The Paladins | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Genres | Roots rock, rockabilly, rock & roll, blues rock, Americana |
Years active | 1980 | –2005 , 2014
Labels | Alligator Records |
Members | Dave Gonzalez, Brian Fahey, Thomas Yearsley |
Past members | Whit Broadly, Jeff Donovan, Joey Jazdzewski, Scott B. Campbell |
Website | http://www.paladinsband.com/ |
The Paladins are an American roots rock-rockabilly band from San Diego, California. Founded in the early 1980s by guitarist Dave Gonzalez and his high school friend and double bass player Thomas Yearsley, they have recorded nine studio albums and built a reputation as a hard-working live band.
The Paladins started out as a rockabilly band during the rockabilly craze of the early 1980s. Their tagline at the time was "Western & Bop", as they played a combination of rockabilly and vintage country. Their lead singer and rhythm guitarist was Whit Broadly. With this lineup they did their first recording, a contribution to a 1982 local compilation album, Who's Listening?, and a song two years later on The Best of L.A. Rockabilly, a 1984 Rhino Records LP. Their first LP, The Paladins, was produced by Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and was released in 1987 on Wrestler Records. [1] Their second album, Years Since Yesterday, produced by Los Lobos' Steve Berlin and Mark Linnet, was released on Alligator Records in 1989 and had sold more than 20,000 copies by the end of the year; the band shot a music video for the title song at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach, California for $30,000. [2] Spending most of their time on the road, by 1989 they had already toured with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Los Lobos, The Blasters and the Fabulous Thunderbirds. [1] They toured abroad as well; in the summer of 1989, between recording sessions for the third album, they played in Europe for the month of June, including shows at the Peer Music Festival in Belgium and the World Music Festival in London. [3]
In 1990 the Paladins released their third record, Let's Buzz, "an invigorating blend of rockabilly, blues, rhythm-and-blues and country" recorded in the Los Angeles studio of 1970s soul star Leon Haywood (who also played keyboards on the album), produced again by Steve Berlin and Mark Linnet [4] and released by Alligator. [5] Acclaim came with a nomination at the 1990 Entertainer Music Awards (San Diego County) for Best Rock 'n' Roll, Original Music, for which they were a critics' favorite (they lost out to Beat Farmers). [6] They won the award two years later, [7] a year after winning the San Diego Music Awards. [8] Touring continued relentlessly at home and abroad; in 1991, for instance, they toured Australia for three weeks. [9] Shows were reviewed as fun, lively performances where band members would solo, swap instruments and even occasionally encourage audience members to play instruments. [10]
The Paladins appeared to have come to an end in 2004 when Gonzalez wanted to focus on different musical interests after having formed an alt-country band Hacienda Brothers. [11] [12] Thereafter a number of live albums and a live DVD were released with the band sometimes described as being "on hiatus." [13]
While touring with his current band, the Stone River Boys, Gonzalez joined Thomas Yearsley and Brian Fahey at the Ink & Iron Festival in Long Beach, California in June 2011 for a Paladins reunion concert, the band's first US concert since 2005. The Paladins have reconnected, recorded new songs for an upcoming album, and have recently released a "Paladins - Best Of" album. They have played The Rhythm Collision Festival in Riverside, California, and have toured throughout Europe.
The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2009. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. The band are credited as progenitors of the psychobilly subgenre, fusing elements of punk rock with rockabilly.
Los Lobos is a Mexican-American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños. The band rose to international stardom in 1987, when their version of "La Bamba" peaked at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, and also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, and several other countries. Songs by Los Lobos have been recorded by Elvis Costello, Waylon Jennings, Frankie Yankovic, and Robert Plant. In 2015, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2018, they were inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. They are also known for performing the theme song for Handy Manny. As of 2024, they have been nominated for twelve Grammy Awards and have won four.
The Blasters are an American rock band formed in 1979 in Downey, California, by brothers Phil Alvin and Dave Alvin (guitar), with bass guitarist John Bazz and drummer Bill Bateman. Their self-described "American Music" is a blend of rockabilly, early rock and roll, punk rock, mountain music, and rhythm and blues and country.
Rosie Flores is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She currently resides in Austin, Texas, where August 31 was declared Rosie Flores Day by the Austin City Council in 2006.
Red Flag is a synth-pop act founded in 1984 in San Diego by brothers Chris and Mark Reynolds. After the death of Mark in 2003, Chris has continued as a solo act since 2007 under the name Red Flag.
