Luckie Strike

Last updated
Luckie Strike
Origin Sacramento, California, U.S.
Genres
Years active1996-2002
Labels
Past members
Website luckiestrikeband.com
Sacramento punk rock band Luckie Strike, live at Capitol Garage. Luckie Strike at Capitol Garage.jpg
Sacramento punk rock band Luckie Strike, live at Capitol Garage.

Luckie Strike was an American punk rock band from Sacramento, California, formed in 1996. As a female-fronted band, their sound received attention, and both positive and critical reviews. [1] Luckie Strike faced challenges on the road, including a stolen van in 2001, [2] leading to a temporary hiatus and eventual disbandment in 2002.

Contents

History

Early years

Motivated by a sense of not fitting in, Melanie "Mel" Levy (vocals) and Kevin "Bubba" Sur (guitar) sought a creative outlet for imposter syndrome when they founded the band Luckie Strike in 1996. [3] Teaming up with bassist Andre "Dre" Gallardo and drummer Liz Salmi (née Beidelman), the group established roots in Sacramento, California. [4] On the formation of the band, Sur was quoted as saying, "Me and Mel (Levy) were very ambitious. We had a lot of big ideas about what we wanted to do with our lives." The search for Salmi, then a high school senior, and Gallardo, who had relocated from Davao City in the Philippines to Sacramento, took eight months of auditions. [5]

Original releases (1997-2001)

Luckie Strike released their first full-length album, Geekcore, on Pork N Beans Records in 1997 [6] [7] (a label founded by members of the ska punk band Mealticket). A 1998 review of Geekcore stated that the band, "evokes the spirit of Tilt, delivering a punky and assertive sound that seamlessly blends the loud and rocking elements with clever touches of swing... a remarkable accomplishment for an emerging band on an independent label." [8]

In 1998, Luckie Strike released the four-song EP, Have You Seen Me?, on Tomato Head Records. [6] [7] Levy was awarded a Sacramento Area Music Award (SAMMIE) for “Best Female Vocalist” by Sacramento News & Review in 1999. [9]

Following more than a year of touring across the United States, Luckie Strike released Future Is Turning in early 2000 on Tomato Head Records. [7] The album was produced by Grammy Award Winning producer/engineer Dennis MacKay (David Bowie, Jeff Beck, Judas Priest, Paul McCartney). [10] Logan Whitehurst (of Little Tin Frog, The Velvet Teen, Logan Whitehurst and the Junior Science Club) is listed as a "musical technician" in album credits. [7]

Six months after the release of Future Is Turning, Luckie Strike released The Mercury Project on Fastmusic, [11] [7] where the band continued to work with MacKay and Whitehurst. A review posted to PunkNews.org critiqued Luckie Strike for being, "one of those bands that are not sure what it wants to play." [12] However in the same review, "One cool thing about this band is that the singer is a girl... and has a really good voice that is capable of doing a decent melodic emo, and an awesome raging hardcore scream." [12]

While most of Luckie Strike's music has not yet been released on streaming services, "New Dress," was released on the Disarming Violence compilation album benefitting survivors of domestic violence, and can be found on Apple Music and Spotify. [13] [14]

Stolen van, theft of master recordings, and break up (2001-2002)

Luckie Strike had their touring van and instruments stolen while on tour to promote The Mercury Project—and in a 2016 interview on the 3 Gigs Podcast, Levy explained, "We had a tour van with a trailer attached... with all of our equipment and the whole thing was gone." [15] Soon thereafter, Luckie Strike’s master recordings went missing at Hyde Street Studios, which the band attributes the missing recordings to a theft by a former manager. At their peak, Luckie Strike performed approximately 150-200 shows annually, and the theft of the van and recordings dealt a significant setback. Reflecting on the challenges, Sur remarked, "We've been through so much that, really, not much could stop us. It's what we have to do. It's just like breathing for us. We have to play music. We absolutely love and enjoy what we do." [16]

Luckie Strike disbanded in the summer of 2002. In Season 4 of the 3 Gigs podcast, host Dominic Davi (Tsunami Bomb) commented on Luckie Strike's worth ethic, stating: "They were intense. They worked harder than any band I have ever met... before or since. I don't care how hard you think your band worked. Luckie Strike worked harder." [17]

