hHead were a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band, formed in 1991 in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

History

Origin story (1991 to 1992)

The band was originally formed by Noah Mintz and

Brendan Canning Brendan Canning (born 1969) is a Canadian indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used ...

after the duo met as students at

Brock University Brock University is a public university, public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The ...

They were originally as an acoustic duo and played under the name The Happy. They eventually evolved into a harder rock band, echoing the grunge sounds of the early 1990s."hHead music simple, melancholy; Disc reminiscent of 'Seattle sound'". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

'', October 20, 1994. Mintz and Canning called their new band ''Head'' but soon added a second ''h'' after discovering that another band was already recording as Head, although both hHead and the Vancouver band Rymes with Orange regularly joked in promotional interviews that the extra ''h'' had been traded between the bands by either donation or theft."Band gets the 'H' out, hits the road". ''

'', October 20, 1994. The band employed a series of drummers during their career. This includes Mark Bartkiw, who previously played in Fancypants Hoodlum (a project led by Merrill Nisker, who'd later go on to perform as

electroclash Electroclash (also known as synthcore, retro-electro, tech-pop, nouveau disco, and the new new wave) is a Music genre, genre of popular music that fuses 1980s Electro (music), electro, New wave music, new wave and synth-pop with 1990s techno, re ...

superstar

Peaches The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called nectarines. Peac ...

Career highlights (1993 to 1997)

The band's first album, ''Fireman'', was released independently in 1992. It became popular on Canadian

campus radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...

, receiving wider distribution in 1993."T.O. trio making hHeadway". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', May 27, 1993. hHead became a popular live act in Toronto, playing at such clubs as the Drake Hotel,

Lee's Palace Lee's Palace is a rock concert hall located on the south side of Bloor Street West east of Lippincott Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The two-floor facility in The Annex neighbourhood has a long history prior to being adapted in September 19 ...

and

The Rivoli The Rivoli is a bar, restaurant and performance space, established in 1982, on Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The club originally earned a reputation as one of Canada's hippest music clubs, and many major Canadian comedy and musi ...

. At the latter, one performance saw a young

Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots, commonly abbreviated as STP, is an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1989. Originally consisting of lead vocalist Scott Weiland, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo, and drummer :Songs ...

open for hHead. This was STP's first Toronto appearance. hHead also toured Canada and the United States as both as a headliner in rock clubs and as an opening act for a wide range of artists. hHead opened shows for international acts like My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr., Letters to Cleo,

Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band based in Buffalo, New York, composed of lead vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik, bassist and vocalist Robby Takac, as well as several rotating members since its formation in 1986. After starting ...

The Lemonheads The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member. After their initial punk-influenced releases and tours as an indep ...

and

. hHead also played Canadian tours with

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, was a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

, The Watchmen, Sloan and

Eric's Trip Eric's Trip is a Canadian indie rock band from Moncton, New Brunswick. Eric's Trip achieved prominence as the first Canadian band to be signed to Seattle's flagship grunge label Sub Pop in the early 1990s. The band had a minor hit in alternati ...

. In 1993, the band won

CFNY-FM CFNY-FM (102.1 Hertz, MHz, "102.1 The Edge") is a radio station city of license, licensed to Brampton, Ontario. Owned by Corus Entertainment, the station broadcasts a modern rock format serving the Greater Toronto Area. Its studios are in Downtow ...

's Discovery to Disc contest, which awarded them $100,000 toward the recording of a new album. The band landed a contract with

IRS Records I.R.S. Records was a major American record label founded by Miles Copeland III and Jay Boberg in 1979. I.R.S. produced some of the most popular bands of the 1980s, and was particularly known for issuing records by college rock, new wave music, n ...

in 1994, releasing their second album, ''Jerk'', that year. The album was supported by a large-scale national tour as an opening act for Moist, and by an appearance on the

Edgefest Edgefest was an annual outdoor rock festival in Canada. It was founded by staff members of Toronto radio station CFNY-FM. From 1987 to 2015, the festival was held every year in the summer (except for 2007). The festival was most frequently held ...

bill in 1995. However, IRS Records was at this point in financial trouble, and declared bankruptcy in 1996. The band then moved to the Canadian independent label Handsome Boy Records for their final album, ''Ozzy'' in 1996. hHead played their final show at

Edenfest Edenfest was 3-day concert that took place July 12–14, 1996 at Mosport Park, in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. The concert sold over 70,000 tickets total for the 3 day event and was attended by another estimated 20,000 people who walked into th ...

in 1996 and the band broke up in 1997.

