User:Graemeachurch/Heard it Through the Bovine

Heard it Through the Bovine is a Canadian Rock Band formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1994. Although not well known, they are highly regarded as one of the best Vancouver Rock Bands ever, and have been cited as influences by many bands and musicians, such as Death From Above 1979, The Blood Brothers, Frog Eyes, Japandroids, Black Mountain, Murder by Death and The Spider Bags, among others. Their sound have been described as a mix between, Punk, Hardcore, Brit-Rock, Folk rock, and Americana. On his show The Henry Rollins Show, Rollins said Heard it Through the Bovine were "like listening to Fugazi, Bad Brains, Radiohead, Pink Floyd, and Bob Dylan all at once."

Background
The Band formed in early 1994 when 17 year old Bassist Norman Wolff, who had temporarily been apart of his older Brother Scott's band Political Figures, decided to drop out of High School to start his own band. He put up ads in local record stores, and was quickly contacted by drummer Alex Levine. Levine, who had recently moved from England to Vancouver, had played in many underground bands in London including the punk band Nuclear Seal, the ska band Cunt Demon, the brit-pop band Big Ben's Dad (which featured Gem Archer later of Oasis, and the hardcore bands Innocent Blood and Thoughtcrime. He apparently told Wolff he knew "how to play every song ever drummed, but better." Levine then recruited his roommate, Vocalist and guitarist Marion McShane, who was the Lead singer of Thoughtcrime. Guitarist Jasper Pinto joined soon afterwards.

The band rehearsed in Levine's Grandmother's basement, even setting up a small studio in her garage. They Toured extensively through 1994-1996, quickly developing a reputation throughout Western Canada as one of, if not the hardest working band in the country. They developed a rabid fan base in the Vancouver rock scene, yet went ignored by record labels. Their first Demo EP, which was released exclusively at live shows and only on cassette tape, was given to Mint Records' Bill Baker by a friend in 1997. He immediately signed the band.

Back in Slow Motion
Heard it Through the Bovine's first album Back in Slow Motion was released in September 1997. The Album was moderately successful and introduced the public to HITTB's eclectic mix of genres. It was very well received in the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada, but did not cross over into other North American markets.