Saliva was formed in September 1996 in Bartlett, Tennessee, a suburb of Memphis, by former members of local bands Roxy Blue, Blackbone, and Gemini Clan . The original lineup coalesced around vocalist Josey Scott and guitarist Chris D'Abaldo, joined by drummer Todd Poole, bassist Dave Novotny and guitarist Wayne Swinny . The young band wasted no time making noise on the local circuit; Saliva was the national runner-up in a 1997 Grammy Showcase competition sponsored by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences , and they issued a self-released, self-titled debut soon after. Blending nu-metal grit with rap-metal swagger and hard rock muscle, the band quickly built a reputation as one of Memphis's most promising young acts.
The real breakthrough came in 2001. After drummer Paul Crosby replaced Todd Poole in 2000, the band signed to Island Records and released their major-label debut, *Every Six Seconds*, which helped earn them a double-platinum certification and marked their mainstream arrival . The single "Your Disease" had already gotten a boost from its appearance on the *Dracula 2000* soundtrack, and it went on to become a Grammy-nominated breakthrough hit for the band . That same era produced enduring rock radio staples like "Click Click Boom" and "Always," and in 2002 Josey Scott further raised the band's profile by co-writing and performing "Hero," a duet with Nickelback vocalist Chad Kroeger that appeared on the Spider-Man soundtrack and became an international hit . The band's classic lineup, Josey Scott, Wayne Swinny, Chris D'Abaldo, Dave Novotny, and Paul Crosby, lasted from 2000 to 2005 and defined the Saliva sound for a generation of rock fans.
Saliva kept building momentum through the 2000s, following up with *Back Into Your System* (2002), which sold gold and broke Billboard's Top 20 overall albums chart, producing the hit "Rest in Pieces" and the band's only No. 1 Alternative chart hit, "Always" . *Survival of the Sickest* arrived in 2004, and Saliva scored another commercial peak in 2007 with *Blood Stained Love Story*, which shot to the top of the U.S. rock charts . Along the way the band earned six Grammy Award nominations and won one MTV award , cementing their place in the 2000s hard rock landscape, and their songs became fixtures of sports arenas, particularly in WWE wrestling and football games . Lineup changes eventually reshaped the group: Josey Scott departed at the end of 2011 after 15 years with the group, reportedly to pursue a solo Christian music career , and was replaced by singer Bobby Amaru, who can be heard on SALIVA's last five releases: "In It To Win It" (2013), "Rise Up" (2014), "Love, Lies & Therapy" (2016), "10 Lives" (2018) and "Revelation" (2023) .
Saliva has remained active under Amaru's leadership, continuing to tour with a lineup that also includes longtime bassist Brad Stewart, and the band has shared stages with acts like Sevendust, Aerosmith and Kiss . The band's history took a poignant turn when original guitarist Wayne Swinny, who was with Saliva from 1996 until his death in 2023, serving as the last original member, passed away on March 22, 2023, at age 59, from a spontaneous brain hemorrhage while the band was on tour . Scott himself made a rare return to the fold for a reunion appearance, and today he also fronts his own touring outfit performing the band's classic hits. Decades after their platinum-selling run, Saliva's early-2000s anthems remain embedded in rock radio and stadium soundtracks, a testament to the band's lasting imprint on early-2000s hard rock.
For archive visitors, Saliva holds a special place in Wayne Dennon's photographic record. Wayne photographed the band across seven different shows between 2003 and 2010, capturing them in seven different cities across three states as they toured through their most productive and chart-topping years. Those nights are preserved in 246 photographs housed in this archive, images that have drawn an audience of 185,314 views from fans revisiting the band's raw, high-energy live performances during one of hard rock's most electric eras.
