Ugly Kid Joe was an American hard rock band from Isla Vista, California. The band?s name is a pun on the band Pretty Boy Floyd. Ugly Kid Joe's sound touched on a range of styles, including rock, hard rock and heavy metal. In conclusion to the band's overall sound and vision, the members of the band have cited many times, that they were simply a manifestation of their environment and lifestyles?mounting from their
geographic location of Southern California.

History

The band received popularity in the early- to mid-1990s, with their mix of satirical humor and heavy metal sound. Their logo was a cartoon embodiment of an "ugly kid" wearing a backward baseball hat and giving the finger. Heavily influenced by Black Sabbath, they
covered several of their songs, including "Sweet Leaf" and "N.I.B.". They toured the United States several times?their second tour was in support of Scatterbrain, and later opening for former Black Sabbath lead vocalist Ozzy Osbourne.

The band honed their chops playing the vibrant Isla Vista UCSB street parties in the late 80s/early 90s (the band's original name was Overdrive), before moving on to bigger venues in Los Angeles and beyond.

The band finally garnered some success in 1992 with the single "Everything About You (song)", which peaked at #3 in the UK Singles Chart and was in the Billboard Top 100 for 1992. Later in the year the song was used in the movie Wayne's World. Further singles did not fare as well, however, but the positive response to the band?s live performance of Harry Chapin?s "Cats in the Cradle" on MTV prompted a studio version, and it subsequently released as a well-received single
that sold over 500,000 copies in the United States alone and peaked at #7 in the UK Singles Chart.

After a world tour in support of their 1992 album America's Least Wanted, the band searched around for a replacement drummer, as Mark Davis left to pursue a life away from the spotlight. Davis was eventually replaced by Shannon Larkin, formerly of Souls at Zero, Wrathchild America, and Wrathchild. His contributions led to a grittier sound for the second album Menace to Sobriety, released in the summer of 1995.

Menace to Sobriety received much praise from the press and fans, and UK rock magazine Kerrang! ranked it as a contender for album of the year. Despite success overseas and a successful European tour, the album was given little encouragement from Mercury
Records and subsequently failed in the United States.

After
being dropped by Mercury Records, Ugly Kid Joe formed their own independent label Evilution Records for the release of their next album. With distribution support from Castle Communications, the album Motel California was released in late 1996, and again the band toured Europe to smaller crowds. The tour was named Late check-out Tour, underlining the band's characteristic sense-of-humor. Motel California, an album lead vocalist Whitfield Crane described as "heavy, funky, and has everything in
it", initially received lukewarm reviews and sold poorly, though it has gained a minor cult following in recent times.

Ugly Kid Joe disbanded in 1997, and as of 2009, have not expressed plans for reuniting. Drummer Shannon Larkin is currently a member of Godsmack, while lead vocalist Whitfield Crane has collaborated
with some Godsmack members on a new project called Another Animal.

Band members