Discount

In the opening months of 1995, vocalist Alison Mosshart, guitarist Ryan Seagrist, bassist James, and drummer Bill Nesper—then all still in junior high around Vero Beach, Florida—launched the punk outfit Discount. Youth notwithstanding, the quartet soon began steady performances across the state and issued their own debut cassette, Mom Lied to Me. A copy reached Liquid Meat Records chief Tim Lyman, prompting the label to release the 7" EP Wonder Pulled Me Under in 1996 and the full-length Ataxia's Alright Tonight later that year. Split singles alongside Cigaretteman and JChurch paved the way for the band’s second LP, Half-Fiction, which arrived in 1997; twelve months afterward they delivered Love, Billy, a Billy Bragg covers EP. Bassist Todd Rockhill joined before the 1999 single “Open Ended Aerial,” after which the group settled in Gainesville and recorded its third album, Crash Diagnostic, released in 2000; an announcement on the band’s official site stated that the tour supporting the record would be its final outing. Mosshart subsequently founded the Kills, performing under the alias VV.