Sri Lanka (band)

Last updated

Sri Lanka
Srilanka-jeff-brett-eric.jpg
Sri Lanka at Revival in 1987 (left to right): Jeffrey D. Erb, Brett Turner & Eric Stein
Background information
Origin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres
Years active1985 (1985)–present
Labels
Members

Sri Lanka is an American alternative rock band formed in Philadelphia in 1986. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on gothic overtones, as well as elements from other genres such as alternative rock and psychedelic rock. Currently in a state of hiatus, the band saw extraordinary popularity in the Philadelphia and New York City underground music scenes in the late 1980s and early 1990s before going through numerous tumultuous lineup changes following the departure of founding member Lee Daniels and the death of lead singer Brett Turner.

The band was originally founded by high school mates Jeffrey D. Erb and Lee Daniels who began writing songs in the basement of Erb's father's house. After working with several people to begin to find their sound, the band settled on a lineup that consisted of Erb on bass guitar, Daniels on rhythm guitar and keyboards, Brett Turner as lead vocalist, Michael Chairs on drums and Eric Stein on lead guitar. The band recorded two EPs including "Flowers in the Cathedral" and "Beyond the Mist" in Philadelphia area recording studios and performed countless live shows between Washington DC, Philadelphia and New York, including the infamous CBGB nightclub, before internal conflict between Chairs and Daniels caused Daniels to leave the band. Rob Studt took up Daniels' place on keyboards following his departure.

Suffering from depression, lead singer Brett Turner took his own life in 1989 at the age of 20, causing the band to try out several lead singers before landing on Jose Maldonado. The band went on to record the EP "Shadow and Ivy" in 1992 followed by the full length album "Here" in 1993. [1] Friction between Erb and Maldonado started early on however and ultimately led to the band splitting down the middle not long after their full length release, with Erb and Chairs going in one direction, Maldonado and Stein going in another and Rob Studt retiring from music altogether. Erb went on to rejoin his original founding partner Lee Daniels and formed the band [needle] in 1995.

History

Formation and early years (1986–1987)

Jeffrey Erb and Lee Daniels, the founding members of Sri Lanka, were school friends at Reading Senior High School in Reading, Pennsylvania. The two frequently attended local all-ages concerts around the Philadelphia area and knew that they wanted to focus exclusively on all-original music. After posting inquiries in local music stores and papers, Erb and Daniels recruited John Pacific to play guitar and Jason Wierzbicki to play drums, while Erb focused on bass guitar and Daniels on keyboards. The foursome began writing original music in Erb's father's basement. The group then recruited Pete Radice as the lead singer. Lack of commitment to rehearsals, however, led Erb and Daniels to seek out other band members and the only song that survived the initial lineup was called "The Haunting".

In 1987 Erb and Daniels performed a complete overhaul on the lineup and recruited Brett Turner as a lead singer and Eric Stein as lead guitar player. Turner and Stein were longtime high school friends from Methacton High School in Eagleville, Pennsylvania. The lineup was completed when Michael Chairs, a friend of some of Erb's friends joined the band as drummer, and Daniels picked up rhythm guitar in addition to keyboards.

Late '80s (1987–1990)

The new lineup immediately gelled and the band began writing originals that developed what ultimately became known as the band's sound, with a writing style that blended musical influences of The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission UK, The Cure and The Cult. In 1907 they released their first EP, "Flowers in the Cathedral" which contained the songs "Flowers in the Cathedral", "All the Same Again", "Spinning Around" and "Heaven's Grace". Sri Lanka performed its first live show in 1987 at Revival, a nightclub in Philadelphia and quickly gained a following within the indie music scene in the Philadelphia region.

In 1988, the band recorded their second EP, "Beyond the Mist" which contained four tracks, including "Darken Wood", "Untitled", "Torch Song", and a re-recorded version of "Flowers in the Cathedral". The song "Darken Wood" began to gain significant notoriety and was selected to be included on a compilation release called "A Taste of Philadelphia". The band was beginning to see a growth in popularity and increase their exposure through performances at the CMJ Music Marathon, clubs in Washington DC and at New York's CBGB. Internally, however, the band was suffering from squabbles and in-fighting. The disagreements ultimately led to the expulsion of Lee Daniels from the band, which was a challenging decision for Erb.

The band recorded a video for "Darken Wood" and brought on Rob Studt, a mutual friend of the other members of the band, to play keyboards. They also began opening for international acts such as New Model Army. Tensions within the band increased however, when Brett Turner began dating Erb's younger sister, creating a significant wedge between the two. On December 2, 1990, suffering from increasing depression, Brett Turner took his own life, shocking and devastating the other members of the band.

Following Turner's death, the band struggled with deciding what path to take and tried out mutual friend, Robert Kraft as a singer for the band. Kraft's membership in the band was short-lived however and the group continued to seek a singer that they felt would capture the sound of Sri Lanka.

