Suburban Legends in 2002. (Left to right: Brian Klemm, Brian Robertson, Vince Walker, Aaron Bertram, Derek Rock, Dallas Cook. Across: Tim Maurer. Not pictured: Chris Maurer.)
Suburban Legends are an American ska punk band[1] that formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1998 and later based themselves in nearby Santa Ana. After building a fanbase in the Orange County ska scene through their numerous regular performances at the Disneyland Resort, a series of lineup changes in 2005 introduced elements of funk and disco into the group's style.
Influenced by artists such as Reel Big Fish, Michael Jackson and Oingo Boingo, the band was formed in 1998 as The No Tones, consisting of vocalist Tim Maurer, guitarist Brent Feige, bassist Justin Meacham, drummer Fred Johnson, trumpet players Vince Walker and Aaron Bertram, and trombonists Ryan Dallas Cook and Brian Robertson. A few months after forming, Feige was replaced by Josh Lander and Johnson by Jimmy Sullivan and the band changed their name to Bomb Squad, under which name they released an EP, now known as the Bomb Squad EP.
In 1999, the band changed their name to Suburban Legends. Guitarist Josh Lander was replaced during the recording sessions of the first demo album, Origin Edition, for which they recruited guitarist Brian Klemm. The album was self-pressed and even though Brian Klemm was already in the band, Vince Walker recorded the guitar parts for the demo album. Later that year, vocalist Tim Maurer and drummer Jimmy Sullivan left the band, with the former being replaced by Chris Batstone, and the latter by Derek Lee Rock. Sullivan went on to form the band Pinkly Smooth, and co-found the band Avenged Sevenfold. A few months later, bassist Justin Meacham left the band as well and was soon replaced by former lead vocalist Tim Maurer's brother, Chris Maurer. Sullivan and Meacham would later perform together as members of metal band Avenged Sevenfold, under the respective pseudonyms "The Rev" and "Justin Sane".
In 2001, the band released their first, self-titled, EP, Suburban Legends, on We The People Records, featuring some re-recorded songs from Origin Edition. This was the band's only release with Chris Batstone on vocals, as he left the band in early 2002.
Rump Shaker and Disney (2002-2005)
In early 2002 previous vocalist Tim Maurer rejoined the band on vocals, and the band re-recorded the vocals for their EP, and re-released it independently as Suburban Legends (Tim Remix). During the year, the band played close to 1000 shows at Downtown Disney.[2] They also performed on many occasions for the X Games Xperience promotion at Disney California Adventure Park in 2003.
In 2003, the band recorded and released their first actual album, Rump Shaker, followed by a year of heavy touring. The band released their first live DVD in 2004 titled Season One. At the end of the year trumpet player Vince Walker and bassist Chris Maurer left the band, the former to go to college and the latter to get married. While Maurer was replaced by Mikey Hachey, Walker wasn't replaced and the band continued with only one trumpet player. In May 2005, trumpet player Aaron Bertram left the band to get married as well, and was replaced by Luis Beza.
In late 2005, former trumpet player Vince Walker rejoined the band for the 2005 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, after which vocalist Tim Maurer left the band once again. The band went on a pause until further notice.
Death of Dallas Cook and new formation (2005-2006)
At 12:25 AM on October 19, 2005, trombone player Dallas Cook was killed in a hit-and-runmotorcycle accident on the Costa Mesa Freeway.[3] A few days after the incident, a large group of Suburban Legends' fans and Dallas' friends and family gathered nearby the ESPN Zone at Disneyland Resort's Downtown Disney, where the band played their many performances in the early 2000s, to share their memories of Cook. On November 29, 2005, the band performed a benefit show for the Dallas Cook Memorial Fund, which was as set up in Cook's honor to donate money to the Huntington Beach High School instrumental music program. The performance also featured former members Tim Maurer, Chris Maurer and Aaron Bertram returning for one final show, and trumpet player Vince Walker permanently switching to the vocalist position.
