This endearingly popular live ‘modern rock’ outfit was formed in 1991 by Georgetown University undergraduates Keith Kane and Matthew Scannell. The two singer-songwriters began performing together as an acoustic duo, relocating to Cape Cod, Massachusetts where they saved enough money from their menial day jobs and live gigs to finance their own album. There And Back Again, a low-key acoustic collection, remarkably went on to sell over 20, 000 copies. Over the next couple of years the duo built up a strong live reputation and toured throughout the US supporting mainstream acts. Their second self-released album, 1995’s Running On Ice, was a more costly affair which featured a full band including Dave Matthews Band’s drummer Carter Beauford and bass player Ryan Fisher, and production by Doug Derryberry and John Alagía.
After recruiting Ed Toth as their full-time drummer the band released Live Stages, a live recording of two sell-out shows at Ziggy’s in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, featuring electric versions of their old songs. Bass player Sean Hurley became the fourth member of the band in 1998. Shortly afterwards they signed a major label contract with RCA Records, releasing Everything You Want in June 1999. Although lacking the acoustic charm of their earlier work, the album proved to be a slow-burning commercial success, attracting fans of modern mainstream rock outfits such as Phish, the Wallflowers, and the Dave Matthews Band, and yet also appealing to devotees of 70s AOR with shades of Boston, Foreigner and REO Speedwagon. Everything You Want climbed steadily up the charts during the year buoyed by the radio success of excellent singles such as the chart-topping title track and ‘We Are’.
