Scratching Post was a Canadian

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band from

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Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, active in the 1990s."Scratching Post"

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

. The band was formed by vocalist and songwriter Nicole Hughes, its only consistent member, in 1992."Scratching Post: itching to leave their mark". ''

Canadian Musician ''Canadian Musician'' is a Canadian magazine that is published bi-monthly by Norris-Whitney Communications Inc. History and profile ''Canadian Musician'' was launched by Jim Norris in Toronto in 1979. The premier issue was published in March/Apri ...

'', November/December 1999. It did not have a stable lineup in its early years; its most noted lineup, including guitarist Mark Holman, drummer Jeff Depew and bassist Phil Zeller, came together for the band's second album. Zeller remained with the band for most of its span but also played with side-project Dead Season in the late 1990s and Radio Holiday in the early 2000s. The band released a self-titled EP in 1995, and then moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

before following up with their full-length debut ''Flamethrower'' in 1996 on

Squirtgun Records Squirtgun Records was an independent record label founded by Lee Maslin in 1994 specializing largely in releases by Canadian rock bands. Artists who have worked with the label include Shortfall, hHead, Scratching Post (band), Scratching Post, Tr ...

."Rising like Phoenix ; Label flame-out fails to single Scratching Post". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', April 22, 1999. The album led to a record deal with

The Enclave ''The Enclave'' (''De Enclave'') is a three-part series directed by Willem van de Sande Bakhuyzen, about the fall of Srebrenica and the Dutch government's failure to protect the town from attackers. The series originally aired by Netherlands Publ ...

in the United States, but the label folded before it could actually release the band's second album. After getting back ownership of the album's masters, they released ''Destruction of the Universe'' on Squirtgun in 1998;

Ben Rayner Ben Rayner is a music critic and writer for the ''Toronto Star'' since 1998. His commentary on artists is extensively cited across the industry. Indie88 considers him "of the most respected industry professionals around." In 2012, he served on t ...

, "Scratching Post: Destruction of the Universe". ''

'', December 12, 1998. the band's most successful album, it spawned the Canadian alternative rock and campus radio hit "Bloodflame". They supported the album with a cross-Canada tour as an opening act for

Big Sugar The sugar industry subsumes the production, processing and marketing of sugars (mostly sucrose and fructose). Globally, most sugar is extracted from sugar cane (~80% predominantly in the tropics) and sugar beet (~ 20%, mostly in temperate climate ...

. Their third and final album, ''This Time It's Personal'', was produced by Chris and Drew Peters and released in 2000."Scratching Post itching to get Personal: Wake Up You're On Fire scary metal from Toronto band". ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. 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. Cunningham — as ...

'', October 31, 2000.

References

Canadian alternative rock groups Musical groups from London, Ontario Musical groups from Toronto Musical groups established in 1992 {{Canada-band-stub