Deuce (singer)
| Deuce | |
|---|---|
 Deuce performing wearing his signature 'Silver Mask'. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Aron Erlichman |
| Also known as | Tha Producer |
| Born | March 2, 1983[1] |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California |
| Genres | Rap rock |
| Occupations | Rapper, singer |
| Instruments | Vocals, Guitar[2] |
| Years active | 2005—present |
| Labels | Five Seven Music |
| Associated acts | Hollywood Undead |
| Website | www.deucela.com |
Aron Erlichman, (born March 2 1983) better known by his stage name Deuce (formerly known as "Tha Producer"), is an American music producer, singer-songwriter, and rapper. Brought to fame as producer, singer/songwriter and one of the founding members of rap rock band Hollywood Undead, Deuce has since moved on to solo work through the label "Five Seven Music", a branch of Eleven Seven Music.[3] He is also involved in a movement with fellow rapper The Truth (Vardan Aslanyan) called "Nine Lives" (often stylized as both "9LIVES" and "IX LIVES"). Deuce released his debut album of the same name on April 24, 2012, which sold 11,425 copies in its first week.[4] Deuce has also collaborated with artists Marc Bosserman, BrokeNCYDE and Blood on the Dance Floor in the past.[5]
History
Musical beginnings (2001–2005)
Deuce began creating Rock -based music under his birth-name of Aron Erlichman, early in 2001. In 2005, he released four tracks; "Franny", "Surface Air", "Breaking Through", and "Sometimes" on Broadjam from his first EP called Aron, internet sharing site for opinions and ratings, where he gained little recognition.[citation needed] He later co-founded Hollywood Undead with Jorel Decker, Matthew St. Claire, and Jeff Phillips, and sang clean vocals and produced instrumentals for the band, until his departure in early 2010. In early February 2012, three more pre-Hollywood Undead tracks were released and surfaced, including "Far Away", "Fallen Stone", and "Dreams".[6]
Hollywood Undead (2005–2010)
Deuce co-founded the band Hollywood Undead as a vocalist and producer with close friend Jorel Decker (J-Dog). The band began their musical career with the creation of the rap-rock song "The Kids" which was greatly promoted by Jeffree Star. Deuce initially adopted and recorded songs with the band under the pseudonym "Tha Producer" due to his role in production but shortened this pseudonym to "Deuce" not long after.[7][8] At the time of Deuce's departure, Hollywood Undead had gained success with Swan Songs, which peaked at number 22 on the Billboard 200 in its first week.[9] A few EPs were released, the Swan Songs B-Sides EP and the Swan Songs Rarities EP in 2009 and 2010, respectively. In 2009, Hollywood Undead released their first live album, Desperate Measures, which peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200.[10]
In late 2009, Deuce left Hollywood Undead after having several problems with the band. He later wrote a song titled 'Story of a Snitch' about Hollywood Undead, the 'snitch' allegedly being about Hollywood Undead member J Dog, with the lyrics consisting mainly of obscenities and insults directed towards Hollywood Undead, also making claims such as he was kicked out of the band and that members of the band were "tryin' to spit just like me [Deuce] but they don't have it".[11]
In an interview with YouTube interviewer Bryan Stars, Hollywood Undead members Johnny 3 Tears and Da Kurlzz where asked why Deuce had left the band, revealing that he was not working well with the band and that they hat to "bend over backwards to accommodate Deuce in a lot of ways... and also that he held them back on their song writing quality."[12] Deuce in a different interview with Bryan Stars however stated that the band where in fact jealous of his leading roll in the band and that he was fully responsible for the bands current position. Also Hollywood Undead stated that Deuce required a personal assistant, revealed to be Jimmy Yuma, now Deuce's guitarist and lyricist, and Jimmy himself replied that Deuce paid him himself, not the band, to set equipment up and to tour with him, the confusion was that the band also paid him to set up their equipment separately. Deuce also commented on the fact that on one tour, the band was waiting for him in order to fly to their next destination and blamed it on deuce for being late, however Deuce had stated that the manager told him that the band had broken up and was not touring.[13]
During an interview with JackedUp Radio, Deuce states that one of the disputes he had with Hollywood Undead was over having a personal Twitter account, Deuce claims that when he began to connect with fans over Twitter he was told that "if you keep twittering, you're not going to be allowed to go on tour".[14]
