Hater formed in the early nineties. It started out as a side project by Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd, and Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron. In this band, Shepherd would play guitar and write the majority of the material, Cameron would play drums, Alan Davis would play bass, and John McBain (Monster Magnet) would play guitar as well. The Band also had Brian Wood (brother of Mother Love Bone singer Andrew wood) on vocal duties as well, but Shepherd would sing as well as Cameron on one track on the bands first album.
Hater was released in 1993. The album would contain ten tracks which sounded like a blend of 60's garage and psychedelic Rock as well as the band The Stooges. "Mona Bone Jakon" the song that starts the album is a cover of a Cat Stevens song. "Circles", and "Down Undershoe" prove to be original Shepherd compositions that would come through in his other band Soundgarden, on the songs he contributed to the group. Other interesting tracks include "Tot Finder", "Lion and Lamb",and "Sad McBain". Many thought that this would be the only release by the band, but it was not. Hater also would have one song on the compilation, Hempilation in 1995. They would contributed a song written by Shepherd titled "Convicted", a 70 second song.
Two years later in 1995 when Soundgarden was on a break, Shepherd along with Cameron would record what would become demos for Haters follow up album. The album which was mostly comprised of demos would not see release for some time due to the fact that Shepherd was not happy with the way it sounded. It would take until 2005, ten years later until the album saw official release; The album would be called The 2nd. Also, from these sessions during Soundgarden's down time, songs for the bands final release Down on the Upside would be reworked. "Dusty" and "An Unkind" songs on Down on the Upside were recorded during these sessions, but are not included on the release. The 2nd is an album that stands up to Hater's first self-titled release. The same 60's garagey and Stooge-ish sounds are here, it is not a clone of the first album. Songs such as "Zombie Hand" a jagged jam, and "Wish On" are great tracks. The album is an interesting listen, as is the first from the band. The band has played various live shows in 2005 Shepherd toured with Hater, but with different band members.
Cameron and Shepherd along with McBain formed the band Wellwater Conspiracy as well around the same time as Hater. The band has a similar 60s rock and psychedelic sound as Hater did. The band has released four albums (Shepherd was in the band from 1993-1997, it then became Cameron and McBain's side project). Matt Cameron currently plays drums with Pearl Jam, he has been a member since 1999. Ben Shepherd was said to be in a new band Unkmongoni in 2005, but no one has heard anything since then about the band, and most likely will hear no more. For more info on Ben Shepherd visit his unofficial homepage.
Play List:
1. The Strokes – meet me in the bathroom
2. The Boys – turning grey
3. White Stripes – stop breaking down
4. Hater – circles
5. Hater – wish on
6. Soundgarden – kickstand
7. Mudhoney – baby can you dig the light
8. Black Sabbath - lord of this world
9. Tricky Woo – wholesale
10. Smugglers – bad guys
11. Cities in Dust – emergency
12. Young Knives – here comes the rumour mill
13. The Rapture – pieces of the people that we love
14. Arctic Monkeys – plastic tramp
15. XTC – making plans for Nigel
16. Sex Pistols – seventeen (outtake)
17. The D4 – john rock
18. Ride Theory – I’m on board
19. Marble Index – we always complain
20. The Jam – town called malice
21. Dead 60s – stand up
22. Sloan – blackout
23. Sloan – people think they know me
24. The Hives - The Hives - introduce the metric system in time
25. Exploding Hearts – black & blue (alt mix)
26. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – get down Moses
Videos:
Circles + Interview (2005)
Otis & Mike (Live 2005)
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