In recent reviews comments have been made between Anti-M and some of their influences from such bands as Evanescence, Leave's Eyes, The Dreamside, Lacuna Coil, Within Temptation, The Gathering, Depeche Mode and more. The album Damage is dark, moody, melodic, electronic and also rocks. Although the original roots of Anti-M can still be heard, this music is nothing like the nearly all electronic rock the band started out with.
Anti-M was founded by a trio of keyboardists. Ruston Slager - vocals and keyboards, Mark Rumer - keyboards and programming, John "Wedge" Wardlaw - keybords, guitar and vocals and Steve Weber - guitars. The bands first album, No Waves In Hell, was intended to be a Zappa-esque comical concept album about a surfer who dreams he goes to hell and finds there are no waves there. Surf filmmaker Jimi Berlin took notice of the band and over the next few years made Anti-M songs a regular part of his sound tracks in the surf films Modern Legends in Hawaiian Surf, Tanker Re-Evolution, I Don't Know Why and Hawaiian Surf Stories (All now available on one DVD along with Into Cool Water, as Hawaiian Surf Stories 2005).
While the band had not originally planned on making a second CD, the combination of up beat "positive" music written mostly by Slager and the somewhat dark and "negative" lyrics provided by Wedge the band gave way to naming their second album before they even started recording it. Positively Negative (1995, remastered in 2005) featured Slager and Wedge at the helm, Rumer on some minor programming and Steve Weber returned for much of the guitar work. However, this time around, guitar legend Ronnie Montrose (Montrose, Gamma, Edgar Winter Group, Van Morrison) was featured on 4 songs (6 on the remaster). This gave Anti-M some much needed publicity and the band began to sell CDs worldwide. The album also featured Barbara Moseley on two songs as a guest vocalist. Barbara would later become the lead vocalist for the band on the album Damage.
After a release of remix material for the album It H-Hurts (2000) many of the band members went off to do solo projects. Wedge started work on his animated film THE BOLT WHO SCREWED CHRISTMAS (released 2009) which featured the voice of actor Jonathan Harris (TVs Dr. Smith of Lost in Space). It seemed that Anti-M was done. However, in late 2005, Wedge and Slager started working together on some new material. With a harder and darker sound the two knew they needed a full time guitarist and with Weber being in Portland and the rest of the band in Santa Barbara this wasn't going to work so Jon and Barbara Moseley joined the band. Jon on acoustic and electric guitars, Barbara on bass, guitars and vocals. Wedge and Barbara developed a good writing relationship that expanded the bands sound beyond what Wedge and Slager had written previously. Although it took 2 years of work, Damage was released in March of 2008. The reviews have been good and the band has since released a remix album, Damaged Little Things, as well as a covers album in the works for 2011.
Solo Releases (more info on Anti-M.com)
Stephen J. Weber - Sacrelicious (Download Only) -Instrumental Progressive rock influence
Barbara Moseley - Barbara Moseley (CD and Downloads) -Singer Songwriter style with a few rock songs with her previous band.
Ruston Slager - Remnants of Paradise (CD Only via contacting anti-m) -Piano and Strings with Vox
Ruston Slager - In A Quiet Valley (Currently Unavailable) -Early experimental album
Ruston and the Barefoot Melissa - Heartsing (Currently Unavailable)- Folk
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