Upon signing with A&M/Octone with Hollywood Undead in 2008, Deuce states that he was also signed as a solo-artist. He would release his first 4-track EP, The Two Thousand Eight EP, which contained songs "The One", "Gravestone", "Hollyhood Vacation" (Featuring Truth) and "Deuce Dot Com", all of which would 4 years later be remastered and released within his début album, the latter of the two being bonus tracks. The EP was released through iTunes and received little success. Shortly after Deuce was evicted from the band, the EP disappeared from iTunes. Deuce accused the label of breaching the original contract terms and would later sue the company under this accusation. Deuce discovered a loophole that revealed he was permitted to produce remixes/mixtape style songs using the instrumentals of other musicians, so long as he did not incur a profit.[15]
They Call Me Big Deuce EP and Epicenter Music Festival 2010 (2010-2011)
In September 2010, Deuce made his first official live performance as a solo artist at California's Epicenter music festival, opening for Eminem, Blink-182, Kiss, Bush, Rise Against, and others.[16][17]
In September 2011, The Call Me Big Deuce EP was released as the first collective release of material by American singer/rapper Deuce as an independent solo-artist. The mixtape consists of 14 previously released songs compiled into one easy-to-find download at the artist's newly launched website, as most of the songs were released at random times and file-sharing websites between 2005 and 2011.[citation needed] The mixtape was released in order to promote the first album and contains verses over instrumentals by 50 Cent, Eminem, Tupac Shakur, B.o.B and Jay-Z. The mixtape did not contain the previously released songs "Freaky Now". "Surface Air" and "Now You See My Life", which would later be released with his debut album a year later, "Now You See My Life" would be remixed to contain a verse from rapper Skee-Lo, replacing Deuce's second verse.[citation needed]
Deuce formed an eponymous band to assist with live performances and instrumental-production. The band consists of Jimmy Yuma (previously known for assisting with writing and producing the Hollywood Undead song "This Love, This Hate") friend and drummer Tye Gaddis, his sister that plays keyboard live, Arina Chloe, and fellow rappers Bryan "b.LaY" Lay and Truth.[citation needed]
Nine Lives and Fight to Unite Tour (2011-2013)
Deuce completed work for his debut album in late 2011. The album was scheduled to be released March 27, 2012 by Five Seven Music, however was pushed back until April 24, 2012. The album artwork for Nine Lives was released on February 10 by Loudwire who also announced that Deuce would be joining artists Blood on the Dance Floor, brokeNCYDE, The Bunny The Bear, William Control, New Years Day, Polkadot Cadaver, and Haley Rose on the Fight To Unite Tour.[18]
The lead single, "Let's Get It Crackin'", was released November 28, 2011 with an accompanying music video and features Jeffree Star.[19] The album's second single, "America", was initially set to be released for January, 2012,[20] but was released a week early on January 10[21] due to a leak of the full music video in December 2011.[22] Deuce commented on the album saying, "This album has that signature Deuce sound and is similar in flavor to what I created on Swan Songs, but completely unrestricted and rated NC-17. I took some of the shit I couldn't get away with on Swan Songs and brought it to another level for Nine Lives. If you liked what I did before, you will love this...". The album's third and final single before release was titled "Help Me". The song makes fun of the music industry as a whole and particularly James Diener of A&M/Octone. The song was finally released on the 27th of March.[23]
In an interview by Gibson guitars, Deuce talked about the inspiration of his single "America". "I was just going through a weird time, and I was really down. Then I said, 'I don't care how bad my life is, I'm just going to accept it and use it to my advantage.".[24] When comparing Nine Lives to Swan Songs, Deuce said "It's not like last time where there were so many people, now it's all Deuce. Before it was people who weren't producers and not song-writers trying to change things, and now it's just Deuce and I can do exactly what I want."[25]
Nine Lives ended up selling 11,425 copies in the United States during its first week, peaking at number 37 on the Billboard 200. As of late December 2012, "Nine Lives" has sold over 100,000 copies.[26]
A remix EP, titled, Deuce REMIXXXED, was released on May 5, 2012 with remixes of both "America" and "Let's Get It Crackin'".[27] On July 3, a single was released for Independence Day which was called the "America(n) Pride", which contained "America", two remixes, and the music video on iTunes.[28] On July 17, 2012 Deuce released a remix of "I Came To Party" with "Rock mix" in parenthesize via his official Twitter account. The song, as the name suggests, has a heavier rock feel than the original and includes a new verse at the beginning.
