Willard (band)

Willard
Origin	Seattle, Washington, USA
Genres	Grunge, heavy metal, alternative metal
Years active	1989 (1989)–1992 (1992)
Labels	Green Gel, Roadrunner
Past members	Johnny Clint Mark Spiders Otis P. Otis Steve Wied Darren Peters Tyson Garcia

Willard was an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed around 1989. Though they sought to challenge the grunge image" of Seattle, they are acknowledged as a part of the grunge music scene of the late 80's and early 90's.

History

Jeff Gilbert and Tad Doyle were instrumental in their first record deal which resulted in their one and only Jack Endino produced album, Steel Mill in 1992. Gilbert called Willard the "drunkest band in Seattle" in his Rocket magazine article. These guys knew how to have a good time! They had previously released a self-titled 4 song EP on Gerald Oniel's Green Gel Records. After performing an outdoor show for the "Pain in the Grass" Festival at the Seattle Center, Willard was banned from further performances by the Seattle Police Department and the City of Seattle. Willard T-shirts soon proudly said "Banned by the SPD"! To Willard it was" the equivalent of a gold album!." Their music sounded similar to another Seattle band, entitled Melvins. Steve Wied was the original Tad drummer before joining Willard.

They disbanded after recording a second record, Bone Grinder, which was never released. Only the demo version of one song, "Larie" was released on a "Seattle Music Scene CD".

Band members

• Johnny Clint - vocals
• Mark Spiders - guitars
• Otis P. Otis - guitars
• Steve Wied - drums
• Darren Peters - bass
• Tyson Garcia - bass (replaced Peters)

Discography

• Willard - EP (Green Gel Records, 1991)
• "Roadrunner Records Promo PR063" - features "Sweet Kali" (Roadrunner Records, 1992)
• "Metal Detector CD Metal Monsters" Summer 1992 - features "Stain" (FMBQ 1992)
• Steel Mill (Roadrunner Records, 1992)
• "Best of Grunge Rock" features "Fifteen" (Priority Records, 1993)
• "Bone Grinder" (unreleased)
• "Seattle Music Scene Volume 2" features demo version of "Larie" from "ABV Sessions" later recorded for "Bone Grinder" (Insight Records, 1994)
• "Texass" features Mark Spiders on backup vocals and Otis P. Otis on guitar (IFA Records, 1994)
• "Sunshine Spread the Love" EP (pre - Willard), 1989 [self release] features "Drag". Mark, Otis, and Darren play on the EP with Faye West (vocals) and Patty Schemel (drums) who later played with Courtney Love in Hole.