closing the door on future appearances, Tinted Windows are sadly done for good following the death of Schlesinger in 2020.
Wild Flag
Some bands just have the band fortune of poor timing. After Sleater-Kinney split up in 2006, Carrie Brownstein decided to form a new band with former bandmate Janet Weiss along with The Minders’ Rebecca Cole and Helium’s Mary Timony. Wild Flag was a truly promising group featuring some of the coolest musicians from the late 1990s, but fate had other plans for Brownstein.
Just a few months after the band’s formation, Brownstein’s television show Portlandia got picked up by IFC. She managed to juggle both projects for a while, with Wild Flag producing one self-titled album (supergroups love self-titled albums) in 2011 before Brownstein decided that Portlandia needed her full focus. Brownstein and Weiss reunited with Corin Tucker to reform Sleater-Kinney, effectively bringing Wild Flag to an end.