In 2006 the band recruited trombonist Phillip Inzerillo to replace Dallas Cook. They released their first EP with Vince Walker on vocals, Dance Like Nobody's Watching, which showed the band's shift in style towards disco rock. The band promoted the EP by appearing on G4's Attack of the Show! on April 18, 2006.
On July 19, 2006, while they were on tour and in St. Louis, Missouri, Phillip Inzerillo woke up to notice the band's tour van was on fire. The fire destroyed the front driver's side of the van. The band's tour money had also been missing from the van. It is suspected that the fire and robbery was caused by an arsonist.
At the end of the year, trombonist Phillip Inzerillo left the band without official announcement, and wasn't replaced. Around this time keyboardist Dallas Kruse started performing with the band, despite never being listed as an official member.
New musical direction (2007-2009)
In 2007 the band released a Japan-only album, an extended version of their EP release, titled Dance Like Nobody's Watching: Tokyo Nights, containing several new and re-recorded songs. In early July 2007, the band started releasing videos on their YouTube account documenting progress recording new material in the studio. Later that year, the band released their first full album with Vince Walker on vocals, Infectious. The album continued the shift in style started with Dance Like Nobody's Watching, with ska being traded in for a pop-rock sound with disco and funk elements.
On November 11, 2007, the band was robbed again, while supporting Streetlight Manifesto on their Somewhere in the Between Tour. This time, Suburban Legends' van was stolen along with approximately $80,000 worth of all their equipment and instruments. Fans were first alerted of this when Dallas Kruse posted a MySpace bulletin reading:
" You all know just HOW MUCH suburban legends have been through throughout the years! .... lets all gather to HELP THEM through this! I just got a call from my dear friend MIKEY, bassist for Suburban Legends. They are on tour in Philly and woke up to head down to the van and trailer from the hotel room and the van and trailer were stolen. Every piece of equipment and merchandise the band owns is gone. Drum sets, horns, clothing, basses, guitars, amps, etc. The value of the equipment alone is appx 40k. The value of the trailer alone is 30k. Estimated value of everything is probably close to 80k (in my estimation) including the van, trailer and gear. They are troopers and going to try and rent another van, rent gear and finish the tour. This is devastating. Most, if not ALL of you know just how dear and sincere these guys are and how close I am with them. Is there ANYTHING we can do to help them? My idea was to find someone with money who would be able to immediately front them an investment for gear and work out terms for the band to pay that person back. Or does someone here have connections to a car dealership? Instruments? SOMETHING!?! Please help! if you have some help or ideas, PLEASE, lets help the guys out!"
Another MySpace bulletin which was posted on November 13, said that the van was recovered in a neighborhood in Philadelphia, apparently after somebody saw the news story on the van theft and gave information of its whereabouts. When the van was recovered, it only required minor repairs. However, the contents of the van and trailer were missing. While insurance issues were still being resolved, the band apologized to the fans for any shows they missed and stated that they would be back on the road again. The song "Fire" from their 2008 album, Let's Be Friends, was about the van fire and robberies.
The band's second DVD Poisonous Candy Factory was released in March 2008. Similar to Season One, it featured live sets containing songs from Rump Shaker through to new, unreleased material, music videos and extra videos from the band.
Shortly after this release, the band headed back into the studio and recorded their third official album, Let's Be Friends, released on July 10, 2008, while touring with Less Than Jake, Goldfinger, and Big D and the Kids Table on the Shout It Loud Tour 2. This album mixed elements of previous albums, featuring a return to ska on some songs as well as a continued focus on a pop-rock sound.
In the winter of 2008, they toured with The Aquabats on the Hooray for the Holidays Tour.[4] In February 2009, they appeared along with The Aquabats' MC Bat Commander on MC Lars' new song, "This Gigantic Robot Kills", from Lars' new album of the same name. MC Lars describes that "this song is about bringing ska back. It's about this kid who builds this giant robot" who "as he destroys Orange County, he leaves behind a trail of Less Than Jake CDs, a field of Aquabat limited edition vinyls, and a stack of CDs by Suburban Legends."[5] They also performed at Miley Cyrus' 16th Birthday Party celebration.[6] Shortly after, trumpet player Luis Beza left the band.
