The Urge

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The Urge
Country	St. Louis, MO, USA
Years active	1987 - 2005
Genres	Funk/Reggae/Rock
Labels	Epic/Immortal
Members	Steve Ewing Jerry Jost John Pessoni Karl Grable Todd Painter Matt Kwiatkowski Bill Reiter

The Urge is a St. Louis rock band formed in 1987 by drummer Jeff Herschel, bassist Karl Grable, guitarist Pat Malecek, and singer Steve Ewing. Their music combined multiple styles of music including ska, thrash metal, funk, reggae, and hip hop.

1 History
2 Band members
3 Discography
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History

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 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's Immortal 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. 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.

The band is rumored to play several shows during the 2007 Christmas season in St. Louis and go on tour in honor of the band's 20th anniversary according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and other local music magazines.

Their hit Jump Right In can be heard in an episode of MTV's Daria.

[edit] Band members

Steve Ewing — Lead Vocals
Karl Grable — Bass Guitar
Jerry Jost — Guitar
Matt Kwiatkowski — Trombone
Todd Painter — Trombone/Keyboards
John Pessoni — Drums
Bill Reiter — Keyboards/Saxophone

[edit] Discography

Year	Title	Label	Info	Units Sold	Singles
19??	Magically Delicious	?	?	?	?
19??	Putting the Backbone Back	?	?	?	?
1995	Fat Babies in the Mix	Immortal Records	DNC	Unknown	None
1996	Receiving The Gift of Flavor	Immortal Records	DNC	150,000 copies sold	"All Washed Up," "Brainless," "It's Gettin' Hectic"
1998	Master of Styles	Immortal Records	#134 US	250,000 copies sold	"Straight to Hell," "Jump Right In" (#10 US Modern Rock)
2000	Too Much Stereo	Immortal Records	#200 US	125,000 copies sold	"Too Much Stereo" (#20 US Modern Rock), "Four Letters and Two Words"