Adam Siegel | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Also known as | Torg |
Born | March 9, 1969 |
Origin | Venice, California, United States |
Genres | Heavy metal, crossover thrash, skate punk, funk metal, alternative rock, grunge, indie rock, glam rock, dance-rock, power pop |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter, actor, producer, graphic designer |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, bass |
Years active | 1983–present |
Labels | Suicidal (1985–1988; 2000) High Speed (1987) Caroline (1987–1989) Epic (1991–1994; 1996) Capitol (1996) DreamWorks (2001) E Works (2002) Middle Class Pig Records (2002;2004) Teenacide Records (2003) Secretly Canadian (2008–present) |
Adam Siegel (born March 9, 1969) [1] is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and graphic designer (he has provided artwork and design for several releases by L.A. groups [2] ) from Venice, California, United States. KISS, Black Sabbath, Sweet, Jimmy Page and the Sex Pistols are the musicians he cites as main influences. [3]
He is a founding member of the crossover thrash band Excel, and subsequently was the lead guitarist for the Suicidal Tendencies side project, Infectious Grooves and the group Eagle, who became The Blondes after receiving a cease and desist letter from Don Henley's legal counsel. He founded the power trio My Head with Excel former drummer Greg Saenz and played the bass in the indie rock band Eels.
Between 2005 and 2007, he lived and worked as engineer and producer in the Glassell Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. Currently, he is the Music Go Music guitarist and sporadically works as producer. He appeared in the movies Encino Man and Zelimo.
Siegel was born and raised in Venice, California. At the age of 13 years he bought a guitar, and went to live with his cousin for a few months. There he met Dan Clements, who was living with his cousin. Dan recorded a tape to give to Adam and started talking about forming a band. The group was called "Chaotic Noise" with Evan Warech on drums and some temporary bassists during 1984, they played a lot of shows around L.A. with different bands of the same scene like No Mercy, Suicidal Tendencies, Beowülf and Cryptic Slaughter. They became very good friends of all those musicians and adopted each other as early influences. A few months later, Rickey Pallamino took over the four strings and Chaotic Noise recorded their first Demo . They also became close friends of a graffiti crew, Kings Stop at Nothing, specially with a boy called Shaun Ross, Adam and Dan learned to paint with him and included the graffiti in the style of the band. When Pallamino left Chaotic Noise, there was no one better than Shaun to replace him, then they changed their name to Excel, name that was created by Shaun Ross when he was in Kings Stop at Nothing. A few weeks later a new drummer joined the group: Greg Saenz. They recorded 3 more demos between 1985 and 1986 ( Sonic Decapitation , Personal Onslaught and Refuse to Quit ), editing their first studio album, Split Image in 1987 (the recording was paid by Mike Muir and distribution was conducted by Caroline Records), the second one, The Joke's on You in 1989, and a tour in Netherlands the same year with that line-up.
In 1990, Siegel left Excel to join (as lead guitarist) the Suicidal Tendencies side project, Infectious Grooves to record their first studio album: The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move...It's the Infectious Grooves . In 1992 he came back to Excel to record their fifth and final demo: Third album demos . The May 22 he appeared in the movie Encino Man with the Infectious Grooves. [4] Then he definitely left Excel to form his own power trio (called My Head) with Greg Saenz on drums, the former Bad Radio member Dave Silva on bass and himself on guitar and lead vocals. However, this project was interrupted for Adam's participation in the second studio release by Infectious Grooves, Sarsippius' Ark , released in February 1993, and again in 1994 for their following album, Groove Family Cyco . On January 16, 1996, Siegel recorded various tracks for the first Mike Muir solo album: Lost My Brain! (Once Again) . Then My Head signed a record contract with Capitol Records and released their first and only album Endless Bummer , the song "Humbucker" became their only single and music video. [5] The sound of this album left the heavy metal music that Siegel had been playing earlier in Excel and Infectious Grooves to approach to styles more similar to alternative rock and grunge. [6] The band broke up the January 1, 1998. Later that year, Siegel became the Eels bassist (this was the first time he played the bass on a group).
The song " Souljacker part I ", performed with Siegel was included in the album Souljacker in 2001 and a live version in the live album Electro-Shock Blues Show , released in 2002. A few months later he created the band Eagle (who would become "The Blondes" in 2000) with Bill Dusha (ex-Sacred Hearts and Sexy Death Soda) on guitar and vocals, Jimmy James (ex-Coma-Tones and The mansons) on bass, Autumn de Wilde (also graphic designer and art director; her photography and paintings have been used for releases by Beachwood Sparks, Beck, Neal Casal, Eels, Lilys, Elliott Smith, and other artists) on keyboards and back vocals, Byron Maiden (ex-Possum Dixon and the Liquor Giants) on drums and himself on lead guitar and vocals. [7] They did some shows around L.A. and suffered several line-up changes. In 2000 he returned for fourth and last time to Infectious Grooves to record their fourth studio album: Mas Borracho released the August 29.
