Spin Doctors: Whatever Happened To the Band Behind 'Two Princes' & 'Little Miss Can't Be Wrong'
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- Опубліковано 17 тра 2024
- Spin Doctors: Whatever Happened To The Band Behind Hit Songes including 'Two Princes' and 'Little Miss Can't Be Wrong'
0:00 - Early Years
4:20 - Signing To A Major Label/First EP
5:31 - Pocket Full Of Kryptonite
12:40 - Slow Down
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#spindoctors #twoprinces #chrisbarron
I cite my sources and they may differ than other people's accounts, so I don't guarantee the actual accuracy of my videos.
Spin Doctors were known for their two huge hit songs in the early 90’s ‘Two Princes’ and “little miss can’t be wrong.’ Both singles were top 20 hits on the billboard hot 100 charts, But, whatever happened to the group? That’s what were going to discuss in today’s video.
Born in Hawaii, frontman Chris Barron would spend the early part of his life growing up in Australia. His parents would divorce with his father remarrying and he would move Chris back to America with him to Princeton, New Jersey. Barron would attend high school in Princeton and by his own admission was and i quote “a weird, freaked out artist kid.” His early musical influences would include Buddy Holly and Bob marley. And attending the same high school would be future blues traveler frontman john popper. Popper played the part of older brother to Barron and even wrestled against him.
After graduating from high school barron would spend a year studying poetry at Bennington College a liberal arts school in Vermont. He would eventually find his way to New York City and study music at New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music while also bunking with John Popper and playing solo shows around the city.
Barron’s future bandmates in Spin Doctors would hail from Canada and other parts of the states. Guitarist Eric Schenkman, grew up in Toronto, Canada coming from a musical family. He was already an accomplished guitar player by the time he was 10 and by the time he turned 21 he would move to New York and study arts at New School. Also attending new school was drummer Aaron Comess who originally hailed from Dallas..While the trio wouldn’t form a band just yet, Barron and Schenkman would team up with John Popper playing in the group Trucking Company. But the group was short-lived as Popper soon left to devote more time to his own band Blues Traveler . This would lead to the remaining pair of trucking company to up with Comess and this would result in the birth of Spin Doctors.Barron would reveal in the book Jamerica the common thread between the members saying “we were alway really interested in improvisational music.”
The group would play the first show at a frat house at Columbia University. It was following that gig that the band decided to go all in with Barron recalling to Rolling Stone “After that gig, Eric got back to his house at 9:30 in the morning,” “We carried his amp to the top of the stairs. And he lived on the fifth floor. When we got to the top, we just laid down on the landing. Eric’s like ‘Look, man, this is the way it is. Do you want to do this?’ And I just started laughing. It was 9:30 in the morning. The sun was coming through the window. And it was definitely gonna be work, but it was real. So I was like “Yeah, man, let’s do it.”
Bassist Mark White, wouldn’t join the band until a few months after the band’s first gig. By the time he auditioned he was working in a mail room and was several years older than the other members. He had already played with Aaron Comess in several other New City bands including one called Spade. He would admit to the Morning Call newspaper that he turned down an opportunity to audition for Living Colour. Spin Doctors would cut their teeth playing live gigs in new york and the surrounding areas.
All of it wouldn’t have been possible without Barron’s dad who helped cosign a loan for an econonline f-250 which shuttled the band’s equipment to clubs and college campuses. Barron would tell Diffuser “we just kept going back. We were also a really good live act. We would go to a new town and play for the bartenders and servers and 3 or 4 people. Then we’d go back and play for 15, the next time we’d play for 45 people. By the third or fourth time we’d pack it. Also helping build their live audiences was word of mouth and bootleg tapes, which they encouraged amongst their fans.
Spin Doctors seemed to be initially labeled a jam band frequently compared to groups like Phish, The Grateful Dead with no two live shows being alike and with fans taping their shows. But at the same time Jam Bands weren’t exactly tearing up MTV so it was a difficult balancing act. Th
Seeing a group pic of the Spin Doctors with the drummer wearing a Soul Asylum t-shirt is just about the most nineties it gets.
