Oleander went from Sacramento local band to national chart success in the nineties. The band
started out as Jack and was founded by Tommy Flowers in 1995. Flowers had been playing in public
with bassist Doug Eldridge since 1989, whien they worked together at a local eatery.
Drummer Chuck Combs was replaced by Fred Nelson Jr, who worked with Flowers and
Eldridge at the restaurant. Nelson stayed with the band through 1998.
Other band members included Rick Ivanisevich, Steve Brown, Rich Mouser, Jonathan Mover and Scott Devours.
In July 1997 the band released their debut album Shrinking the
Blob on indie label Fine, as their name changed to Oleander. It included the tracks "Down When I'm Loaded" and "Why I'm Here."
These tracks gained airplay on rock station KRXQ. Part of the band's rise to national success in 1998
can be attributed to the station's airplay and the band securing the opening slot of the Sugar Ray tour.
It was the band's association with Sugar Ray that brought them to the attention of a major label.
The band was signed to Universal subsidiary label
Republic and released a 1998 album called February Son, which contained several
of the same tracks as their debut album. That year "Why I'm Here"
became a national hit after gaining airplay on alternative and rock stations. It was featured
on the WB TV series Dawson's Creek.
"I Walk Alone" was also a hit the following year. It was heard in one of the party scenes of the
1999 film American Pie, although it was not included on the soundtrack. Oleander gained another
film placing in 2000 with "My Bad" in the film Scary Movie.
In 1999 the band wound up onstage at Woodstock '99, which featured several alternative and rock acts including Metallica, Red
Hot Chili Peppers and Alanis Morissette. The attendance at the 4-day festival in Rome, New York was about 200,000. The concert was aired on pay-per-view
TV and was covered by MTV.
During the 2000s the band has continued to perform and make recordings as an independent act. They
recorded a cover of "Hello, I Love You" for the 2000 tribute album The Music of The Doors issued
by Elektra. In 2002 the band exited Universal and moved to indie label Sanctuary. That November their song
"Runaway Train" was heard in the Showtime film Bang Bang You're Dead.
The band's third album, Joyride, was released on Sanctuary in 2003. The catchy tracks
"Hands Off The Wheel" and "Off & On" helped the album sell over 400,000 units. The album-release show
was an acoustic set at Tower Records in Citrus Heights that was broadcast live on KRXQ.
In 2011 Oleander released promo singles called "Daylight" and "Fight" then the single "Something Beautiful," which
was released on Carved Records in 2012. The album Something Beautiful was released in 2013.
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