In 2009 the band appeared as a full ska band on the 2009 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, with a new ska song titled "Open Your Eyes". The performance featured former member Aaron Bertram on trumpet once again, and guest musicians Byron Panopio and Justin Lewis, on trumpet and trombone respectively. The three continued to perform with the band on the subsequent tour and Disney shows, along with touring trumpet player Chris Lucca. At the end of 2009 Panopio and Lewis, as well as long-time collaborator Dallas Kruse, stopped performing with the band.
Day Job era (2010-present)
In 2009 the band had announced they were planning to release a full ska record once again, and in late 2010 the band released a seven-track EP as a preview, Going on Tour EP. This was followed by the departure of bassist Mikey Hachey, even though he continues to collaborate with the band on some occasions. He was soon replaced by Brad Polidori.
In July 2011, it was announced that Suburban Legends was cast as the house band for Pick-a-Split, a retro-themed bowling game show pilot hosted by Neil Hamburger.
On April 3, 2012, the band released its fifth full-length album, Day Job. It includes new songs, four re-recorded tracks from Going on Tour, a collaborative track with rapper Lyrics Born, as well as two Disney covers, "Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid and "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" from The Lion King, which have been long-time staples of the band's live performances. In November 2012, long-time drummer Derek Rock left the band to pursue other career options. Reel Big Fish drummer Ryland Steen and former Big D and the Kids Table drummer Max MacVeety filled in on drums between Rock's departure and the hiring of current drummer Edward Larsen in 2013.
Klemm, Walker, and former bassist Chris Maurer also currently perform in Personal Satisfaction, a blues/comedy side project.
Retirement from touring
On December 23, 2015, the band announced via their Facebook page that their 2016 US tour in support of Reel Big Fish would be their "last tour ever," while also leaving the possibility to tour again open, stating, "who knows what the future will hold but after this we will be taking a time out from touring."[10] In late 2018 Suburban Legends commenced a tour as the support for Reel Big Fish and supported fellow supports from the tour Zebrahead on select UK gigs where they had days off and Zebrahead headlined gigs at pubs and clubs.
Style
Suburban Legends' style of music has evolved over time and is different from that of other ska bands. While earlier material being heavily rooted in ska, the 2006 release Dance Like Nobody's Watching brought a different sound took ideas and influence from disco, funk, and pop, some songs on the EP containing little to no ska sound at all. The band furthered its distance from ska with the 2007 release of Infectious, heavily focusing on disco on the record. The band has not abandoned their earlier sound, though, regularly performing older material alongside their current work.
The 2008 album Let's Be Friends combines elements from all their previous releases. In May 2009, the band announced that they would be recording a "full blown ska rock album," not simply a ska-influenced album because they have horns or an album with only a few ska songs.[11] Further supporting the band's transition back to ska, less time was devoted in live performances to songs found on more recent albums, such as Infectious, with the band reintroducing older songs such as "Alternative is Dead," "Gummi Bears," "I Want More," and "Waikiki," all of which were found either on Origin Edition (1999) and Suburban Legends (2001). The band has been playing these songs and other from that era ever since. In 2009 the band also started performing a new ska song, "Open Up Your Eyes", which later appeared on their 2010 Going on Tour EP and their 2012 Day Job album.
Part of the band's claim to fame has been its live shows which often involve dance routines far more complicated than those often found in ska bands, as horn playing usually inhibits movement on stage.
Outside of the three Disney songs, cover songs rarely appear on the band's studio releases. An exception is "Dancing Machine", a song originally performed by The Jackson 5, appearing on the 2007 Japan-only release, Dance Like Nobody's Watching: Tokyo Nights, an extended version of the U.S.-released Dance Like Nobody's Watching EP. All other covers have been released as part of compilations, such as the band's cover of "On the Outside" appearing on Dead Bands Party: A Tribute to Oingo Boingo. During Chris Batstone's tenure as lead vocalist, a recording of "Rose Tint My World" from The Rocky Horror Show was made for an abandoned Rocky Horror tribute album (which would have also featured fellow ska artists such as Chris Murray and Pain), and was eventually released in MP3 format by the band. The band began performing The Gregory Brothers' and Antoine Dodson's "Bed Intruder Song" at live performances in 2010, eventually releasing a studio recording on a 7" single backed with "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night" by Five Iron Frenzy as part of Asbestos Records' Ska is Dead 7" Club series in 2012.