I saw them tour together in.....93 I think?
At least he has good tastes. Soul Asylum I feel was slightly more successful obviously. Dave Pirner still tours as the only original member of Soul Asylum and their album from last year "Hurry up and Wait" is really good. Spin Doctors were ok. One of those bands of the era that I didn't dislike or hate but weren't really anything special. Kinda like Blues Traveller or Better than Ezra
@@sdc6447 Soul asylum had one hit I remember... Spin Doctors 1.5 hits.
@@stephendaedalus6192 No....They had more than that. They were one of best bands out of the Minneapolis scene along with the Replacements, Husker Du, Prince, etc. They had songs like Misery. Without a Trace. Black Gold..Somebody to Shove. A remake of "Summer of Drugs". Runaway Train of course. They had other minor hits that received some some minimal.airplay. I thought they were a really good band who could've been even bigger but they really didn't catch that proverbial tail wind. Like I said, they're still around. In any case, they're better than the Spin Doctors ever thought about being
@@sdc6447 Just the one hit overseas, anyway... the cringy Runaway Train. Knew Prince was from Minneapolis, but that's about it. Didn't know it was a scene. Maybe they're a good band, I would not know. You remember Mr. Big? One hit, cringy ballad? Actually, they're really good musicians, and the bass player is a phenomenon... but nobody would know that from their one hit.
The original Spin Doctors lineup is still together and, before Covid, we’re still touring and playing packed shows almost every weekend somewhere in the US. Chris Barron is currently recording his next solo album at Engine Company Studios in NYC.
Good to see the Spin Doctors getting some love. I always enjoyed their music.
It’s kind of nice to see one of these where everyone doesn’t have a substance abuse problem.
These bands with 2 or 3 hits like Spin Doctors or Gin Blossoms fascinate me. They weren't technically one hit wonders but they weren't massive like the Stones or Guns N Roses. These forgotten bands alot of times are very interesting to read up on. Great memories too
considering 99.9 percent of bands implode before getting the chance to be forgotton about
Gin Blossoms had far more radio hits than 2 like the spin doctors. The Gin Blossoms had like 7 top 40 songs. The Gin Blossoms were more akin to what Oasis was to the late 90s.
The recording Industry is a joke. Record Executive's are Pimp's. These artists don't stand a chance..with slick crooks.. peddling and taking advantage of them. It's all about a fast cash grab..when it comes to Record Board members.
I remember in the early 90's they played those two songs to death on radio and MTV.
Yes they did.
As a result, I abandoned both radio and MTV.
Them and ace of base got played all day long.
It was awful
@@mcook-69don
Lol That's right.
"I saw the sign...."
God that was a horrible group. 😟
My high school booked Spin Doctors to play a big show there in 1994. The posters were on the walls of our school in the early fall of '93. At that time, "Two Princes" and "Little Miss..." became big hits. The show was canceled after that. I heard the reason was because the town didn't want a loud rock concert on the football field. I think the real reason was the band got famous overnight and was too big for a high school show.
Great snapshot of a moment in a time and place.
You could probably book them now. I'm sure they'd appreciate the exposure.
@@JoeyArmstrong2800 😂
They probably didn’t know how to deal with the smell
Lies...little miss cant be wrong was released in 92
My band opened for Chris about 10 years ago.. it was a really small venue, which made the performance that much more personal. We all hung out after the show. He played a few tunes acoustically. It was very cool. Great guy. Killer voice.
Did this happen to be in NJ?? My wife had a booking company and would book him often. Our band played on the same bill many times with Chris. Such a great guy! And yes, I remember him jamming out on his guitar outside of the show. (The Underpass in Elmwood Park or The Crossroads in Garwood)
@@ilikemyrealname Oh that's awesome! No this show was in Connecticut at a small venue called The Space.
So cool!!
He's on Instagram.
No you didn't My band opened for them 10 years ago at the The space in Conneticut
Man, I actually remember watching their SNL appearance, mainly because I was still a kid and I remember my straight-and-narrow, old-school cop of a father seething with outrage at the sight of these long-haired hippies playing to great acclaim in the 90s. The Spin Doctors weren't 100% my style, but hey, any band that pisses off your parents that much can't be a bad thing, right?
