Del Rey (band)
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Del Rey is an instrumental Indie Rock group from Chicago.
October 1997--Del Rey is born on the 4th floor of Eben, Damien, and Brendan's Ukrainian Village apartment on Walton St. in Chicago. The band is something of a hybrid of two previous groups: Covija, which was E and B's band at Oberlin College in Ohio, and Charco de Luz, which was E, D, and Nate's group during summers in Maine. The band gestates and develops a rough sound, but is ultimately forced out due to neighbors' noise complaints. After securing a practice room at the notorious North & Rockwell space, the rock continues.
January 1998--The band records a two-song demo with engineer Mike Lust (Lustre King, Tight Phantomz) at his Noisefloor studio, which helps get the attention of local clubs. Del Rey plays its first Chicago show on January 30 at the Empty Bottle. Shows at Lounge Ax, Fireside Bowl, and Roby's follow.
June 1998--Nate Nadeau moves back to Maine to pursue other interests. Nate now plays in the amazing Conifer (conifermusic.com). He is replaced on drums by Mike Johnson, a Peoria, IL, native and former skins-basher for Dismiss (which became Planes Mistaken for Stars). The rock continues.
November 1998--Del Rey goes into the studio to record its first proper album. Carl Saff (Neutrino, Emperor Penguin) records five songs at the basement Damen & Division studio, which are then mixed and mastered at his apartment over the rest of the winter.
May 1999--After the search for a label to release the material turns futile, the band decides to put out the Damen/Division works under its own imprint. Named after a blimp-like balloon hanging in the Walton St. apartment, the fledgling label is christened Dirigible Recordings. Its first (and only, to this point) release is dlry, a limited edition four-song EP on CD only. Only 1,000 copies are made. The artwork is hand-printed at Crosshair Silkscreen in Chicago. A tour (the band's first) to support the work follows.
September 1999--The official release of dlry, via distributors like Carrot Top, Choke, Insound, Southern, etc. The record receives some reviews in the local press (Chicago Reader), national magazines (Copper Press), and foreign publications (Wire, Blow Up, After Hours).
March 2000--Del Rey enters the newly constructed Engine Studios in Wicker Park to record with engineer Jason Ward (Paul Newman, Rhythm of Black Lines), marking the beginning of an unbelievably long, painstaking endeavor to create the band's first full-length offering. The basic tracks are laid down in several sessions during the spring, with mixing efforts lasting well into summer. In total, eleven songs are recorded, though some mixes never see the light of day.
September 2000--After months of careful and deliberate listening and revision, the band eventually decides on eight songs for the final version of the album, which is titled Speak It Not Aloud. The search for a label begins.
July 2001--My Pal God Records, formerly of Chicago, now of Princeton, NJ, agrees to release the album on CD. The artwork is created by Marshall Preheim (Ideotech, Open-End Gallery).
October 2001--Speak It Not Aloud is officially released. The Consumers Research & Development Label agrees to put out the record on vinyl, which becomes available in January 2002.
March 2002--The band begins construction on a new full-length, again under the sage supervision and steady hand of Jason Ward. Basic tracks are laid down over five days in March/April at Kingsize and Semaphore studios in Chicago. Eight songs are recorded.
July 2002--Brendan Daly leaves Chicago and Del Rey, returning to his native Long Island to pursue medical school.
August 2002--The mixing of the new record begins, a meticulous and exacting process conducted in fits and starts that eventually lasts into early 2003. The sessions take place at Jason Ward's new Prole Arts Studio in Logan Square.
December 2002--Del Rey enlists the talents of Paul Newman guitarist Craig McCaffrey to cover the bass duties for a few shows in late '02-early '03. The rock continues.
June 2003--Chris Cowgill, of the late great Peralta, joins the group and takes up the bass reins. Jon Solomon and My Pal God Records agree to release the new recording--which has been dubbed Darkness & Distance--on CD. The band begins assembling artwork for the album, again featuring the photography and design of Marshall Preheim. October 2003--Darkness & Distance--a seven-song, 51-minute affair--is officially released on My Pal God. December 2003--A new Spanish label, Trece Grabaciones, releases the vinyl of D&D, which is available only as an import in the U.S.
Tours follow in 2003 and 2004...
Del Rey has finished their forthcoming third full length album, an August 2005 West coat tour ensued to try out the new material.
The new full length, "A Pyramid For The Living," was released on September 26, 2006.
[edit] Band members
- Eben English
- Chris Cowgill
- Michael Johnson
- Damien Burke
[edit] Discography
- D L R Y (Dirigible 1999)
- Speak It Not Aloud (My Pal God 2001)
- Darkness And Distance (My Pal God 2003)
- A Pyramid For The Living (My Pal God 2006)
