Hole (Heavier Timeline)
Hole was an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1989. It was founded by singer and guitarist Courtney Love and guitarist Eric Erlandson. It had several different bassists and drummers, the most prolific being drummer Patty Schemel, and bassists Kristen Pfaff and Melissa Auf der Maur. Hole released a total of four studio albums between two incarnations spanning the 1990s and early-2010s and became one of the most commercially successful rock bands in history fronted by a woman.
Hole (band) | |
|---|---|
 Hole 1995 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Alternative rock • grunge • punk rock • noise rock • power pop |
| Years active |
1989-2002 -2012-2013 |
| Labels | Sympathy for the Record• Industry • Sub Pop • Caroline City • Slang• DGC• Mercur |
| Past members |
Melissa Bean Cobain Courtney Love Eric Erlandson Pat Smear Mike Geisbrecht Lisa Roberts Caroline Rue Jill Emery Terry Maverley Patty Schemel Leslie Hardy Kristen Pfaff Melissa Auf der Maur Samantha Maloney Micko Larkin Shawn Dailey Stu Fisher Scott Lipps |
Influenced by Los Angeles' punk rock scene, the band's debut album, Pretty on the Inside(1991), was produced by Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, and attracted critical interest from British and American alternative press. Their second album, Live Through This, released in 1994 by DGC Records, combined elements of punk, grunge, and pop rock music, and was widely acclaimed, reaching platinum statuswithin a year of its release. Their third album, Celebrity Skin (1998), marked a notable departure from their earlier punk influences, boasting a more commercially viable sound; the album sold around 2 million copies worldwide, and earned them significant critical acclaim.
They disbanded in 2002, and the members individually pursued other projects. Eight years later in 2010, Courtney would die in her hotel room in 2004. Wondering if Hole were ever gonna reunite, the band would reunite when Love’s daughter Melissa would fill in her mother’s shoes at the band’s Reunion Concert.
Hole received several accolades, including four Grammy Award nominations. They were also commercially successful, selling over three million records in the United States alone, and had a far-reaching influence on contemporary female artists. Music and feminist scholars have also recognized the band as the most high-profile musical group of the 1990s to discuss gender issues in their songs, due to Love's aggressive and violent lyrical content, which often addressed themes of body image, abuse, and sexual exploitation.