Loser

In 2004 guitarist John 5 of Marilyn Manson fame formed Loser. The band was partly co-founded by John 5’s friend, producer Bob Marlette. Vocalist Joe Grah already had a significant amount of success in his home state of Texas with the band Jibe. Marlette recommended Grah to John 5, and so he hopped on a plane to Texas to see Jibe play. Grah flew back to Los Angeles and was hired on the spot. Recruiting fellow Texan musicians bassist Charles Lee and drummer Glendon Crain, Loser began working on their debut album Just Like You. The band played its first show in Hollywood, California.
The name Loser came about as a reaction to John 5’s past:“ I was from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, which is kind of an upper-class area, and I was always that rock kid. . . . I started playing guitar at age 7. I always had a rock shirt on, and I had that tattoo early on. I looked like a loser because everyone around me was wearing Polo and Brooks Brothers. But now if you go into a club wearing Polo, you’re called a loser. So I think everyone can relate to that name, and the album title, Just Like You, sums it up.
When questioned in an interview regarding the band’s sound, John 5 replied, «It is just great rock music. It is kinda like the Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, new-age stuff.»
The band had initial success not long after signing with Island Records, when the track «Disposable Sunshine» was included on the 2005 Fantastic Four soundtrack. During the recording of the soundtrack, however, Crain briefly left the band and was replaced by drummer Elias Andra, a friend of Lee’s. (Elias had had some success himself with the industrial metal band Psycho Plague, his own creation, which toured as a headline act with Linkin Park.) However, no sooner had promotional shots been taken then Elias left and Crain returned.
Loser was set to release its debut album, Just Like You, on June 18, 2006, on Island/Def Jam Records. At the same time, John 5 was also working for Rob Zombie and the Charles, and a conflict occurred. As Zombie was also touring, John 5 tried to find a live replacement for himself while Loser was touring on conflicting dates. Even with promo material for the debut album out and a release date in the bag, however, Island Record didn’t like the idea of Loser without John 5, and so dropped the band from the label.
«Being the founding member of Loser, my decision to leave was not an easy one», said John 5 in a press release. «I’ve been juggling two careers, both with Loser and Rob Zombie, for over one year now. I found it impossible to be in two places at once.»
The official Loser Myspace page has tracks from Just For You available for download.

Since the dissolution of Loser, Joe Grah has formed a band called South of Earth. Charles Lee later went on to play bass in Filter, but left that band due to personal issues. Lee is now the vocalist in a project titled Bella.