Orgy (band)
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Orgy | |
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Origin | Los Angeles, California, USA |
Years active | 1997 – present |
Genres | Synth Rock |
Labels | Elementree Records Reprise Records D1 Music |
Members | Jay Gordon Bobby Hewitt Ryan Shuck Amir Derakh Paige Haley |
- For other uses, see orgy (disambiguation).
Orgy is an alternative synth rock band from Los Angeles, California. Their music has been self-described specifically as "death pop", and often named "cybermetal" or "synthmetal".
Contents |
[edit] History
Orgy was formed in 1997 by vocalist Jay Gordon and guitarist Ryan Shuck once of Jonathan Davis' original band Sexart, assisting in their eventual signing to KoЯn's label Elementree Records.
Bassist Paige Haley, guitarist Amir Derakh, and drummer Bobby Hewitt (b. November 13, 1969, in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.) soon completed the lineup. All were veterans of the late '80s/early '90s L.A. "hair metal" club scene. Derakh had previously gained some fame in the 80s metal band Rough Cutt, and Hewitt was a former member of Electric Love Hogs. Gordon and Derakh were also experienced producers. They produced Coal Chamber's self-titled CD.
They claimed the name of the band was not a sexual reference, but instead pointed to the "collage" of different styles in their music. Within six months, they were signed to Elementree Records. They had yet to play a single live show.
In 1998, their debut album, Candyass, was released. Gordon described the subject matter of the material as "...bullshit...lies and fairy tales." Their cover of the New Order song "Blue Monday" was a breakthrough hit. While many people believe that "Stitches" was Orgy's second single, it was actually their first but did not gain extensive airplay until after "Blue Monday".
Orgy made their live debut at EdgeFest, an annual radio show in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1998. They also appeared on the Family Values Tour with KoЯn, Limp Bizkit, Ice Cube, Incubus, and Rammstein. They were featured on the live compilation album of the tour, released in 1999. Other tours with Love and Rockets and Sugar Ray followed.
Their second album, the science fiction-themed Vapor Transmission, came out in 2000, with "Fiction (Dreams in Digital)" and "Opticon" as singles.
In 2001, Orgy release the song "Faces" for the soundtrack of the film Zoolander. As of 2006, "Faces" is unreleased on any of their studio albums.
After the release of Vapor Transmission, Orgy left Reprise Records and had already severed ties with Elementree. Gordon started his own independent record label, D1 Music. The band's third album, Punk Statik Paranoia, was released in 2004 through D1. Although no plans have been made for a 4th album, Orgy is very much still together and taking some time off to do independent projects.
In late 2003 guitarists Shuck and Derakh formed a side project, Julien-K, as an outlet for electronic material they had come up with during the writing process for Orgy. They are currently working on their first album, tentatively titled Death to Analog, and producing Chester Bennington of Linkin Park's solo album, "Snow White Tan." Jay Gordon also remixed the Linkin Park track, Points of Authority for their album, Reanimation re-naming it Pts.Of.Athrty.
[edit] Group members
- Jay Gordon - Vocalist
- Bobby Hewitt - Drummer
- Ryan Shuck - Guitarist
- Amir Derakh - Guitar Synthesist
- Paige Haley - Bassist
Currently, all of Orgy's band members are involved with side projects, with the exception of Bobby Hewitt.
- Julien-K - Founded by both Amir Derakh and Ryan Shuck. They are an electro-pop group.
- Drug For Joy - Founded by Paige Haley. They are an alternative rock band, but are also self described as falling under the genre of ghetto tech.
- Machine Gun Orchestra - This is the pending side project in which the frontman, Jay Gordon is involved with. News about this project is very limited, and only the name is known.
[edit] Discography
- Candyass (August 18, 1998) - US #32, Platinum
- Vapor Transmission (October 10, 2000) - US #16, Gold
- Punk Statik Paranoia (February 24, 2004)
- Trans Global Spectacle DVD (August 23, 2005)
[edit] Singles
- Blue Monday / Stitches (February 9, 1999)
- Stitches / Dissention (November 23, 1999)
- Opticon / Fiction (Dreams in Digital) (March 20, 2001)
- The Obvious (2003)
- Vague (October 12, 2004)
- Pure (August 23, 2005)
[edit] External links
- Official Orgy Site
- Official Amir Derakh Site
- Official Julien-K Site (Derakh and Shuck side project)
- D1 Music Network (Gordon's record label)
- Official French Fan Site
- Official Bobby Hewitt and brother video label
- Orgy on Myspace
- Paige Haley at the Internet Movie Database
- Bobby Hewitt at the Internet Movie Database
- machine gun orchestra (gordon's side project)