Human Waste Project

Human Waste Project was born during a car ride to Lollapalooza a few summers ago. Friends Jeff Schartoff (bass) and Scott Ellis (drums) decided to form a band, and asked Aimee Echo if she could scream. She assured them that she could, and the new group (who hail from Huntington Beach, CA.) set out to find a suitable guitarist for their disturbed alterna-metal. After hooking up with guitarist John Monte, the group started writing and rehearsing. Monte didn't last long, which led to a long search for a permanent replacement, which they finally found in Bronx native Mike Tempesta. The group soon signed a deal with Hollywood Records on the strength of college radio airplay and high-profile opening slots with the likes of Sublime, Helmet, the Deftones, and Korn. The band signed on with metal producer Ross Robinson (Korn, Deftones, Limp Bizkit), and began work on their debut. They were sidetracked by both key personnel changes at their record company and the Malibu brush fires of 1996, where the group was recording at the time (the fire became such a threat that at one point the band quickly loaded up their equipment and master tapes in a van to evacuate). The group was set to release their debut, e-lux, in early 1997, but because of the mishaps, the album wasn't released until the fall, where it was met with favorable reviews.