Deathray

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Deathray (band)
Origin Sacramento, California, United States
Genres Alternative rock, pop punk, pop rock, ska punk, new wave
Years active1998–2007
Members Dana Gumbiner
Greg Brown
Todd Roper

Deathray (1998–2007) was a band from Sacramento, California, formed by former Cake members Greg Brown and Victor Damiani, and Dana Gumbiner, a musician formerly of the Sacramento indie band Little Guilt Shrine.

Contents

After leaving Cake, Brown and bassist Victor Damiani met up with Gumbiner, who was playing solo shows under a variety of names, most notably The Micronauts. The three recruited multi-talented rock and jazz drummer James Neil and keyboardist Max Hart to form Deathray. After selling over 3,000 copies of their EP, Deathray was signed to Capricorn Records. [1]

Their self-titled debut album was produced by Eric Valentine and released in 2000. While the album received critical praise, the band's future became murky during the collapse of Capricorn and a hastily organized nationwide tour. After a long battle, Deathray was dropped from Capricorn, but regained control of the masters from their album, which they have since released on their own label, Doppler Records. [2] [3]

The band continued to play Northern California shows and recorded a subsequent EP, White Sleeves in their own studio, Brighton Sound, which was released in 2002 on Doppler Records. The single "Let's be Friends" also appears on the subsequent album Believe Me.

Shortly thereafter, Hart left the band to move to Los Angeles and form his own band, The High Speed Scene, with their initial EP release also on Doppler Records, and subsequent full release on its major-label debut on the Neptunes' imprint, Star-Trak Records.

Neil also left Deathray after the release of their first album, but went on to join numerous bands, including: Milwaukee (as keyboardist with Johnny Gutenberger of Two Sheds, and Chris Robyn of Far), Red Planet, An Angle, Jay Shaner's Cowboy Killers, and he is currently the drummer for the California-country band The Golden Cadillacs. Following the recording of Cake's album Comfort Eagle , drummer Todd Roper left Cake to rejoin the former members now in Deathray.

Brown (releasing his solo EP in June 2023) and Gumbiner (continuing his solo electronica project Night Night, and currently owner/producer/engineer at Station To Station Media + Production, and a contributing writer at TapeOp Magazine) remain the principal songwriters of Deathray, with Damiani also penning several tunes for the band.

A Deathray song titled "I Wanna Lose Control" appears on the soundtrack to the 2006 animated film Open Season, along with a cover of Paul Westerberg's "Wild as I Wanna Be." These are the first two Deathray songs published by a major record label since the band's former LPs.

As of July 1, 2007 the band has split up, according to an entry on their official website.

Discography

Studio albums

The band's self-titled album was released in 2000 with producer Eric Valentine (Third Eye Blind, Smash Mouth, Citizen King) and released on Doppler Records, a small indie label run by the band's designer, Keara Fallon, and Deathray bassist, Victor Damiani, which they started when Capricorn Records collapsed. The genre is usually thought of as pop or post-punk. It has received generous college and radio airplay, making the charts in college radio. Drummer Michael Urbano guest appeared on the recording of the album. The Warhol-esque design was by label partner and band supporter, Keara Fallon.

Deathray self-released their second album in 2005. Eric Valentine returned as producer. Todd Roper appeared on drums. Again, despite garnering critical acclaim, there was little interest from major labels.

Extended Plays (EPs)

Lineup

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cake (band)</span> American rock band

Cake is an American rock band from Sacramento, California, consisting of singer John McCrea, trumpeter Vince DiFiore, guitarist Xan McCurdy, bassist Daniel McCallum, and drummer Todd Roper. The band has been noted for McCrea's sarcastic lyrics and deadpan vocals, and their wide-ranging musical influences, including norteño, country music, mariachi, disco, rock, funk, folk music, and hip hop.

<i>Fashion Nugget</i> 1996 studio album by Cake

Fashion Nugget is the second studio album by alternative rock band Cake. It was released in 1996, and contains 14 songs. "The Distance" and "I Will Survive" became the most successful singles on the record, with the prior peaking at number 22 in the UK and at number 4 on the US Alternative Airplay Chart. The album was recorded at Paradise Studios in Sacramento, California.

<i>Prolonging the Magic</i> 1998 studio album by Cake

Prolonging the Magic is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Cake. It was released on October 6, 1998, on Capricorn Records. The sole successful single was "Never There". The album was recorded after the departure of guitarist Greg Brown and features a rotating lineup of musicians to replace him. One of them, Xan McCurdy, became his full-time replacement. On its opening week, Prolonging the Magic sold about 44,000 copies, debuting at No. 33 on the Billboard 200 chart. On 28 September 1999 the album was certified platinum by the RIAA for shipments of one million copies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clutch (band)</span> American rock band

Clutch is an American rock band from Germantown, Maryland. Since its formation in 1991, the band lineup has included Tim Sult, Dan Maines (bass), Jean-Paul Gaster (drums), and Neil Fallon. To date, Clutch has released thirteen studio albums, and several rarities and live albums. Since 2008, the band has been signed to their own record label, Weathermaker Music. Clutch is one of the pioneers of stoner rock.