So, did you become a cop too?
@@valeriebumblebee7607 No, definitely not. I kind of went the opposite route for a while but I managed to get my shit together before there was too much damage done.
@@jeremyt2212 hows ur relationship with ur Father now? do you have kids of ur own?
The thought of the spin doctors making any one seething mad…
If the Spin Doctors made him mad, your dad was truly hip.
I remember “Two Princes” from when I was 13. I loved it. I’m 42 and still sing the karaoke version while driving!!
Spin Doctors live! Friends of 60 Cycle Hum know what I'm talking about. Keep on keepin on, bringing and singing joy.
The 2006 album was awesome! “Nice Talking To Me” along with the record after that from around 2011. A blues record. Aaron’s solo stuff is sick! A lot left out here my dude. Aarons one of the best drummers around. He sounds sick on punk rock records also. He played on my punk EP
Pocketful of Kryptonite is a beautiful album. For me, every other song on there is better than "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong".
"What Time is It?", "Shinbone Alley"... That's actually a real street in Manhattan, the Bowery I think. It's tiny, but it's there!
Jimmy Olsen's Blues is such a great song!!
40 or 50 is a killer track as well
I saw them in 1993 and I swear it was actually one of the best concerts I had ever been to. The best vibe I have ever ever felt at a cencert. Amongst thousands of other young adults at the time, everybody was smiling and the the mosh pits even had a friendly vibe too. I still surprise myself when I say this, but hey, they played a great show!
Yeah I saw them live, pretty good ,punchy rock with a good groove , catchy tunes too, didn't do as much jamming as I expected but I suspect that may have been due to them trying to promote the album and playing to an unknown crowd( I saw them in Melbourne).
"it was the most polite mosh-pit you ever seen"
LoL sorry , it was funE reading that. Though, I do know what you mean about the overall vibe of friendly people.
They made it on the H.O.R.D.E festival tour so they always have a special place in my heart.
"Jimmy Olsen's Blues" is a great song!! The storyline is hilarious and genius.
Of the singles I've heard, that is my favorite.
Agreed
I really enjoyed the Spin Doctors. Interesting to hear about the connection to Blues Traveler.
I remember them being everywhere on the radio and MTV back in the early 90s.....and I loved every minute of it. They were fun and when I realized that they had a more improvisational live show, i loved them even more. Cool dudes, too....
Back then it always pissed me off 😂 now it's like yeah nineties I remember that one 😁
The recording Industry doesn't appreciate Musician's and Genuine gifted artists. Record Executive's should be dropped in the Deep ocean. They are like cheap drug dealers.. fast cash and a quick highs
I was at that Detroit Harpo's show. And it caused me to seek Spin Doctors performance's when traveling for work.
Great live everytime.
Pocket full of kryptonite is a great album. The basslines are phenomenal.
The singer is a cheeseball.
One of the albums that made me want a bass to join the neighbor kid's garage band. Along with Ten and Kerosene Hat.
Love Mark White's bass on PFOK.
🤘
John Popper grew up and went to high school in Stamford, CT. He was in my graduating class at Stamford Catholic High School.
They're a 2 hit wonder. I still listen to thier songs once in a while. I think getting one hit album or even song is a big accomplishment especially if people remember them many years later. They sold 12 million albums in thier career off of 2 top 20 singles. Not bad for a two hitter career
Shit I only ever remember Ms Can't Be Wrong. I always forget bout Princes. Short greatest hits album.
Proof there's a sucker born every minute.
They had 2 hit singles, but they had 3 more songs get extensive airplay at album rock radio, which was still a thing, then. Jimmy Olsen's Blues & even What Time is it & How Could You Want Him (When You Know Could Have Me) all charted on the AOR tracks chart. But mainly it was their live shows that sold the album.
@@screwyootube1 No way, its hit singles sold it, no way 6 milion peeps went to their shows. Selling six mill is massive.
You're a sorry slack Jimmy that wouldn't appreciate cocaine or champagne when offered. Go forth and multiply.