Deuce participated on the Uproar Festival 2012 on the Jägermeister stage along the likes of Redlight King, In This Moment and Thousand Foot Krutch. In 2013, Deuce was awarded "New Artist Of The Year" from loudwire, beating the likes of Tremonti and Falling in Reverse.[29]
On February 14, 2013 Deuce released The One (Nine Lives version) as a single and music video. He was also once again scheduled to be part of the Fight to Unite 2013 tour along with Kottonmouth Kings, Dizzy Wright, Eskimo Callboy, and Snow tha Product.[30]
Following an arrest after a car chase throughout the Los Angeles area on June 15, 2012, long time collaborator Truth was prevented from touring with the band outside of LA.[31] In March 2013, Truth announced he was "retired from recording" and was leaving the music industry.[32]
New material and touring (2013-present)
On May 19, 2013 Deuce for the second time participated on the Rock on the Range 2013 on the Jägermeister Stage on day 3 of the festival, along the likes of Middle Class Rut, Thousand Foot Krutch and Beware of Darkness.[33]
In May 2013, Deuce also confirmed that he has been working on a second album and has already recorded on ideas and working on full length material for songs. And also hoping to have collaborations on his rock songs. [34][35] Deuce had posted on Facebook that he will be releasing new material around Christmas and that he would be collaborating with Ronnie Radke of Falling in Reverse, and will also be releasing other new material of his own.[36] On October 17, 2013, Deuce's sister Arina Chloe released a single that featured Deuce titled "Will You Cry For Me."[37]
On January 21, 2014, Deuce confirmed on Twitter that he is collaborating with Blood On the Dance Floor for a second time on a new song called "We're Takin' Over", and that the artwork for the single was being released the following day.[38]
Fan-base and Nine Lives "Movement"
A common misconception is that "Nine Lives" is the name of Deuce's band. Deuce, however, describes "Nine Lives" as a "gang" of musicians and friends who get together to create, share and enjoy music the movement has since expanded from Los Angeles and has gained a large online-following (mainly through social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook). Truth is C.E.O. of the Nine Lives movement, and runs the company from an office located on Vine, between Hollywood and Franklin.[39] Truth has given the term a similar description as Deuce, adding that "Nine Lives" is also a clothing line/brand, partnered with American Apparel.
Legal issues and controversy
A&M/Octone
Deuce filed a lawsuit against the A&M/Octone label claiming a breach of contract. The suit alleges that the label refused to release his solo music because the vulgarity and gang references in the lyrics made the music not commercial enough.[40] The lawsuit was settled privately in court, the visible results being that Deuce is now able to release music under a new label, as well as keep his stage-name and mask designs. Deuce commented on the legal situation and how it affected him while writing his début album, noting, "It just made me tougher and stronger. Having to write, record and make a whole album during a period of time when your music's being taken down could be hard and a lot of people could lose duration or hope. But I have my skills, because I've written so much with my old band that it just didn't affect me too much."[7]
Hollywood Undead assault
Erlichman claims his former Hollywood Undead bandmates began targeting him with angry threats and even attacked him on May 25, 2012. Erlichman was performing solo on May 25 at Hollywood club Angels & Kings. The singer left the club after the performance but claims his former bandmates were 'lying in wait'. He said when they spotted him, they jumped him and proceeded to punch, kick and stomp on him. Erlichman's friend was also injured in the attack when he stepped in to defend the former front man. Erlichman claimed he was badly hurt and went to the police alleging former bandmates Dylan "Funny Man" Alvarez and Jorel "J-Dog" Decker were the primary culprits. In October 2012, Erlichman filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court.[41]
Musical style and lyrical themes
Deuce uses a mixture of rap rock and hip hop music with elements of metal music, a lot like his former band Hollywood Undead and has been compared to such, along with the early works of Eminem, particularly from his works off the debut album Nine Lives.[42] Deuces lyrics, a lot like Hollywood Undead's debut album Swan Songs, tends to be a mixture of serious then sexual themes, often using explicit language, however has been negatively criticized due to choice of wording and being full of himself, often calling the lyrics awful on most songs, however some claim the songs to be catchy and cleverly done.[43][44]
Deuce's album Nine Lives has often been seen as a successor to the Swan Songs album by his fans and in some reviews[42] and even claimed in multiple interviews himself that the album is. He said, in an interview with YouTube personality Bryan Stars, that he wrote and produced on that album and continued to say that his music was better than what the band is now without him and that people should listen to his album if they want songs akin to Swan Songs.[45]
Band members
Although a solo artist, Deuce performs with a live band to provide additional instrumentation and vocals.
