Logan Whitehurst

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Logan Whitehurst and the Junior Science Club
Logan Whitehurst and Vanilla the Plastic Snowman
Logan Whitehurst and Vanilla the Plastic Snowman
Background information
Genre(s) Alternative rock
Geek rock
Years active 1997 – 2006
Label(s) Pandacide Records
Slowdance Records
Mp3.com

Logan Whitehurst (November 15, 1977 – December 3, 2006), was an American musician. His career began as the drummer for the band Little Tin Frog from 1995 until 2000, although he is best known as a founding member of Californian indie rock band The Velvet Teen[1] and as a solo artist performing under the name Logan Whitehurst and the Junior Science Club.

Logan was also an accomplished graphic designer, creating numerous album covers for bands such as his sister's Tsunami Bomb, in addition to Dynamite Boy, Little Tin Frog, The Velvet Teen, 20 Minute Loop, Go Time, Shut Up Donny, Santiago, and labels such as Fearless Records, Restitution Records, Silent Records and Entertainment, and Double Helix Records[2]. He also contributed illustrations and comics such as "Jonathan Quimby, the Boy with No Brain" to Section M Magazine[3].

Contents

[edit] The Velvet Teen

During their stint together playing in Little Tin Frog, Logan and guitarist Judah Nagler began secretly writing somber, serious songs. This side project came to be known as The Secret Band. Some time after the split of Little Tin Frog, The Secret Band reshaped itself and took on the name of Nagler's electronica-influenced solo project, The Velvet Teen. Adding bassist Josh Staples, the band's catalogue included several re-recorded Secret Band tracks, such as "A Reverie to Chanticleer" and "Mother of Love." The band signed with Slowdance Records.

In 2001, the band released +-=, an EP of both older songs co-written by Whitehurst and new recordings. In early 2002, the band released their first full-length album, Out Of The Fierce Parade. The album was produced and mixed by Death Cab for Cutie guitarist Chris Walla. The album's first track, "A Special Gift to You" was written solely by Logan Whitehurst. He also co-wrote all the other tracks on the album. Out of the Fierce Parade also featured Whitehurst's engravings as the cover and inside the CD booklet.

Touring in support of Out of the Fierce Parade took Whitehurst across the country, as far east and south as Orlando, Florida, as well as out of the country with dates in Japan [4].

The band received airplay on MTV2, which played their videos for "Radiapathy" and "The Prize Fighter."[5] MTV also included portions of "The Prize Fighter" in its pseudo-reality series Sorority Life. The independent film Lurking in Suburbia also featured original music from the group.

Released in 2004, The Velvet Teen's next album, Elysium, was Whitehurst's last with the band. Shortly after recording the album, he left the band in order to undergo treatment for brain cancer. He was never able to tour in support of the album.

[edit] Albums featuring Whitehurst

  • Comasynthesis/The Great Beast February (2000, drums, vocals)
  • +-= (2001, drums, vocals, keyboards)
  • Immortality (2001, drums, vocals)
  • Out of the Fierce Parade (2002, drums, piano, vocals)
  • Elysium (2004, drums, piano, vocals)

[edit] Solo career

In addition to drumming for The Velvet Teen, he had a successful solo career as Logan Whitehurst and the Junior Science Club [6]. In 1997, Whitehurst began uploading songs he had created on a four-track to Mp3.com, which served not only as a storage space, but an advertising and publishing firm. Mp3.com allowed Logan's music to be downloaded as well as purchased. Logan was one of Mp3.com's early success stories, gaining national popularity in the "Comic Song" category. He released his first five albums through Mp3.com.

Logan played not only the drums in his solo work, but also keyboards, guitar, accordion, concertina, and piano. He also provided almost all of his backup vocals through multitracking. His music has often been compared to Flight of the Conchords and They Might Be Giants for its goofy, geeky subject matter as well as its underlying musicality.[7]

In 2003, having signed with Pandacide Records, Logan released his sixth album, Goodbye, My 4-Track. The album featured guest appearances by members of The Velvet Teen, Death Cab for Cutie, Pedro the Lion, and many other bands. Logan was never able to tour nationally in support of the album due to his involvement with the Velvet Teen and, later, his illness. However, he still did local shows, going as far away as Portland, OR.

His quirky brand of music quickly garnered a cult following from coast to coast. He became one of the most frequently requested and played artists on the nationally syndicated Dr. Demento radio show [8]. Dr. Demento dedicated two full shows to his music and interviews. [9] [10].

In 2004, Logan completed all of the score and incidental music for Replica, an independent film by Raymond Daigle that illustrates the trials, tribulations and mayhem of working in a copy shop. As of July 2007, Replica is still unreleased with the exception of independent and private screenings. UPDATE: You can see a festival version of Replica on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/user/DaigleDigital.[11]

In 2006, after his cancer had been declared in remission, Logan took suggestions for an enormous number of short-subject songs from his friends and fans to get himself back into musical shape.[12] Ranging from 30 to 90 seconds, the 81 songs were recorded over the span of two months. Shortly after designing the album art and layout for the Very Tiny Songs Project, Logan's brain cancer returned. The album was released posthumously on December 26, 2006.[13]

[edit] Alternate characters

Logan had at least three separate identities created for the sake of his comedy.

  • Vanilla The Plastic Snowman (Pictured at top)

A plastic Christmas lawn ornament, Vanilla came to be something of a mascot for the Science Club. He had a ridiculously oversized ego and was constantly claiming that he did every cool thing in history and says Logan took all of Vanilla's work and said it was his own. Although he never really talked in any performances, he did have a blog he would post quite regularly. The subjects of his blog would often be random snippets of his mind, but occasionally commenting on current events. His sentences came out hilariously garbled because he claimed he was typing with mittens on so he couldn't hit the keys well.