Lineup
The band has had many lineup changes over the years. Original vocalist Tim Maurer left the band after the recording of Origin Edition, and was replaced by Chris Batstone. Batstone later left the band, and Maurer rejoined. After an album and live DVD, Maurer left again after the 2005 Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon to spend more time with his family. He was replaced by former trumpet player Vince Walker, who returned to the band in the same performance, oddly switching roles from horns to vocals. Walker also plays the trumpet and guitar in some songs on stage. Before becoming the band's lead vocalist, he already had provided lead vocals on several songs such as "Desperate", "Blingity Bling" and "Powerful Game". Walker sometimes switches to guitar so that Brian Klemm can take over lead vocals.
Guitarist Brian Klemm joined the band in 1999 and has been with the band ever since. He can also be heard doing lead vocals in several of the band's songs, such as "Desperate", "Powerful Game", "This Cherry", "So Fine", "Love Fair", "I Just Can't Wait to be King" and "Girlfriend's Pretty". After the departure of Aaron Bertram, Klemm started providing more backing vocals live, and this increased even more after the departure of Mikey Hachey.
The band's original bassist, Justin Meacham, left the band in 2000 to join Avenged Sevenfold and replace their original bassist Matt Wendt. He was soon replaced by Chris Maurer, the younger brother of former lead vocalist Tim Maurer. Apart from bass, Chris Maurer also provided backing vocals on many songs live. Maurer left the band in 2004 to marry his fiancée and was replaced by Mikey Hachey, who stayed with the band until 2010, when he left the band to pursue other musical activities, notably becoming the house bassist for Cirque du Soleil's Viva Elvis show at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. He also did many of the band's main backing vocals after Aaron Bertram left, and also occasionally sang lead vocals in "Powerful Game" live. The band's current bassist is Brad Polidori who joined in 2010.
One of the band's early drummers, Jimmy Sullivan, left the band to form Pinkly Smooth and later became known as "The Rev" in Avenged Sevenfold, along with former Suburban Legends bassist Justin Meacham, who became known as Justin Sane during his time with Avenged Sevenfold. After that drummer Derek Lee Rock was with the band from 2000 onwards. He recently left the band in 2012, and temporarily filling in on drums were Max McVeety and Reel Big Fish's Ryland Steen. In 2013 Edward Larsen joined the band on drums.
Trumpet player Vince Walker was with the band until his departure in 2004 to focus on his education. He rejoined the band in 2005 to become the band's new lead vocalist. Aaron Bertram left the band in 2005 to marry his fiancée, but returned to the band in 2009 as a touring trumpet player. In between this, Luis Beza was the band's only trumpet player. Since 2009, Bertram usually performs with the band as their trumpet player, but Chris Lucca often takes the trumpet player role in the band's overseas tours. Bertram was the band's main backing vocalist before he left, and has also provided lead vocals for several songs such as "Gummi Bears", "Rose Tint My World" and "Powerful Game". In 2013, Chris Lucca became the band's official trumpet player. Aaron Bertram still regularly performs with the band at local shows,
Trombonist Brian Robertson is the only member to have been in the band since its inception in 1998. Dallas Cook, who also provided lead vocals for the band's cover of "Rose Tint My World", was killed in 2005, and was replaced by Phillip Inzerillo who left the band in 2006. Since then, Robertson has been the band's only trombonist. He usually only plays trombone, but also sings backing in the song "Blingity Bling" from Rump Shaker.
