Kendra Smith | |
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Born | March 14, 1960 |
Genres | Alternative music |
Occupation(s) |
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Years active |
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Labels | Fiasco, 4AD |
Kendra Smith (born March 14, 1960) [1] is an American musician who was a founding member of The Dream Syndicate, a member of Opal, and later recorded as a solo artist.
Smith, Steve Wynn and Russ Tolman met as students at UC Davis, where all three had shows on KDVS. With Steve Suchil on bass, Gavin Blair on drums, Wynn and Tolman on guitars, and Smith on lead vocals, they formed a garage band called the Suspects, who released one privately pressed single. [2] Smith and Wynn then formed The Dream Syndicate in 1981 and went on to record an EP and an album, with Smith playing bass, before she left in 1983 to join former Rain Parade guitarist David Roback in Rainy Day (she had worked with Roback before, providing backing vocals on the Rain Parade album Emergency Third Rail Power Trip ). [1] Rainy Day released an album and a single in 1984 before Roback and Smith became a duo in the psychedelic-tinged band Clay Allison, later Opal. [3] [4]
Opal only released one record, the Northern Line EP, and one album, Happy Nightmare Baby , before they split up but had recorded enough material for the Early Recordings compilation. [5] Smith left Opal during the band's final tour and was replaced by Hope Sandoval, with Opal changing its name to Mazzy Star after the tour. [4]
Smith formed a new band, The Guild of Temporal Adventurers, with Jonah Corey and A. Phillip Uberman, [6] who released an eponymous mini-LP in 1992, with Smith playing the pump organ. Her next release would not be until 1995 when the 4AD label issued her debut solo LP, Five Ways of Disappearing , described by Trouser Press as "an impressive — and colorful — achievement". [4] [7]
Not much is known about her after the solo album came out except according to 4AD she had moved to the woods of Northern California in the early 1990s, living in a small cabin with no electricity, and returned there after making two appearances to promote the album. [8]
In 2017, Smith sang vocals on the last track on The Dream Syndicate's reunion album How Did I Find Myself Here? , her first appearance on a musical recording since 1995, [9] and returned with the Syndicate [10] for her first live performances since Terrastock 2 in 1998. [11] In 2018, she contributed the song “Moon Boat” to the soundtrack for the film Leave No Trace . [12]
The Dream Syndicate is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California, originally active from 1981 to 1989, and reunited since 2012. The band is associated with neo-psychedelia and the Paisley Underground music movement; of the bands in that movement, according to the Los Angeles Times, the Dream Syndicate "rocked with the highest degree of unbridled passion and conviction." Though never commercially successful, the band met with considerable acclaim, especially for its songwriting and guitar playing. Bandleader Steve Wynn reformed the band in 2012, and four studio albums have been released since 2017.
4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name Axis Records by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD after the release of the label's first four singles. Later that year, Watts-Russell and Kent purchased the label from Beggars Banquet to become an independent record label, and Kent sold his share to Watts-Russell a year later.
Steven Lawrence Wynn is an American singer, musician and songwriter. He led the band The Dream Syndicate from 1981 to 1989 in Los Angeles, afterward began a solo career, and then reformed The Dream Syndicate in 2012.
Paisley Underground is a musical genre that originated in California. It was particularly popular in Los Angeles, reaching a peak in the mid-1980s. Paisley Underground bands incorporated psychedelia, rich vocal harmonies and guitar interplay, owing a particular debt to 1960s groups such as Love and the Byrds, but more generally referencing a wide range of pop and garage rock revival.
Mazzy Star is an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 in Santa Monica, California, from remnants of the group Opal. Founding member David Roback's friend Hope Sandoval became the group's vocalist when Kendra Smith left Opal. The band's current lineup consists of Sandoval, Colm Ó Cíosóig, Suki Ewers (keyboards), and Josh Yenne.
Hope Sandoval is an American singer-songwriter, known as the lead singer of Mazzy Star and Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions. Sandoval has toured and collaborated with other artists, including Massive Attack, for whom she sang "Paradise Circus" on the 2010 album Heligoland and the 2016 single "The Spoils".
She Hangs Brightly is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band Mazzy Star. It was released on May 21, 1990, by Rough Trade Records and re-released by Capitol Records later in the year.
The Wolfgang Press are an English post-punk band, originally active from 1983 to 1995. The core of the band during that era was Michael Allen, Mark Cox (keyboards), and Andrew Gray (guitar). They reformed in 2024 with Stephen Gray, brother of Andrew, replacing Cox, to release a new LP titled "A 2nd Shape" on Downwards Records.
The Days of Wine and Roses is the second record and the debut full-length album by American alternative rock band the Dream Syndicate. Produced by Chris D., it was recorded in Los Angeles in September 1982 and released later that year on Chris D.'s Ruby Records, which was a division of Slash Records. It was released for the first time on CD in 1993. 2001 and 2015 reissues on CD featured different bonus tracks.
Shelleyan Orphan were a British alternative music group that peaked during the 1980s and early 1990s. They played a style of pop influenced by chamber music, and which featured dual male-female vocals.
The Rain Parade is a band that was originally active in the Paisley Underground scene in Los Angeles in the 1980s, and that reunited and resumed touring in 2012.
True West is a guitar band, often considered part of the Paisley Underground. Singer Gavin Blair and guitarists Richard McGrath and Russ Tolman are the nucleus of the group.
David Edward Roback was an American guitarist, songwriter and producer, best known as a founding member of the alternative rock band Mazzy Star.
Opal was an American rock band in the 1980s. They were part of the Paisley Underground musical style. The band's name is derived from "Opel", a song by Syd Barrett.
Happy Nightmare Baby is the only studio album by the American band Opal, released in 1987 by SST Records in America and Rough Trade Records in England. It was the only album released by the band while together, singer Kendra Smith leaving during the tour to promote it, to be replaced by Hope Sandoval, the band evolving into Mazzy Star.
Viva Saturn was an alternative/neo-psychedelic rock group from Los Angeles, California, founded by Steven Roback of Rain Parade. The band was active from 1989 to 1998.
Rainy Day was an all-star Paisley Underground band, a collaborative project composed of members of Los Angeles-based bands including Dream Syndicate, The Three O'Clock, Rain Parade and The Bangles.
The discography of American alternative rock band Mazzy Star consists of four studio albums, two EPs, twelve singles and eight music videos. The band was formed in 1989 by vocalist Hope Sandoval and guitarist David Roback, after the disbandment of Roback's previous band with vocalist Kendra Smith, Opal. Mazzy Star's debut studio album, She Hangs Brightly, was released by Rough Trade Records in 1990, and eventually spawned two singles: "Blue Flower" in 1990 and "Halah" in 1995.
Seasons of Your Day is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Mazzy Star. It was released on September 23, 2013 by the band's own independent record label, Rhymes of An Hour. Their first record since the release of their third album Among My Swan in 1996, and the subsequent dissolution of their contract with Capitol Records the following year, they continued recording in 1997 while without a record deal and worked sporadically until the completion of the album in September 2012.
Russ Tolman is a singer-songwriter who came to international attention in the 1980s as guitarist, songwriter, and producer of True West, a band associated with the Paisley Underground.