Death Valley Girls | |
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 Death Valley Girls in 2017 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genres | Garage rock, punk rock, gothic rock |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Labels | Suicide Squeeze Records |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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| Website | deathvalleygirls |
Death Valley Girls is an American rock band formed in 2013 in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of vocalist and keyboardist Bonnie Bloomgarden, guitarist Heather Nation, bassist Sarah Linton, and drummer Rikki Styxx.
Death Valley Girls was formed in 2013 by Patty Schemel, her brother Larry Schemel, Rachel Orosco, and Bonnie Bloomgarden [1] after the group needed "something safe to do that wasn't AA". [2] Patty Schemel left the band after the release of their debut album Street Venom in 2014, [1] an album which received praise for its raw garage rock sound and what Flood Magazine described as "doom-boogie, psych-pop". [2] Laura Kelsey replaced Patty on drums for Street Venom. [1]
In 2016, the band released Glow in the Dark, with Alana Amram replacing Rachel Orosco and Jessie Jones joining the band as a co-vocalist. [1]
In 2018, the band began working with Seattle-based label Suicide Squeeze Records, releasing their 2018 album Darkness Rains and Under the Spell of Joy (2020) under the label. Thanks to these albums, Death Valley Girls received critical acclaim for their memorable stage performances and dynamic mix of garage rock, punk, and psych rock. [3] Under the Spell of Joy saw Rikki Styxx as the new drummer and Nicole "Pickle" Smith added as a bassist. [1]
In 2023, the band released their album, Islands in the Sky. [4] Brooklyn Vegan reported that Islands is "loaded with catchy psych-rock affirmations to the future." [5] This album also saw the lineup reaching the form of Larry Schemel, Bonnie Bloomgarden, Sammy Westervelt, and Rikki Styxx. [1]
Death Valley Girls have performed at several notable music festivals, including Desert Daze [6] and Levitation Festival. [7]
Death Valley Girls' music is characterized by a blend of garage rock, [4] punk, psych rock, [8] gothic rock, [6] and elements of surf rock and 1960s girl groups. The band's live performances focus around Bloomgarden's vocals and on-stage theatricality. [9] [3]
Gothic rock is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, Bauhaus, and the Cure.
Bathory was a Swedish black metal band formed in Vällingby in March 1983. Named after Hungarian countess Elizabeth Báthory, they are considered pioneers of black metal and Viking metal. The book Lords of Chaos described Bathory's first four albums as "the blueprint for Scandinavian black metal." Acts influenced by their early records include Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, Satyricon, Emperor, Dark Funeral, Enslaved, Immortal, Marduk, Moonsorrow and Dimmu Borgir.
Hole was an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1989. It was founded by singer and guitarist Courtney Love and guitarist Eric Erlandson. It had several different bassists and drummers, the most prolific being drummer Patty Schemel, and bassists Kristen Pfaff and Melissa Auf der Maur. Hole released a total of four studio albums between two incarnations spanning the 1990s and early-2010s and became one of the most commercially successful rock bands in history fronted by a woman.
Melissa Gaboriau Auf der Maur is a Canadian musician.
Celebrity Skin is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Hole, released on September 8, 1998, in the United States on DGC Records and internationally on Geffen Records. It was the last album released by the band before their dissolution in 2002. Hole intended for the record to diverge significantly from their previous noise and grunge-influenced sound as featured on Pretty on the Inside (1991) and Live Through This (1994). The band hired producer Michael Beinhorn to record Celebrity Skin over a nine-month period that included sessions in Los Angeles, New York City, and London. It was the band's only studio release to feature bassist Melissa Auf der Maur. Drummer Patty Schemel played on the demos for the album but was replaced by session drummer Deen Castronovo at the suggestion of Beinhorn. This issue created a rift between Schemel and the band, resulting in her dropping out of the tour and parting ways with the group, though she was still credited.
