John Dwyer (musician)

Last updated

John Dwyer
John Dwyer Musician Oh Sees.jpg
Background information
Also known asDamaged Bug
Born (1974-10-03) October 3, 1974 (age 49)
Origin Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Genres Garage rock, punk rock, noise rock, psychedelic rock
OccupationsMusician, songwriter, producer
InstrumentsVocals, guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussion, keyboards, flute, clarinet, trumpet, cello, synths
Years active1997present
Labels Castle Face Records, In The Red Records, Load Records, Narnack Records

John Dwyer is an American multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, visual artist and record label owner. He is best known as the founding member and primary songwriter of the garage rock band Osees, with whom he has released 23 studio albums. In addition to his work with Osees, Dwyer records solo material under the name "Damaged Bug". From 2020-2021, Dwyer released several improvisation-based records with a rotating collective of different artists, including "Bent Arcana", "Witch Egg", "Endless Garbage", "Moon Drenched" and "Gong Splat". [1] He is also a former member of the garage rock acts Coachwhips, Pink and Brown and The Hospitals.

Contents

Dwyer is currently based in Los Angeles, California, although for much of his career he was based in San Francisco, California. Dwyer is originally from Providence, Rhode Island, where he first began playing.

He has been in and fronted several underground American bands since 1997. [2] In 2003, John Dwyer met Brian Lee Hughes while he was filming Rock Star Scars, which Dwyer contributed Coachwhips music to, as well as having a part in the film. In 2006, Dwyer met Matt Jones at a party, and together, with Brian Lee Hughes, they founded Castle Face Records. [3] John Dwyer is one of the curators of the famous Dutch festival Le Guess Who in November 2021. [4]

Discography

Studio albums

With Coachwhips

  • Hands On The Controls (2002)
  • Get Yer Body Next Ta Mine (2002)
  • Bangers Versus Fuckers (2003)
  • Peanut Butter And Jelly Live At The Ginger Minge (2005)
  • Double Death (2006)

With Pink And Brown

  • Final Foods (2001)
  • Pink And Brown/Death Drug Split 12 inch (2002)
  • Shame Fantasy II (2003)

With Zeigenbock Kopf

  • I.D.M. LP (2002)
  • Nocturnal Submissions (2003)
  • Fuck You to Dust (2006)

With The Hospitals

With Yikes

  • Whoa Comas or Blood Bomb (2006)
  • Secrets To Superflipping (2006)

With Dig That Body Up, It's Alive

  • A Corpse Is Forever (2007)

With Sword + Sandals

  • Good & Plenty (2010)


As OCS

As The Oh Sees

As Thee Oh Sees

As Oh Sees

As Osees

As Damaged Bug

  • Hubba Bubba (2014)
  • Cold Hot Plumbs (2015)
  • The Tarot of Personal Experience (2016)
  • Bunker Funk (2017)
  • Bug On Yonkers (2020)

With Bent Arcana

  • Bent Arcana (2020)

With Witch Egg

With Endless Garbage

  • Endless Garbage (2021)

With Moon Drenched

  • Moon Drenched (2021)

With Gong Splat

  • Gong Splat (2021)

With Posh Swat

  • Posh Swat (2023)

Related Research Articles

<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">Osees</span> American rock band

Osees is an American rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1997, now based in Los Angeles, California. Originally the solo recording project of John Dwyer, the band has evolved through numerous line-up and name changes since its founding, with Dwyer serving as the band leader and primary songwriter throughout. The group's sound draws from a wide variety of influences, including garage rock, krautrock, psychedelia, and folk music. Osees are noted for their prolific recording output, energetic live shows, and whimsical visual aesthetic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pink and Brown</span> Former noise rock/punk rock band

Pink and Brown was a noise rock/punk rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1997 when the members moved west from their old home of Providence, Rhode Island. The band consisted of Pink and Brown. Pink played guitar and sang while Brown played drums. The band was influenced by the sounds and styles of bands such as Olneyville Sound System and Lightning Bolt.

Narnack Records is an independent record label founded in 2000. The label developed in New York City's underground music scene and quickly became known for its ability for developing new artists Coachwhips, OCS, Langhorne Slim, Thee Oh sees, ACID, Spiders & Hearts, Higgs, while also working with established bands like the Fall and the Slits, Lee "Scratch" Perry Narnack became home for a diversified group of musicians working with a wide variety of artists, from garage rock, alternative and punk to Americana, folk and dub/reggae.

<i>The Masters Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In</i> 2008 studio album by Thee Oh Sees

The Master's Bedroom Is Worth Spending a Night In is the seventh studio album by San Francisco-based rock band Thee Oh Sees. The album was the first to be released under the name "Thee Oh Sees", after the band had previously been known as "OCS", "The Ohsees", and "The Oh Sees". It is their seventh studio album overall.

Brigid Dawson is a musician who sings and plays keyboard and tambourine for Thee Oh Sees. She is noted for her "whimsical" harmonies and is credited with helping front man John Dwyer write melodies. Reviewing a show they played in New York, Impose Magazine wrote, "Brigid Dawson's backing vocals are the band's silver lining". Soundscapes noted in an album review, "Once again, Dwyer’s secret weapon is Brigid Dawson, whose vocal interplay gives them a leg-up in the male-dominated garage rock scene." Her voice has been compared to Kim Deal and Exene Cervenka, among others.