Bernard R. "Buddy Blue" Seigal was an American musician, music critic and writer, who performed and often wrote under his stage name Buddy Blue. He was a founding member of The Beat Farmers, a Southern California rock band that blended country roots music and rock 'n' roll. As a music critic, he was known for his straightforward style of critique that often used colorful language and original metaphors to either praise or lambaste musicians whom Seigal liked or disliked.
Since the mid-1970s, California has had thriving regional punk rock movements. It primarily consists of bands from the Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County, San Diego, San Fernando Valley, San Francisco, Fresno, Bakersfield, Alameda County, Sacramento, Lake Tahoe, Oakland and Berkeley areas.
Candice Caleb, known professionally as Candye Kane, was an American blues singer, entertainer and adult film star. She loved to sing as a young girl and even appeared on "The Gong Show," as a kid. She dreamed of a successful music career and did get some music gigs, but worked in the adult entertainment industry briefly in the early to mid 1980s during pornography's golden age to help finance her music career. Candye was recognized as an award-winning singer, songwriter, and performer in the blues and jazz genres. She was included in the books Rolling Stone Guide to Jazz and Blues,Elwood's Blues by Dan Aykroyd, The Blueshound Guide to Blues,AllMusic, and other blues books and periodicals.
Frenzy is the second album by Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper, released in 1986.
Dave Gonzalez is a guitarist, singer, and songwriter from Southern California and, with Thomas Yearsley, founding member of the roots rock/rockabilly band The Paladins in the early 1980s, and then co-founder with Chris Gaffney of the Hacienda Brothers.
Psychotic Waltz is an American progressive metal band formed in El Cajon, California in 1988.
Sublime is an American band from Long Beach, California that played a mix of ska, punk, und reggae. Formed in 1988, the band's original lineup consisted of Bradley Nowell, Eric Wilson (bass), and Bud Gaugh (drums). Lou Dog, Nowell's dalmatian, was the mascot of the band. Nowell died of a heroin overdose in 1996, resulting in the band's breakup. In 1997, songs such as "What I Got", "Santeria", "Wrong Way", "Doin' Time", and "April 29, 1992 (Miami)" were released to U.S. radio. In 2023, Bradley Nowell's son made a deal with Eric Wilson to revive the band.
William Clarke was an American blues harmonica player and singer. He was chiefly associated with the Chicago blues style of amplified harmonica, but also incorporated elements of jump blues, swing, and soul jazz into his playing. Clarke was a master of both cross and chromatic harmonica styles and many consider him among the blues harmonica greats.
Blood on the Saddle are an American country-punk band, though often referred to as a cowpunk band, from Los Angeles, California, United States. Greg Davis formed the band in early 1983 with the original line-up of Ron Botelho and Hermann Senac. Annette Zilinskas joined in the summer of 1983. They released three albums and songs on one compilation before that line-up broke up in 1987. Band leader Greg Davis has continued the band to present day, with one break to work with The Vandals and Candye Kane. Eventually the band recorded two more EPs and six more albums, getting three of them out officially, which were released in 1993, 1995, and 2001, respectively. A fourth album, The Mud, the Blood & the Beer, was recorded in 2008 and released to all digital platforms in 2020. A fifth album, True Blood, was recorded in 2013, and has been available since 2019 on all digital platforms.
Leonard David Stein was an American musicologist, pianist, conductor and university teacher. He was influential in promoting contemporary music on the American West Coast. He was for years Arnold Schoenberg's assistant, music director of the Schoenberg Institute at USC, and among the foremost authorities on Schoenberg's music. He was also an influential teacher in the lives of many younger composers, such as the influential minimalist La Monte Young.
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.
Casey Hensley is an American female blues, swing, and rock and roll singer, songwriter and record producer. To date, Hensley has released two albums including her 2017 debut issue, Live.
Let's Have a Party is a studio album by American recording artist Wanda Jackson. It was released in 1995 via Elap Music and Success Records. Released exclusively for the European market, the album project included Danish rock band The Alligators and contained 12 tracks. While some songs were new recordings for Jackson, most of the album was re-recordings of Jackson's rockabilly and country hits from decades prior.
The Queen of Rock' a 'Billy is a studio album by American recording artist Wanda Jackson. It was released in 1997 via Elap Music and contained eleven tracks of material. The album was a collection of Rockabilly recordings, most of which were new to Jackson's catalog. The disc was the second Jackson recorded with rock group The Alligators. It was released exclusively for the European market.
Los Angeles Forum: April 26, 1969 is a live album by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It was recorded during the group's last North American tour and includes a mix of popular Experience album songs along with some instrumentals. The album is the first full live release by the trio with Hendrix, Noel Redding, and Mitch Mitchell since 2013's Miami Pop Festival.