The Urge

This article is about the rock band. For the album by bassist Stuart Hamm, see The Urge (album).

The Urge
Origin	St. Louis, MO, USA
Genres	Reggae, Ska Punk
Years active	1987–2001, 2003–2005, 2011
Labels	Epic/Immortal
Associated acts	LucaBrasi (formerly Seven), Stevie E (Steve Ewing solo), El Monstero, Joe Dirt, Ulcer Inc
Members
Steve Ewing Jerry Jost John Pessoni Karl Grable Matt Kwiatkowski Bill Reiter
Past members
Pat Malecek Jeff Herschel Todd Painter

The Urge is a St. Louis rock band formed in 1987 by drummer Jeff Herschel, bassist Karl Grable, guitarist Pat Malecek, and singer Steve Ewing. Their music combines multiple styles of music including ska, hardcore punk, thrash metal, funk, reggae, and hip hop.

History

The original Urge lineup debuted in 1989 with the cassette-only "Bust Me Dat Forty", followed a year later by the LP Puttin the Backbone Back. After the addition of trombonist Matt Kwiatkowski, the group released 1992's Magically Delicious. Later the group added trombonist/keyboardist Todd Painter and saxophonist/keyboardist Bill Reiter, and in 1993 recorded the live LP Fat Babies in the Mix. After Herschel and Malecek left the band in 1994, guitarist Jerry Jost and drummer John Pessoni joined the lineup, and subsequent touring with 311 helped The Urge win a number of new fans. The 1995 release of Receiving The Gift of Flavor was so successful that it brought the band to the attention of Epic's Immortal imprint, which reissued the LP in 1996.

After constant touring with the likes of labelmates KoЯn and Incubus, Master of Styles was released in 1998, containing the hit "Jump Right In" which featured singer Nick Hexum of 311, as well as the minor hits "Straight To Hell" and "Divide and Conquer".

Following the release of Too Much Stereo in mid-2000, the band toured for nearly a year before calling it quits. In summer 2001, the band went its separate ways due to musical differences.

Since breaking up in 2001, the band has played several reunion shows. Frontman Steve Ewing has made several solo records under the name Stevie E. and is currently assisting several growing local St. Louis rock bands including Zamudio, The Dead End, and Lojic. Guitarist Jerry Jost was almost chosen as the replacement guitarist for Limp Bizkit after Wes Borland left the band in 2002. The other members still reside in St. Louis and are involved in several musical projects.

Their hit Jump Right In can be heard in an episode of MTV's Daria and MTV's The Real World.

Reformation in 2011

On July 15 2011, The Urge confirmed that they would be reforming to write new music. Their new single "Say Yeah" debuted immediately following the announcement at Pop's live on the radio. Their first show back together was Pointfest 29. During the live radio interview, the band discussed with Donny Fandango that the new music will be entirely new material, and will not be the abandoned album "Escape From Boys Town" from 2001 (which they currently have no plans of resurrecting). They also launched their new website TheUrge.net.

On September 10, 2011 while playing Pointfest the band announced that they will be playing two shows at The Pageant in St. Louis MO on November 11th and 12th. Three weeks later, after quickly selling out the Novermber 11th and 12th shows, the band announce a third show at The Pageant on November 18th and a fourth on November 25th.

Band members

Current:

• Steve Ewing — Lead Vocals
• Karl Grable — Bass Guitar
• Jerry Jost — Guitar
• Matt Kwiatkowski — Trombone
• John Pessoni — Drums
• Bill Reiter — Keyboards/Saxophone

Former:

• Todd Painter - Trombone/Keyboards
• Jeff Herschel - Drums
• Pat Malacek - Guitar

