Hailing from Boston via Rhode Island, Angry Salad continues the city's tradition of radio-friendly collegiate rock. After formally becoming a band at Brown University in 1993 and winning that year's WBRU Rock Hunt in Providence, the group set off on an extended tour, after which they decided to call Beantown their headquarters. There they recorded their debut release, 1995's The Guinea Pig EP, which they sold 10,000 copies of during their nationwide tours. The EP made its way into the CMJ Top 200, and earned a Best Debut Album nomination from the Boston Music Awards. Continuing to tour, write, and record at a prolific pace, by 1998 Angry Salad had enough demos for their debut full-length album, tentatively titled Bizarre Gardening Accident. During a stop in New York, the group seized the moment and visited the A&R department of Blackbird Recording Company, a subsidiary label of Atlantic Records. Soon after giving the A&R department a copy of Bizarre Gardening Accident, Angry Salad had a deal with Atlantic Records. With the help of veteran producer Tom Lord-Alge, the group turned Bizarre Gardening Accident into their 1999 self-titled debut album; an EP, Guinea Pig, appeared early the next year. ~ Heather Phares