The Distillers

The Distillers
The Distillers at the Leeds Festival 2004
Background information
Origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Punk rock, hardcore punk, alternative rock
Years active	1998-2006
Labels	Sire, Epitaph, Hellcat
Associated acts	Spinnerette, Darker My Love, The Nerve Agents, Angels & Airwaves, Love Equals Death
Past members	Brody Dalle Tony Bevilacqua Ryan Sinn Andy Granelli Rose Mazzola Kim Chi Mat Young

The Distillers were an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1998. They released their first two albums on Hellcat Records/Epitaph Records before moving to Sire, part of the Warner Music Group. The Distillers were originally formed by Australian-born Brody Armstrong, a woman with a distinctively harsh singing voice. Brody changed her name to "Dalle" after her 2003 divorce from Rancid's Tim Armstrong. Although there were significant line-up changes it was Brody who played guitar, sang, and wrote or co-wrote nearly every song on the band's three albums. Tony Bevilacqua also played guitar and Ryan Sinn played bass. After the break up of the band, Dalle and Bevilacqua formed the band Spinnerette.

History

The hardcore punk outfit The Distillers first came together in late 1998 when Aussie native Brody Armstrong met bassist Kim Chi at work and realized their love for playing. Soon they hooked up with Detroit guitarist Rose Mazzola and drummer Matt Young.

Signed to Epitaph, the band issued its self-titled debut in April 2000. Sing Sing Death House appeared the same year, but was re-released in early 2002 thanks to the sudden popularity of "Seneca Falls." By now, Kim Chi had left the group to join Exene Cervenka in her band, the Original Sinners. Ryan Sinn stepped in to replace her; Matt departed to join Chi while Mazzola left during the height of "Seneca Falls". By summer 2002, The Distillers were composed of Armstrong, Sinn, and new drummer Andy Granelli; joint American dates with No Doubt and Garbage were planned for later that fall. Guitarist/vocalist Tony Bradley joined The Distillers in time for the recording of their third album and major-label debut, Coral Fang, which was released in 2003 by Sire. For the album, Armstrong reverted to playing under the name Brody Dalle, following her very public divorce from Rancid's Tim Armstrong that same year.

Granelli left the band in early 2005, moving on to play with Darker My Love, and by summer, Sinn had exited as well, later joining up with Angels and Airwaves. Despite rumors, The Distillers, now just Dalle and Bradley, denied that they were breaking up, instead simply going on hiatus. In early 2006, Dalle had her first child, daughter Camille, with new husband Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. By the year's end, the two remaining members formally announced the band's disbandment and went on to form Spinnerette together.^[1]

Former members

Last formation

• Brody Dalle — lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1998-2006), lead guitar (2002)
• Tony Bevilacqua — lead guitar, backing vocals (2003-2006)
• Ryan Sinn — bass, backing vocals (2000-2006)
• Andy Granelli — drums, percussion (2000-2006)

Former members

• Rose "Casper" Mazzola — lead guitar, backing vocals (1998-2002)
• Kim Chi — bass, backing vocals (1998-2000)
• Mat Young — drums, percussion (1998-2000)

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Music Videos

• The Young Crazed Peeling (2002)
• City of Angels (2002)
• Drain the Blood (2003)
• The Hunger (2003)
• Beat Your Heart Out (2003)

Cultural references

• In a February 2003 episode of Gilmore Girls, Jess surprises Rory with last-minute tickets to a Distillers concert.
• A version of the song "Muppet N.A.M.B.L.A" on the Leftöver Crack album Rock the 40 Oz. features Dalle on guest vocals.

Songs used in video games

• The song "Beat Your Heart Out" is featured in Tony Hawk's Underground 2.
• The song "Dismantle Me" is featured in MTX Mototrax.
• The song "Seneca Falls" is featured in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4.
• The song "Drain the Blood" is featured in Gran Turismo 4 and is a downloadable song for Rock Band.
• The song "Beat Your Heart Out" and a cover of the Spider-Man theme song" are featured in the video game adaptation of Spider-Man 2.
• The songs "City of Angels" and "Hall of Mirrors" both featured in the 2004 game True Crime: Streets of LA.
• The song "City of Angels" is featured in Crash 'N' Burn, as well as in the third episode of Sleeper Cell entitled "Money".
• The song "Drain The Blood" is featured in "Grand Theft Auto IV".

References

External links

• The Distillers at Myspace.