Gene

Gene (band)

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Gene
Origin	London, England
Genres	Alternative rock, Britpop
Years active	1993–2004
Labels	Costermonger, Polydor,Contra
Associated acts	Palace Fires Call Me Jolene Martin Rossiter
Past members
Martin Rossiter Steve Mason Matt James Kevin Miles

Gene were an English alternative rock quartet that rose to prominence in the mid 1990s. Formed in 1993, they were popularly labelled as a Britpop band and often drew comparisons to The Smiths because of their Morrissey-esque lead singer, Martin Rossiter. Gene's music was influenced by The Jam, The Small Faces, The Style Council and The Clash. They had sold a million records.^[1]

Contents   [hide]  1 History 1.1 The Go Hole and Spin 1.2 Breakthrough 1.3 Popular success 1.4 Revelations and leaving Polydor 1.5 Artistic freedom and Libertine 1.6 Split 2 Discography 2.1 Albums 2.2 Singles 3 References 4 External links

[edit]History

[edit]The Go Hole and Spin

Gene's origins lie in a previous band which was first called The Go Hole, named after a fictional "Beat" club in John Clellon Holmes' novel Go, and later renamed Sp!n. The band was formed by Lee Clark (vocals/guitar) and John Mason (bass). Soon afterwards, James joined on drums. A few years later, Clark, Mason and James recruited Mason's brother Steve Mason to play lead/rhythm guitar and thereby free Clark to focus on vocal style, which had been previously limited by his (still) mediocre guitar playing.

Two singles, 'Scratches (in the sand)' and 'Let's pretend' were released in 1990 and 1991 respectively. Then, Sp!n were involved in a road accident. John Mason suffered a serious head injury and went into an 11-day coma. The day prior to the accident, Clark had offered his resignation in a letter to the rest of the band, due to his dissatisfaction with the way the band and its record label, Foundation, were guiding its course. A further EP entitled 'Hot Blood' was released in late-1991.

John Mason, disappointed with the music business, went on to become a writer. Clark briefly recorded demos with Andrew "Snake" Newton, who had been the live sound engineer for Spin, then gave up music to become a primary school teacher. Clark felt he was getting a bit old to be a rock star and decided to play and record only in his own bedroom and indeed returned to this after a hiatus of about ten years.

Wanting to continue together in a band, Steve Mason and James recruited bass player Kevin Miles, who had a long association with the band. After seeing Watford-based Welshman Martin Rossiter cross the floor of a club, Mason approached him and they began to talk. Their meeting ended with Rossiter handing out his business card ("Martin Rossiter: Soothsayer to the Stars") and Mason giving Rossiter a chance to sing with the band. Rossiter appeared on Spin's last demos as "Martin T. Falls" (a nod to the Mancunian band The Fall) shortly before the decision was made to adopt the name Gene.

Rossiter's eloquence and warm, emotive voice proved an effective pairing with Mason's intricate pentatonic guitar riffs, whilst Miles' melodic basslines and James' expertise in various rock drumming styles ensured a solid musical base for the group's successes.

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The Drums

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The Drums
The Drums performing at the 9:30 Club in 2010.
Background information
Origin	Brooklyn, NY
Genres	Indie rock, indie pop, post-punk revival, New Wave, electronic,surf pop
Years active	2008–present
Labels	Island, Moshi Moshi, Frenchkiss, Universal Australia
Associated acts	Elkland, Goat Explosion, Horse Shoes, Flashlight Party, Campfire Kids
Website	thedrums.com
Members
Jonathan Pierce Jacob Graham Myles Matheny Charles Narwold Danny Lee Allen
Past members
Adam Kessler Tom Haslow Chris Stein

The Drums are an American indie pop band from Brooklyn, NY with members stemming from the short-lived band Elkland (formerly Goat Explosion). The band is currently on theMoshi Moshi/Island (UK), Universal (AU) and Frenchkiss (US) labels.

Contents   [hide]  1 Formation 2 Career 3 Influences 4 Discography 4.1 Studio albums 4.2 Extended plays 4.3 Singles 4.4 Guest appearances 5 Music videos 6 References 7 External links

[edit]Formation

Founding members Jonathan Pierce and Jacob Graham first became friends as children, having met at a summer camp around age 12/13. Some years later, they formed the electro-pop group Goat Explosion, which they did for a short time.

