The Dream Syndicate
The Dream Syndicate | |
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Los Angeles, California, United States | |
Genres | |
Years active | 1981–1989 2012–present |
Labels | Ruby/Slash, Rough Trade, A&M, Chrysalis, Enigma, Big Time, Anti-, Fire |
Members |
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Past members |
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The Dream Syndicate is an American
History
Formation and early years (1981–1983)
While attending the
After Wynn moved back to Los Angeles, while rehearsing in a band called Goat Deity (with future Wednesday Week sisters Kelly and Kristi Callan), Wynn met Karl Precoda, who had answered an ad for a bass player, and the two formed a new group, with Precoda switching to guitar. Smith joined on bass and brought in drummer Dennis Duck (Mehaffey), who had played in the locally successful Pasadena-based band Human Hands.
Duck suggested the name "the Dream Syndicate" in reference to La Monte Young's early 1960s New York experimental ensemble (better known as the Theatre of Eternal Music), whose members included John Cale and Tony Conrad.
On February 23, 1982, the Dream Syndicate performed its first show at Club Lingerie in Hollywood. A four-song
The band signed to
Subsequently, Smith left the band and joined David Roback (formerly of Rain Parade) to form Opal. She was replaced in the Dream Syndicate by David Provost.
Post-Kendra Smith years (1984–1989)
Medicine Show was recorded in 1984 in San Francisco with producer Sandy Pearlman and released that year by A&M Records. The band opened tours for R.E.M. and U2 and released the five-song live EP, This Is Not The New Dream Syndicate Album... Live!, the last record to feature Precoda on guitar (he left soon afterward to pursue a career in screenwriting) and the first appearance of bassist Mark Walton. The EP's commercial failure contributed to the group's temporary breakup,[11] The band was dropped by A&M after the label rejected its demo for "Slide Away", later released on the semi-official It's Too Late to Stop Now.
In 1985, during the band's temporary retirement, Wynn and Dan Stuart of Green on Red wrote 10 songs together that were recorded with Duck, among others, and released by A&M as the album The Lost Weekend under the name Danny & Dusty.
After a brief hiatus (and, as one reviewer said, having taken "a trip through the major-label meat grinder", was recorded in 1988 (also by Mazer) before Ghost Stories, but released afterward. 1992 also featured a free release in cooperation with the band by the label Opdtapes. A free tape called "Live i Bergen" contained recordings from the band's concert in Bergen, Norway on 15th of Oct 1988 (Opdtapes 002).
After breaking up in 1989, the band's posthumous releases included 3½ (The Lost Tapes: 1985–1988), a collection of unreleased studio sessions, and The Day Before Wine and Roses, a live KPFK radio performance recorded just before the release of the band's first album. Wynn continued as a solo artist, and Walton went on to play with the Continental Drifters.
Reunion (2012–present)
Wynn reformed the Dream Syndicate for a festival performance on September 21, 2012, at Festival BAM in Barcelona, Spain.[12] The reformed band included Wynn, Walton, Duck and Jason Victor,[13] Wynn's longtime lead guitarist in the Miracle 3.[12]
On December 5–6, 2013, the Dream Syndicate played two shows with three other reunited Paisley Underground bands — the Bangles, the Three O'Clock and Rain Parade — at the Fillmore in San Francisco on the first night, then at a benefit concert at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles the next night.[14] On September 26–27, 2014, the Dream Syndicate played at The EARL in East Atlanta; they were the band's first shows in the South since 1988, and included Savage Republic as the opening act. The September 26 show featured a complete performance of The Days of Wine and Roses, while the following show featured their second album, The Medicine Show. As of February 2017[update], the group had played more than 50 shows since reuniting.[6]
In February 2017, Wynn announced that a forthcoming fifth studio album had been recorded at Montrose Studios in Richmond, Virginia, and mixed at Water Music in Hoboken, New Jersey.[6] The personnel included himself, Walton, Duck and Victor, joined on keyboards by Chris Cacavas.[6] Wynn noted that the album's final track, titled "Kendra's Dream", included vocals from Smith, the band's original bass player, who also wrote the song's lyrics.[6] The album, How Did I Find Myself Here?, was released on September 8, 2017, on the Anti- label.[15]
In November 2018, three new recordings by The Dream Syndicate were released as part of a compilation album called 3 × 4, which also included The Bangles, The Three O'Clock, and Rain Parade, with each of the four bands covering songs by the other bands.[16] Following the initial Record Store Day First release as a double album on "psychedelic swirl" purple vinyl, Yep Roc Records released the album on LP, CD, and digital in February 2019.[17][18]
On May 10, 2019, These Times, the second album from the re-formed band was released on Anti-. Produced by John Agnello and The Dream Syndicate. The album was recorded again at Montrose Studios in Richmond, Virginia.[19]
On February 26, 2019, the Dream Syndicate announced that a new studio album, The Universe Inside, was to be released on April 10, 2020, on Anti-. The band shared the first “single” “The Regulator” and its video, a 20-minute “psychedelic journey through New York City, equal parts panoramic, psychedelic, somnambulistic and political”.[20]
On February 9, 2024, The Dream Syndicate released "How Did We Find Ourselves Here?". A double LP package package entitled "Live Through the Past Darkly, including a DVD of the recent documentary How Did We Find Ourselves Here with commentary from Chris Robinson of Black Crowes,Stephen McCarthy of Long Ryders, David Fricke of Rolling Stone and more. It chronicles the band's journey from their early beginnings, through conflicts with former friends, battles with major record labels, and disbandment, to their reunion in 2012. Exclusive to this DVD, is a previously unavailable one-hour 1983 Dream Syndicate live concert – filmed at the Roxy in Los Angeles.
