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Natural Wonders
The Wonder Years
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In 1998, Nick Adams convinced two of his high school friends, Dave "The Head" Metropolis and Eddie Volvo, to form a band. Sharing a distaste for the British pop group, The Spice Girls, the three decided to call themselves the The Natural Flavors (a name Nick later admitted he took from the ingredients on a Sprite can). The three recorded a five song EP, appropriately entitled Genesis, which enjoyed a brief local success. While playing their five songs in a club in Boston, the boys were discovered by the music mogul, Al Nichols, who promised to make them a world famous. His first order of business was to add a second guitarist, Shane Singleton, who Al had discovered in New York City only weeks before. Al then decided the band needed a female vocalist, to fit the formula of a world famous band in the nineties. When picking up his laundry that afternoon, Al heard a beautiful young voice from inside the laundromat. It came from the equally young and beautiful Amber Lane, who Al immediately signed to sing with the band. After a few professional voice lessons, she and the band were rocking their way to their first single, "Pro-Teen." But Al had one final element to tweak before he was ready to release the band to the world, and that was the matter of a new name. Nick refused to give up The Natural Flavors, but he grudgingly accepted Amber's suggestion of The Natural Wonders, a more wholesome name, destined to become a household word. In 1999, the five-piece band released their debut album, "Marvel," on Oedipus Records. The single, "Pro-Teen," became an instant teenage hit and led to the band's first video. The cover of the album (as well as the video) featured a scantily dressed Amber. This upset her mother greatly, but rather than leave the band which was going to make her famous, she ran away from home. A year and a half later, the Natural Wonders released their second album, Mine. The name signifies the battle between lead singer Nick Adams and guitarist Shane Singleton, who both wanted to influence the direction the band was going but who couldn't settle their musical differences. The directions that Nick and Shane wanted to take the band were so opposed that they eventually couldn't work together. Shane left The Natural Wonders to pursue his own interests. The release of Mine was so successful, however, that the band organized a national tour. Needing a second guitarist to do justice to their songs, the four remaining members held auditions for a replacement for Shane. They found Michigan-native, Eric Cappman, who learned most of his parts in time for the tour--the rest he picked up along the way. During the tour, Nick discovered that their manager, Al, had been taking more than his share of the profits. Dave had always suspected that Al was sleazy, calling him "Sleazy" behind his back. This clinched it. When the band returned from the tour, they fired their manager and left the label which he had signed them with. They were easily signed to a new label, Renewal Records, under which they released their third album, Freedom, in 2001. In 2002, after more touring, they released an album of live recordings, titled Alive and Kicking. The Natural Wonders didn't tour or release a CD again until 2004, when they recorded their fourrth album, "Still Life." That was to be their final album. This CD is a collection of the greatest hits from that seven year history, plus some rare recordings, including tracks from The Natural Flavors' EP. It's our way of saying thanks to all the fans. |
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| The Natural Wonders: Amber Lane (vocals); Nick Adams (guitar, vocals); Dave Metropolis (bass, background vocals); Eric Cappman (guitar); Eddie Volvo (drums). All songs written by the Natural Wonders. |