Reuben (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Reuben | |
|---|---|
 Jon (left) and Jamie (middle) being interviewed
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Camberley, Surrey, UK |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock Hard rock Post-hardcore |
| Years active | 1998–2008 |
| Label(s) | Hideous Records |
| Website | Official website |
| Members | |
| Jamie Lenman Jon Pearce Guy Davis |
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| Former members | |
| Jason Wilcock, Mark Lawton | |
Reuben were a three-piece musical group from Camberley in the United Kingdom. Their music can be said to be a fusion of alternative rock and heavy metal, as their songs cover a variety of styles, ranging from heavy and upbeat, such as their 2005 single "Blamethrower" to slower, more melodic songs such as their 2004 single "Moving to Blackwater". The former style of song often features vocalist Jamie switching between shouting and whispering, a technique often used in heavy metal and post-hardcore music. The band has gained much respect in the UK underground music scene, and are known for the devotion to their fans and their fans' devotion to the band. This respect has spawned a self-proclaimed "official" tribute band under the name 'Corned Beef'. The tribute band has uploaded a number of live videos onto YouTube which can be seen here. Reuben has achieved some mainstream success in the UK, their highest charting single being 2004's Freddy Kreuger that reached #53 in the UK Charts.
As of 4 June 2008, Reuben have entered a state of indefinite hiatus. Fans were emailed by the band manager, making them aware of the hiatus, and that it is not the end for Reuben.
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[edit] History
[edit] Formation and early demos
The band formed in 1998 when singer/guitarist Jamie Lenman and bassist Jon Pearce originally played with Jason Wilcock as Angel, sharing local stages with many bands, one of which would become Hundred Reasons. Between 1998 and 2000, Angel recorded and self-released a string of limited edition demos. The songs and artwork of one of these demos, Betrayed, was previously available to download via the band's website. Many Angel songs can be found as b-sides to Reuben singles. For more information on the individual singles, see the discography below.
[edit] Lineup change and Pilot EP
In March 2000, they parted ways with Jason, and Mark Lawton joined as drummer, with whom they wrote and recorded the Pilot EP, which was released in January 2001 on the Badmusic label after they changed their name to Reuben. The group decided to go ahead with recording the EP after they had won a battle of the bands in Bookham, Surrey. The final day of mixing's £100 fee was paid for entirely in £1 coins. Following the release of Pilot EP, Mark left and was replaced by current drummer Guy Davis.
[edit] First album success
The long-awaited debut full-length album Racecar Is Racecar Backwards was released in June 2004. Over 10,000 sales since the release of the album sparked off the success that everyone knew was on Reuben's horizon, spawned the chart-bothering singles "Freddy Kreuger" and "Moving To Blackwater" and led to their nomination for a Kerrang! Award for Best British Newcomer. They have gained a very loyal fanbase with their numerous singles, which were popular on the underground music scene, receiving much airplay on MTV2.
[edit] Second album
2005 saw the release of the band's second album, Very Fast Very Dangerous, spawning a further three singles, including the download-only "Blamethrower". This album received some doubt from early fans due to a distinct change in sound - replacing the quick twists, turns and time-signatures heard on their first album with a simpler sound. Despite this, the album received reasonable reviews, and many of the songs featured on this album have proven popular at live shows.
In September 2005, the band played a three-song live set on the Zane Lowe show on Radio 1 in support of the then-upcoming album. The set featured a cover of the popular Gorillaz song "Feel Good Inc." as well as two songs from the second album, "Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em" and then upcoming single "Keep it to Yourself".
In September 2006 the band toured around the UK and Europe with Canadian punk band Billy Talent. This was the first time Reuben played in Europe.
[edit] Third album, DVD
On the 20 November 2006 the band returned to the studio to record their third album, In Nothing We Trust. It was produced by Sean Genockey with Jack Rushton (who have previously produced albums by Engerica and Smother) in Livingstone Studios, London. The album features three confirmed guest vocalists, Frank Turner, Hannah Clark (Singer from Hampshire Band Arthur [1]) and Paul Townsend (formerly of Hundred Reasons). Throughout recording the band uploaded short videos on YouTube for each day in the studio.[2] The album was released on 25 June 2007 via Hideous Records.