<i>Motorcade of Generosity</i> 1994 studio album by Cake

Motorcade of Generosity is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band Cake. It was recorded at the Pus Cavern studio in Sacramento, California, and released through Capricorn Records on February 7, 1994.

Captain Beyond is an American rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles in 1971. Consisting of former Deep Purple singer Rod Evans, former Johnny Winter drummer Bobby Caldwell, former Iron Butterfly guitarist Larry Reinhardt and former Iron Butterfly bassist Lee Dorman, the band had an eclectic style bridging elements of hard rock, progressive rock and jazz fusion with space rock. They released three albums between 1972 and 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cindy Wilson</span> American singer-songwriter and musician (b. 1957)

Cynthia Leigh Wilson is an American musician and one of the vocalists, songwriters and founding members of new wave rock band the B-52's. She is noted for her distinctive contralto voice and also plays percussion during live shows. She is the younger sister of the late guitarist Ricky Wilson (1953–1985), who was also a founding member of the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Murray (British musician)</span> Scottish bassist

Philip Neil Murray is a Scottish musician, best known as the former bassist of Whitesnake, the Brian May Band, Black Sabbath, and Gary Moore.


Greg Brown is a guitarist and founding member of the band Cake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugo Burnham</span> Musical artist

Hugo Hamilton Mark Burnham is an English musician, and drummer for the rock group Gang of Four.

Michael Urbano is an American musician, programmer, and record producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syd Straw</span> American rock singer and songwriter (born 1958)

Syd Straw is an American rock singer and songwriter.

Wet Willie is an American southern rock band from Mobile, Alabama. Their best-known song, "Keep On Smilin'", reached No. 10 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in August 1974. Several other of the group's songs also appeared on the singles charts in the 1970s, which utilized their soulful brand of Southern rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Shoulders</span> Musical artist

Golden Shoulders is a band from Nevada City, California. Formed in 2001 by songwriter Adam Kline, the group operates with a rotating lineup and has featured significant contributions from such notables as Joanna Newsom, Todd Roper and Greg Brown, Rich Good, Dan Elkan, Josh Klinghoffer, Rusty Miller (Jackpot), Jonathan Hischke, Rob Kieswetter, Hunter Burgan (AFI), songwriter Brett Shady, drummer Neal Morgan, and more. A complete, current list of contributors can be found here.

<i>B-Sides and Rarities</i> (Cake album) 2007 compilation album by Cake

B-Sides and Rarities is a rarities compilation album by Cake, an alternative rock band from Sacramento, California. It features several cover songs from the 2004 bonus disc Extra Value and the 2005 Wheels EP, including Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" and Barry White's "Never, Never Gonna Give You Up."

Endeverafter was an American heavy metal band from Sacramento, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jucifer</span> American sludge metal band

Jucifer is an American sludge metal duo formed in 1993. The band's members are Gazelle Amber Valentine on lead guitar and vocals and her husband Edgar Livengood on drums. Jucifer is notable for the extreme volume at which they perform, and the gigantic wall of amplification used for Valentine's guitar, as well as the dichotomy that has existed between much of the recorded material and their live shows. They are also notable for incessant touring beginning in the mid-1990s. In 2000 Jucifer moved into an RV and became completely "nomadic in nature", preferring to tour constantly, living in their tour vehicle, rather than following the normal practice of album release/tour/time at home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Fallon</span> American musician (born 1980)

Brian Fallon is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main lyricist of the rock band the Gaslight Anthem, with whom he has recorded six studio albums. He was also a member of the duo the Horrible Crowes, alongside the Gaslight Anthem's guitar technician and touring guitarist Ian Perkins. Since 2016, Fallon has released four solo albums and one EP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brie Howard-Darling</span> American singer-songwriter

Brie Howard-Darling is an American drummer, singer, percussionist, and songwriter of Filipino and European descent. She has recorded with such recording artists as Carole King, Ringo Starr, ELO, Keith Moon, The Temptations, Jimmy Buffett, Melissa Manchester, Janiva Magness, and Glen Campbell. She has toured extensively with Martin Mull, Kiki Dee, Jack Wagner, Bruce Willis, Robert Palmer, Carole King, Jimmy Buffett, Robbie Nevil, and Duran Duran. She has been a band member of Fanny, American Girls, Boxing Gandhis, Fanny Walked The Earth, and Cherie Currie & Brie Darling.

References

  1. ↑ Basham, David. "DEATHRAY HARNESSES ENERGY FROM CAKE SPLIT". MTV News. mtv. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  2. ↑ Griffith, Jackson (6 July 2005). "A Slow Deathray". Sacramento News & Review. CHICO COMMUNITY PUBLISHING, INC.
  3. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Deathray - Biography & History - AllMusic". AllMusic. AllMusic. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.