Suburban Rhythm
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Suburban Rhythm (S.R.) was a ska/punk band from Long Beach, California. Formed in 1990, the band had a short-lived but prolific and influential career. In their prime, they played numerous shows in small-venue clubs with many now famous O.C. bands opening their performances, including Sublime, No Doubt, and Reel Big Fish. Suburban Rhythm met with many internal band conflicts and band roster changes in their short years. The band broke up in 1994 and three years later in 1997 their only full-length album, Suburban Rhythm was released. Despite their very limited exposure and short career, Suburban Rhythm remains highly influential and one of ska/punk's most legendary bands.
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[edit] History
In August of 1989, vocalist Dennis Owens, guitarist Jake Kline, keyboardist Rodi DelGadillo, bassist Deryke Cardenaz, and drummer Christine Tasche formed a band called The Silent Invasion. After a few months of rehearsal, the band played their one and only show just after Christmas in Tasche's back house in front of a few friends. Shortly after, Tasche left the band.
Several months later, John Gamba responded to their "Drummer Wanted" flyer and was soon added to the band roster. The band soon decided to change their name to Suburban Rhythm. Kline hated the name, but due to him having missed that particular meeting in which the name was changed, the others decided Kline would have no say in the matter. Eight months later and after playing several shows, Gamba was ousted due to "personality conflicts", leaving the band once again without a drummer.
Carlos De La Garza, drummer for ska band, The Trenchtown Invaders, took Gamba's spot as drummer. One month later, Cardenaz quit for unknown reasons. Through an "acquaintance of an acquaintance", the band found Ed Kampwirth to replace Cardenaz. With the addition of Kampwirth, the band's sound began to solidify.
[edit] Height of career
With Kampwirth and de la Garza forming a solid rhythm section, the band's musicianship and song writing had greatly improved, and the band played numerous shows, in the Long Beach and Orange County area. In October of 1992, the band released their first (and only) demo, Hose. After this, the size of Suburban Rhythm's fan base grew dramatically.
In April of 1993, due to general unhappiness in the band's musical direction, Kline quit the band to work on his own musical project, a band called Eggbeater. Kline's departure left the band with Dennis Owens and Rodi DelGadillo as the only two original members remaining. The band vowed to break up if any more of the core members (including Kampwirth and De La Garza) decided to quit, fearing replacing any more members might "water things down to the point of embarrassment."
Despite depression within the band, they decided they would stick together and find a new guitarist. After several try-outs including Reel Big Fish founder Aaron Barrett, the band chose Nuckle Brothers guitarist Scott Moran. Soon after this, Chris Siglin was hired as the band's manager.
[edit] What Ever Happened To Suburban Rhythm? Why Did Ed and Scott Quit?
In late October or early November of 1993, Suburban Rhythm started to record their first album. At this point, band member relations were becoming unstable. According to Owens, more and more arguments ensued between band members about "this-that-and-the-other's problem with this-that-and-the-other".
The initial recording sessions proved unsatisfactory. After several more arguments, it was decided to re-record the album at another studio. Friction among the band members grew worse as the band continued to argue. Finally, in the middle of the sessions, Kampwirth and Moran announced they were quitting the band. The band kept the promise they made after Kline left and put the band to rest. S.R. played its last show on April 2, 1994 in Costa Mesa, CA. The band released the "Almost There" ep at the time of their break up, the EP featured 4 songs from the scrapped album.
Ed quit to start his own band Larry which featured future Save Ferris singer Monique Powell. Scott quit, primarily, because of personal and creative conflicts with singer, Dennis Owens.
[edit] Compilation
In 1997, three years after the band's breakup, a posthumous 16-song compilation CD was released from Long Beach record label Solid Recordings. The album contains three tracks from the Hose demo cassette, all four tracks from the Almost There 7" vinyl, plus nine previously unreleased tracks, which were the unreleased songs from the scrapped first album. The compilation also includes five tracks recorded live from the Big Black Room in Santa Ana, California in 1993, as well as a hidden garage-recorded track entitled "Uniform of Destruction". The cd also features liner notes written by No Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont, who, at that point, had gone on to achieve world-wide success.
[edit] Musical style
Suburban Rhythm ran the gamut of musical styles. While primarily labeled a ska/punk band, some of their recordings displayed styles from funk (e.g. "18 Inch Ruler"), to metal, jazz, blues, prog, and even country (e.g. "Blue Hawaii"). Their tone also had range, from dark and moody styles, such as "Coming Out Of The Woodwork" and "Tension", to playful, fast-driven songs like "Game Show", "Bixville" and their cover of Carl Douglas' "Kung Fu Fighting". The band displayed a musical dexterity and elasticity, and managed to blend numerous musical influences, and stretched the boundaries of what was normally expected from a ska/punk band.
This musical versitility is referenced in Reel Big Fish's 'S.R.(The Many Versions Of)' on their 2006 live album Our Live Album Is Better Than Your Live Album.
[edit] Influence and Legacy
Shortly after Suburban Rhythm's break-up a large number of the band's contemporaries would go on to find success, and this would, in part, lead to a nationwide ska revival in the mid and late 90's. Additionally, a large number of younger Orange County ska bands had cited Suburban Rhythm as an influence. Most notably, O.C. ska band Reel Big Fish has paid homage to Suburban Rhythm on many occasions. Their second full-length CD, Turn the Radio Off, includes a tribute song to Suburban Rhythm entitled "S.R". This song is notable during their live shows, as they play multiple versions of it spanning across several genre such as emo, punk, rap, techno, and metal. They also covered Suburban Rhythm's "Uniform of Destruction" for the Ska Parade's compilation album, Runnin' Naked thru the Cornfield. (Suburban Rhythm's "Coming out of the Woodwork" is featured on the same album.)
Various members of Suburban Rhythm have gone on to play in numerous bands, and are still active in the Long Beach, Orange County and Los Angeles musical communities. Owens, de la Garza, and Delgadillo, would go on to form the power-pop group Action League which would play from 1995-1999. Dennis Owens currently plays with BlowUpBlow and Free Moral Agents as well as Dj's in various clubs in Long Beach and Orange County, most notably at the long-running Good Foot that Owens started with Delgadillio in 1998. Ed Kampwirth would form the prog band Larry which would feature future Save Ferris singer Monique Powell, and would go on to play with Specials member Neville Staples, Kampworth now plays with Dios. Carlos de la Garza, would go on to play drums with Reel Big Fish, Gogogo Airheart, Lyra, and Ray Barbee, and currently runs Music Friends recording studio, and works as a recording engineer and producer. Scott Moran would later play guitar with The Aquabats and currently plays guitar with skate-legend Ray Barbee's instrumental ensemble.
[edit] Members
- Dennis Owens (vocals)
- Rodi DelGadillo (keyboard)
- Deryke Cardenaz (bass guitar) (1990–1992)
- Ed Kampwirth (bass guitar) (1992–1994)
- Jake Kline (guitar) (1990–1993)
- Scott Moran (guitar) (1993–1994)
- Christine Tasche (drums) (1990, with The Silent Invasion)
- John Gamba (drums) (1990–1991)
- Carlos de la Garza (drums) (1991–1994)
[edit] Discography
| Year | Title | Format | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Hose | Cassette | Out of print |
| 1994 | Almost There | 7″ Vinyl | Out of print |
| 1997 | Suburban Rhythm | CD | 16-song compilation released through Solid Recordings - Out Of Print |
