Spacehog

by Steve Huey
Spacehog mixes glam-rock influences, such as David Bowie and T. Rex, into its wall-of-distorted-guitars alternative-rock sound. The quartet formed in New York City in 1993 when British drummer Jonny Cragg moved there and got a job killing rats in the basement of an espresso bar. He met guitarist Antony Langdon, also from the U.K., at the coffeeshop, and the two decided to visit topless bars and jam together. Langdons brother Royston soon joined the group as a vocalist, and they added guitarist Richard Steel to round out the lineup. Almost immediately after the lineup coalesced, they attracted the attention of Sire Records president Seymour Stein, and their debut album, Resident Alien, was released in 1996. It soon spawned the hit single and video In the Meantime. The Chinese Album followed in 1998. Three years later, Spacehog had a new deal with Artemis Records and issued a third effort entitled The Hogyssey.