A majority of the band's material has been self-released, with the exception of the red, blue, and green versions of the Tim Maurer Suburban Legends EP (released by We The People Records) the UK version of Rump Shaker (released by Brand New Hero Records), the Japan-only Dance Like Nobody's Watching: Tokyo Nights (released by Subrange Records), and Dreams Aren't Real, But These Songs Are, Vol. 1 (released by Rock Ridge Music). Some out-of-print and/or rare recordings were previously made available by fans on the now-defunct Suburban Legends official forums in the "Suburban Legends Collection" forum, under permission of trombonist Brian Robertson.
The Christmas Chronicles vol. 1 - Track 8, "I Wish Every Day Was Christmas" (2011)
Skannibal Party vol. 11 - Track 6, "Emergency" (2012)
Related Research Articles
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones were an American ska punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1983. From the band's inception, lead vocalist Dicky Barrett, bassist Joe Gittleman, tenor saxophonist Tim "Johnny Vegas" Burton and dancer ("Bosstone") Ben Carr remained constant members. The band's final line-up also included drummer Joe Sirois, saxophonist Leon Silva, guitarist Lawrence Katz, keyboardist John Goetchius, and trombonist Chris Rhodes.
Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album Turn the Radio Off. Soon after, the band lost mainstream recognition but gained an underground cult following. As of 2006, the band was no longer signed to a major record label and has since been independent. After numerous line-up changes, frontman Aaron Barrett is the last remaining founding member still performing in the band.
Dance Hall Crashers was an American ska punk band formed in 1989 in Berkeley, California. Initially founded by former Operation Ivy members Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, the band has had a fluid lineup over its career, with the most recent lineup includes Elyse Rogers and Karina Deniké on vocals, brothers Jason Hammon and Gavin Hammon on guitar and drums respectively, and Mikey Weiss on bass. They have released four studio albums, highlighted by the 1995 release Lockjaw which featured the minor hit song "Enough", produced by Rob Cavallo and featured in the film Angus.
Rx Bandits are a band based in Seal Beach, California, United States. The band formed in 1995 in Orange County, California. They have appeared on the Vans Warped Tour, at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and The Bamboozle. In the UK they have appeared at Reading/Leeds Fesitval & Slam Dunk Festival.
The Forces of Evil was an Orange County-based ska punk band, formed in January 2001 with the intention of creating a ska supergroup, being the side project of fellow ska punk band Reel Big Fish. The band split in 2005 after releasing a four-song EP, which was available on their website.
Catch 22 is an American ska punk band from East Brunswick Township, New Jersey. The band was formed in 1996 by guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Tomas Kalnoky, who left the band in 1998 and later formed Streetlight Manifesto. Founding members still in the band are vocalist/saxophonist Ryan Eldred, trumpeter Kevin Gunther and drummer Chris Greer.
Rump Shaker is the second album of the third-wave ska band Suburban Legends. It was released June 28, 2003, in Los Angeles, California by Lobster Girl Records. The album initially sold 15,000 copies and was subsequently released on Brand New Hero Records in the UK.
Big D and the Kids Table is a ska punk band formed in October 1995 in Boston, Massachusetts when its members converged in college. Their first release was on their own Fork in Hand Records label, but have since teamed with Springman Records and SideOneDummy. The band has been noted for its strict DIY work ethic, such as engineering, producing, and releasing their own albums and videos and self-promotion of their own shows.
Timothy Robert Maurer is an American singer, best known as the former lead singer of third-wave ska band Suburban Legends. He has left the band on two occasions. The first was in 2000 after the recording of Origin Edition. He rejoined the band in early 2002 after his replacement singer Chris Batstone left the band. He officially left the band again in September 2005 after the band's third consecutive appearance on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, performing a new song entitled "Moving Closer." The band's former trumpet player, Vincent Walker, rejoined the band for the performance, then took over as lead singer afterward. Maurer returned for a final performance with the band on November 29, 2005 at Huntington Beach High School for a benefit show for the Ryan Dallas Cook Memorial Fund, which was set up following the death of Suburban Legends' trombonist Dallas Cook.
The Pietasters are an American eight-piece ska/soul band from Washington, D.C., with additional members from Maryland and Virginia.
