Bullet LaVolta was a post-punk

Post-punk

Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...

 band from Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 that was originally formed in January 1987 by four college disk jockeys: Clay Tarver (guitar, now of Chavez

Chavez (band)

Chavez is an alternative rock/math rock band from New York, formed in 1993. After a period of inactivity, the band reformed in 2006. They released two independent non-charting albums in the mid-1990s...

), Bill Whelan (bass), Corey "Loog" Brennan

T. Corey Brennan

Terry Corey Brennan is an associate professor of Classics at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, , and was a guitarist and songwriter involved with several bands, most notably the alternative rock band The Lemonheads....

 (guitar) and Chris "Cruster" Guttmacher (drums). The band later added singer Yukkie Gipe after he responded to an advertisement. They played their first show at a dive bar in Boston called Chet's Last Call to a crowd of about fifteen people, but soon became one of Boston's most popular live acts. They gained most of their notoriety by playing college shows in Boston (usually at either MIT or Harvard, with bigger acts like The Lemonheads

The Lemonheads

The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band first formed in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member....

, Dag Nasty

Dag Nasty

Dag Nasty was a Washington D.C. punk band formed in 1985 by guitarist Brian Baker of Minor Threat, drummer Colin Sears and bassist Roger Marbury, both of Bloody Mannequin Orchestra, and vocalist Shawn Brown...

, and the Rollins Band

Rollins Band

Rollins Band was an American rock band led by singer and songwriter Henry Rollins.They are best known for the songs "Low Self Opinion" and "Liar", which both earned heavy airplay on MTV in the early 1990s...

). The band's style of music was a kind of punk, heavy metal and hardcore punk hybrid, having reminiscenses of diverse bands such as Naked Raygun

Naked Raygun

Naked Raygun is a Chicago-based punk rock group. Initially active from 1980 to about 1992, Naked Raygun had several short-lived reunions afterwards and a full-time reformation in 2006....

, Motörhead and early Fugazi.

The band released their self-titled EP on Taang! Records with Moving Targets guitarist Kenny Chambers joining the line-up in 1988. In 1989, they recorded and released their first full-length album, The Gift, originally released on Taang!. In 1990, they released the Gimme Danger EP (which includes a cover of Detroit Rock City

Detroit Rock City (song)

"Detroit Rock City" is a song by the American hard rock group Kiss featured on their 1976 album, Destroyer. The song was written by Paul Stanley and Bob Ezrin and is about a real Kiss fan who was killed in a car accident on his way to a Kiss concert...

) on Metal Blade before signing to RCA

RCA

RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...

, who purchased and re-released Bullet Lavolta and The Gift on a single disc. The record was even surprisingly reviewed in People

People (magazine)

In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...

magazine and given a good rating. The album sold modestly and the band became well-known enough that their contract was renewed by RCA. A year later, they recorded and released their follow-up, Swandive, which debuted the same day as Nirvana

Nirvana (band)

Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...

's classic, Nevermind

Nevermind

Nevermind is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Butch Vig, Nevermind was the group's first release on DGC Records...

. Swandive was produced, mixed and engineered by Dave Jerden

Dave Jerden

Dave Jerden is an American record producer, engineer and mixer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock, punk rock and metal genres....

, who has also produced Jane's Addiction

Jane's Addiction

Jane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band's original line-up featured Perry Farrell , Dave Navarro , Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins . After breaking up in 1991, Jane's Addiction briefly reunited in 1997 and again in 2001, both times...

, Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...

, Social Distortion

Social Distortion

Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness , Jonny Wickersham , Brent Harding and David Hidalgo, Jr...

, Fishbone

Fishbone

Fishbone is a U.S. alternative rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s...

 and Anthrax

Anthrax (band)

Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...

 among many others. Bullet LaVolta actually played a show with Nirvana around the time of the album's release, with the opening act being an unknown early incarnation of The Smashing Pumpkins

The Smashing Pumpkins

The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...

.In late 1991 the band went on tour with Corrosion of Conformity

Corrosion of Conformity

Corrosion of Conformity is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina formed in 1982. For almost the majority of its existence, the band has consisted of guitarist Woody Weatherman, bassist Mike Dean , drummer Reed Mullin and vocalist and rhythm...

 and Prong

Prong

Prong is an American heavy metal band formed in 1986. Prong had two independent releases, Primitive Origins and Force Fed. The albums attracted the attention of Epic Records, who signed the trio in 1989. The group disbanded in 1997 after the Rude Awakening tour, but re-formed in 2002...

 in support of Swandive.

The band broke up in 1992, the same year Matador Records

Matador Records

Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands.-History:Matador was started by Chris Lombardi in 1989 in his New York City apartment. The following year, Lombardi was joined by former Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy, and the two of them have...

 issued an album of older recordings (mostly from 1987 and 1989) called The Gun Didn't Know I Was Loaded. Currently, none of the band's releases are in print by any label.
Yukki Gipe is currently the lead singer of a band called "The Konks

The Konks

The Konks was an American rock and roll band, based in Boston, Massachusetts. They released their self-titled debut album in March 2005, with Bomp! Records. The band was later signed to Static Eye Records and released their second album Nerves in early 2010...

."
Drummer Todd Philips currently drums in Model/Actress, the band formed by ex-Brainiac

Brainiac (band)

Brainiac was an American synthpunk band formed in 1992, and disbanded after the sudden death of lead singer Tim Taylor in 1997.-Biography:...

 bass player and video director Juan Monostereo and ex Chamberlain

Chamberlain (band)

Chamberlain is an indie rock band from Indianapolis & Bloomington, Indiana, previously having been known as Split Lip, they changed their name and their general sound away from post-hardcore punk in 1996.-History:...

members Curtis Mead and Charlie Walker.

Kenny Chambers currently plays with the Stone Strangers as well as solo.