Stroke 9

Stroke 9 originated in the San Francisco Bay Area roughly ten years before their late-'90s modern rock single "Little Black Backpack" brought them widespread attention. Singer/guitarist Luke Esterkyn and bassist Greg Gueldner first assembled the group in 1989 while completing high school, treating the project as a source of extra credit. The effort went dormant once the pair departed for different colleges, yet several years afterward the band regrouped and added John McDermott along with Stephen Heath. Their first self-released LP, Boy Meets Girl, appeared in 1993, and Bumper to Bumper followed in 1995. Drummer Eric Stock later joined, steadying the personnel, after which the quartet secured a deal with Universal's Cherry imprint. An appearance in Ron Howard's comedy EdTV preceded the arrival of their 1999 major-label debut, Nasty Little Thoughts.

Despite an industry climate then ruled by platinum-selling teen pop acts, Nasty Little Thoughts reached gold status in early 2000. The album's standout track, "Little Black Backpack," juxtaposed a melancholic post-grunge verse against a buoyant pop chorus. That modest breakthrough paved the way for two further Universal releases: the self-titled Stroke 9 in 2001 and Rip It Off in 2002. The band then moved to an independent outlet for 2004's All In. Also issued that year was Cafe Cuts: A Collection of Acoustic Favorites, while the new material on Last of the International Playboys kept Stroke 9 active through 2007.