250 gigs a year. It's safe to say, that's a lot of fucking gigs.
Being a one hit wonder is still a wild success for the brutal music industry let alone two hits, I loved those songs.
A band I love and that really should be waaaay more popular that they are. Oh and live on any stage is definitely where they belong and where they shine the most!
I saw the Spin Doctors with Soul Asylum and Screaming Trees in the early 90’s. It was a fantastic show
There aren't many bands more locked into an era than the Spin Doctors. Even their name screams "early 90s."
While reeking of patchouli and Polo.
Totally agree. Wish they could have stuck around but the grunge monster got em!
The first time I saw this band was on Saturday Night Live sometime in fall 1992. Was half asleep. They woke me straight up because they were so good, opening with "Jimmy Olson's Blues."
"Pocket Full of Kryptonite" is an insanely good album.
Todd In The Shadows did a great video about them. I loved Two Princes as an 8 year old kid when it came out. I remember listening to it on the bus.
Hilarious video by Todd
ua-cam.com/video/7waAs6fO20k/v-deo.html
I love todd in the shadows
Love his videos!
Agreed. Todd did a great video explaining what happened to them. Trainwreckords is a great show. It doesn't even matter to me who each episode is about, I always love it.
My mom was a Spin Doctors fan so I heard their music a lot growing up.
Two Princes is still one of my favourite songs ever.
Their two major hits made on to so many compilation albums of "Living In the 90's" style, along side EMF, Jesus Jones, and Marky Mark and the Funky bunch. Definitely a time of growth and genuinely natural diversity in the music world.
Just like New Wave during the 80s. The 90s Alternative scene spit out so many one hit wonders. I thought Ska might've gone mainstream back then. But there were too many instruments, or percussions being used. It was too complicated for the masses.
@@homelessjesse9453 Ska almost took off with No Doubt being the big name sadly. If Brad hadn't died Sublime would have taken over. That shit is BANANAS. B A N A N A S
EMF *swoon*
Pocketful of Kryptonite was the "Get the Knack" of the early 90s. I mean that in a good way. Both are party albums, both had 2 hits, one considerably bigger than the other. Yet both are also chock full of great deeper cuts. And both bands struggled to get another hit album, although Turn it Upside Down did go platinum.
Growth... like a cancerous growth on the balls of the music industry...
They weren't my thing, but listening to this video is nostalgic.
Not mine either till a couple of years ago. Bought the CD for $1 at a thrift store and really enjoyed it. I like it far better now than I did back in the day. .
@@scottyo64 funny how that happens over time. Same goes for movies too
The Spin Doctors frontman looks a lot like Layne Staley.
Cleopatra's Favorite Cat babobadada-da.
Cleopatra's Cat was my jam. Nice, cool, and funky
Steve is one of my favorite humans ever. His "wolverine noises" were AMAZING! 😆
Seen them at a festival in the 90's- They were the tightest band there and met them at a meet and greet afterward. Great show!
Cool band, loved them as a kid. The 90's had real bands.
While they were a good band, and probably still are, Pocket was one of those rare perfect albums at the perfect time situations. I still listen to my copy from high school. Not only is it great musically it takes me back to that simple time. Now to grab the cd album.
I totally agree with you. 🙂👍
Yep Pocket was strong for the most part. Two Princes got old thx to radio running it into the ground.
Even though it was "forever ago," I remember being 7 years old and walking around the house, school, store, etc singing Two Princes. I thought it was one of the best grooves I had ever heard lol.
It's weird that he mentions 'heavy metal guys' because the thing about Spin Doctors and Blues Traveler is they both had a very diverse audience- especially when they were doing the college circuit. Me and my fellow metalhead/punk friends, and, of course, Deadhead friends would all go to both of their shows at colleges. It helped that the guitarist from Traveler had a much more edgy rock vibe than he presents on albums- a total monster, and Popper was like Yngwie on the harmonica. And, of course, SD had Big Fat Funky Booty on the Wetlands tape, and we'd all go and hope they'd play it live.
They still play 2 Princes on the radio here regularly. So they're not short on royalties.
What a g ay pfp lmao
No wonder radio is all but dead.
