Death by Stereo

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Death By Stereo
Recent promotional photograph of Death by Stereo.
Recent promotional photograph of Death by Stereo.
Background information
Origin
Orange County, California, USA
Genre(s) Hardcore punk
Years active 1996 – present
Label(s) Indecision Records
Epitaph Records
Website Official website
Members
Efrem Schulz
Jarrod Alexander
Dan Palmer
Tyler Rebbe
Jim Miner
Former members
Ian Fowles
Keith Barney
Tim "Tito" Owens
Paul Miner
Tim Bender
Todd Hennig


Death By Stereo is a hardcore band. They were formed in 1996 in Orange County, California, but have since relocated to Fullerton. Death By Stereo is well known for their energetic performances, and intricate guitar work. They have released four full-length studio albums, and are currently working on their fifth release, which is due out in spring 2007.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Beginings (1996-1999)

The band was formed by Ian Fowles, Jarrod Alexander, Efrem Schulz, Paul Miner and Jim Miner out of were the remnants of Clint, CleanX and the D-Cons (their former bands). They practiced in Jarrod's garage for a few months and then decided to record a demo. They recorded five songs at For The Record Studios, where Paul worked. Out of the five songs, four of them went on to be included on the album If Looks Could Kill, I'd Watch You Die. On March 5, 1998, they played their first show, and soon after began playing more shows around Southern California.

In 1998, Death By Stereo was signed to Indecision Records, and released their first album in the following year. Shortly after Jarrod moved to Boston to pursue music full time at the Berklee School Of Music, and was replaced by Tim Bender. Keith also left the band, to pursue his other bands Throwdown and Eighteen Visions. He was replaced by Dan Palmer, formely of the band Eyelid. They toured for the rest of the year.

[edit] Early career (1999-2002)

In the winter of 1999, during a tour with Straight Faced and Ignite, Brett Gurewitz from Epitaph Records approached the band about releasing an album. In 2000, they signed to Epitaph Records, which is one of the biggest Punk Rock labels of all time. Between a tour with Bane and Adamantium, they finished their second album, Day of the Death, which was released in January 2001.

Death By Stereo spent almost all of 2001, touring North America, with bands such as Sick Of It All, BoySetsFire, The Hope Conspiracy, AFI, Rise Against, Nicotine and The Planet Smashers. At this time, Tim decided to leave the band and was replaced by Todd Hennig from 'Heckle' and 'Seven Years War'.

By 2002, Death By Stereo had become fairly popular, as evidenced by a spot on the Warped Tour for that year. During the tour however, there was some conflict between the band, and some behind the scenes people. It was rumoured that one Death By Stereo's people had assaulted someone, which forced the band to drop off the tour for a few dates, even though they dennied the accusation. They returned to ther tour nevertheless. Their 2003 album Into the Valley of Death contains a track called 'I Wouldn't Piss In Your Ear If Your Brain Was On Fire', which Dan Palmer has said was written about their warped experience.

[edit] Major career (2002-2005)

In early 2003, during the recording of their third album, Jim Miner left the band. Tim “Tito” Owens replaced him during a European tour. They released Into the Valley of Death, which was mostly recorded while Jim was still in the band, later that year. It is for this reason, that the albums liner notes, still credit Jim and Dan as the bands guitarists. Tito was credited also, as 'additional guitars'.

On September 28, 2003, during a tour supporting Thursday, Death by Stereo played a solo show in Blacksburg VA, at a venue called Solar Haus. During this show, a fault in the venue set up caused five people to be injured and one person to die. After this, Death By Stereo cancelled the rest of their tour dates, and returned home. On October 29, 2003, they played a show to benefit the victims, at the Chain Reaction, in Anaheim, CA. This show was recorded and given away for free, with ‘Law of Inertia’ magazine.

Death By Stereo resumed touring, and began writing their fourth album in late 2004. During early 2005, founding member Paul Miner left to persue recording, producing and mixing. He has since worked with many big bands, including New Found Glory, Atreyu and Thrice. He was replaced by Tyler Rebbe from Pulley. They released their fourth album, Death for Life, in June 2005.

