Death to Anders

Death to Anders

Nick Ceglio, John Broeckel, Rob Danson, and Peter DiBiasio (left to right) live at Three Clubs in Hollywood on January 14, 2009
Background information
Origin Los Angeles, California, USA
Genres indie rock, alternative rock, experimental rock, college rock, alternative country
Years active 2006–present
Associated acts The Thick Liquid Sucker Punch
Website
Members Rob Danson
Rob Hume
Robert Smith
Past members Anders Griffen
Nick Ceglio
Pete Dibiasio
John Broekel

Death to Anders (pronounced "onders") are an American indie rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2006. Their lineup consists of Rob Danson (vocals and guitar), Rob Hume (bass and background vocals), and Robert Smith (drums).

Death to Anders are active in the influential Echo Park and Silver Lake music scenes in Los Angeles and were founding members of the Central Second Collective, a group of up-and-coming rock musicians dedicated to promoting innovative, new music in Los Angeles.[1]

Often compared to Pavement, early Modest Mouse and Sonic Youth but defying hard classification, Death to Anders shift dramatically between hypnotic melodies and raging dissonance as they mix intelligent, story-driven rock with quirky Gothic Americana.[2]

Formation and history: 2004-present

Death to Anders was first formed as a duo in 2004, under the name of the "Thick Liquid Sucker Punch", by Danson and original guitarist Nick Ceglio while the two were students at the Musician's Institute in Hollywood, California. While most of their classmates were interested in heavy metal or progressive rock, the two bonded over their shared enthusiasm for Sonic Youth, the Pixies, and Pavement.[3]

Death to Anders joined with several other young Los Angeles bands, including the Happy Hollows, the Transmissions, One Trick Pony, the Henry Clay People, Anchors for Architects, and DiE RoCKERS DiE, to form the Central Second Collective, a group dedicated to promoting innovative, independent music. The collective's name refers to the Cocaine, an indie club within 2nd Street Jazz, a venue located at Central and 2nd Avenues in the "Little Tokyo" district of downtown Los Angeles.[4][5] Although the Central Second Collective no longer formally exists, member bands continue to play and record together,[6] appearing regularly in the independent and underground clubs of the Silverlake and Echo Park music scenes, the birthplace of successful indie bands like Beck, Elliott Smith, Rilo Kiley, Sea Wolf, and Silversun Pickups.[7][8] Several of the Second Central Collective bands, including Death to Anders, will also be featured in the book Gooseberries, a collection of portraits by Los Angeles music photojournalist Sterling Andrews that will be released through Eenie Meenie Records in the Spring of 2009.[9]

Death to Anders self-produced their first album "Punctuate the Calamities" in the Fall of 2006, and after recording with British producer David Newton (formerly of the Mighty Lemon Drops) at Rollercoaster Recording in 2007, they released two albums in 2008, a full-length entitled "Fictitious Business" and an EP entitled "Enigmatic Market".[10] In 2010, Danson re-formed Death to Anders as a dynamic 3-piece featuring bassist Rob Hume and drummer Robert Smith.

In 2011, armed with new material, the trio released the E.P. "Don't Give Up," which was recorded at Infrasonic Sound (No Age, Wavves, Fools Gold) and mixed by Ali Nikou at BlasterMaster Productions in Los Angeles. Death to Anders released their E.P. on October 25, 2011 during L.A blog Buzz Bands’ three-year anniversary show at The Echo in Echo Park, California, where they shared the bill with Everest and Hands.

Musical style and influences

Danson, DiBiasio, and Ceglio (left to right) live at Tokyo Garden in Fresno, California on December 4, 2008

The dissonant tones, dynamic melodies and complex song structures that shape the Death to Anders sound reveal a broad array of influences and reflect the diversity of its members. Hailing from different areas of the United States -- Boulder, Colorado (Danson); Eindhoven, The Netherlands (Hume); and Detroit, Michigan (Smith) -- the band integrate genres as varied as punk rock, indie rock, and alternative country. While their work has been compared to Pavement,[2] early Modest Mouse,[11] the Pixies,[12] and Sonic Youth,[13] it is also described as difficult to classify,[11] "radical",[2] and "fresh".[14]

Rob Hume's highly melodic bass work, inspired by Bruce Thomas of the Attractions, is effortlessly integrated with Smith's energetic, Keith Moon (The Who) and Jimmy Chamberlin (Smashing Pumpkins) inspired drums. Danson's lead vocals, which range from the quietly sincere to squealing intensity betray the influence of Stephen Malkmus, Nick Cave and Isaac Brock,[15]

Death to Anders are also known for their intelligent, darkly humorous and often mysterious lyrics, which are written by Danson and Ceglio and inspired by the literary works of Henry Miller, Albert Camus, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Tom Robbins, and Chuck Palahniuk. The title of the band's debut album, "Punctuate the Calamities", is even a reference to Miller's Tropic of Cancer.[16]

Discography

Albums

EPs and singles

Notes

  1. ↑ Deming, Mark. "Artist Biography - Death to Anders". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Hoppa, Jocelyn (2008-07-16). "Death to Anders". Crawdaddy! (2.09).
  3. ↑ Fielder, Joe (2008-01-11). "Mini-Interview: Death to Anders". Radio Free Silverlake. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
  4. ↑ Tepp, Rhea (May 2006). "The State of Los Angeles". Loose Record. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  5. ↑ Fielder, Joe (2006-08-18). "Central Second Collective Inteview Pt 1: Death to Anders & the Transmissions". Radio Free Silverlake. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  6. ↑ Petro, Christopher (February 2008). "PerformerMag: West Coast Performer: Spotlights No. 1: February 2008". West Coast Performer.
  7. ↑ John, Zeiss (2007-09-11). "Earlimart: Steering Silver Lake's ship". Prefix Magazine. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  8. ↑ Dicks, Brett Leigh (2006-09-28). "The Watson Twins Display their Southern Manners". Faster Louder. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  9. ↑ Andrews, Sterling (2009). Gooseberries: A collection of images. Los Angeles: Eenie Meanie Records.
  10. ↑ Woods, Travis (2008-09-22). "Featured Artist Interview: Dave Newton". Web In Front. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Berka, Caitlin (April 2008). "PerformerMag: West Coast Performer: Recorded Reviews: April 2008". West Coast Performer.
  12. ↑ Cohen, Matt (2007-07-24). "Death to Anders: Punctuate the Calamities". Delusions of Adequacy. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  13. ↑ Bronson, Kevin (2008-01-14). "Buzz Bands: Kevin Bronson on the music scene in Los Angeles and beyond: Death to Anders brings the noise on second album". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
  14. ↑ Fink, Matt (Summer 2008). "Review: Fictitious Business". Under the Radar (The Protest Issue 2008): 92.
  15. ↑ McCague, Chris (August 2008). "Albums - Aug 2008". Tasty. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  16. ↑ Miller, Henry (1987). Tropic of Cancer. Grove Press. p. 146. ISBN 0-8021-3178-6.

References

External links