'90s Bands that lost their fame at the dawning of the '00s

Where are they now?

Alternative dude rock was the thing in the ‘90s. The guys in these band usually had long, stringy hair and wore flannel in-and-outside Seattle, singing songs about lost love or broken hearts or drugs. The songs were always epic ballads, sung with lyrical simplicity on top of angst-ridden chords. We loved it.

But where did these bands go? Even the biggest of them seemed to fall to the wayside as soon as 2000 came around. And that’s saying nothing about the imitators and the one-hit wonders. Let’s take a look at some of the ‘90s biggest bands, their hits and what happened to them in the fateful ‘00s:

Fastball. Fastball reached their pinnacle around 1998, topping the Billboard charts with depressing songs like “The Way” (the one about the parents who go on a trip to nowhere) and “Out of My Head” (about a life spinning out of control, man!). The band won a pair of Grammys during the 1999 awards show, and tried to further their success with an album released in 2000 called The Harsh Light of Day. The ‘00s were harsh to Fastball, however, and this album only sold a measly 85,000 (in contrast with the million+ sales record of their previous album). Fastball is still officially together, and released their most recent album in 2009.

Sugar Ray. Sugar Ray was a one-top hard metal outfit that changed to a poppy sound after the success of their 1997-single, “Fly.” The band had continued success with chart toppers like “Every Morning” and “Someday.” Mark McGrath, the scruffy-bearded lead singer, was the real celebrity of the band, and has gone to be an anchor for the show Extra. The band released a greatest hits album back in 2005, and apparently, another album that nobody listened to called Music for Cougars in 2009.

Third Eye Blind. Third Eye Blind was the kind of California-upbeat, yowly band that made a bunch of Midwestern guys in garages start a yowly band with a California sound. “Jumper,” an obviously-themed song, was probably their most famous, but they also put out popular tracks like “How’s It Going to Be” (so good) and “Semi-Charmed Life.” The band continued to release albums, despite their current obscurity and belief that they probably are no longer a band. They co-headlined a tour show called The Bamboozle Roadshow in 2010.