The Luchagors (album)

Last updated
The Luchagors
Luchagors album cover.jpg
Studio album by
The Luchagors
ReleasedSeptember 11, 2007
RecordedJanuary–March 2007
Genre Pop rock, punk rock
Length31:04
Label self-released [1]
Producer Rachel Bolan

The Luchagors is the self-titled only studio album by American punk rock band The Luchagors fronted by professional wrestler Amy Dumas, known professionally as Lita, and her then boyfriend Shane Morton. It was released on compact disc and digitally through their official website on September 11, 2007.

Punk rock is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in 1960s garage rock and other forms of what is now known as "proto-punk" music, punk rock bands rejected perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock. They typically produced short, fast-paced songs with hard-edged melodies and singing styles, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY ethic; many bands self-produce recordings and distribute them through independent record labels.

The Luchagors was a punk rock band based in Atlanta, Georgia. It was fronted by Amy Dumas, better known as Lita to professional wrestling fans of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). During her last wrestling match at WWE's Survivor Series 2006, Dumas wore a Luchagors T-shirt.

Lita (wrestler) American professional wrestler and singer

Amy Christine Dumas, better known by her ring name Lita, is an American professional wrestler, animal welfare activist and singer. She performed as a wrestler with WWE from 2000 to 2006, and has since made part-time appearances with the company. She was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014.

Contents

Background

Dumas planned to attend a rock and roll benefit show in Atlanta and upon being pressed by friends towards making music, she had responded "I couldn't come up with a good enough excuse not to. So I just went for it." [2] Taking the prompts from her friends, she began working with Shane Morton, who was in a relationship with Dumas. Together, they wrote all of the music for the album, which was done primarily on acoustic guitar and in the home of Dumas, particularly on her couch. [3] The Luchagors went into the studio to begin recording in January 2007, [4] and on March 17, 2007, Dumas announced that the band had finished recording all the music for The Luchagors. [5] It was produced by bass player of Skid Row Rachel Bolan, who during the recording and mixing had guided the band and helped with their musical direction. [2] The cover art for the album was made by Morton, [6] which has been likened to the artwork found in DC Comics. The Luchagors has explicit lyrics, [7] and the song "All There Is" features spoken word in the form of a manifesto. [8] "Daddy's Girl" has been called pastiche of the music of Holly and the Italians, [7] and their song "March of the Luchagors" was written as an anthem for their fans. [9] Although some of the songs off of the album are dynamic and aggressive like "White Boy" and "Bastard", The Luchagors has songs that are lyrically geared towards conveying a message; the song "Crazy World" was written for people dissatisfied with society, and aims to motivate them towards changing it. [9] The music has been described as being pop rock [7] and punk, [10] and has been compared to the music of The Ramones, [7] as well as The Misfits. [10] The Luchagors was released independently on September 11, 2007, [11] and appeared for purchase from their official site, [12] as well as in compact disc, [13] and through iTunes. [14] In an interview with Miriam Ramirez of The Monitor , Dumas said of the album "every member has put their heart and soul into the record". [12] After moderate success and positive feedback, The Luchagors was distributed internationally in Europe. [15]

Skid Row (American band) American rock band

Skid Row is an American heavy metal band, formed in 1986 in Toms River, New Jersey. Their current lineup comprises bassist Rachel Bolan, guitarists Dave Sabo and Scotti Hill, drummer Rob Hammersmith and vocalist ZP Theart. The group achieved commercial success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with its first two albums Skid Row (1989) and Slave to the Grind (1991) certified multi-platinum, the latter of which reached number one on the Billboard 200. The band's third album Subhuman Race (1995) was also critically acclaimed, but failed to repeat the success of its predecessors. During this period, the band consisted of Bolan, Sabo, Hill, drummer Rob Affuso, and frontman Sebastian Bach. The band had sold 20 million albums worldwide by the end of 1996.

Rachel Bolan Musician, Song writer/Composer, Producer

Rachel Bolan, born James Richard Southworth, is the bass guitar player and main songwriter of the metal band Skid Row. His stage name 'Rachel' is a hybrid of his brother's name, Richard, and his grandfather's name, Manuel. 'Bolan' is a tribute to one of his childhood idols, T. Rex frontman, Marc Bolan. He is the youngest of four children.

DC Comics U.S. comic book publisher

DC Comics, Inc. is an American comic book publisher. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Global Brands and Experiences. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies. The majority of its publications take place within the fictional DC Universe and feature numerous culturally iconic heroic characters, most notably Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, among many others. The universe also features well-known supervillains such as Lex Luthor, the Joker, Catwoman, and the Penguin. The company has published non-DC Universe-related material, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and many titles under their alternative imprint Vertigo.

Supporting tour

By the spring of 2007, The Luchagors were ready to tour in order to support the release of their album The Luchagors, [16] which began locally in early July 2007. They toured throughout the U.S., [17] as well as in several European venues, such as Belfast, [18] Madrid, and in Leeds. [19] However, in August 2007 and amidst touring, the original and recording drummer Troy King left the band, and had returned by October 2007. On the continuing tour he was replaced by Racci Shay in early 2009. [20]

Belfast City in the United Kingdom, capital of Northern Ireland

Belfast is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast of Northern Ireland. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom and the second-largest on the island of Ireland. It had a population of 333,871 as of 2015. Belfast suffered greatly in the Troubles: in the 1970s and 1980s it was reported to be one of the world's most dangerous cities, with a homicide rate around 31 per 100,000.