After four years, The Blondes finally released their homonym first studio work with their original formation. [8] In less than a half-year later they released their second official record, titled Swedish Heat . In 2004 they edited their third and final studio material, called Summer Strut , breaking up shortly after its tour. He retired as a musician in 2005 and became a producer and engineer in Glassell Park neighborhood of Los Angeles until 2008. Then he co-founded (as guitarist) Music Go Music, the dance-rock and power pop side-project to Meredith/Gala Bell (vocals) and David/Kamer (keyboards and vocals) Metcalf's band Bodies of Water, in which Siegel had participated in their second studio album "A Certain Feeling". In addition to these three members, the group is accompanied in concerts by various musicians who play several instruments. They came as long ago talking about writing something together, in May 2008, Siegel joined them to the studio to record their first single, [9] "Light of Love" and a second one, titled "Warm in the Shadows " the January 20, 2009. In August 2008, they released an EP which included three tracks called Reach Out and he began using the nickname "Torg". The October 6, 2009, they edited their debut studio album: Expressions, as the two previous singles and the EP it was released by Secretly Canadian. [10]
See also: List of Excel demos
Year | Album | Band | Type | Credits | Label |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1985 | Welcome to Venice | Excel | Split album | Guitar on "Enforcer" and "Conclusion" | Suicidal |
1987 | Thrasher Skate Rock 5: Born to Skate | Excel | Split album | Guitar on "Insecurity" | High Speed |
1987 | Split Image | Excel | Studio album | Guitar | Suicidal/Caroline |
1989 | The Joke's on You | Excel | Studio album | Guitar | Caroline |
1989 | Live at the Nighttown, Rotterdam | Excel | Live album | Guitar | Self-produced |
1990 | Live in Philadelphia-PA | Excel | Live album | Guitar | Self-produced |
1991 | The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move...It's the Infectious Grooves | Infectious Grooves | Studio album | Guitar, artwork | Epic |
1993 | Sarsippius' Ark | Infectious Grooves | Studio album | Guitar | Epic |
1994 | Groove Family Cyco | Infectious Grooves | Studio album | Guitar, artwork | Epic |
1996 | Lost My Brain! (Once Again) | Cyco Miko | Studio album | Guitar, except tracks 1, 9 and 12, cover photography | Epic |
1996 | Endless Bummer | My Head | Studio album | Guitar, vocals, artwork | Capitol |
2000 | Mas Borracho | Infectious Grooves | Studio album | Guitar, keyboards, cover art | Suicidal |
2001 | Friends & Family, Vol. 2 | Suicidal Tendencies | Compilation album | Guitar and vocals on "Chain of Hate" and "Ultra Drown", artwork | Suicidal |
2001 | Souljacker | Eels | Studio album | Bass guitar on Souljacker part I | DreamWorks |
2002 | Electro-Shock Blues Show | Eels | Live album | Bass guitar and backing vocals | E Works |
2002 | The Blondes | The Blondes | Studio album | Guitar, vocals | Middle Class Pig Records |
2002 | Summer Strut | The Blondes | Studio album | Producer, vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion | Middle Class Pig Records |
2004 | Swedish Heat | The Blondes | Studio album | Bass, engineer, guitar, producer, synthesizer, vocals | Teenacide |
2008 | A Certain Feeling | Bodies of Water | Studio album | Guitar, mixing | Secretly Canadian |
2008 | Reach Out | Music Go Music | EP | Guitar, bass, producer | Secretly Canadian |
2009 | Expressions | Music Go Music | Studio album | Guitar, bass, producer | Secretly Canadian |
Year | Album | Band | Type | Credits | Label |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007 | Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink | Bodies of Water | Studio album | Mixing | Secretly Canadian |
2009 | Yamerarena-i | Pixeltan | EP | Mixing | DFA Records |
Year | Title [11] | Producer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | Encino Man | Yes | |
2005 | The Perfect Man | Executive | |
2007 | The Seeker | Executive | |
2008 | Wanted | Executive | |
2009 | Face the Ace | Assistant producer, co-producer | game show, episodes 1 and 2 |
2010 | Cop Out | Executive | |
2010 | Scott Pilgrim vs. The World | Executive | |
2010 | Charlie St. Cloud | Executive | |
2011 | Drive | Yes | |
2013 | Evidence | Executive | |
2013 | 2 Guns | Executive | |
2014 | Lost River | Yes | |
2014 | Mockingbird | Yes | |
2015 | Ricki and the Flash | Executive | |
2016 | Grease Live! | Yes | TV special, live broadcast |
2017 | A Christmas Story Live! | Executive | TV special, live broadcast |
2018 | Hotel Artemis | Yes | |
2018 | Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert | Executive | TV special, live broadcast |
2019 | Rent: Live | Executive | TV special, live broadcast |
2021 | Thunder Force | Yes | p.g.a. |
2021 | Oslo | Executive | |
2022 | Dear Evan Hansen | Yes | p.g.a. |
2022 | Better Nate Than Ever | Yes | |
2022 | Babylon | Executive | |
2023 | Scott Pilgrim Takes Off | Executive | animated series |
2024 | Players | Yes |
Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice, California, by vocalist Mike Muir. The band has undergone various lineup changes, with Muir as the only remaining original member. Their current lineup includes Muir, guitarists Dean Pleasants and Ben Weinman, bassist Tye Trujillo and drummer Jay Weinberg. Notable musicians who have contributed to the band's studio or live activities include guitarists Rocky George and Mike Clark, bassists Louiche Mayorga, Robert Trujillo, Ra Díaz, Josh Paul and Stephen "Thundercat" Bruner, and drummers Amery Smith, Jimmy DeGrasso, Brooks Wackerman, David Hidalgo Jr., Thomas Pridgen, Eric Moore, Dave Lombardo, Brandon Pertzborn, Greyson Nekrutman and session musician Josh Freese.
