Spin Doctors — band
The group originated in the late 1980s in New York City, originally as a band called Trucking Company; this band included Canadian guitarist Eric Schenkman, harmonicist John Popper, and later vocalist Chris Barron, who was Popper's Princeton, New Jersey high school friend. Popper left this side project to focus on his main gig with Blues Traveler full-time. With a name change to Spin Doctors, as well as the addition of Aaron Comess on drums and Mark White on bass, the classic lineup was in place by the spring of 1989. Spin Doctors signed with Epic Records/Sony Music A&R executive Frankie LaRocka in 1990. The band's Epic debut EP Up for Grabs...Live was recorded live at the Wetlands Preserve in lower Manhattan, and released in January 1991. (In November 1992, these EP tracks were remixed and supplemented by additional live recordings to form the album Homebelly Groove...Live.) Spin Doctors were known for their somewhat lengthy live shows, sometimes jamming even more than is evident on their live releases. They also often performed double-bill gigs opening for Blues Traveler, with members of both bands all jamming together as the transition from Spin Doctors set into the Blues Traveler set. Spin Doctors have many songs from their early club days that were never officially released, but remain circulated via concert recordings.