Post breakup (1997 to present)

Mintz is now a mastering engineer for artists such as

Hayden Hayden may refer to: Places Inhabited places in the United States * Hayden, Alabama *Hayden, Arizona *Hayden's Ferry, former name of Tempe, Arizona *Hayden, California, former name of Hayden Hill, California *Hayden, Colorado *Hayden, Idaho *Hayde ...

Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene is a Canadian indie rock band and musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed by Kevin Drew (vocals, guitar) and Brendan Canning (vocals, bass) in 1999. Alongside Drew and Canning, the ...

and

The Dears The Dears are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec. The band is led by the husband-and-wife duo of singer-guitarist Murray Lightburn and keyboardist Natalia Yanchak. History The band formed in 1995 and released their first album, ' ...

, and has recorded solo material as Noah's Arkweld.

Leslie Feist Leslie Feist (born February 13, 1976), known mononymously as Feist, is a Canadian indie pop singer-songwriter and guitarist, performing both as a solo artist and as a member of the indie rock group Broken Social Scene. Feist launched her solo ...

was part of an early version of Noah's Arkweld. In 2015, the previously unreleased track "Fempire" and a solo track by Canning titled "Born from the Ashes" appeared on Squirtgun Records' 20th anniversary ''Return of Our Stupid Noise'' compilation. Canning joined

By Divine Right By Divine Right is a Canadian indie rock band led by guitarist and vocalist José Miguel Contreras. History The band was formed in 1989 by high school friends Contreras, drummer Mark Goldstein, bass guitarist Liz Teear and guitarist Steve Berm ...

for that band's third album '' Bless This Mess'', and later formed the bands

with

Kevin Drew Kevin Drew (born September 9, 1976) is a Canadian musician and songwriter who, together with Brendan Canning, founded the expansive Toronto baroque-pop collective Broken Social Scene. He was also part of the lesser-known KC Accidental, which con ...

and

Cookie Duster Cookie Duster is a Canadian indie rock band, who were briefly active in Toronto in the late 1990s before reforming with some new members in 2012. History Originally formed in the late 1990s by Brendan Canning and Bernard Maiezza after the diss ...

with Bernard Maiezza."Broken Social Scene's Brendan Canning Reviving Cookie Duster Project?"
. ''

Spinner Spinner may refer to: Technology * Spinner (aeronautics), the aerodynamic cone at the hub of an aircraft propeller * Spinner (cell culture), laboratory equipment for cultivating plant or mammalian cells * Spinner (computing), a graphical widget in ...

'', November 10, 2011. Broken Social Scene's album '' Bee Hives'' includes a song titled "hHallmark", alluding to the unique typography of hHead's name.

Members

* Noah Mintz -

Guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

/ Vocals (1991–1997) *

Bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

/ Backing vocals (1991–1997) *Jason Ray - Drums (1996–1997) *Mark Bartkiw - Drums (1992–1995) *Roland Rainer - Drums (1991–1992) *Zak Hanna - Additional Guitar (on

Fireman A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

) (1991–1992)

Discography

*1991 — ''Potato E.P.'' (Self-Release) *1992 — ''

'' (re-released 1993) *1994 — '' Jerk'' *1996 — '' Ozzy'' *2017 — ''Rare and Odd (1991-1997)'' (Digital Release)

Compilations

The band provided the non-album track "Want" to the 1996 and 1998 editions of '' More of Our Stupid Noise''."The best of college rock; More of Our Stupid Noise '98 demonstrates Canada's talent". ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunn ...

'', April 11, 1998. They also appeared on number of tribute albums during their career. They covered

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

's "Look Out for my Love" on the 1994 album '' Borrowed Tunes: A Tribute to Neil Young''. hHead also provided a cover of Bob Snider's "They Oughta Bottle Friday Night" for the 1996 tribute album '' Poetreason: The Songs of Bob Snider''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hhead Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups disestablished in 1997 Musical groups from Toronto Canadian alternative rock groups 1991 establishments in Ontario 1997 disestablishments in Ontario I.R.S. Records artists