In July 2005, Death By Stereo's guitarist Tito left the band. They played as a four piece band up until late 2006. In December 2005 former guitarist Jim Miner returned to the band to play two shows, but he did not return to the band fulltime. In addition, Efrem stated that they looked foward to collaborating with Jim, in the future.

[edit] Playing as a four-piece (2005-2006)

During the fist half of 2006, Death By Stereo toured extensively despite having only one guitarist (Palmer). In February they played in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, for the first time, marking the beginning of their Death to the Third World tour. They also played their first shows in Venezuela, Colombia, Costa Rica and Mexico. They also played in New Zealand for the first time, during June 2006, and supported Strung Out later that month in an Australian tour. The second half of 2006 has seen few shows, as they have been working on their new album and facing changes to their lineup.

[edit] Recent activity and lineup changes (2006-present)

In June 2006, Punkbands.com reported that Death By Stereo would begin writing their fifth studio album, which is currently scheduled to be released in spring 2007. The album has not yet been titled. In a recent interview with guitarist Dan Palmer, a question was asked if there were still plans for a new album, he replied:

   
“
 Yeah it's true. I've personally been writing a lot of riffs for it. We actually have a month off which is very rare for us. Actually, it won't be a month off because we'll be writing music and we'll be writing with our old guitar player Jim Miner too. We might even record with our old bass player Paul - we'll see what happens. The new stuff I wanna go more melodic - not so much not heavier stuff but I want to work on vocal harmonies - I just wanna go out with that! - Palmer (2006)
   
”

On January 23, 2006, which happened to be the fifth anniversary of their second album Day of the Death, frontman Efrem Schulz posted on his Myspace blog that saying that Death by Stereo will release a DVD that will contain "any footage". [1] According to the band's message board, bassist Tyler Rebbe is uncertain if it will be released anytime soon. [2]

In August 2006, drummer Todd Hennig left the band to pursue other creative endeavors. [3].

In September 2006, it was announced that the band's former drummer Jarrod Alexander and guitarist Jim Miner have officially rejoined Death by Stereo in time to record the band's fifth studio album. [4] It is still not known whether Jim and Jarrod will be touring with the band. Jim will be writing the new album, but he may be unable to record or tour, due to impending wrist surgery. Jarrod will be recording the new album, but for the time being he is unable to tour with the band. Chris Dalley, formally of Ten Foot Pole, will be filling in on drums for the time being. As of now, Death By Stereo's current line-up (Schulz/Alexander/Palmer/Rebbe/Miner) is still together.

Death by Stereo was one of the headline bands for the Rock al Parque music festival in Bogotá, Colombia.

[edit] Line-Ups

Year Band Recordings
Vocalist Guitarist Bassist Drummer
1996-1999 Efrem Schulz Keith Barney,
Jim Miner		 Paul Miner Jarrod Alexander None
1999-2000 Efrem Schulz Keith Barney,
Jim Miner		 Paul Miner Jarrod Alexander If Looks Could Kill, I'd Watch You Die
2000-2001 Efrem Schulz Dan Palmer,
Jim Miner		 Paul Miner Tim Bender None
2001-2002 Efrem Schulz Dan Palmer,
Jim Miner		 Paul Miner Tim Bender Day of the Death
2002-2003 Efrem Schulz Dan Palmer,
Jim Miner		 Paul Miner Todd Hennig None
2003-2004 Efrem Schulz Dan Palmer,
Tim "Tito" Owens,
Jim Miner		 Paul Miner Todd Hennig Into the Valley of Death
2004-2005 Efrem Schulz Dan Palmer,
Tim "Tito" Owens		 Paul Miner Todd Hennig None
2005-2006 Efrem Schulz Dan Palmer Tyler Rebbe Todd Hennig Death for Life
2006-present Efrem Schulz Dan Palmer,
Jim Miner		 Tyler Rebbe Jarrod Alexander Untitled fifth studio album

[edit] The music of Death by Stereo

[edit] Genre

Death By Stereo's music blurs the lines between traditional punk rock, hardcore and metal. Their music mixes metal riffs, solos, melodies and hooks, and results in a sound that is noted for its originality, among a punk rock scene that some say has become stagnant in recent years. The music has evolved over time, mainly due to the unstable lineup, which has included 5 guitarists, 2 bassists, 3 drummers and one vocalist. Their first album, If Looks Could Kill, I'd Watch You Die, was punk rock with a heavy influence of hardcore. Their later albums, especially Death for Life, are more heavy metal, with less punk rock and hardcore elements.