Friends & Family, Vol. 1 is an album containing various artists' material including Suicidal Tendencies and Infectious Grooves. It was released by Suicidal Records in 1997.
Infectious Grooves is an American funk metal supergroup led by vocalist Mike Muir and initially a side project from his group Suicidal Tendencies. The current lineup also includes guitarists Dean Pleasants and Dave Kushner, bassist Robert Trujillo, and drummer Jay Weinberg. To date, the project released four albums between 1991 and 2000.
Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz is an American musician who has been the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica since 2003. He first rose to prominence as the bassist of crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies from 1989 to 1995, while also collaborating with Suicidal Tendencies frontman Mike Muir for funk metal supergroup Infectious Grooves. After leaving Suicidal Tendencies, he performed with Ozzy Osbourne, Jerry Cantrell, and heavy metal band Black Label Society. Trujillo joined Metallica in 2003 and is the band's longest-serving bassist. He was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Metallica in 2009.
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Michael Allen Muir is an American singer who is the lead vocalist and the sole continuous member of Los Angeles-based bands Suicidal Tendencies, Los Cycos, and Infectious Grooves. He has also released several solo albums under his nickname Cyco Miko. Muir's trademark is wearing bandanas, jerseys with the number 13, and hats with block-style letters that read "suicidal".
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Mas Borracho is the fourth album by Infectious Grooves, released in 2000. The title, as written on the album, is "but drunk" in Spanish. However, it is most likely a misspell of "más borracho", meaning "more drunk" or "drunker".
Excel is a crossover thrash band from Venice, California, founded by singer Dan Clements and guitarist Adam Siegel in 1983. They were influenced by early punk rock bands like the Germs and Black Flag, as well as heavy metal bands like Black Sabbath, Trouble, Slayer, Corrosion of Conformity and Cryptic Slaughter. Being influenced by street art, Excel is also known for spray painting on the streets of the cities where they make their tours, hence why there are many different logos of the band.
The Joke's on You is the second album by Excel, released in 1989. The song "The Joke's on You" was already released on the previous album, Split Image. This album saw something of a departure from the hardcore punk influences of its predecessor, boasting a more traditional thrash metal sound, akin to that of Anthrax and Bay Area bands like Exodus, Testament, Forbidden or Vio-lence. The album also features doom metal influences, as well as some of the earliest examples of groove metal.
No Mercy is an American thrash metal band from Venice, California, the brainchild of guitarist Mike Clark who later played in Suicidal Tendencies.
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Sick Mother Fakers, also known as SMF for short, is a Serbian hardcore punk/crossover thrash band from Belgrade.
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Electric Love Hogs were a short-lived American funk rock band formed in San Diego, California in 1991. The band's lineup consisted of John Feldmann, Dave Kushner (guitar), Donni Campion (guitar), Kelly LeMieux (bass) and Bobby Hewitt. They released one self-titled album in 1992, followed by a tour of the United States and United Kingdom, before they disbanded the following year.
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Greg Saenz is an American drummer from Highland Park, California, currently based in Coachella Valley. He started playing for groups around North East Los Angeles in 1985, mainly influenced by drummers such as John Bonham, Cozy Powell and Phil Taylor. He later joined Excel where he stayed for several years. Saenz is a former member of My Head and the Dwarves. He occasionally serves as a touring drummer for Yawning Man, and is currently a touring drummer for John Garcia and the Band of Gold.
Shaun Ross is a bassist from Venice, California, and former member of Excel, a band he performed with from 1985 until its dissolution. He took his first inspirations from very different kinds of music, like Rudimentary Peni, Jungle Brothers, Sly and the Family Stone and Deep Purple. Also he released an EP with the Thrash metal group Hirax in 2001.
My Head was an American grunge/alternative rock power trio from Los Angeles, California, United States, formed in 1993 by singer-songwriter and guitarist Adam Siegel and drummer Greg Saenz. Due to its member's past on Excel, My Head's sound was influenced by early 1980s Crossover Thrash music, but also by the growing grunge movement impulsed by bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. Even after its dissolution My Head recorded three tracks for two different Mike Muir's releases: Pneumonia and Friends & Family, Vol. 2 by Suicidal Tendencies.
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