The '90s (1991–1994)

After asking him to audition numerous times, the band finally settled on Jose Maldonado to lead the musical sound of Sri Lanka into the 1990s. Michael Chairs had met him while attending a show of the band that Maldonado was currently heading up called Thee Misfit Toys. Maldonado's vocals, reminiscent of Eddie Veder brought a different sound to the band. In 1992, the band released the EP "Shadow and Ivy" consisting of songs that the band had been writing prior to Maldonado's entrance, with lyrics written by Erb. "Shadow and Ivy" consisted of three songs, including "Fields of Everafter", "Requiem", and "Ties that Bind." The band had a resurgence in popularity following the EP's release and live performances that expanded throughout New York and Philadelphia.

In 1993, the band released its first full-length studio album entitled "Here". The release contained eight songs, including "Mantra", "Beyond the Pain", "Fountains of Mirage", "Here", "X", "Lucinda", "Reaching" and a remixed version of 1992's "Fields of Everafter". The album received highly positive reviews and was a strong evolution to the sound of Sri Lanka, and founding member Lee Daniels returned to partner with the band in directing and producing a video for "Fields of Everafter". The artistic direction of Sri Lanka was at a significant crossroads however as Maldonado began to exert significant control on the band's sound. Tensions mounted once again within the band and this time Eric Stein sided with newcomer Maldonado. The differences ultimately led to an unpleasant breakup within the band in 1994, with Stein and Maldonado going off to pursue other projects together, and Chairs and Erb opting to go a different direction. Rob Studt retired from music altogether.

In 1995, the founding members of Sri Lanka, Jeffrey Erb and Lee Daniels got back together to form the industrial dance band needle (band).

2020

In October of 2020, the band announced an upcoming new release called "Leviathan" on their Facebook page after 25 years of silence and in November of 2020 they released the title track from the album. Also in October, they also released two live recordings from Christmas 1998 at Club Memphis in Philadelphia and February 1989 at Revival in Philadelphia.

Discography

Singles

EPs

Studio albums

Related Research Articles

Primal Scream Scottish rock band

Primal Scream are a Scottish rock band originally formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie (vocals) and Jim Beattie. The band's current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes (guitar), Martin Duffy (keyboards), Simone Butler (bass), and Darrin Mooney (drums). Barrie Cadogan has toured and recorded with the band since 2006 as a replacement after the departure of guitarist Robert "Throb" Young.

Tad Morose

Tad Morose is a Swedish heavy metal band. Formed in Bollnäs, Sweden in 1991, they are led by guitarist Christer "Krunt" Andersson. Their style has been described as "a power/classic heavy metal hybrid with slight progressive tendencies."

Fuel (band) American rock band

Fuel is an American rock band formed in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, by guitarist-songwriter Carl Bell in 1989. Brett Scallions is the original lead singer and longest-standing member of the band, carrying the position from 1993 to 2006 and again from 2010 to 2020. They are known for their hit songs "Shimmer" from the album Sunburn, "Hemorrhage " and "Bad Day" from the album Something Like Human, as well as "Falls on Me" from the album Natural Selection. The band has numerous top 10 Billboard rock hits, multiple videos in heavy rotation on MTV, numerous live network TV performances in the US, Canada, and Australia, platinum singles in Australia in addition to the US, and numerous songs on film soundtracks such as Scream 3, Daredevil, and Godzilla. The album Sunburn is certified platinum by the RIAA, and the album Something Like Human is certified double-platinum.

Mr. Mister American rock band

Mr. Mister was an American rock band from Phoenix, Arizona, active from 1982 until 1990. The band consisted of Richard Page on lead vocals and bass guitar, Steve George on keyboards/backing vocals, Pat Mastelotto on acoustic and electronic drums/percussion and Steve Farris on guitars/backing vocals. Mr. Mister was the successor to the band Pages, fronted by Page and George from 1978 to 1981.

The Gun Club American rock band

The Gun Club were an American post-punk band from Los Angeles, California, United States, which existed from 1979 to 1996. Created and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Jeffrey Lee Pierce, they were notable as one of the first bands in the punk rock subculture to incorporate influences from blues, rockabilly, and country music. The Gun Club has been called a "tribal psychobilly blues" band, as well as initiators of the punk blues sound cowpunk - "He (Pierce) took Robert Johnson and pre-war acoustic blues and 'punkified' it. Up until then bands were drawing on Iggy & The Stooges and the New York Dolls but he took it back so much further for inspiration."

Cave In American rock band

Cave In is an American rock band that formed in 1995 in Methuen, Massachusetts. After several members changes in the late 1990s, their lineup solidified with the 1998 release of Until Your Heart Stops through Hydra Head Records. Their early albums were prominent in the metalcore scene. After this release, the band started experimenting with other genres. Cave In later received mainstream recognition for their 2003 RCA Records album Antenna and its lead single "Anchor," which had an overall alternative rock style. The group went on hiatus in 2006 and later reformed in 2009 with the release of a new EP, Planets of Old, as well as a new LP in 2011, titled White Silence. Both of these post-hiatus releases saw a return to Cave In's earlier and heavier sound.