Great video. Yeah they were definitely the flavor of the year from 1992-5 but they were so damn good. Now please do a video on how Third Eye Blind ripped-off the riff to "Two Princes" for "Semi-Charmed Life."
I got a compilation of hits album as a gift with my first cd player in when I was 11. Mostly pop and rnb stuff, but one song stood out as different to what I was hearing at the time. Two Princes became a favourite for me from then on. I wish I had of listened to more of their catalogue growing up but I guess there is still time.
So fortunate to be good friends with Chris Barron!
I saw them last night in the bay area. These guys still have it. Live show is highly recommended.
They got some excellent jams. At least 10/15 solid songs, They're still going at it too.
Saw them at my college in 1990 in a small bar, that was where they shined. They probably weren't built for arenas.
I'll give you that one.
They weren't cut out for the varsity team.
Pocket is a killer album start to finish, not a bad song on it. And to end it with 12 minutes of Shinbone Alley....yes please!
This band was amazing in a club setting. Very talented and great stage presence
i seen them in Harrisburg PA in a beer joint around 2013, little miss bass line still slaps
Here Come the Bride is a brilliant album. A very good listen.
always loved these guys growing up , awesome road music .
I don't give a 💩 I freakn love the Spin Doctors and I'm a metal head too listening 🎧 to it all growing up as a teen in the 90s
would love to see them live. If there was a tour of Days of the New, Spin Doctors and Presidents of the United Stats I would so be there.
Okay Mr Mare, feast your ears on that Spin Doctors mix!
You made my week! 😍
hey!!! nice job. lots of info, no bs! i subbed. looking fwd to more.
Dinosaur Jr or Drivin and Cryin, Pepper, Snow, Dave Mathews, 311.... Nevetheless, you seriously are incredible at doing these! You have the best content, info and videos so thank you so much....
Their cover of Jimi Hendrix’s _Spanish Castle Magic_ is the best Jimi Hendrix cover I have ever heard.
I rarely buy albums... yeah, I am a 70'/80's kid! But after see The Spin Doctors on Seasame Street, I bought the CD the next day. My babies were just getting into little kids shows like SS, Teletubbies, Magic School Bus, etc... I still put it into rotation from time to time. Little Miss Can't Be Wrong, in particular, has it's place in the lexicon of my music library!
They had the perfect sound for the early 90's college crowd. I remember being at a college party in a house basement in Scranton Pa. back around 1992, and some local cover band was playing their music.
Absolutely LOVED the spin doctors
For once, with music, I was there at the start. Pocket full of Kriptonite was such a great album, nothing else musically really resonated with me, and then this came along and bang! Thank you for the video, It has helped me re-appreciate the band; perhaps that's why I liked them, they were a little bit out there, not fully accepted by the rock scene - but thoughtful and intelligent. To be honest they were a lot better than everything else that was going on at the time. I might have to try and get some of their other albums, now I have been made aware of them
I just went to a Spin Doctors in Jacksonville, Fl
Eric Shenkman played much of 2020 at Grossman`s tavern in Toronto every Wednesday night. Great player.
The Spin Doctors told the Little Miss she can't be wrong.
I bought the Pocket full of Kraptonite album for the princely sum of two peso's on tape in 1992.
Solid ass band
Wow, I remember going on Vacation to America in 1993 and this was played Two Princes everywhere. It was Spring Break and I'd hired a beach house for three weeks not even knowing what Spring Break was. I was trying to get away and relax on a beach after a breakup. There were so many girls and live bands on the beach and it was the track of that summer. Good times.
You can revisit places and you can never revisit a moment in time.
I saw (and heard) The Spin Doctors on a HORDE tour. Carowinds in South Carolina. Along with Widespread Panic, Blues Traveler and the Flecktones. I think I still have thier promo cassette tape.
That first horde tour was sweet. Col Bruce widespread panic phish spin doctors and blues traveler to close it out. The dave matthews band was just starting out and played a side stage.
The replacement guitarist was Anthony Krizan. He had co-written Lenny Kravitz’s hit Stand by my Woman and contributed to Poco’s comeback album, so he already had gold records on his wall before joining Spin Doctors.