Discography
Studio albums
- UK Independent Charts[21]
- Medicine Show (1984, A&M Records) – #171 Billboard Top 200[22]
- Out of the Grey (1986, Chrysalis Records/Big Time Records)
- Ghost Stories (1988, Enigma Records)
- Billboard Independent Albums[22]
- Billboard Independent Albums[22]
- The Universe Inside (2020, Anti-)
- Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions (2022, Fire Records (UK))
- Live Through the Past, Darkly (2024, [[Label 51 Recordings (record label) w/DVD documentary companion
EPs
- The Dream Syndicate (1982, Down There Records) – #25 UK Independent Charts[21]
- Tell Me When It's Over (1983, Rough Trade Records) – #11 UK Independent Charts[21]
- How We Found Ourselves...Everywhere! (2018, Anti-)
Live albums
- This Is Not the New Dream Syndicate Album... Live! (1984, A&M Records)
- Live at Raji's (1989, Enigma Records)
- The Day Before Wine and Roses (1994, Normal)
- Live Through the Past, Darkly (2024, Label 51 Recordings) w/DVD documentary companion
Compilation albums
- It's Too Late to Stop Now... Isn't It? (1988, self-released)
- It's Too Late to Stop Now (1989, Another Cowboy Recordings)
- Tell Me When It's Over: The Best of the Dream Syndicate 1982–1988 (1992, Rhino Records)
- 3½ (The Lost Tapes: 1985–1988) (1993, Normal)
- 3 × 4 (2018, Billboard Independent Albums[22]
DVDs
- Weathered and Torn (1992, Atavistic Video)
- How Did We Find Ourselves Here? (2024, Label 51 Recordings)
References
- ^ "The Return Of The Dream Syndicate". ilikeyouroldstuff.com. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ David Chiu (9 September 2017). "How Did I Find Myself Here?". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ Jim McGuinn (6 December 2017). "The Dream Syndicate perform in The Current studio". The Current. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ a b "The Dream Syndicate". AllMusic.
- ^ Matsumoto, Jon (9 December 1993). "Classic of the Week". Los Angeles Times. p. 5.
- ^ a b c d e Wynn, Steve (February 2017). "Artist Biography: The Dream Syndicate". Billions. Archived from the original on 2017-02-20.
- ^ Rosen, Craig (5 January 1989). "A new day dawns for restless Dream Syndicate". Chicago Tribune. p. 9E.
- ^ Hochman, Steve (21 May 1989). "The Art of Clubbing Makes a Comeback". Los Angeles Times. p. 76.
- ^ Hochmann, Steve (3 June 1990). "Steve Wynn Breaks Out of the Syndicate". Los Angeles Times. p. 65.
- ^ a b Torn, Luke (September–October 2004). "Rev. of Dream Syndicate, Ghost Stories and The Complete Live at Raji's". No Depression. p. 134.
- ISBN 9780879306076. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
- ^ a b "Barcelona.Acció.Musical". Bcn.es. Archived from the original on 2012-09-07. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
- ^ "The Dream Syndicate reunite for anniversary shows". Uncut. September 2012.
- ^ Mills, Fred (October 16, 2013). "Reunion Concerts: A Million Paisley Underground Fans Can't Be Wrong!". Blurt.
- ^ Rettig, James (June 20, 2017). "The Dream Syndicate – 'How Did I Find Myself Here'". Stereogum. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
- ^ "RSDBF '18 Special Release: Various Artists – 3 x 4". Record Store Day. 2018. Archived from the original on 2019-01-22.
- Coachella Valley Weekly. January 9, 2019. Archivedfrom the original on 2019-01-22.
- ^ "Yep Roc Announces Record Store Day Black Friday Titles!". Yep Roc Records (Press release). October 10, 2018. Archived from the original on 2019-01-22.
- ^ "These Times – The Dream Syndicate(ANTI- Records)". American Songwriter. May 10, 2019.
- ^ Daniel Kreps (February 26, 2020). "The Dream Syndicate Preview New LP With 20-Minute Jam 'The Regulator'". Rolling Stone.
- ^ a b c "Indie Hits "D"". 2009-02-05. Archived from the original on 2009-02-05. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
- ^ a b c d "The Dream Syndicate". Billboard. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
External links
- Official website
- Steve Wynn | The Dream Syndicate
- Dream Syndicate collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
- The Dream Syndicate discography at Discogs
- Dream Syndicate at Fire Records