Greg Fulton

Chicago-based vocalist and guitarist Greg Fulton, a persistent figure in heavy music circles, launched his third major project Rebels Without Applause after earlier stints with the 1980s speed metal outfit Znowhite and the early-1990s thrash act Cyclone Temple both failed to gain traction. He assembled the lineup by bringing in longtime associate Scott Shafer on bass together with newcomers Mark Alano on guitar and Tony Heath behind the drums, resulting in an unconventional fusion of metal, hard rock, funk, and soul that defined the band’s debut release, the 1997 EP Rip-Hop Soulcore Crush. That same idiosyncratic approach kept Rebels Without Applause firmly outside the commercial mainstream, leaving the group unsigned and underground even after they delivered their second album, Low End Head Stomp, six years later.