Biography
Mike Coulter's vocals and guitar work in Lifter deliver raw, confessional lyrics paired with seething anger that recalls the late Kurt Cobain of Nirvana and Art Alexakis from Everclear. Yet Coulter avoids mere imitation; his material draws from the same wellsprings of adolescent rage and early-adulthood emotional turmoil that shaped those songwriters. He assembled the band in Silverlake, CA, during 1992 alongside bassist Jeff Sebelia and drummer John Rozas. Numerous singles appeared on Fingerpaint, Triple X, and Boy's Life Records before Interscope Records offered a deal, conditional on Coulter first completing rehab for heroin addiction. The group's debut full-length, Melinda (Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt), arrived in 1996. Coulter titled the album after an ex-girlfriend, and several cuts—among them “Monkee,” “Big and Tall,” and “Yardcow”—appear to address her directly; she nevertheless receives thanks in the liner notes. Alternative stations gave brief rotation to “402,” while MTV's 120 Minutes aired the clip for “The Rich, Dark, Sultry Red of Hate.” Positive notices and exposure failed to keep Melinda from sliding into the cutout bins, as listeners ultimately could not separate Lifter’s deeply personal songwriting from that of other grunge-adjacent acts.
Albums