Hoover was an American punk rock (or post-hardcore) band from Washington, DC. Formed in 1992, Hoover went on to produce some of the more intense music to appear on the Dischord Records label in the 1990s. Unusually, three of the four members shared vocal duties equally.
Hoover split up in 1994, and have reformed twice: once in 1997 to record a mini-album of 'odds and ends', and again in 2004 to tour Europe and also performed some shows back in their home land. It is not clear whether the band will continue to be active.
The band is not to be confused with the country music song writer and performer Hoover, based out of Nashville in the 1960s and 1970s, nor the Belgian band Hooverphonic, who originally performed under the name "Hoover."
Hoover (1971? — July 25, 1985) is the name of a harbor seal who was able to imitate basic human speech.
An orphan, Hoover was found in 1971 outside Harpswell, Maine by George and Alice Swallow, who brought him home. When Hoover outgrew the bathtub, he was transferred to the pond outside their house where he began to imitate George. Again he was moved, this time to the New England Aquarium, where he told visitors to "Get outta here!" in a thick New England accent.
Thanks to this, he became famous, and appeared in publications like Reader's Digest and The New Yorker and television programs like Good Morning America. blank">Biographical details for Hoover at the website for the _New England Aquarium (accessed December 14, 2006).
Hoover died on July 25, 1985 due to complications during his annual molt. His obituary was published in The Boston Globe.
None of Hoover's six pups (daughters Joey, Amelia, and Trumpet and sons Lucifer, Cinder, and Spark) spoke, but his grandson Chacoda (or "Chucky") has shown an ability to be guided in his vocalizations and, as of 1989, was learning to say "how are you".
Willis Hoover was born in Jackson County, Missouri and raised in Lamoni, Iowa and Shenandoah, Iowa. After starting out as a coffee house folk singer as a teenager, Hoover moved to Nashville in the 1960's and became a songwriter. His songs were recorded by Tina Turner, Eddy Arnold and country music outlaws Tompall Glaser and Waylon Jennings. He won an ASCAP Award for music written for the motion picture, "...tick...tick...tick..." After losing or forgetting his first name, Hoover became a recording artist for Monument Records, Epic Records, and Elektra Records in the late 1960's and early 1970's. His recordings for Elektra were released in 2003 by Kinky Friedman's Sphincter Records label.
After retiring from the music industry, Hoover became a writer. He had "Picks!" published in 1995 and "North Shore" in 2005.
