Ringo Deathstarr

Ringo Deathstarr

Live at The Globe, Cardiff, November 23, 2010.
Background information
Origin Austin, Texas, USA
Genres Indie rock, indie pop, noise pop, psychedelic pop, shoegaze, nu gaze
Years active 2007–present
Labels Club AC30
Sonic Unyon
Vinyl Junkie Recordings
SVC Records
Fan Death Records
Website http://ringodeathstarr.org/
Members Alex Gehring
Elliott Frazier
Daniel Coborn
Past members Dustin Gaudet
Renan McFarland

Ringo Deathstarr is an alternative rock band from Austin, Texas, which channels such diverse influences as Fugazi, The Cure, The Smiths, My Bloody Valentine, and The Velvet Underground. The band was originally formed by singer/songwriter Elliott Frazier in 2007, and released their eponymous EP on the same year.[1] This was followed by a string of singles and a series of international tours[2] hitting both coasts and the streets of the UK and Japan. The band’s debut full-length album, Colour Trip, was released in February 2011 by Club AC30. They toured with The Smashing Pumpkins in the winter of 2011/2012. The name of the band is a portmanteau of The Beatles drummer's name, Ringo Starr, and the Death Star.

History

The band were originally started by Frazier in his hometown, Beaumont, but soon he moved to the more musically active town of Austin, where he stabilized a lineup consisting of guitarist Renan McFarland, bassist Alex Gehring, and drummer Dustin Gaudet. The band's debut 5-song EP, Ringo Deathstarr, was released on SVC Records in the fall of 2007 in the UK, and on Fan Death Records in 2009. It was later re-released with extra tracks as Sparkler. After a few more years of playing shows, shuffling around members before finally settling on Gehring and drummer Daniel Coborn, and honing their sound, the band was signed by the UK label Club AC30 after gaining popularity at their Reverence Festival in 2009. The band's debut full-length album, Colour Trip, was first released by Club AC30 in February 2011 in the UK, then was licensed by Sonic Unyon for release in North America, and Vinyl Junkie for release in Japan.[3]

Style

The band has been generally described as having a sound that that is heavily influenced by the pioneers of the shoegaze sound, such as Ride, The Jesus & Mary Chain, and My Bloody Valentine as well as a drone component inherited through Spacemen 3. Allmusic describes them as "immersing themselves so totally in the style of their influences that they sound exactly like them", yet also noting that "if you take a more positive stance, you can commend the trio’s skill at re-creation, lose yourself in the warmly fuzzy guitars that flood the album from beginning to end, or let the honey-sweet vocals of bassist Alex Gehring wash away your nagging doubts".[4] BBC took a less positive stance, saying of the band that "they offer evidence that ultimately, it doesn't matter if your band lacks any real ingenuity or originality, because if you play loud enough people will, eventually, begin to notice you", summarizing the band as "shoegaze drone-noise from Texas, done well but done several times before".[5]

Discography

Studio albums

Ringo Deathstarr at the Tel Aviv Barby, August 2013

EPs

Singles

References

  1. ↑ http://www.sonicunyon.com/records/artists/ringo%20deathstarr/
  2. ↑ "Les Smashing Pumpkins, pour l'amour du risque". Le Parisien. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
  3. ↑ Mason, Stewart. "Ringo Deathstarr at Allmusic". Allmusic. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  4. ↑ Sendra, Tim. "Colour Trip - Ringo Deathstarr - Allmusic". Album review. Allmusic. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  5. ↑ Diver, Mike. "BBC - Music - Review of Ringo Deathstarr - Colour Trip". BBC. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  6. ↑ "Ringo Deathstarr". Discogs. Retrieved 28 November 2011.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ringo Deathstarr.