Representative Albums: "Master of Styles," "Too Much Stereo," "Receiving the Gift of Flavor"
Biography
The St. Louis-based ska-punk outfit the Urge was formed in 1987 by vocalist Steve Ewing and bassist Karl Grable, who together remained the nexus of the group throughout the many roster changes which followed. The original Urge lineup debuted in 1989 with the cassette-only Bust Me Dat Forty, followed a year later by the LP Puttin' the Backbone Back. After the additions of saxophonist Bill Reiter and trombonists Matt Kwiatkowski and Todd Painter, the group released 1992's Magically Delicious; guitarist Jerry Jost and drummer John Pessoni joined a year later, and this lineup recorded the 1993 live LP Fat Babies in the Mix. A tour with 311 helped the Urge win any number of new fans, and 1995's Receiving the Gift of Flavor was so successful that it brought the band to the attention of Epic's Immortal imprint, which reissued the LP in 1996. Master of Styles followed in 1998. Too Much Stereo came in mid-2000. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
The original Urge lineup debuted in 1989 with the cassette-only "Bust Me Dat Forty", followed a year later by the LPPuttin the Backbone Back. After the addition of trombonist Matt Kwiatkowski, the group released 1992's Magically Delicious. Later the group added trombonist/keyboardist Todd Painter and saxophonist/keyboardist Bill Reiter, and in 1993 recorded the live LP Fat Babies in the Mix. After Herschel and Malecek left the band in 1994, guitarist Jerry Jost and drummer John Pessoni joined the lineup, and subsequent touring with 311 helped The Urge win a number of new fans. The 1995 release of Receiving The Gift of Flavor was so successful that it brought the band to the attention of Epic'sImmortal imprint, which reissued the LP in 1996.
After constant touring with the likes of labelmates KoЯn and Incubus, Master of Styles was released in 1998, containing the hit "Jump Right In" which featured singer Nick Hexum of 311.
Following the release of Too Much Stereo in mid-2000, the band toured for nearly a year before calling it quits. In summer 2001, the band went its separate ways due to musical differences.
Since breaking up, the band has played several reunion shows. Frontman Steve Ewing has made several solo records under the name Stevie E. and is currently assisting several growing local St. Louis rock bands including Zamudio, The Dead End, and Lojic. Guitarist Jerry Jost was almost chosen as the replacement guitarist for Limp Bizkit after Wes Borland left the band in 2002. The other members still reside in St. Louis and are involved in several musical projects.