Madrid Capital of Spain

Madrid is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.3 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.5 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union (EU), surpassed only by London and Berlin, and its monocentric metropolitan area is the third-largest in the EU, smaller only than those of London and Paris. The municipality covers 604.3 km2 (233.3 sq mi).

Leeds City in England

Leeds is a city in the United Kingdom, located in the county of West Yorkshire in Northern England, approximately 170 miles north of central London. Leeds has one of the most diverse economies of all the UK's main employment centres and has seen the fastest rate of private-sector jobs growth of any UK city. It also has the highest ratio of private to public sector jobs of all the UK's Core Cities, with 77% of its workforce working in the private sector. Leeds has the third-largest jobs total by local authority area, with 480,000 in employment and self-employment at the beginning of 2015. Leeds is ranked as a High Sufficiency level city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial heart of the West Yorkshire Urban Area. Leeds is served by five universities, and has the fourth largest student population in the country and the country's fourth largest urban economy.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic (favorable) [7]

The Luchagors has received positive reviews, [15] and has been called "rip-snortin’, candy-coated blast of jumpy, insanely catchy punk rock" by Jeff Clark of Stomp and Stammer. [6] Stewart Mason of Allmusic said of the album that it is an "easily digestible blend of ramalama bubble-punk" and went on to say that they are "the sort of semi-ironic trash culture celebrations first pioneered by the Ramones. [7] Wonka Vision views The Luchagors superior in comparison to other wrestling stars' albums and gave it a (3/5), stating that the "band’s songwriting tapers off a bit, but overall maintains the feeling of a decent, but dated, punk sound." [8]

<i>Wonka Vision</i> magazine

Wonka Vision was an American music magazine.

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."White Boy"2:49
2."Miracle"2:22
3."All There Is"3:08
4."Already Gone"3:27
5."Burn"2:47
6."Daddy's Girl"2:43
7."Goodbye"3:35
8."Janice"3:04
9."Bastard"3:08
10."Crazy World"2:30
11."March of the Luchagors"1:53
Total length:31:04
Information on track listing. [10]

Personnel

Information on personnel. [13]

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References

  1. ↑ Campling, Katie (June 29, 2009). "Fresh: Ex-WWF star Lita back with her band The Luchagors at The Parish". Huddersfield Daily Examiner . Trinity Mirror Group. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  2. 1 2 Eck, Kevin (July 3, 2007). "Q&A with Amy Dumas". The Baltimore Sun . Tribune Company . Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  3. ↑ Faye (July 9, 2009). "Interview: The Luchagors". Change the Record. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  4. ↑ "SKID ROW Bassist To Produce THE LUCHAGORS". Blabbermouth.net . January 14, 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  5. ↑ "It's getting closer!!". The Luchagors Myspace Page. Myspace.com. March 17, 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  6. 1 2 Clark, Jeff (September 2007). "The Luchagors". Stomp and Stammer . Mambo Foundation. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mason, Stewart. "The Luchagors Review". Allmusic . Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  8. 1 2 "The Luchagors – "S/T"". Wonka Vision . September 17, 2008. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  9. 1 2 "Luchagors". MagX . December 1, 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  10. 1 2 3 "The Luchagors". CDBaby . Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  11. ↑ Mervis, Scott (March 6, 2008). "Music Preview: Wrestler Lita gets a new kick out of The Luchagors". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . John Robinson Block. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  12. 1 2 Ramirez, Miriam (December 13, 2007). "The Luchagors". The Monitor . M. Olaf Frandsen. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
  13. 1 2 "The Luchagors". Discogs . Discogs™. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  14. ↑ "The Luchagors". iTunes . Apple, Inc. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  15. 1 2 Jordon, Mark (June 19, 2009). "Dumas gets hold on new career". GoMemphis. E. W. Scripps Company . Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  16. ↑ Monroe, p. 68.
  17. ↑ "Tour Dates". The Luchagors Official page. Archived from the original on 31 July 2008. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  18. ↑ Johnston, Andrew (July 24, 2009). "Music Review: The Luchagors". CultureNorthernIreland. Nerve Centre. Retrieved 15 November 2010.
  19. ↑ Stone, Emma (November 6, 2009). "The Luchagors + Mr Shiraz + The Sewersuckers". Distorted Magazine. ISSN   1754-3746.
  20. ↑ "Racci Shay / Main Bios". The Luchagors Official page. Retrieved 15 November 2010.

Sources

<i>Atlanta</i> (magazine) American monthly general-interest magazine

Atlanta is a monthly general-interest magazine based in Atlanta, Georgia, and owned by Hour Media Group, LLC. Its staff has featured notable writers such as Hollis Gillespie, Anne Rivers Siddons, and William Diehl, and it has included contributions from Pat Conroy, Rebecca Burns, Terry Kay, and Melissa Fay Greene. It is a member of the City and Regional Magazine Association (CRMA).

International Standard Serial Number unique eight-digit number used to identify a print or electronic periodical publication

An International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication, such as a magazine. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title. ISSN are used in ordering, cataloging, interlibrary loans, and other practices in connection with serial literature.

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