Discography

Year	Title	Label	Info	Units Sold	Singles
1989	Bust Me Dat Forty	Neat Guy	DNC	?	No Official Singles
1990	Putting the Backbone Back	Neat Guy	DNC	?	No Official Singles
1992	Magically Delicious	Neat Guy	DNC	?	No Official Singles
1993	Fat Babies in the Mix	Neat Guy	DNC	Unknown	No Official Singles
1996	Receiving The Gift of Flavor	Immortal Records	DNC	150,000 copies sold	"All Washed Up," "Brainless," "It's Gettin' Hectic"
1998	Master of Styles	Immortal Records	#134 US	250,000 copies sold	"Straight to Hell," "Jump Right In" (#10 US Modern Rock), "Closer"
2000	Too Much Stereo	Immortal Records	#200 US	125,000 copies sold	"Too Much Stereo" (#20 US Modern Rock), "Four Letters and Two Words"
2000	Live and Unreleased E.P.	Immortal Records	DNC	?	No Official Singles
2000	Rare and Out of Print	Vintage Vinyl	DNC	?	No Official Singles
2011	Unknown	Neat Guy	TBD	TBD	"Say Yeah"

Other Notable Songs

• "Bad Neighborhood"
• "Go Feet" (B-side from "Too Much Stereo"
• "Its My Turn to Fly (Titan AE Soundtrack)
• "BBQ Rat" (cover of Ministry's "Stigmata" and a song called "Ali Baba" - only played live)
• "This Is Radio Clash" (Burning London: The Clash Tribute)
• "1999" (Unreleased studio cover of the Prince song)
• "One Love" (Live cover of the Bob Marley song)
• "I Need More Time" (Live cover of The Meters song)
• "Lazy Boy Dash" By Jimmie's Chicken Shack (Featured Steve Ewing Vocals)
• "I'm Not Crying For You" By Save Ferris (Featured Steve Ewing Vocals)

Compilation Contributions

• Mashin' Up The Nation! Best Of American Ska Vol. I & II - Track 14, "Dark Age" (1992)
• Pointessential Volume 1 - Track 12, "Violent Opposition (Demo Version)" (1994)
• River of Sound '94 - Track 5, "Bad Neighborhood" (1994)
• KLZR 105.9 The Lazer: Big Sandwich - Track 1, "Take Away" (1996)
• Korn Life Is Peachy Tour Sampler - Track 2, "All Washed Up (Live)" (1996)
• Made In The Middle - Disc 2, Track 1, "Brainless" (1996)
• 7" US Immortal Sampler- Side A, Track 1, "Brainless" (1996)
• Grunt - Track 15, "It's Getting Hectic" (1996)
• Sounds of 97 Vol. 4 - Track 18, "Brainless" (1997)
• Immortal Sampler '97 - Track 3, "Take Away" (1997)
• Immortal Sampler '98 - Track 6, "Jump Right In", Track 7, "Straight To Hell" (1998)
• Korn Family Values Extra Value CD - Track 9, "Straight To Hell" (1998)
• The Ozzfest '98 - Disc 2, Track 13, "Closer" (1998)
• Ozzfest Doggy Bag - Track 3, "Gene Machine" (1998)
• No Monthly Fee - Track 6, "Jump Right In" (1998)
• The Snow-Core Compilation - Track 9, "Brainless" (1998)
• The Urge/Incubus Sampler - Track 1, "Brainless" (1998)
• The Immortal 7 - Track 4, "Closer" (1998)
• This One Goes To 12 (Epic Records Sampler For Ozzfest) - Track 6, "All Washed Up" (1998)
• Kickn Mix - Track 6, "Identity Crisis"
• Pop/Rock Picks, Vol. 41 (Karaoke) - Track 7, "Jump Right In" (1998)
• Burning London: The Clash Tribute - Track 2, "This Is Radio Clash" (1999)
• Immortal Sampler 2000 - Track 3, "4 Letters & 2 Words (No Horns Version)", Track 4, "Too Much Stereo" (2000)
• Titan A.E. Soundtrack - Track 5, "It's My Turn To Fly" (2000)

Music Videos

• "Brainless"
• "All Washed Up"
• "Jump Right In"
• "Too Much Stereo"

External links

• theurge.net
• PTMFUS.com, official fansite
• The Urge on WikiLou