<i>Warm Slime</i> 2010 studio album by Thee Oh Sees

Warm Slime is the tenth studio album by American psychedelic rock band Thee Oh Sees, released on May 11, 2010. The album is the fourth to be released under the name Thee Oh Sees, and is the band's tenth studio album, overall.

<i>Carrion Crawler/The Dream</i> 2011 studio album by Thee Oh Sees

Carrion Crawler/The Dream is the twelfth studio album by San Francisco-based garage rock band Thee Oh Sees. It was released on November 8, 2011, by In the Red Records. Despite the running time of the album being comparable or greater than most of their other full-length releases, the vinyl editions state that it is an EP.

<i>The Cool Death of Island Raiders</i> 2006 studio album by The Ohsees

The Cool Death of Island Raiders is the fifth studio album by the American garage rock band Osees, released on March 7, 2006, on Narnack Records. Co-produced by TV on the Radio members Dave Sitek and Kyp Malone, the album was released under the names, The Ohsees and The Oh Sees, and is the first studio album to feature backing vocalist and future keyboardist Brigid Dawson.

<i>2</i> (Thee Oh Sees album) 2004 studio album by OCS

2 is the second studio album by American garage rock band Osees, released on June 14, 2004, on Narnack Records. Released under the name, OCS, the album was recorded entirely by John Dwyer as a side-project to his then-primary band, Coachwhips.

<i>Songs About Death & Dying Vol. 3</i> 2005 studio album by OCS

Songs About Death & Dying: Vol. 3 is the third studio album by American garage rock act Osees, released on May 30, 2005, on Narnack Records. Released under the name, OCS, the album was recorded as a duo by John Dwyer and drummer Patrick Mullins, and features experimental freak folk songs.

<i>OCS 4: Get Stoved</i> 2005 studio album by OCS

OCS 4: Get Stoved is the fourth studio album by American garage rock act Osees, released on May 30, 2005, on KimoSciotic Records. Released under the name, OCS, the album was recorded as a duo by John Dwyer and drummer Patrick Mullins, and features experimental freak folk songs.

American garage rock band Osees have released twenty-eight studio albums, two live albums, four compilation albums, eight extended plays (EPs), thirteen singles, and thirteen music videos.

<i>Ty Segall</i> (2008 album) 2008 studio album by Ty Segall

Ty Segall is the self-titled debut studio album by American garage rock musician Ty Segall, released on December 9, 2008, on Castle Face Records. A cassette edition was released on Burger Records.

<i>Sucks Blood</i> 2007 studio album by Osees

Sucks Blood is the sixth studio album by the American garage rock band Osees, released on May 15, 2007, on Castle Face Records. The album is the band's second to be released under the name The Oh Sees, and is their final album before changing their name to Thee Oh Sees.

Castle Face Records is an American independent record label, founded in 2006 by John Dwyer, Matt Jones and Brian Lee Hughes.

Nick Murray is an American drummer. He is best known as a member of the garage rock band White Fence, and as a former member of Thee Oh Sees, with whom he recorded two studio albums. Murray has also been a frequent collaborator of Tim Presley, as well as Welsh singer-songwriter Cate Le Bon, contributing to her solo album, Mug Museum (2013) and with 'DRINKS' (2015), a collaborative project with White Fence's Tim Presley and Cate Le Bon. Murray has also toured with Mikal Cronin and Gold Star.

<i>Protean Threat</i> 2020 studio album by Osees

Protean Threat is the twenty-third studio album by American garage rock band Osees, released on September 18, 2020, on Castle Face Records. Following the band's previous album, double LP Face Stabber, frontman John Dwyer has said that he intended for Protean Threat to be much like a punk album, shorter in length and composed primarily of short songs. It is the band's first full-length album to be released under the name Osees.

<i>Witch Egg</i> 2021 studio album by Witch Egg

Witch Egg is the debut album by Witch Egg, a side project of Osees' John Dwyer. The album was released on January 22, 2021, via Rock Is Hell Records. The lineup for the album includes Dywer, drummer Nick Murray, saxophonist Brad Caulkins, keyboardist Tom Dolas, and bassist Greg Coates. It was preceded by two singles, "Greener Pools" and "City Maggot", and was received positively by critics.

<i>Metamorphosed</i> (album) 2020 studio album by Osees

Metamorphosed is the twenty-fourth studio album by American garage rock band Osees, released on October 16, 2020, by Rock Is Hell Records. The album is a mix of songs recorded for the band's 2019 album Face Stabber as well as jam sessions recorded in Mexico during the subsequent tour. It is the second of three full-length albums released by the band in 2020.

References

  1. "Stream The Self-Titled Album From John Dwyer's Improv Collective Moon Drenched". stereogum.com/. May 28, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  2. "ARTNOISE is punk rock webzine on DM » interview with john dwyer (Part 2)". Archived from the original on November 23, 2009. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
  3. "ANPQuarterly Vol 2 / No 7 by RVCA". ISSUU.com. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  4. "Line-up".