|
|
Discography
With Hollywood Undead
- Swan Songs (2008)
- Desperate Measures (2009)
Solo
| Releases | |
|---|---|
| ↙Studio albums | 1 |
| ↙EPs | 2 |
| ↙Singles | 6 |
| ↙Music videos | 6 |
| ↙Mixtapes | 1 |
| ↙Collaborations | 4 |
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Label | Chart peaks[46] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Rock | US Alt. | US Ind. | US Hard Rock | |||
| 2012 | Nine Lives | Five Seven Music | 37 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 2 |
Extended Plays
| Year | Title | Record label | Tracks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | The Two Thousand Eight EP | A and M Records/Octone Records |
|
| 2012 | Deuce Remixxxed EP | Self Released |
|
Mixtapes
| Year | Title | Record label | Tracks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | The Call Me Big Deuce | Eleven Seven Music |
|
Singles
- As lead artist
| Year | Song | US Rock | US Main |
Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "Let's Get It Crackin'" (featuring Jeffree Star) | |
|
Nine Lives |
| 2012 | "America" | 41 | 16 | |
| "Help Me" | |
| ||
| "Nobody Likes Me" (featuring Truth and Ronnie Radke) | |
| ||
| "I Came To Party" (featuring Truth and Travie McCoy) | |
31 | Party Pack | |
| 2013 | "The One" | |
|
Nine Lives |
- As featured artist
| Year | Song | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Together" | Marc Bosserman | Together [47] |
| 2012 | "Never Back Down" | brokeNCYDE | The Best of BC13 [48] |
| "Rise and Shine" | Blood on the Dance Floor | Evolution [49] | |
| 2013 | "Will You Cry for Me " | Arina Chloe | Single [50] |
| 2014 | "Jagger Swagger" (feat. Deuce & BastiBasti) | Eskimo Callboy | We Are The Mess[51] |
| "Who Can Stop Us?" (feat. Deuce & b. LaY) | Ronnie Radke | Watch Me Mixtape[52] | |
| "We're Takin' over!" (feat. Deuce) | Blood on the Dance Floor | Single[53] |
Music videos
- As lead artist
| Year | Song | Director(s) | Type | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "Let's Get It Crackin'" (feat. Jeffree Star) | Nathan Cox | Performance | |
| 2012 | "America" | |||
| "Help Me" | Colin Real | |||
| "I Came to Party (Album Version)" (feat. Truth & Travie McCoy) | Nathan Cox | |||
| "I Came to Party (Rock Radio Mix)" (feat. Truth & Travie McCoy) | ||||
| 2013 | "The One" | James Jou |
- As featured artist
| Year | Artist | Album | Song | Type | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | brokeNCYDE | The Best of BC13[54] | Never Back Down | Performance |
References
- ↑ Deuce. "Deuces basic info on Facebook" (Facebook "About" page). Facebook.com. Deuce. Retrieved 14 January 2014. "Founded - 2 March, 1983"
- ↑ "Hollywood Undead interview 2008".
- ↑ "Five Seven Music Records". Cduniverse.com. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑
- ↑ "Deuce Drops 'Bomb-Ass Music' With 'Nine Lives'". Billboard. 2011-04-10. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "Aron Erlichman's Songs". broadjam.com. Aron Erlichman. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Jamie Bertolini (February 9, 2012). "An Interview with Deuce". Lithium Magazoine. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
- ↑ Ziyah Karmali (July 2, 2009). "Interview With Hollywood Undead". Shave Magazine. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
- ↑ "Swan Songs — Hollywood Undead". Billboard. September 20, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
- ↑ "Desperate Measures — Hollywood Undead". Billboard. November 28, 2009. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
- ↑ "Hollywood Undead vs DEUCE!! Story of a Snitch Interview" (Video report). YouTube. 7:40-8:15: Bryan Stars. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2013. "Deuce strikes back at Hollywood Undead in a song he wrote called "Story of a Snitch""
- ↑ "Hollywood Undead discusses Deuce's departure" (Video interview). AltPress. Tyler Common. 13 February 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2013. "In a recent YouTube interview the band speak on the situation which can be seen below..."