[edit] Influences

Bands that have influenced Death By Stereo are: At the Gates, Bad Brains, Bad Religion, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Descendents, In Flames, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Madball, Minor Threat, Pennywise, Sick of It All, Slayer and Suicidal Tendencies.

The original bassist Paul Miner, said that his top 10 albums of all time are: Bad Brains - ROIR tape, Minor Threat - Out of Step, Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast, Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind, Van Halen II, The Police - Outlandos d'Amour, Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, Sick of It All - Scratch the Surface, Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come, Annihilator - Never, Neverland.

On one occasion, Efrem said that his top five albums were Dead Kennedys - Bedtime for Democracy, Bad Religion - How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, Bad Brains - The Youth Are Getting Restless: Live in Amsterdam, Slayer - Reign in Blood, Iron Maiden - Rock in Rio.

On another occasion, Efrem said that his top five bands were: Bad Brains, Fishbone, Slayer, Bad Religion, and Mickey Avalon.

[edit] Trivia

  • The name Death By Stereo was taken from a scene in the movie The Lost Boys.
  • He also appears on Welcome To Your Life's 2002 release, There Is No Turning Back on backing vocals on track 9, One Way Road.
  • The song "Let Down and Alone" from their album Into the Valley of Death was featured on the soundtrack to the game Downhill Domination.

[edit] Discography

ALBUMS

If Looks Could Kill, I'd Watch You Die
(1999)
Day of the Death
(2001)
Into the Valley of Death
(2003)
Death for Life
(2005)
Untitled fifth studio album
(scheduled for release spring 2007)

EP

LIVE

  • Law Of Inertia: Live Series 3 (promotional live Album) (2003)

DEMO

  • Five-Song Demo Tape. The bands first recording. 4/5 songs went on to be re-recorded and included in their first album. (1998)

COMPILATIONS (Name Of Compilation - Song)

  • Devils Night (Live Compilation 7inch including other bands Ensign, Adamantium, Missing 23rd, Eyelid) (1999)
  • Punk O Rama 5 - Lookin' Out For #1 (2000)
  • Punk Goes Metal - Little Fighter (White Lion Cover) (2000)
  • Punk O Rama 6 - Holding $60 On A Burning Bridge (2001)
  • Indecision Records Split Series - 3 Songs from Ensign split (2001)
  • Punk O Rama 7 - Wasted Words (Demo Version) (2002)
  • Punk O Rama 8 - Unstoppable (2003)
  • Bring You To Your Knees (G&R Tribute) - Anything Goes (Cover) (2003)
  • Punk O Rama 9 - The Plague (Live Oct 03) (2004)
  • Masters Of Horror Soundtrack - Bottled Up (From DFL Sessions) (2005)

COMPILATION DVDS

  • Punk O Rama The Videos - Desperation Train (2002)
  • Indecision Video Vault - Various performances and interviews (2003)

[edit] External links

Death by Stereo
Efrem Schulz
Jarrod Alexander | Dan Palmer | Tyler Rebbe | Jim Miner
Ian Fowles | Keith Barney | Tim "Tito" Owens | Paul Miner | Tim Bender | Todd Hennig
Discography
Albums: If Looks Could Kill, I'd Watch You Die | Day of the Death | Into the Valley of Death | Death for Life
EPs: 7" Split with Esign
Related articles
Epitaph Records | Indecision Records | The Suicide File | A Static Lullaby | Sense Field | Further Seems Forever | The Aquabats | Eighteen Visions | The Lost Boys
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