plexi

Plexi drew immediate attention from music industry observers as a promising independent act right after surfacing in the West Coast club circuit. Their mix of glam rock, punk, metal, psychedelia, and pop delivered a theatrical counterpoint to the stripped-down intensity of the Nirvana-driven grunge wave that had taken hold of indie rock stretching from Seattle southward. The group came together in 1993 at the height of grunge’s dominance. U.S.C. film school graduate Michael Angelos, who had co-founded a children’s rock band in the 1970s, handled vocals and bass; he connected with guitarist and keyboardist Michael Barragon in a Los Angeles bar and with drummer Norm Block at a Taoist retreat. The trio cut an initial EP for the Los Angeles indie imprint Boys Life, yet the band’s sound was still evolving and the release quickly ceased to represent their developing style. A self-arranged tour through Seattle proved fruitful, however, securing them a chance to record a follow-up EP for the Seattle punk label I.F.A. That record, combined with mounting interest generated by their coast-to-coast live shows, drew offers from several larger independent companies, resulting in the 1996 release of their debut full-length Cheer Up on SubPop.