Loser was an American

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 which was active from 2005 to 2006. Current

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guitarist John 5 formed Loser along with his friend and producer Bob Marlette. Marlette recommended Texas singer Joe Grah, who had already had success fronting the Texas alternative rock group

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, as a potential vocalist for the band. John flew to Texas to see

in concert and immediately invited Grah to join. The group recruited fellow Texas musician Charles Lee Salvaggio on bass, as well as former The Feds drummer Glendon Crain. With the lineup secured, Loser began working on their debut album ''Just Like You''. The band played its first show in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

on June 9, 2005. The name Loser came about as a reaction to John 5's past: When questioned in an interview regarding the band's sound, John 5 replied, "It is just great rock music. It is kinda like the

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

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, new-age stuff." The band had initial success not long after signing with

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

, when their song "Nobody Knows" was added to

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

radio nationwide and their track "Disposable Sunshine" was included on the 2005 ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

'' soundtrack. During the recording of the soundtrack, however, Crain briefly left the band and was replaced by drummer Elias Andra, a friend of Salvaggio's. Andra had had some success himself with the industrial metal band Psycho Plague, his own creation, which toured with

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. However, Andra soon left after promotional shots had been taken, and Crain returned. In 2006 Loser was the opening act on

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's Chapter V tour, along with Theory of a Deadman. Loser was set to release its debut album, ''Just Like You'', on May 9, 2006 on

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. At the same time, John 5 was also working for

Rob Zombie Robert Bartleh Cummings (born January 12, 1965), known professionally as Rob Zombie, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live show ...

, and a conflict arose. As Zombie was also touring, John 5 tried to find a live replacement for himself while Loser was touring on conflicting dates. With promo material for the debut album already out and a release date in the bag, Island Records decided it didn't like the idea of Loser without John 5, and dropped the band from the label. "Being the founding member of Loser, my decision to leave was not an easy one", said John 5 in a press release. "I've been juggling two careers, both with Loser and Rob Zombie, for over one year now. I found it impossible to be in two places at once." Since the dissolution of Loser, Joe Grah reformed his Dallas band

for an album and multiple tours, and released fifteen solo singles with accompanying videos. Charles Lee Salvaggio later went on to play bass in Filter, Theory Of A Deadman, and guitar in

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and Black Sunshine, and also teamed with Joe Grah on the project I Am The Wolf. Andra is now the drummer of bands

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and Dead by Sunrise. Glendon Crain went on to join Godhead and later

Hollywood Undead Hollywood Undead is an American rap rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2005. All of the band members use pseudonyms and previously wore their own unique mask, most of which were based on the common goaltender mask, hockey goalten ...

. In 2024, Joe officially joins forces with his long-time friend and collaborator Charles Lee Salvaggio to form the hard rock group Inside The Trojan Horse. With Charles on

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and guitar, along with

Red Sun Rising Red Sun Rising was an American rock band from Akron, Ohio that is currently on hiatus. The band has released two studio albums through the Razor & Tie record label; their first, ''Polyester Zeal'', in 2015, and their second, ''Thread (Red Sun R ...

and The Violent drummer Pat Gerasia, the band recorded an entire album of material. The group's first single and video, Burn, debuted Wednesday, August 7, 2024. The trio premiered the video for their second single, Savior, on I'm Music Magazine Friday, September 13, 2024. On Friday, October 30, 2024, KRAVE Rock Radio premiered ITTH's third single and video, How They Run. On Friday, November 22, 2024, BleachedBangs Magazine premiered the power-trio's fourth single and video, Stay Alive. On Christmas morning, Wednesday, December 25, 2024, the trio debuted their fifth single and video, Blood and Teeth, on Youtube. The trio launched their second EP, Origins, on Friday, May 23, 2025, featuring the songs Dogs, Fifteen, and Children. A self-directed music video debuted on YouTube the same day. In spite of Loser's album ''Just Like You'' being completed, Island Records decided not to commercially release the album. However, a limited number of promotional copies had been sent to radio stations and music critics. These rare physical copies of the album have become sought-after collectors items among fans. The official Loser

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page has tracks from ''Just for You'' available for download.Myspace Loser
Accessed on Nov. 23, 2007.

Discography

Band members

* Joe Grahlead vocals, songwriter * John5guitar, songwriter * Charles Lee Salvaggiobass * Glendon Craindrums * Bob Marletteproducer, engineer, mixer, songwriter

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loser (Band) Musical groups established in 2004 Alternative rock groups from Texas