El Presidente (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Origin |  Glasgow, Scotland |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Genres | Glam Rock, Pop, rock, Disco |
| Labels | One Records/Sony BMG |
| Members | Dante Gizzi Laura Marks Johnny McGlynn Dawn Zhu Thomas McNiece |
| Website(s) | Official Website GUN fan site |
El Presidente (also written El Pres!dente) are a Scottish pop-rock band from Glasgow. Formed in 2002 by former Gun (band) member Dante Gizzi, their style is that of rocky, funky, light-hearted pop; insofar as they have been dubbed the Scottish Scissor Sisters. The band have supported Oasis and Duran Duran on major tours of the UK. The band also gained major exposure with slots at T in the Park 2005, V Festival and T In The Park 2006.
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[edit] Members
- Dante Gizzi (Vocals/occasional Guitar)
- Johnny McGlynn (Guitar)
- Thomas McNeice (Bass)
- Laura Marks (Keyboards/Vocals)
- Dawn Zhu (Drums)
[edit] History
Whilst touring in France with Gun (band) Dante came up with the name El Presidente and after Gun (band) split, began working on his own songs. In 2002 he made a few demos, along with brother Jools, on a small sampler and Billy Sloan aired them on his Sunday night radio Clyde show.
After a couple of gigs at King Tuts in Glasgow as a solo artist with studio recorded backing tracks, Dante got a band together. The original line up included brother Jools (previously also with GUN) on guitar and current drummer Dawn Zhu on drums. On signing up with One Records a subsidiary of GR mangement in Glasgow (also the Gun (band) management team) a couple of the original members decided they didn't want to tour with the band. Dante then recruited Laura Marks, Thomas McNeice and Johnny McGlynn. Shortly after the band signed a deal with Sony BMG.
The bands first release was a limited edition (1000 copies), red 10" vinyl, which was promoted by the bands first video, which was produced by Jonas Odell and cost over £25,000. On 17th Jan they embarked on their first U.K tour, Supported by Stagger Lee. In March they shot their next video for the single 100MPH, which was another lavish video. It featured the band playing the song in different size boxes, reminiscent of a giant Rubix Cube.
In April they supported Kasabian on yet another U.K tour, then Oasis in May, on their only Scottish date. 100MPH was released on May 2nd on a two-track CD, a DVD single and limited yellow vinyl. It reached #37 in the charts, and fell to #59 the next week, to promote it, the band made their début on TOTP Saturday, GMTV and CD:UK. In June, the band played two back to back sell out nights at King Tuts, and on June 24th, were meant to play Glastonbury, but their stage flooded and the bands set was cancelled.
On July 25th, the band released their most successful single to date, Without You. To promote it, they performed on GMTV, Top Of The Pops, TRL (on MTV). They did a radio session on Radio 2 (in which they performed Without You and a cover of Raspberry Beret). There was a number of articles in the Sun and other national newspapers and the song was playlisted on Radio 1, 2 and Xfm. The single reached No.30 and fell to No.53 the next week. In July/August the band played all the big festivals, and a sell-out one-off gig at The Liquid Rooms in Edinburgh. In September their next single was announced, which was to be a re-release of Rocket. The video was an edited down version of the older video, but the single was re-recorded with the current line-up. They appeared on TRL again, but only for an interview, and they did numerous radio session on XFM and Radio 2, The video was also playlisted on MTV hits and MTV Brand Spanking New. Alas, the single only reached No.48, falling to No.129 the next week.
Two weeks later on October 24th, the bands début album was released, but apart from two HMV instore performances, it was not promoted., and only reached No.57, falling to No.127 the next week. The band embarked on a full U.K tour in September/October, and in early September supported Jamiroquai. In Nobvember they also took part in the charity recording of "Ever fallen in love" (Origannly by the Buzzcocks as a tribute to the late John Peel. On 17th December the band played a special Xmas show at the Barrowlands. Then on News Years Eve 2005, they played in front of a very large crowed at the annual Hogmanay celebration in the royal gardens in Scotland.
On February 6th the band released their 4th and final single from their album which was a re-recorded version of Turn This Thing Around. The re-recorded version had a more disco/Chic feel to it, the video to the song was shot in November in Japan, the story line to video was the lead singer, Dante Gizzi had lost his memory, and must find the band on time to get to the show. They did not promote the single, apart from a radio session, but the single still did better than Rocket, and went to No.39, but fell to No.79 the next week.
In July they performed at T In The Park on the main stage and were classed as one of the bigger bands there.They premiered one new song "Late Night Binges"
On July 21st, the band attended the Northsound 1 Awards, nominated for Best Live Act.
On their French November tour, another new song, "Reach Out" was played. Recording on their second album started in October. Johnny Mcelhone ( Texas 's bassist) also worked with the band on their second album, although just what his contribution will be is yet to be anounced. Daily Record Article
The album is now finished and is being mixed and produced. It is expected to be released in june
[edit] El Presidente Shows
Click on the link above to read about El Presidentes Gigs, Setlists and a history of their live career.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
 Worldwide Sales: estimated 10,000 |
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[edit] Singles
| Cover | Information |
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"Rocket"
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"100MPH" |
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"Without You" |
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"Rocket re-issue"
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"Turn This Thing Around"
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"Late Night Binges (Rumoured to be)"
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[edit] International Releases
[edit] Japan
| Cover | Information |
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"Turn This Thing Around EP" |
[edit] External links
| El Presidente |
| Dante Gizzi | Laura Marks | Dawn Zhu | Johnny Mcglynn | Thomas Mcniece |
| Discography |
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| Albums: "El Presidente" | "El Presidente 2 (Title Not Known Yet) " |
| Singles: "Rocket" | "100MPH" | "Without You" | "Rocket re-issue" | "Turn This Thing Around" |
| Management |
| One Records | Sony BMG |