Advocacy work

Six years after their break-up, Luckie Strike drummer Salmi received a diagnosis of a malignant brain tumor (brain cancer) in 2008. [18] Lacking medical insurance at the time, Sur and Levy collaborated with the band's network of friends under a banner of "The Liz Army" to raise funds for Salmi's medical costs. [19] Benefit concerts were organized around northern California, ultimately leading to a reunion concert that included the original and current members of Tsunami Bomb, including original vocalist Emily Whitehurst. [20] [21] Emily Whitehurst, a friend and tourmate of Salmi, had her own personal experience with brain cancer, having lost a brother, Logan Whitehurst, to the disease two years prior. [22]

Post-Luckie Strike activities

After Luckie Strike disbanded in 2002, guitarist Sur moved to Seattle, Washington. [23] He went on to form the band Indian Valley Line, [24] and found Artist Home, a company of "culture makers, community builders, and event producers" that serve the Pacific Northwest, [25] recognized for founding Doe Bay Fest and Timber! Outdoor Music Festival. [26] Sur is a DJ for Seattle's KEXP where he hosts a program amplifying voices of Indigenous people. [27]

After 10 years living in the Bay Area, Levy returned to Sacramento and launched Melanie Levy Fitness, which aims to help women make long term, mental and physical changes in their lives through movement. [28]

Gallardo, now based in San Diego, California, is a product designer and art director. He continues to write songs and play music against his better judgment. [29]

In the mid-2000s, drummer Salmi went on to play with My Merry Malady [30] and Angoramachinegun. After being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in 2008, [31] Salmi shifted her focus to patient advocacy. [32] [33] She became a researcher affiliated with Harvard Medical School, [31] [34] specializing in facilitating collaborations between clinicians and patients in research co-design, and co-leading the OpenNotes initiative. [35] Her work is published in journals including JAMA Open, the BMJ and the New England Journal of Medicine [36] [37] [38]

Members

Former members (1996-2022)

Guest members at live shows

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

7"s

Tapes

Cover songs performed

Recorded

Played live

Unreleased songs

Compilations

Videos

Related Research Articles

<i>Adrenaline</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Deftones

Adrenaline is the debut studio album by the American alternative metal band Deftones, released on October 3, 1995, by Maverick Records. The majority of the album was produced by Terry Date, while a hidden track titled "Fist" was produced by Ross Robinson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nerf Herder</span> American rock band

Nerf Herder is an American rock band from Santa Barbara, California, formed in 1994 by Parry Gripp, Charlie Dennis (bass) and Steve Sherlock (drums). They describe themselves as a "geek rock" band, and are known for simple modern punk-style songs with frequently humorous, juvenile, and pop-culture-referencing lyrics.

<i>The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show (The Enema Strikes Back!)</i> 2000 live album by Blink-182

The Mark, Tom, and Travis Show is a live album by American rock band Blink-182. It was released on November 7, 2000, by MCA Records. Blink-182 had risen to fame at the turn of the millennium on the strength of its third album, Enema of the State, which went multiplatinum. Capturing the band's stage show—known for its irreverent humor—with a live release was designed to satisfy fans between new studio albums. The album was recorded over two nights at performances in their native California, on the group's inaugural arena tour.

The Groovie Ghoulies were an American pop punk band from Sacramento, California, United States, whose music took inspiration from horror movies. They released numerous albums, EPs, and singles, and toured internationally. The band's name was taken from the 1970s animated television series Groovie Goolies, a spinoff of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deerhoof</span> American band

Deerhoof is an American musical group formed in San Francisco in 1994. They consist of founding drummer Greg Saunier, bassist and singer Satomi Matsuzaki, and guitarists John Dieterich and Ed Rodriguez. Beginning as an improvised noise punk band, Deerhoof became widely renowned and influential in the 2000s through their self-produced albums.

Tsunami Bomb is an American punk rock band from Petaluma, California. They were formed in 1998 by bassist Dominic Davi, with keyboardist/vocalist Oobliette Sparks and later joined by drummer Gabe Lindeman. With vocalist Emily Whitehurst aka "Agent M" they would become a staple of Warped Tour and toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan, going through a number of lineup changes until they disbanded in 2005 after releasing two full length albums and a number of EP's. In 2015 the band reformed with new vocalist Kate Jacobi and later guitarist Andy Pohl and has remained active since, touring and appearing on a variety of festivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Sane</span> Irish-American musician

Justin Cathal Geever, known professionally as Justin Sane, is an American singer and guitarist. He was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of Anti-Flag, a punk rock band formed in 1988 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that was known for its left-wing political views.

