Suburban Legends
Suburban Legends | |
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Background information | |
Also known as |
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Origin | Huntington Beach, California, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active | 1998–present |
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Members |
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Past members |
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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.
Since 2009, the band has gradually returned to its ska roots, and has also recorded cover versions of songs from
History
Formation and first EP (1998-2002)
Influenced by artists such as
In 1999, the band changed their name to Suburban Legends. Guitarist Josh Lander was replaced during the recording sessions of the first demo album,
In 2001, the band released their first, self-titled, EP,
Rump Shaker and Disney (2002-2005)
In early 2002 previous vocalist
In 2003, the band recorded and released their first actual album,
In late 2005, former trumpet player
Death of Dallas Cook and new formation (2005-2006)
At 12:25 AM on October 19, 2005,
In 2006 the band recruited trombonist Phillip Inzerillo to replace
On July 19, 2006, while they were on tour and in
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
On November 11, 2007, the band was robbed again, while supporting
" 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
Shortly after this release, the band headed back into the studio and recorded their third official album,
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
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.
On January 1, 2011, the band's song, "You," from their 2003 album, Rump Shaker, was performed by the
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.
During November 2011, Connecticut's
On February 23, the band's 2009 collaboration track with MC Lars and The Aquabats' MC Bat Commander, "This Gigantic Robot Kills", was released on Rock Band Network.
On April 3, 2012, the band released its fifth full-length album,
The group released its all-Disney covers EP,
In 2015, Suburban Legends and Roger Lima (of Less Than Jake) recorded with MC Lars to release "Sublime With Rome (Is Not the Same Thing as Sublime)" on his 2015 LP, The Zombie Dinosaur LP.[9]
Klemm, Walker, and former bassist Chris Maurer also currently perform in Personal Satisfaction, a
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
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.
Covers
Suburban Legends are known to perform many live covers, most often when performing at the Disneyland Resort, sometimes performing top 40 and classic pop or rock hits to appeal to the theme park guests outside of the band's usual fanbase. The band has also performed and recorded many songs from Disney films and television shows. They have performed "
Outside of the three Disney songs, cover songs rarely appear on the band's studio releases. An exception is "
Lineup
The band has had many lineup changes over the years. Original vocalist
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
One of the band's early drummers,
Trumpet player
Trombonist
Keyboardist
Current lineup
- Vincent Walker – lead vocals, trumpet, guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboard (2005–present), trumpet, backing vocals (1998–2004)
- Aaron Bertram – trumpet, vocals (2009–present; local shows only, 1998–2005; full member)
- Brian "Robot" Robertson – trombone, backing vocals (1998–present)
- Brian Klemm – lead guitar, vocals (1999–present)
- Ryan Brown - bass (2021-present)
- Edward Larsen – drums (2013–present)
- Chris Lucca – trumpet (2013–present, 2009–2013 touring)
Former
- Tim Maurer – lead vocals (1998–2000, 2002–2005)
- Chris Batstone – lead vocals (2000–2002)
- Luis Beza – trumpet (2005–2009)
- Dallas Cook– trombone (1998–2005; died 2005)
- Phillip Inzerillo – trombone (2005–2006)
- Brent Feige – lead guitar (1998)
- Josh Lander – lead guitar (1998–1999)
- Justin Meacham – bass guitar (1998–2000)
- Chris Maurer – bass guitar, backing vocals (2000–2004)
- Mikey Hachey – bass guitar, backing vocals (2004–2010)
- Fred Johnson – drums (1998)
- Jimmy Sullivan – drums (1998–1999; died 2009)
- Derek Rock – drums, keyboard (2000–2012)
