R.E.M.

Biography: R.E.M. hail from Athens, Georgia and formed in 1980. The band consists of Michael Stipe [Vocals], Peter Buck [Guitar], Mike Mills [Bass/Keyboards], and Bill Berry [Drums]. Originally, Stipe and Buck began playing music together as Mills and Berry were doing the same. After being introduced together by a friend, the 4 men teamed up to play at a friend's party, calling themselves the "Twisted Kites." Soon after, they named themselves R.E.M., after flipping through a dictionary, and began touring small, southern gigs playing cover tunes. In the meantime, the band started to refine their sound, write their own tunes, and develop a cult following. R.E.M. began their career with a large following with college audiences in the early 80s and were regarded as one of the pioneers to the alternative music sound. As alternative music moved beyond college radio and into other music platforms, R.E.M. kept the pace and grew in universal popularity as well. When punk rock faded and synthesized alternative music grew in the early 80s, R.E.M. maintained a pure, un-synthesized rock/alternative sound. After a string a very successful albums, drummer Bill Berry left the band in 1998 and they refined their sound even more, adding electronics into the mix and morphing into a completely different machine. Still going strong it looks like R.E.M. will be morphing and changing for many years to come.… Expand