The Wipers are a punk rock group formed in Portland, Oregon in 1977 by guitarist Greg Sage, drummer Sam Henry and bassist Dave Koupal.
Is This Real?, The Wipers’ first album, was first released in 1980 and quietly gained a cult following. The Wipers became better known after the wildly popular grunge band Nirvana covered two songs from Is This Real?. Nirvana’s frontman, Kurt Cobain, spoke of being heavily influenced by the band. The Wipers were a major influence on the grunge musi... (more)
The Wipers are a punk rock group formed in Portland, Oregon in 1977 by guitarist Greg Sage, drummer Sam Henry and bassist Dave Koupal.
Is This Real?, The Wipers’ first album, was first released in 1980 and quietly gained a cult following. The Wipers became better known after the wildly popular grunge band Nirvana covered two songs from Is This Real?. Nirvana’s frontman, Kurt Cobain, spoke of being heavily influenced by the band. The Wipers were a major influence on the grunge music scene in general, and The Wipers albums like Is This Real? and Over the Edge are now widely considered to be among the greatest and most influential punk albums of all time.
While The Wipers began by pioneering the tight, catchy punk rock that Nirvana and others would later bring to the mainstream, the band quickly evolved into producing guitar-solo soaked, labyrinthine punk rock epics. Sage became known for not only his do-it-yourself ethic and guitar solos, but also for his domineering approach to the band’s creative process.
In 1998, then 18 year old drummer Travis McNabb joined the band for the tour for the album The Circle. He went on to join Better Than Ezra and work with Shawn Mullins, Howie Day and Beggars members of which later formed Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
