Hole was an alternative rock/punk-inspired band best known for its lead vocalist and former wife of Kurt Cobain Courtney Love. I was never a big fan of this group, but I respected the music that they put out. They haven't been active in years, but you never know what Love and crew will do next.
Courtney put an ad expressing her interest in forming a rock band in Recycler magazine in 1989. It caught Eric Erlandson's attention, leading to the group's formation. Lisa Robertson was later recruited to play bass guitar and Caroline Rue later became their first drummer. Mike Geisbreicht joined as the third guitarist before the band's first gig in October 1989 in Hollywood, CA. Roberts was replaced by Jill Emery and Geisbreicht departed before the group released their first single, "Retard Girl," in 1990. The song was followed by the track "Dicknail" a year later.
Hole signed with Caroline Records in 1991 and went to work with Sonic Youth member Kim Gordon on developing their debut album. Pretty on the Inside was issued in September of that year, and the songs "Garbadge Man" and "Teenage Whore" helped generate interest in the new band. Hole went on the road in the UK and the U.S. that summer and fall to support their new music.
Erlandson and Love started writing songs for their next record in 1992. By then, several major labels had shown interest in their band. Hole would eventually sign with DGC, a Geffen offshoot, for an 8 album deal later that year. Emery had left the group by then, citing Love's interest in making their songs more radio-friendly as a reason for his departure. Love and Jack Endino filled in on bass guitar during some of their recording sessions. Kristen Pfaff played bass for Hole when they toured the UK in 1993. Their major label debut album, Live Through This, was recorded in Marietta, GA at Triclops Studios that October and was released the following April.
The new record surfaced just a week after Cobain's death. The album tracks "Miss World," "Violet" and "Doll Parts" went multi-platinum and garnered more interest in the group worldwide. Love later acknowledged that her late husband contributed backing vocals to the songs "Softer, Softest" and "Asking for It." Hole continued to perform until June 1994, when Pfaff, who had previously taken time off for drug treatment, was found dead from a heroin overdose.
The group returned to the road in August after enlisting the services of Melissa Auf der Maur on bass. They also made several national TV appearances during that time. An EP entitled Ask for It was released in September 1995, which included a few cover tunes and songs that were left over from their Peel recording sessions.
A pair of retrospective albums, another EP (The First Session), and a compilation record (My Body, The Hand Grenade) soon followed. Hole began work on their third studio album at Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood in 1997. Love was having some difficulty at times creating new material, so Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan was brought in to help. Celebrity Skin was issued in 1998 and the songs "Awful," "Malibu" and the title track helped to ensure the album's success.
Hole continued to tour supporting their newest record in 1998 and 1999. They even joined Marilyn Manson's tour for a few dates in 1998, but public squabbles, disagreements over their payouts from each concert and the fact that many fans were at those shows for Manson instead of Hole led to Love's group backing out of the tour. By then, drummer Patty Schemel (who had joined the group in 1992) was out of the band. She was credited as the drummer on Celebrity Skin, even though her parts had been recorded by Deen Castronovo in the studio. Samantha Maloney was hired to play drums on tour and appear in the group's music videos.
Love made a habit of asking fans to join her onstage to help sing the last song of their sets. Hole's last concert of 1999 was at Vancouver's Thunderbird Stadium on July 14, a month after one of their fans was killed at one of their shows in Sweden after she was crushed behind the mixing board by a surge of fans from the mosh pit at the concert. Auf der Maur left Hole to join the Smashing Pumpkins that October and Maloney left a few months after that.
Although Love had professed that more music had been written, she and Erlandson posted on the group's website that Hole had called it quits. Auf der Maur and Love went on to solo careers, while Erlandson resumed work as a studio musician and music producer.
Love announced in 2009 that Hole had been reformed. Auf der Maur was puzzled because Courtney stated that she wasn't aware of any such reunion. Erlandson also protested Love's news, stating that he had to be involved in any such group re-formation because of their existing contract. The band launched a new website in January 2010 and their first new song in years, "Skinny Little Bitch" was released 2 months later. The song was the first single from Hole's 4th album, Nobody's Daughter, which debuted that April via Mercury Records. The album received lukewarm reviews and never lived up to the popularity of prior efforts. The group embarked on another national and international tour from 2010 to 2012 to support the record.
Auf der Maur, Love, Schemel and Erlandson appeared in public together for the first time in over a decade on March 28th, 2011 for the New York Museum of Modern Art's premiere of Schemel's documentary film Hit So Hard: The Life and Near Death Story of Patty Schemel. At the event, Schemel stated that she would like to record with the band again, but nothing materialized beyond that. Stu Fisher was in the group by then, but he was replaced by Scott Lipps in September 2011. Love booked solo gigs in 2012 and teased possible new music in 2013 and a reunion of group members in 2014. However, nothing came out of those posts.
No new music has been released by Hole since their 4th album in 2010. The group rehearsed in 2019 for the Hollywood Walk of Fame but did not perform. Auf der Maur and Love intended to play at the "Bans Off My Body" event in 2010, which was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Love now lives in the UK, and her former bandmates are now involved in other ventures, so it's unlikely that Hole will reunite once more any time soon.
Even though I didn't really get into the band until their second album, I did like some of the music that they made. It's no surprise that Love's sometimes caustic personality got in the way of the group becoming superstars of the rock world. I don't know if Hole will resurface, but anything's possible. After all, there are rumors of Creed getting back together, so who knows?
Well, that's all for now. Finished this article a day in advance so that I can relax and enjoy my birthday tomorrow. Next weekend, I'll be back to write about Soundgarden. Until then, have a great weekend, everyone!
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