Springman Records is an independent record label founded in 1998 by Avi Ehrlich that was run out of his parents' garage in Cupertino, California, until late 2005, when Ehrlich moved the label to Sacramento. The label's official slogan is "Friendly Punks" though many other styles of music appear on the label, such as indie rock, rockabilly, ska, folk music, pop punk, and hardcore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coachwhips</span> American garage rock band

Coachwhips was a garage rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 2001. The band consisted of John Dwyer, John Harlow (drums) and Mary Ann McNamara. In their second incarnation, Val-Tronic played keyboard/tambourine, and Matt Hartman played drums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Pearson (musician)</span> Musical artist

Justin Pearson is an American musician and record label owner, known for being the vocalist and bassist in a number of San Diego–based noise rock, punk and grindcore bands, as well as running his record label Three One G Records. Starting off in the punk outfit Struggle in 1994, ensuing projects such as Swing Kids, The Locust, Dead Cross and Retox. He has collaborated with Kool Keith, Gabe Serbian, Karen O, Nick Zinner, Adam Gnade, Invisibl Skratch Piklz, Asia Argento, The Bloody Beetroots, Silent, among many others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logan Whitehurst</span> American drummer

Logan Anthony Whitehurst, was an American musician. His career began as the drummer for the band Little Tin Frog from 1995 until 2000, although he is best known as a founding member of Californian indie rock band The Velvet Teen and as a solo artist performing under the name Logan Whitehurst and the Junior Science Club.

The Scarred is an American former garage punk band from Anaheim, California, formed in 2003, on the East Coast-based label Jailhouse Records. Formed by Samuel Clemens, they are one of the only old school punk bands active from Anaheim, and known for bridging the sound between 1970s punk rock, soul, and classic rock.

The Expendables are an American reggae rock band from Santa Cruz, California.

The Eyeliners are an all-woman American pop punk band from Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slightly Stoopid</span> American reggae rock/punk band

Slightly Stoopid is an American rock band based in the Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego, California, who describe their music as "a fusion of folk, rock, reggae and blues with hip-hop, funk, metal and punk." As a band, they have released 13 albums. The band was originally signed by Bradley Nowell from the band Sublime to his label Skunk Records while still in high school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gesaffelstein</span> French record producer and DJ

Mike Lévy, known professionally as Gesaffelstein, is a French music programmer, DJ, songwriter and record producer from Lyon. He has worked alongside artists such as the Weeknd, Daft Punk, Kanye West, A$AP Rocky, Electric Youth, Haim, Miss Kittin, The Hacker, Jean-Michel Jarre, Lil Nas X, Charli XCX, and Pharrell Williams.

The Secretions were an American punk rock band from Sacramento, California, United States. Formed in the year 1991, the band had released numerous albums and singles, and toured the US and internationally.

<i>Top of the World</i> (Slightly Stoopid album) 2012 studio album by Slightly Stoopid

Top of the World is the seventh studio album by American rock band Slightly Stoopid. It was released on August 14, 2012.

Grand Theft Audio are a British rock band who formed in London in 1998. They were signed to London-Sire Records in 1999 and produced their only album at the time Blame Everyone in 2000 until the band split up in 2003 due to the record label being dissolved that year. Their original line-up was ex-3 Colours Red guitarist Chris McCormack, producer and bassist Ralph Jezzard, frontman; vocalist and ex-Real TV star Jay Butler and ex-The Wildhearts drummer Ritch Battersby. The band, minus McCormack, announced on their website page that they were reforming with a new album in the works.

Destroy Boys are an American punk rock band formed in Sacramento, California, in 2015. In 2017, they were nominated for awards in the 25th Sacramento Area Music Awards in the categories "New Artist", "Punk/post-punk" and "Teen" and in 2018 was the highest-voted contestant in Do The Bay's contest to play Noise Pop Festival. Their second album Make Room was included in Maximumrocknroll's top 10 albums of 2018.

