The Nation of Ulysses - History

History

The band formed in spring 1988, initially composed of four members – Ian Svenonius on vocals and trumpet, Steve Kroner on guitar, Steve Gamboa on bass guitar, and James Canty on drums – and known simply as "Ulysses." In late 1989, Tim Green joined the band as a second guitarist and the band was renamed to "Nation of Ulysses."

In 1991, before the band had released any official recordings, Ian Svenonius was featured as teen-oriented Sassy Magazine's first "Sassiest Boy in America." He was interviewed at length in the magazine's October issue, going into some depth about the band's sound and political motivations.

In 1991 they released their first full-length album, 13-Point Program to Destroy America on Dischord Records. This was followed a year later by Plays Pretty for Baby, also on Dischord. During the recording of the band's follow-up to Plays Pretty for Baby, Steve Kroner left the band. The remaining quartet continued to record, but eventually dissolved in 1992. In a later interview, Svenonius explained the reason for the split: "Nation of Ulysses broke up because the epoch changed with the advent of digital music and the Nirvana explosion. We were faced with what's now known as indie rock, a sort of vacuous form. We had to determine our next move and this is it."

After the band's dissolution, Svenonius went on to form the short-lived Cupid Car Club with James Canty and Steve Gamboa, the Make-Up (again with Canty and Gamboa), and Weird War. Green went on to become an engineer and record producer and joined the prog-heavy metal band The Fucking Champs.

Though relatively short-lived, Nation of Ulysses' influence has been substantial: they have been cited as influences for bands such as The (International) Noise Conspiracy, The Hives, Thursday, Glassjaw, Refused, Boy Sets Fire, Bikini Kill, Rocket From The Crypt, Antioch Arrow, The Locust, At The Drive-in, LCD Soundsystem, and Huggy Bear, among many others.