hHead

hHead were a Canadian alternative rock band,[1] formed in 1991 in Toronto.[2]

hHead
OriginToronto, Ontario, Canada
GenresAlternative rock
Years active1991 (1991)–1997 (1997)
LabelsI.R.S.
Handsome Boy Records
Past membersNoah Mintz
Brendan Canning
Jason Ray
Mark Bartkiw
Roland Rainer
Zak Hanna

The band was originally formed by Noah Mintz and Brendan Canning[3] as an acoustic duo,[4] with a rotating succession of drummers rounding out the trio after they evolved into a harder rock band.

They were originally known as Head, but added the 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.[5]

The band's first album, Fireman, was released independently in 1992, and became popular on Canadian campus radio.[6] It received wider distribution in 1993,[7] and the band toured Canada both as a headliner in rock clubs and as an opening act for My Bloody Valentine,[7] Sloan,[7] Dinosaur Jr.[7] and Stone Temple Pilots.[8]

In 1993, the band won CFNY-FM's Discovery to Disc contest, which awarded them $100,000 toward the recording of a new album.[4][9] The band landed a contract with IRS Records in 1994, releasing their second album, Jerk, that year.[4] The album was supported by a large-scale national tour as an opening act for Moist,[10] and by an appearance on the Edgefest bill in 1995.[11] 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.[12]

The band also appeared on at least two compilation albums during their career, with a cover of Bob Snider's "They Oughta Bottle Friday Night" appearing on the 1996 tribute album Poetreason: The Songs of Bob Snider and the non-album track "Want" appearing on both the 1996 and 1998 editions of More of Our Stupid Noise.[13] 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.[14]

The band broke up in 1997.[15]

Mintz is now a mastering engineer for artists such as Hayden and The Dears, and has recorded solo material as Noah's Arkweld. Canning joined By Divine Right for that band's third album Bless This Mess, and later formed the bands Broken Social Scene with Kevin Drew and Cookie Duster with Bernard Maiezza.[16] 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/Vocals (1991–1997)
  • Brendan Canning - Bass Guitar/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) (1991–1992)

Discography
gollark: Does that matter? They're still ultimately quite likely to produce a zygote and then quite likely to produce a fetus and whatever else after that.
gollark: Yes.
gollark: Probably wouldn't work very well otherwise.
gollark: I assume that sperm have some sort of magic™ egg-finding capability.
gollark: Just that they hadn't yet fused.

References
  1. "hHead takes another step forward". Calgary Herald, December 19, 1994.
  2. "Students' summer '91 - few jobs and low pay". Toronto Star, June 30, 1991.
  3. "Sloan party turns into a hHead trip". Toronto Star, August 13, 1992.
  4. "hHead music simple, melancholy; Disc reminiscent of 'Seattle sound'". Ottawa Citizen, October 20, 1994.
  5. "Band gets the 'H' out, hits the road". Ottawa Citizen, October 20, 1994.
  6. "Power pop for flannel hHeads; Band on fan-finding tour, at Flamingo this weekend". Halifax Daily News, April 16, 1993.
  7. "T.O. trio making hHeadway". Toronto Star, May 27, 1993.
  8. "Stone Temple Pilots stake claim to their own brand of grunge". Montreal Gazette, October 17, 1993.
  9. Larry LeBlanc (4 February 1995). Canada: Who's Who. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 80–. ISSN 0006-2510.
  10. "Will success spoil Moist?; West Coast band finds that not everyone cheers when an indie group makes it". Montreal Gazette, December 10, 1994.
  11. "Music marathon fails to rouse teen-agers from summer haze". The Globe and Mail, July 4, 1995.
  12. "1996 was acrawl with fresh talent". Toronto Star, December 26, 1996.
  13. "The best of college rock; More of Our Stupid Noise '98 demonstrates Canada's talent". Edmonton Journal, April 11, 1998.
  14. "Squirtgun Records Celebrates 20th Anniversary with 'Return of Our Stupid Noise' Comp". Exclaim!, March 26, 2015.
  15. hHEAD CALLS IT QUITS. Chart Attack. Archived from the original on 2003-08-18.
  16. "Broken Social Scene's Brendan Canning Reviving Cookie Duster Project?". Spinner, November 10, 2011.
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