Formation, Sink & Glyph (1993-1997) The seeds for Floater were planted when Robert Wynia placed a musician-wanted ad in
Eugene,
Oregon and it was answered by Cornett. By 1992, they had formed the band Henry's Child. Rob and Pete left Henry's Child after the musical direction was not what they wanted, and they formed a band called The Dog's. Sometime after, their guitarist got drunk and ruined a local gig and Dave Amador stepped in to replace him. The moniker of The Dog's was replaced with Floater. It was 1993 and they began playing small garage parties and eventually the
University of Oregon. In early 1994, Floater recorded their first four-song demo tape
Stiff & Restless at Pro-Arts studio. Later, in early 1994, Floater recorded a nine-song demo tape
Sink, which was the four tracks off of
Stiff & Restless, plus 5 new songs, which were recorded at the home of a friend in his studio. This tape impressed the indie record label Elemental when Rob and Pete handed Jonathan Boldt a copy, and they were signed a short time later. Floater's first full-length album,
Sink, was released on September 9, 1994 and contained some songs from the demos. One year later in October 1995, a second full-length album was released, titled
Glyph. This album increased the band's popularity in the
Pacific Northwest and allowed tours further east, into
Arizona,
Utah and
Texas as well as an excursion to New York in the fall of 1996. With the popularity of their song "
The Sad Ballad of Danny Boy" and the help of then soon-to-be defunct national
Z Rock radio network, Floater's airplay increased greatly. The network shut down in late 1996, but not before acquiring scattered fans across the nation as in
Georgia,
Iowa,
New Jersey, and even outside the U.S. in
Quebec. According to
World Drum! a newsletter for CD World in Eugene and
Corvallis, Floater sold 21,000 copies of
Sink and
Glyph combined.
Angels In the Flesh... / Burning Sosobra (1998-2001) Just before Floater released their third album,
Angels in the Flesh and Devils in the Bone in May 1998, the band moved to
Portland, Oregon where they remain today. Prior to and throughout this time, Floater was being visited by interested major labels including
Zoo Records, but they would remain unsigned by a major label. In September 2000,
Burning Sosobra was released and it marked a shift in the use of samples that Floater was known for. Rather than sampling movies and television, the band began creating the majority of their own sounds for inclusion on their albums.
Burning Sosobra represented a lifting of burdens for Floater, symbolized by the burning effigy on the cover of the album. With
Sosobra, Floater moved into a new phase, having purged a dubious manager and beginning to work with Cassandra Thorpe, who bought Elemental Records on September 9, 1999. The sculpture in the cover photo was a collaboration between Floater and
Mark Orme. "Exiled" is considered the single of
Burning Sosobra. Other notable tracks with "Independence Day" and "Waiting for the Sun," a
cover of
The Doors.
Alter & Acoustics (2002-2006) Floater experimented with acoustic in-store performances throughout the late 1990s, but around the time of their
New Year's Eve show in 2000/2001 at the
Aladdin Theater, Floater began including entire
acoustic sets in their performances. A part of the Aladdin show would be released on their second live album,
Live at the Aladdin. Floater subsequently released
Alter, their fifth full-length album in July 2002. The album was noted as a first step in
altering their sound; however, the shift in sound was markedly less than expected. Floater's sound shifted from a focus on heavy riffs to a well-rounded and eclectic sound. The band's exploration in sound fruited with their 2004 album
Acoustics. This would coincide with an increase in acoustic performances abroad. Floater regularly plays back-to-back shows with one electric set and one acoustic set.
Stone By Stone (2006 to 2008) Floater's 2006 release,
Stone By Stone, is their most critically acclaimed record to date. The album bridged a familiar older Floater sound in the case of "An Apology" and coupled it with a new creativity infused in their songs like "Weightless," "Breakdown," and "Tonight No One Knows." "An Apology", considered the single of the album, has lyrical content suggesting a sarcastic apology: as one eye looks to the future and the other in the past. The album also marks a time of increased effort to tour more extensively in the
western United States. Floater has expanded greatly, playing larger venues in some cities, like
The Showbox in
Seattle, Washington and the
McDonald Theatre in Eugene, Oregon. They also began playing more cities along their tours through
Idaho, Utah,
Nevada, Arizona, and
California.
Wake (2009 to present) By 2009, Floater started work on recording their eighth full-length album. Some of the tracks that were expected to appear on the upcoming album were previously recorded during the
Stone By Stone sessions. By this time, Floater hired Alex Steininger as their new manager. Floater was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in 2017. In the lead up to the band's ninth album, the band switched drummers. Mark Powers replaced Pete Cornett on December 31, 2017 when he made his debut at the Star Theater in Portland. Floater released their ninth album
The Thief in May 2018 after an 8-year interval. Powers is also featured on this album. ''Willamette Week's'' "Best of Portland Reader's Poll" selected Floater as Best Local Musician/Musical Group for 2018. On November 20, 2021, it was learned that Peter Cornett, the band's original drummer, had died. ==Discography==