Live Through This is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band Hole, released on April 12, 1994, by DGC Records. Recorded in late 1993, it departed from the band's unpolished hardcore aesthetics to more refined melodies and song structure. Frontwoman Courtney Love said that she wanted the record to be "shocking to the people who think that we don't have a soft edge", but maintain a harsh sensibility. The album was produced by Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie and mixed by Scott Litt and J Mascis. The lyrics and packaging reflect Love's thematic preoccupations with beauty, and motifs of milk, motherhood, anti-elitism, and violence against women, while Love derived the album title from a quote in Gone with the Wind (1939).
Patricia Jean Griffin is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She is a vocalist and plays guitar and piano. She is known for her stripped-down songwriting style in the folk music genre. Her songs have been covered by numerous musicians, including Emmylou Harris, Ellis Paul, Kelly Clarkson, Rory Block, Dave Hause, Sugarland, Bette Midler and The Chicks.
Patricia Theresa Schemel is an American drummer and musician who rose to prominence as the drummer of alternative rock band Hole from 1992 until 1998. Born in Los Angeles, Schemel was raised in rural Marysville, Washington, where she developed an interest in punk rock music as a teenager. She began drumming at age eleven, and while in high school, formed several bands with her brother, Larry.
Eric Theodore Erlandson is an American musician, guitarist, and writer, primarily known as founding member, songwriter and lead guitarist of alternative rock band Hole from 1989 to 2002. He has also had several musical side projects, including Rodney & the Tube Tops, which he formed with Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, and RRIICCEE with Vincent Gallo.
Samantha Maloney is an American musician best known for playing in the bands Hole and Mötley Crüe. She has also performed live with Eagles of Death Metal and Peaches.
"Celebrity Skin" is a song by American alternative rock band Hole, released on August 31, 1998 as the first single from their third studio album of the same name. It is their most commercially successful single, being the only one to reach the top place on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. In October 2011, NME ranked it the 126th best track of the past 15 years.
Lucid Nation is an American Los Angeles-based experimental rock band formed in 1995 made up of Tamra Spivey and R.C. Hogart.
Yawning Man is an American experimental rock band from La Quinta, California. The band originally formed in 1986, although they released no studio recordings until 2005. They have been noted to be one of the first influential bands in the desert rock scene.
"Awful" is a single by American alternative rock band Hole from the band's third studio album, Celebrity Skin. Released in April 1999 by Geffen Records as a CD single, the song's lyrics explore how the media and modern pop culture corrupt young girls and how they should rebel against this. The line "swing low, sweet cherry" in the song is an allusion to the African American spiritual hymn, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot".
The Vacant Lots are an American post-punk electro band based in Brooklyn, New York.
Doll Squad is an American alternative rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1987 by Mara Dralle and Helen Halloran and originally active until 1989. Though not signed to any record label, the band received notoriety in the Seattle music scene after performing with Nirvana in 1988. Following their dissolution the following year, members of the band embarked on separate musical projects. In 2008, the band reformed, however without original drummer Patty Schemel, who later became notable as the drummer of Los Angeles-based band Hole.
Upset is an American band, formed in 2013. The band originally consisted of Ali Koehler on guitar and lead vocals, Jenn Prince on lead guitar and vocals, Chris Juarez on bass, and Patty Schemel on drums. After the recording and release of their debut album, She's Gone, Prince departed the band to work on other projects, with Lauren Freeman joining the band on lead guitar, and Rachel Gagliardi on bass and vocals. Koehler is the former drummer of the bands Best Coast and Vivian Girls. Schemel rose to prominence as the drummer of Hole and currently also drums for the band Death Valley Girls. The band released their debut album on Don Giovanni Records on October 29, 2013.
Levitation is an annual 3-day music festival developed and produced by The Reverberation Appreciation Society. Since its sixth year in 2013 it has been held at Carson Creek Ranch in Austin, Texas. Inspired by the creative explosion of the 1960s, as well as by festivals such as ATP and Primavera Sound, they set out to create their vision of a music festival.
Sharkmuffin is an independent DIY rock band from New York City.
Frankie and the Witch Fingers is an American rock band formed in Bloomington, Indiana, in 2013 and based in Los Angeles. The band is composed of founding members Dylan Sizemore and Josh Menashe, as well as Nikki Pickle (bass) as of 2020, and Nick Aguilar (drums) as of 2022. They are currently signed to Greenway Records from Brooklyn.
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