Soon thereafter they formed indie pop group Elkland which quickly gained attention and was signed by Columbia Records; meanwhile, Graham formed 'Horse Shoes' which was signed by Shelflife Records. Elkland disbanded within a couple years or so. Jonny took a couple years off from making music. Then Jonny and Jacob came up with the concept for The Drums in 2008, which involved Pierce moving to Kissimee, Florida, where Graham resided at the time, so that they could more readily collaborate in making the music and artistic concept in the making of The Drums. They then moved to Brooklyn, New York, in the spring of 2009, wherein they hired drummer Connor Hanwick and guitarist Adam Kessler, having already been in correspondence with them prior to moving. The band had their first gig within a week of arriving in Brooklyn. In October 2009, the band released their first album, Summertime!, with nine songs.

[edit]Career

In December 2009, the band were shortlisted as one of the 15 music acts for the BBC Sound of 2010. Subsequently, they placed at No. 5 in this list on 4 January 2010. The Drums also appeared in Cliché Magazine's December '09/January '10 issue. The article featured an exclusive interview by Executive Editor Miguel Ángel Jimenez and drummer Connor Hanwick.^[1] In NME's first issue of 2010 they were named number 1 in the magazine's top tips for the year as well as in Clash Magazine's Tips for 2010. The Drums were also voted "Best Hope for 2010" in Pitchfork Media's 2009 Readers' Poll.^[2]

In February 2010, the band played venues around the UK on the 2010 NME Awards Tour alongside The Maccabees, Bombay Bicycle Club and The Big Pink, going on to play support band for Florence and the Machine's 2010 Cosmic Love tour.^[3] In June 2010 they played as one of the support bands for Kings of Leon in Hyde Park, London.

On May 7, 2010, they appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross where they performed "Best Friend". Their debut album was officially released on June 7, 2010, on Moshi Moshi and Island Records. The album contained the singles "Let's Go Surfing," "Best Friend," "Me and the Moon" and "Forever and Ever, Amen" as well as "Down By The Water," which had previously been released as part of the band's Summertime! EP. On September 16, 2010, it was announced on the band's Facebook page and website that guitarist Adam Kessler had left the band.^[4]

After the disaster in Japan, the Drums released the single "The New World" on April 11, 2011.^[5] On May 5, 2011, it was reported by theNME that The Drums had expanded their live line-up to include Chris Stein and Myles Matheny (of Violens).^[6] In June 2011 drummer Danny Lee Allen (We Are Scientists, Youth Group) joined the band, replacing Chris Stein.

For their sophomore LP, the band avoided slumping by recording it quickly, again self producing, often laying down tracks spontaneously in singer Jonny Pierce’s kitchen. They released Portamento, on September 5, 2011. The album title has a deeper meaning for Pierce, as he describes, “Jacob and I meeting as young boys with a shared love for Kraftwerk and Anything Box and Wendy Carlos, and these were all synth pioneers, and a common feature on old analogue systems was ‘Portamento’. The band has also revealed that they almost split at the end of June due to stylistic disagreements. Jacob explained, "I think our band is kind of fragile and probably on the verge of breaking up pretty constantly and I say that seriously and jokingly at the same time."

In 2011, Jonny Pierce co-wrote "In The Middle (I Met You There) with Brooklyn artist Matthew Dear for his EP "Headcage". His writing credits also include "You Gave Me Nothing" and "Lose It (In the End)" which are included in Mark Ronson's album "Record Collection." Currently, Pierce is producing unsigned band Connie Fucking Francis which he describes as "the most incredible punk music."

The Drums are noted for their pre-newwave-tinged nostalgic pop, Pierce's dancing, stage motions, and angelic blonde facade, and the band's pre-flower power image.

MTV gave the band a celebrity chart special on MTV HD channel in May, 2012, where Pierce and Graham introduced their favourite videos and bands as well as some of their own videos.

[edit]Influences

The band cite their major influences as The Wake, The Smiths, Joy Division/New Order, The Tough Alliance, The Legends, The Shangri-las, The Embassy and Orange Juice.^[7] Graham also mentions that reverb in general has played a major role in their sound: "...If reverb didn't exist we wouldn't have bothered trying to start a band."^[8]

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