- Brad Polidori – bass, backing vocals (2010–2021)
- Former touring musicians
- Byron Panopio – trumpet (2009, touring)
- Justin Lewis – trombone (2009, touring)
- Ryland Steen – Drums (2011, 2012–2013, touring)
- Max MacVeety – Drums (2012–2013, touring)
- Dallas Kruse – keyboard, keytar, backing vocals (2006–2009; local shows only)
Timeline
Discography
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
Albums
- Origin Edition (1999)
- Rump Shaker (2003) (2012 - Limited Vinyl Pressing)
- Dance Like Nobody's Watching: Tokyo Nights (2007) (Japan only)
- Infectious (2007)
- Let's Be Friends... and Slay the Dragon Together (2008)
- Day Job (2012)
- Forever in the Friend Zone (2015)
EPs
- Bomb Squad EP (1998)
- Suburban Legends (2001)
- Suburban Legends Raw (Karaoke) (2002)
- Suburban Legends (Tim Remix) (2002)
- Dance Like Nobody's Watching (2006)
- Going on Tour (2010)
- Getting Down to Business (2011) (Europe only)
- Dreams Aren't Real, But These Songs Are, Vol. 1 (2013)
DVDs
- Season One (2004)
- Poisonous Candy Factory (2008)
Singles
- "Rose Tint My World" (download only) (unreleased tribute album) (2001)
- "Gimme, Gimme" (CD single from Christmas 2004 shows) (2004)
Collaborations
- "This Gigantic Robot Kills" with MC Lars and The MC Bat Commander, on MC Lars' album of the same name (2009)
- "Five Finger Discount" with Uh Oh! Explosion on their album For the Win! (2009)
Music videos
- "I Want More" (2001)
- "High Fives" (2003)
- "Up All Night" (2004) - animated
- "Come Back Home" (2007) - features cameos by Justin Mauriello (formerly of Zebrahead) and Aaron Barrett (Reel Big Fish)
- "Infectious" (2007) - directed by the Fackrell Brothers
- "Kiss the Girl" (2013)
- "You've Got a Friend in Me" (2013)
- "Roadkill Jamboree" (2023)
Compilations
- Supporting the Scene - Disc 1 Track 15, "All The Nights" (2000)
- Skratch Comp CD No. 6 - Track 5, "Gummi Bears" (2000)
- Fatty's Favorites - Track 14, "Waikiki" (2000)
- Because We Care: A Benefit for the Children's Hospital of Orange County - Track 11, "Gummie Bears" (2002)
- Skyboys vs Highscalers - Track 5, "Desperate", Track 19, "Alternative Is Dead" (2003)
- Dead Baby vs. Jesus - Track 22, "Zanzibar" (2003)
- Camp Ska (DVD) - Track 12, "High Fives" (2003)
- Sorry If It Isn't Cool Anymore! Vol. 1 - Track 2, "You" (2004)
- Live @ iMusicast 1.0 (DVD) - Track 13, "Up All Night" (2004)[12]
- Casino Chips and Sunset Strips - Track 10 "Autumn in the Park", Track 11 "All the Nights", Track 12 "Bright Spring Morning" (2004)
- Of Hands and Hearts: Music for the Tsunami Disaster Fund- Disc 2 Track 4, "Blingity Bling" (2005)
- Dead Bands Party: A Tribute to Oingo Boingo - Track 10, "On the Outside" (2005)
- The Christmas Chronicles vol. 1 - Track 8, "I Wish Every Day Was Christmas" (2011)
- Skannibal Party vol. 11 - Track 6, "Emergency" (2012)
References
- ^ Corey Apar. "Suburban Legends | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
- ^ Purdie, Iain (May 3, 2014). "Interview: Suburban Legends in Glasgow". Moshville Times. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
- Orange County Register. Archived from the originalon July 1, 2009. Retrieved September 11, 2009.
- ^ "Welcome to". Theaquabats.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2007. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
- ^ "MC Lars & Suburban Legends - This Gigantic Robot Kills". YouTube. October 22, 2008. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
- ^ "Twitter / Suburban Legends: at mileycyrus remember when". Twitter.com. May 4, 2009. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
- ^ "The 3rd Wave SKA Preservation Society Vinyl Reissue Project! by asbestos records — Kickstarter". Kickstarter.com. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
- ^ "Suburban Legends". Facebook. Suburban Legends. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
- ^ "MC Lars - "Sublime with Rome (Is Not the Same Thing as Sublime)" [OFFICIAL VIDEO]". YouTube. November 2, 2015. Archived from the original on December 12, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
- ^ "Suburban Legends". Facebook. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
- ^ "Suburban Legends". Palebirdnest.com. Archived from the original on August 24, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
- ^ "iMusicast". iMusicast. Retrieved July 9, 2011.