The Tornados were an English instrumental group of the 1960s that acted as backing group for many of record producer Joe Meek's productions and also for singer Billy Fury. They enjoyed several chart hits in their own right, including the UK and U.S. No. 1 "Telstar", the first U.S. No. 1 single by a British group. Today Dave Watts has his own version.

Outlaws (band) American band

Outlaws are an American southern rock band best known for their 1975 hit "There Goes Another Love Song" and extended guitar jam "Green Grass and High Tides" from their 1975 debut album, plus their 1980 cover of the Stan Jones classic "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky".

Clarence Wijewardena Sri Lankan singer and musician (1943–1996)

Vithana Kuruppu Arachchilage Clarence Arthur Somasinghe Wijewardena JP was a Sri Lankan singer, composer and musician. Considered one of the most respected musicians in Sri Lanka, Wijewardena revolutionized Sri Lankan Sinhala Pop Music with the use of the electric guitar in Sinhala music, in the 1960s. Due to his influence on Sinhala pop music, he is often named as the father of Sri Lankan pop music.

Why? (American band) American band

Why? is an American alternative hip hop and indie rock band. The band was founded in 2004 by Cincinnati rapper and singer Yoni Wolf, who had been using Why? as his stage name since 1997. In addition to Wolf, who serves as lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, the band consists of multi-instrumentalists and backing vocalists Doug McDiarmid and Matt Meldon, and drummer and backing vocalist Josiah Wolf, who is Yoni Wolf's older brother.

Annuals (band) American indie rock band

Annuals is the musical project of singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, Adam Baker. Founded in Raleigh, North Carolina in 2003, Annuals first found success following its critically acclaimed 2006 release, Be He Me. As of September 2013, Annuals is based out of Los Angeles.

Frijid Pink

Frijid Pink is an American rock band, formed in Detroit in 1967, best known for their 1969 rendition of "House of the Rising Sun".

Sonicflood is an American contemporary worship music band from Nashville, Tennessee, that has been touted as "The Fathers of the Modern Worship Movement." The group took the name "Sonicflood", a reference to a line in the Book of Revelation, chapter 19, verse 6.

Barren Cross

Barren Cross was an American Christian metal band that was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983 by high school friends Ray Parris (guitar) and Steve Whitaker (drums). The band released six albums from 1986 to 1994. They have reunited for a few shows in recent years, and plan to record a new album.

Jeffrey D. Erb American actor and director

Jeffrey D. Erb is an American film producer, director, actor, musician. He is also the Co-Founder and Co-President of the film production company Framelight Productions, the co-founder of Invivid Media and the CEO of Feverpitch Pictures. He has produced or executive produced a wide range of films, including The Speed of Life, which won an award at the Venice Film Festival.

Rookie of the Year is an indie rock/acoustic band from Fayetteville, North Carolina. They were signed to One Eleven Records, though their third release fulfilled their contractual obligation to One Eleven and allowed them to sign with a new label. The band is fronted by lead singer/songwriter Ryan Dunson. The band has seen many live band lineup changes, with Dunson being the sole original member.

Sherwood (band) American rock band

Sherwood is an indie rock band from San Luis Obispo, California, specializing in upbeat pop rock. Members of the band cite The Beatles and The Beach Boys as some of their main influences. The band broke up in 2012 after ten years together. On September 28, 2015, the band announced via their Facebook page that they would be starting an Indiegogo account in order to crowdfund their fourth album, Some Things Never Leave You, which was released on June 17, 2016.

"Funtime" is a song written by Iggy Pop and David Bowie, first released by Iggy Pop on his 1977 album entitled The Idiot. It reflects Iggy and Bowie's growing fascination with the German music scene, and bears marked similarities to "Lila Engel" by krautrock band Neu!. It has since been covered by multiple artists including Blondie, Boy George, Bebe Buell, Peter Murphy, R.E.M. and The Cars.

Needle (band) American industrial rock band

Needle is an American industrial rock band formed in Philadelphia in 1995. The group's musical style primarily consists of aggressive electronic dance music. [needle] has seen extraordinary popularity in the Philadelphia and New York City underground music scenes with original distribution through Sony Music via Ruffhouse Records' Contract Records sub-label.

<i>Chicago XXXVII: Chicago Christmas</i> 2019 studio album by Chicago

Chicago XXXVII: Chicago Christmas, also known as simply Chicago Christmas, is the twenty-fifth studio album, the fourth collection of Christmas songs, and thirty-seventh album overall by the American rock band, Chicago. The album was released on October 11, 2019. The project grew out of a plan to record a few new bonus tracks for a re-release of one of the band's prior holiday albums. Unlike previous Christmas albums, Chicago Christmas features primarily original material, written by members of the band. The only non-original songs on the album are "What the World Needs Now Is Love", "Sleigh Ride (2019)", and "Here We Come a Caroling". Chicago Christmas reached number one on the Billboard Holiday Albums Sales Chart.

References

  1. Christian, Chris (April 3, 1993). "Sri Lanka "Here" Review". The Net Industrial/EBM/Goth/Cyberculture Band Listing v2.1 SONIC BOOM.