- ↑ "Deuce Responds Hollywood Undead New Interview 9Lives 2012" (Video). YouTube. Bryan Stars. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
- ↑ "JackedUp - 1st Deuce Interview Uncensored - Tindeck MP3 Download". Tindeck.com. 2010-12-27. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "Track Download - Tindeck MP3 Download". Tindeck.com. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ Spencer Matulaitis (July 28, 2010). "Deuce of HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD Announces Epicenter 2010 Solo Performance". Pure Grain Audio. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
- ↑ Rick Florino (July 27, 2010). "Former Hollywood Undead frontman Deuce Added to Epicenter Twenty Ten". Artist Direct. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
- ↑ "Deuce Unveils ‘Nine Lives’ Album Cover, New Release Date and Tour Plans". Loudwire.com. 2012-02-10. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ Chee Kam (November 29, 2011). "DEUCE Premieres "Let's Get It Crackin'" Music Video Online". Pure Grain Audio. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
- ↑ "America on itunes plus video in January" (Facebook post). Facebook. Deuce. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2013. "America on itunes plus video on the 17 January, are you guys excited?"
- ↑ "New music video for America out now!" (Facebook Post). Facebook. Deuce. 10 January 2012. "Check out the new America video now"
- ↑ "Deuce - America music video leak" (Video). Youtube. Raslanov Al-MuFleh. 30 December 2011. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
- ↑ "Help Me on iTunes". iTunes. Deuce. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- ↑ "Deuce Talks Hollywood Undead, Nine Lives and the Art of Songwriting". Gibson.com. 2012-02-23. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "Interview: Deuce.". Indulge-Sound .com. 2012-09-09. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "Building Album Sales Chart". HITS Daily Double. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "Deuce REMIXXXED" (Music). Soundcloud. deuce9lives. 5 May 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013. "Compilation of winners from the Deuce Remix Contest!"
- ↑ "iTunes - Music - America(n) Pride - Single by Deuce". Itunes.apple.com. 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "DEUCE WINS NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR IN THE 2012 LOUDWIRE MUSIC AWARDS". January 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
- ↑ "FIGHT TO UNITE 2013 TOUR FEAT. DEUCE AND KMK" (News). SMN News. SMN News. 14 February 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- ↑ "Pursuit Suspect Collides with Three Vehicles, Injuring Two People". June 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
- ↑ "Twitter / Truth: I retired from recording I". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "2013 ROCK ON THE RANGE FESTIVAL UNVEILS DAILY LINEUPS + SINGLE-DAY TICKETING INFO" (News report). Loudwire. Chad Childers. 9 April 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013. "The 2013 Rock on the Range festival will be here before you know it..."
- ↑ 0.00 (2013-05-24). "Deuce Interview ROTR 2013 by KaytieTheRockGoddess on SoundCloud - Hear the world’s sounds". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "Ripped Nipples and Rock on the Range - News - Fuse". Fuse.tv. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "New music on the way..." (Facebook Post). Facebook. Deuce. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013. "New Musak W Ronnie Radke from fallin in reverse, comin XMAS ya guys ready? plus new deuce"
- ↑ "iTunes - Music - Will You Cry for Me - Single by Arina Chloe & Deuce". Itunes.apple.com. 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "Announcement of We're Takin' Over by Blood On The Dancefloor". Twitter.com. Blood On The Dancefloor. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
- ↑ "Twitter / Truth: I am the owner of Nine Lives". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ Claire Atkinson (February 19, 2011). "Fink prefers coach". The New York Post. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
- ↑ "Hollywood Undead - Ex-Singer Sues Band Over 'Brutal' Beatdown". TMZ.com. 2012-10-05. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 "DEUCE – NINE LIVES: ALBUM REVIEW". Fridaetv.com. Fridaetv. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ↑ "Deuce - Nine Lives". absolutepunk.net. Absolute Punk. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
- ↑ "DEUCE, ‘NINE LIVES’ – ALBUM REVIEW". Loudwire.com. Loudwire. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
- ↑ "Deuce Responds Hollywood Undead New Interview 9Lives 2012". YouTube.com. BryanStars. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
- ↑ "Deuce - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
- ↑ "Together featuring Deuce lyrics". Official site of Marc Bosserman. Marc Bosserman. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
- ↑ "The Best of BC13 - Album". iTunes. Brokencyde. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
- ↑ "Evolution (Deluxe Version) - Album". iTunes. Blood On the Dance Floor. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
- ↑ "Will You Cry for Me - Single". iTunes. Arina Chloe & Deuce. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
- ↑ "We Are The Mess album tracklist by Eskimo Callboy". iTunes. Eskimo Callboy. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
- ↑ "Ronnie Radkes Mixtape Website". RonnieRadkeMixtape. Ronnie Radke. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/botdfmusic/status/425870137019727873
- ↑ "The Best of BC13" (Digital download). iTunes. Brokencyde. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
External links
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