  • Farkle Announcer/ Jon-Jon the Leprechaun

For the trademark Logan Whitehurst "Farkle" commercials, he would provide the voice of an unnamed Farkle announcer who appeared to have brainwashed or bribed most of the "supporters" of the product or would even tamper with their testimony. He would always say stereotyped, but outrageous, advertisement jargon (Such as:"Wait there's more!" and "Nothing says love like the gift of Farkle."). He would always cut to Jon-Jon the Leprechaun, the official spokesperson for Farkle whould either end up screaming some nonsensical Irish warrior cry or injured in some way and damaging his "wee little hat". These commercials almost always ended with some extremely fast, hard to hear, nonsense which was defined as the fine print.

  • Sid Sheinberg

A raspy voiced club singer from the 40's, Sid Sheinberg is often asking for money to fund his "experimenting" with booze and fast women. He seems to possess the quality of an old member of a form of the Rat Pack but with a little more independent recognition. To support this he is always singing a song he and his cousin Bernie wrote in "'48". He has actually died quite a number of times due to his lifestyle but has always survived by making various deals with the devil every time he gets sent to hell. Once the devil cut him off from immortality and was about to take his soul, but Sid took the devil's soul instead.

  • Daddy and Son

With these characters Logan provided the voices of both a 10-year-old boy and his cheerfully controlling father who displayed many hang-ups. These characters were never officially named. It begins when "Son" find a monkey and brings him home in his backpack. His father tells him he can't and decides it is time for "The Talk", which in this case is a 5-minute-long piano song called:"Monkeys are bad people". It ranges in references from Planet of the Apes to King Kong and involves a harmonica solo. These roles were later reprised when "Son" was about 13 and asked for a banana. His father informs him that it is strictly "monkey-food" and doesn't belong in their "well lit, sanitized and bacteria-free home" and launches him into the song again. During this version we find that "Daddy" gave "Son" a perm. In this version he blackmails his son into playing a solo instead, by threatening his allowance. In the end there of course was no monkey but there was a tiger in his room.

  • Nigel Pettijohn Stinkwell

A British radio interviewer for a show that echoes the style of James Lipton and Masterpiece Theater, Nigel appears to be a huge fan of Vanilla going as far as sending him very personal letters about certain subjects and fruit baskets and was astonished to find out the Vanilla had only a fictional personality.This character was only used once in a "self-interview" by Logan in order to promote the Very Tiny Songs Project.

[edit] Solo albums

  • Outsmartin' the Popos (1997)
  • I Would Be A Biggest Octopus (1998)
  • How Does An Electrostatic Motor Work? (1999)
  • Denture/Doorknob (1999)
  • Earth Is Big (2000)
  • Mini Album Of Luv (2003)
  • Goodbye, My 4-Track (2003)
  • Very Tiny Songs (2006)

[edit] Illness and Death

From November 2003 onward Logan battled fatigue, headaches, dizziness, and stomach illness. In May, 2004 it was discovered that the ailments he was suffering were due to a cancerous brain tumor. Deciding to focus on his recovery, he left The Velvet Teen[14] and put his solo career on hiatus. He spent the better part of a year and a half in treatments for the recurring brain cancer. On December 3, 2006, Logan Whitehurst succumbed to his illness at his home in Los Banos, California.[15]

From many donations, the fledgling Remember Logan Foundation came to be.[16] Created by his fans, its mission will be to provide funding for brain cancer research and treatment.

[edit] Other Bands and Collaborations

  • The End Is Near (Headboard, 1996, keyboards)
  • Warning: Do Not Open This Box (Little Tin Frog, 1996, drums)
  • This Is It! Proof... (Little Tin Frog, 1996, drums)
  • The Pain and Pleasure Machine (Little Tin Frog, 1997, drums)
  • Brilliant Ideas (Little Tin Frog, 1998, drums, vocals)
  • Enetophobia (Little Tin Frog, 1999, drums, vocals)
  • Special Little Devil (The Secret Band, 1999, drums, keyboards, concertina, vocals)
  • Future is Turning (Luckie Strike, 2000, Assistant Engineer/Producer, backing vocals)
  • The Mercury Project (Luckie Strike, 2000, Assistant Engineer/Producer, backing vocals)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Slowdance Records :: The Velvet Teen
  2. ^ http://loganwhitehurst.net/LW/artwork/index.html
  3. ^ http://www.loganwhitehurst.net/LW/artwork/comics/quimby/index.html
  4. ^ The Velvet Teen + The Americas + Out Circuit - PopMatters Concert Review
  5. ^ The Velvet Teen | Music Artist | Videos, News, Photos & Ringtones | MTV
  6. ^ Metroactive Music | Logan Whitehurst
  7. ^ Metroactive Music | Logan Whitehurst
  8. ^ Search Results for "artistid=SYN042406", search type 'Artist', match type 'exact', word type 'substring'; from 1970 to 2008, sorting newest first, playlist type(s) synd/live
  9. ^ The Dr. Demento Show #07-01 - January 7, 2007
  10. ^ The Dr. Demento Show #03-41 - October 12, 2003
  11. ^ Replica :: The Movie
  12. ^ http://loganwhitehurst.net/LW/music/VTSP/index.html
  13. ^ Music & Nightlife in Petaluma, CA | Logan Whitehurst memorial
  14. ^ scott. "Velvet Teen drummer leaves band due to brain tumor", Punknews.org, May 25, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-01-14. 
  15. ^ Music - Once More With Feeling - once more with feeling - Portland Mercury
  16. ^ http://www.rememberlogan.org

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Whitehurst, Logan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION American drummer
DATE OF BIRTH November 19, 1977
PLACE OF BIRTH California
DATE OF DEATH December 3, 2006
PLACE OF DEATH Los Banos California
Languages