Reuben were also featured on the Print Is Dead Vol. 1 project by the UK band Yourcodenameis:milo on the track "Captain of Lies".
The band released their first DVD, a double-disc offering named What Happens in Aldershot Stays in Aldershot, on 19 March 2007, with advance copies available on the February 2007 tour. The DVD features both a documentary of life in the band and a full recording of the band's show at London's Mean Fiddler on April 27, 2006 (including an audio commentary) and contains all the album 3 diaries currently on YouTube plus a number of other extras and short films.
On 13 January 2007, Reuben announced that they would be running their own label, Hideous Records in order to have more control over future releases... and although lack of backing and mainstream support could have held them back, they are instead experiencing the most attention from fans and media outlets alike, of all their burgeoning career.
The video for the first single from their next album, "Blood, Bunny, Larkhall" was posted on their website on 7 May 2007. It was released on 18 June 2007, in digital format and as a limited pressing of 1000 CDs.
Their third album, In Nothing We Trust was released to critical acclaim, receiving 9/10 from Rocksound, 4/5 from Kerrang! and Q magazine and 8/10 from Hotpress.
The second single from the album, "Deadly Lethal Ninja Assassin" (featuring Frank Turner of Million Dead fame) was released on the 24th of September.
The band released a new track Christmas Is Awesome for download on December 17th in an attempt to make Christmas #1 but due to an error the wrong song was registered for chart inclusion and therefore the the song was disqualified from chart entry.
The third and final song to be released from the album, "Cities On Fire" was released in March 2008 as a part of the TwoByThree EP. The EP also featured the bands Baddies and The Ghost Of A Thousand both of whom accompanied Reuben on a nationwide tour in support of the EP. 500 copies were made available to purchase via record shops and the internet and a further 1000 copies were available for purchase on the accompanying tour. This was Reuben's first release on their Hideous Records label to feature other bands.
[edit] Hiatus
On June 4, 2008 this email was issued by Barney the bands manager to all mailing list members,
"I regret to announce that Reuben are unable to play their slot on the 2000 Trees Festival in July, but they would still urge people to go anyway - it should be a great weekend. They are very sorry to disappoint fans who have already bought tickets, as you can imagine Reuben hate cancelling shows. The band are all in good health but the culmination of several pressures just makes it impossible for Jamie to go ahead with it. The band are not planning any more gigs or releases for the foreseeable future - I should make it clear that the band members are all on amicable terms and are supportive of the need to call a halt. This seems like a good time to thank everyone who has helped and encouraged Reuben along the way; some of you have been there from the start, others from last week, some are within the music industry, others are simply fans - it doesn't matter which, you are all important and have given great strength to all concerned. Thank you so much, Barney Geronimo! Management"
[edit] Los Skeletos
In 2005, a band under the name of Los Skeletos appeared on MySpace featuring alternative recordings of Reuben songs on their music player. Los Skeletos played a string of gigs in the same year, promoted as "Play[ing] the hits of Reuben". In a recent interview posted on rockmidgets.com [3], Jon explains the idea behind the mysterious band:
| “ | We wanted to play some new songs - we had a whole album's worth, and it's always rubbish to go and see your favourite band and them not play the hits, so we called ourselves Los Skeletos and played a couple of shows. It meant there were no Reuben fans there waiting to hear Freddy Kreuger or any of the other singles - they got to see a brand new band playing brand new songs. | ” |
[edit] Members
- Jamie Lenman - Guitar, Vocals, Piano/Keyboard
- Jon Pearce - Bass, Backing vocals
- Guy Davis - Drums, Backing Vocals
[edit] Discography
[edit] Notes and references
[edit] External links
- Official Site
- Hideous Records site
- Reuben on PureVolume
- Reuben interview from Room Thirteen
- Reuben Interview from Glasswerk.co.uk
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