Eric Stefani, left, and No Doubt at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards
Everyone’s heard of No Doubt chanteuse Gwen Stefani. But a lesser-known Stefani helped to found the ska-punk band — her brother Eric, the group’s original keyboardist.
Eric and classmate John Spence joined forces and musical talents in 1986. Gwen and other members joined soon after, but the band broke up briefly after Spence’s 1987 suicide. When they regrouped, they hit California stages and got the attention of Interscope Records in 1990.
No Doubt’s self-titled first record was mostly a flop, and an ensuing national tour did nothing to help matters. Eric, who preferred songwriting to touring and felt diminishing creative control, left in 1994. Tragic Kingdom came out the next year.
Not all was lost for Eric, though. He focused on an animation career with The Simpsons after his departure and his contributions to Tragic Kingdom earned him a Grammy nomination.
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