Vincent Francis Walker, better known as Vince Walker, is an American multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead singer of third-wave ska band Suburban Legends. He was formerly the lead trumpet player and left sometime after the release of Rump Shaker but returned to the band in September 2005 for the band's appearance on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, which happened to be lead singer Tim Maurer's last performance. He replaced Maurer as the singer in an odd switching of roles and continues with the band as frontman.
Suburban Rhythm was a ska punk band from Long Beach, California. Formed in 1990, they played numerous shows in small-venue clubs with many now famous O.C. bands opening their performances, including Sublime, No Doubt, and Reel Big Fish. Suburban Rhythm met with various roster changes and broke up in 1994. Three years later in 1997 their only full-length album, Suburban Rhythm was released.
After the departure of lead singer Chris Batstone, Suburban Legends re-released their first EP, Suburban Legends, by removing the vocal track featuring Chris, and replacing it with a vocal track of new lead singer, Tim Maurer. Suburban Legends (Tim Remix) is essentially the same album from the Orange County based ska punk band. It was first released in 2002 in Los Angeles, California by We the People Records. Its first pressing came with a green cover which was later changed to an orange cover. The green cover version is now very hard to find. The music, however, is the same on both editions. The main difference between the two versions is that the green cover edition was released by We the People Records, while the orange cover edition was self-released by the band at the end of the year. As of 2012, both versions are out of print.
Brian Wayne Klemm is the guitarist for the Orange County-based third-wave ska band Suburban Legends. He joined Suburban Legends in 1999, shortly before the release of Origin Edition, although he did not play guitar on the album. Klemm also briefly joined Big D and the Kids Table in 2009 as their touring guitarist until 2010. Klemm also occasionally performs with Reel Big Fish.
Aaron Bertram is a trumpet player for third wave ska band Suburban Legends, and member of the children's music group Kids Imagine Nation. In the past he has taught music and movement to preschool students in Orange County, CA. His music program was called Little Rockstars. He launched an online Streaming Service for Children's Entertainment and Arts Education called KINTV in March of 2020, where he currently performs and teaches music.
Chris Maurer was the bassist for the third-wave ska band Suburban Legends. After years of watching his older brother sing for the band, he joined the band August 3 of 2000, replacing Justin Meacham who left the band.
Michael Joseph "Mikey" Hachey is an American bassist, best known as a former member of the third-wave ska band, Suburban Legends. He joined the band in November 2004, replacing Chris Maurer on bass guitar, after his friend Derek Lee Rock offered him an audition to play bass for his "little ol' band" called Suburban Legends. Before Suburban Legends, Mike played bass in a band called Perilous, which also featured Ashley Hittesdorf, vocalist from New Years Day, as a member. Hachey left Suburban Legends in 2010, and is a regular collaborator with artists such as Dallas Kruse and Justin Grennan and is the in-house bassist for ZionStudios in CA. Though no longer a member of the band, Hachey recorded bass on most of the tracks for Suburban Legends' 2012 album, Day Job, and is credited as an additional musician on the album.
Dance Like Nobody's Watching is a six-track EP released by American ska/pop band Suburban Legends, released on May 12, 2006. The EP signaled a drastic change in the band's sound, which also followed major lineup changes following the departure of lead vocalist Tim Maurer and trumpet player Aaron Bertram, and the untimely death of trombonist Ryan Dallas Cook. The band's previous release, Rump Shaker, was a poppy ska punk release, whereas Dance Like Nobody's Watching largely abandoned the ska influence in favor of a funk/disco-influenced sound, which would feature heavily in their following release, Infectious in 2007, and somewhat on 2008's Let's Be Friends, which featured a few ska tracks. The sudden genre change alienated some of the band's fanbase. This genre change was largely abandoned in favor of the band's original ska-influenced style with the release of Going on Tour in 2010 and Day Job in 2012.
Candy Coated Fury is the eighth studio album by the American ska punk band Reel Big Fish, released on July 31, 2012. The cover art was made by artist Thom Foolery. The album was recorded at the band's personal studio in Orange, California.
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.