Pocket Full Of Kryptonite was my favorite song of theirs.
It's called "Jimmy Olson's Blues"
Two Princes sounds like the most innocent Rock song
I was never a fan but I saw them playing live in Miami at New Year's Event years ago and they sounded pretty good.
Dude I saw them open for the disco biscuits back in like 2007. Was such a trip. They were all wearing those winter hats, you know, those 90s stoner ski hats. It was freakin weird. But kinda nice.
"The album was a modest success, selling a million copies..."
Try selling a million copies today.
They were awesome. ❤️
Saw them a couple years ago with the original lineup they were great
Excellent presentation and narration 👄
They got played to death on the radio back then to the point most got sick of them.
Yep. They would lead with spin doctors, it got painful after awhile.
I don't know how I managed not to slit my wrists back then. All that College Rock shit was vomit inducing.
Especially when your two hit songs sound like different versions of the same fekkin song.
@@kevincummings632 I mentioned this observable fact in another comment. 😅
So much love for the 90s!
If you have any interest in a great, blues/rock deal, and diggin on the early stuff, give a listen to the latest "If The River Was Whisky". This band is NO! 2 hit deal.
kick Ass! Love IT! This is a great band to catch live, and even in small town Oregon, they pull a pretty good crowd. Great band!!
Story idea: Fine Young Cannibals!
Feast your eyes on this Spindoctors mixtape.
I’ll never forget them playing “Two Princes” on Sesame Street with Elmo and Zoe. 😂
First show when I ended up in Panama City Beach ...Kicked My Ass 🎶
They have some fun stuff, but my favorite song by these guys is "How Can You Want Him (When You Know You Can Have Me)." Such a good song.
I just had my amp serviced by a friend who just serviced a bunch of gear for the Spin Doctors. Guess they're still out doing it.. good for them.
"In the early ‘90s, intertwined bands Blues Traveler, Spin Doctors and The Authority frequently shared bills at clubs throughout Downtown New York. In 1991, the members of these three groups solidified their collaboration by forming the loose super group Wasabi. Though the jazzy, highly-improvisational group’s exact lineup changed a bit over the years, the band’s core lineup usually consisted of Blues Traveler frontman John Popper, Spin Doctors bassist Mark White, Spin Doctors drummer Aaron Comess and the musicians’ teacher/mentor Arnie Lawrence on saxophone. Authority percussionist Rene Lopez and Spin Doctors
guitarist Eric Schenkman were also members of Wasabi at most of their shows." (Jambands)
There's a 2012 live recording on Archive
I have all sorts of bootleg Spin Doctors and Blues Traveler... 😁
I saw them at wetlands nyc
They opened for blues traveler then both bands would jam together then blues traveler played a set then both bands jammed then spin doctors then traveler. When it was over it was 4am.
Jimmy Olsen's Blues...great track
I remember Spin doctors were huge when I was digging My Bloody Valentine and Jane’s Addiction - and it was annoying because it was like all that Grateful Dead style garbage wouldn’t die. I couldn’t stand the stuff. This documentary is pretty fascinating though, becsuse even if I dislike a certain style of music here or there I always respect musicians. Much respect to these guys :)
When i was young i worked in a deli and all day long i would here spin doctors and ace of base. For that reason today they have a spot on my playlist lol.
I’m not super big on Spin Doctors, but their cover of Spanish Castle Magic is one of the greatest songs ever.
I got the CD from my mom, I‘m 16 years old, I love them!
I recall you did a shorter/less detailed version of this video last year, so I'll just repeat one of my comments here:
I call it "Hootie & The Blowfish" syndrome: Big selling debut album with hit singles that get overplayed; followed up by sophomore album which while having a decent single, sells even less. Followed by group tensions/hiatus.
And yeah, "Two Princes" and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong" are on many best Alternative 90's compliations!
Hootie and the Blowfish was everything I hated about 90's music back then. I was praying they would just disappear. There is a God.
Frat boy music for rich college kids on expensive smoke on daddy's dime.
This one question I've never, ever pondered.