References

  1. ↑ Oomie (1998-03-02). "Luckie Strike – Geekcore – Review | Lollipop Magazine" . Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  2. ↑ "3 Gigs: Episode 70: Mel Levy - Luckie Strike on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  3. ↑ "Luckie Strike Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  4. ↑ "Luckie Strike". Discogs. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  5. ↑ Sauro, Tony. "Overcoming some bad luck". The Stockton Record. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  6. 1 2 "Luckie Strike Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Luckie Strike Songs". Genius. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  8. ↑ Oomie (1998-03-02). "Luckie Strike – Geekcore – Review | Lollipop Magazine" . Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  9. ↑ Review, Sacramento News &. "SAMMIES". go.newsreview.com. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  10. ↑ "Dennis MacKay |" . Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  11. ↑ The Mercury Project, Mercury Project, Fast Music, retrieved 2023-12-30
  12. 1 2 Punknews.org (2002-04-17). "Luckie Strike - The Mercury Project". www.punknews.org. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  13. ↑ New Dress by Luckie Strike on Apple Music, 2000-01-01, retrieved 2023-12-30
  14. ↑ "Spotify". open.spotify.com. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  15. ↑ "3 Gigs: Episode 70: Mel Levy - Luckie Strike on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  16. ↑ Sauro, Tony (June 1, 2001). "Overcoming some bad luck". The Stockton Record. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  17. ↑ "Season 4". 3 GIGS. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  18. ↑ Brock, Matt (2018-10-10). "Inside Health Care Episode #010: Liz Salmi, OpenNotes". NCQA. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
  19. ↑ "In honor of someone living with cancer". The Liz Army: Bringing punk rock to health care. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
  20. ↑ Punknews.org (2009-02-24). "Tsunami Bomb / The New Trust / Nothington - live in Petaluma". www.punknews.org. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  21. ↑ Meline, Gabe (January 14, 2009). "Exploding Again: Tsunami Bomb take the reins for one final blowout". Metro Silicon Valley. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  22. ↑ Beck, John (December 6, 2006). "Original Velvet Teen drummer dies". The Press Democrat. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  23. ↑ Meyers, Sean (2022-08-25). "The Music Man". Seattle magazine. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  24. ↑ "Peggy, Sonoma, and a Boxcar, by Indian Valley Line". Indian Valley Line. Retrieved 2023-12-27.
  25. ↑ "Artist Home". Artist Home. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
  26. ↑ "Timber! Outdoor Music Festival | Carnation, WA | July 21-23, 2022". Timber! Music Festival. Retrieved 2023-12-25.
  27. ↑ "DJs". www.kexp.org. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  28. ↑ "Melanie Levy Fitness - Your Fitness Angel". melanielevyfitness.com. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  29. ↑ Gallardo, Andre (December 27, 2023). "An Interview with Andre Gallardo". Andy Nguyen's Vegetarian Restaurant (Interview). Interviewed by Liz Salmi. Sacramento, CA: Personal interview.
  30. ↑ "My Merry Malady". My Merry Malady. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  31. 1 2 Womack, Graham (August 27, 2019). "Status Check: Out in the Open". Comstock's magazine. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  32. ↑ Lauletta-Boshart, Laurie (March 17, 2015). "The Next Wave". Comstock's magazine. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  33. ↑ Christian, Sena (May 16, 2017). "An Open Book". Comstock's magazine. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
  34. ↑ "Liz Salmi". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  35. ↑ "Communications & Patient Initiatives Director" . Retrieved 2023-12-30.
  36. ↑ Steitz, Bryan D.; Turer, Robert W.; Lin, Chen-Tan; MacDonald, Scott; Salmi, Liz; Wright, Adam; Lehmann, Christoph U.; Langford, Karen; McDonald, Samuel A.; Reese, Thomas J.; Sternberg, Paul; Chen, Qingxia; Rosenbloom, S. Trent; DesRoches, Catherine M. (2023-03-20). "Perspectives of Patients About Immediate Access to Test Results Through an Online Patient Portal". JAMA Network Open. 6 (3): e233572. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.3572. ISSN   2574-3805. PMC   10028486 . PMID   36939703.
  37. ↑ Salmi, Liz; Blease, Charlotte; Hägglund, Maria; Walker, Jan; DesRoches, Catherine M. (2021-02-18). "US policy requires immediate release of records to patients". BMJ. 372: n426. doi:10.1136/bmj.n426. ISSN   1756-1833. PMID   33602667.
  38. ↑ Salmi, Liz (2022-12-08). "Deciding on My Dimples". New England Journal of Medicine. 387 (23): 2110–2111. doi:10.1056/NEJMp2210418. ISSN   0028-4793. PMID   36472944. S2CID   254241390.
  39. ↑ Luckie Strike - Rose Tint My World / Floor Show, 13 November 2008, retrieved 2024-01-09
  40. ↑ "Luckie Strike on Apple Music". Apple Music - Web Player. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  41. ↑ Luckie Strike Video "How the Story Goes", 12 October 2009, retrieved 2023-12-23
  42. ↑ Luckie Strike live in Carson City, 16 May 2021, retrieved 2023-12-23
  43. ↑ Boarderline Warehouse Sonora CA (2024-07-06). 4 19 97 Blockbuster, Smokejumpers, The Creeps, Luckie Strike @Boarderline Warehouse Sonora CA . Retrieved 2024-07-28– via YouTube.
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.