Deadsy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Years active | 1995 – Present |
| Genres | Goth rock New Wave Rock |
| Labels | Sire Elektra Warner Elementree Dreamworks |
| Members | Phillips Exeter Blue I Creature Dr. Nner Alec Püre Carlton Megalodon |
Deadsy is an American rock band. They are fronted by Elijah Blue Allman aka Phillips Exeter Blue I. The other members of Deadsy are Creature (Bass), Dr. Nner (Synths), Alec Püre (Percussion) and Carlton Megalodon (Synth guitar).
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[edit] History
Deadsy was formed in 1995[citation needed]. Elijah recorded several demos with Alec Puro (who would later go by the name 'Alec Pure' in the band) in the garage of the band's would-be manager, Josh Richman[citation needed]. Elijah then sent Renn Hawkey a demo tape and a Juno 106 synth[citation needed] and Renn joined (under the stagename of Dr. Nner) shortly after.
In 1997, the band was set to release their debut self-titled album under the Elektra/Sire label. Just as everything seemed in place for the debut, Sire split from Elektra, and the release was shelved (promotional copies are still floating around, but are somewhat rare)[citation needed].
- "Basically, we got the record deal when we shouldn't have -- we were all 19," Blue explained. "I got it out of desperation. I got kicked out of the house, and I was like 'Fuck it, I'll go get a record deal.' So it kind of happened out of necessity, in a sense, and a lot of the delays were just because I didn't know how to handle my business that well. Also, Sire was going through some problems in leaving Elektra. Every bad thing that could happen did happen." - P. Exeter Blue[citation needed]
Eventually in 2002 after a series of false starts, Deadsy were signed by Elementree Records (the band Korn's label) and allowed to release their debut album. Korn singer Jon Davis had collaborated with the band before, most notably on the song 'Sleepy Hollow' and the new addition to the CD, 'Key to Gramercy Park'. In July 2006, the band finally finished work on their new album "Phantasmagore" which was plagued by delays throughout the writing and production process, most of which were due to Elijah's heroin use (a fact reveled when he appeared on the Howard Stern show recently)[citation needed]. It was released on August 22, 2006.
Deadsy appeared on the 2nd Stage line-up for Family Values Tour 2006 and will be touring in November and December with fellow Family Values artist the Deftones.[citation needed]
Recently the song "Friends" (recorded during the Phantasmagore sessions) was made available for purchase exclusively through iTunes. This is the second b-side released off of the new album (not counting "My Only Friend" the Magnetic Fields cover which appears on the soundtrack of the film Winter Passing).
[edit] Musical Style and Themes
Elijah describes the band's low and dissonant style as Undercore.[citation needed] Elijah's low baritone singing style, down-tuned guitars, Dr. Nner's synths and Carlton's Z-tar give the music an almost surreal quality. Deadsy's sound is often compared to Gary Numan[citation needed].
- "We wanted to make something that was transcendental, really rule-defying, and very against the grain. And when people listened to it at first, it would just feel very like a sense of foreignness, almost like watching a David Lynch film." - Elijah Blue[citation needed]
The lyrics and imagery of the songs sometimes focus on many subjects in either religious, magical or popular culture contexts. Occasionally one notices obscure references to Secret Societies, The Urantia Book, Star Wars, and the novel Dune, by Frank Herbert.[citation needed]
[edit] Visual appearance
Elijah has often called the band an "art project", or "art movement".[citation needed] Complete with a manifesto (available on their site), and visual iconography. Each band member represents one element or "Entity" that drives human society. Each entity is also represented by their own color and unique appearance.
Blue - Academia (P. Exeter Blue)
Yellow - Science / Medicine (Dr. Nner)
Green - Leisure (Alec Pure)
Grey - War (Carlton Megalodon)
Red - Horror (Creature)
Unlike the usual darker "gothic" aesthetics of other groups, Deadsy's style was a bit more colorful. This really set the group apart from other bands in the genre as well. This and their music made them a very interesting act to see live on-stage[citation needed].
In April 2004, at the Troubadour in Hollywood CA., Deadsy unveiled their new look for the upcoming Phantasmagore album. The new logo was revealed - a television test pattern containing the Entity colors. No longer present were the usual zombie/schoolboy uniforms that the fans had become familiar with. The band emerged on stage in black tattered robes and opened with a new song, Sands of Time (later renamed Time on the Phantasmagore album).[citation needed]
In June 2004, at a show following the previous one, Josh, Deadsy's manager announced enthusiastically, "Deadsy legions! Are you ready for the next level of UNDERCORE?!" This was seemingly a sign of things to come, as changes would soon be made to other avenues of information related to Deadsy.[citation needed]
The band's familiar website also went through a transformation in order to reflect the changes the band itself had undergone and the in-site message board was brought back after a long hiatus.
[edit] Fans
Deadsy fans are referred to as the Legions[citation needed]. They are encouraged to promote and spread the word on the band. They are often viewed as being very supportive, probably even more so because Deadsy has a great reputation for being very supportive of them.[citation needed] As gratitude for each other's continuing love, the band will often meet up with fans after their shows to thank each other, or simply hang out with them. Deadsy legions are often seen sporting white chains as a means of distinctive apparel to denote that they are indeed fans of the band and can be recognized by other like-minded individuals. The chain represents the strength and unity of Undercore.[citation needed]
The remarkable strength of this fan base is largely a response to public scorn for Deadsy. Despite the Legions' continued support, many people associate Deadsy with the much-satirized Emo subculture, and will actually attend concerts solely to harass them. On 12/4/06, for example, concertgoers in Boston tossed suicide prevention leaflets on stage, and sarcastically cheered every time Creature did the "emo flip" (in which the much-lampooned "emo haircut" is sheepishly tossed back, either as a statement of ennui or, more pragmatically, to get one's hair out of one's face)[citation needed].
[edit] Collaborators
Jay Gordon of Orgy, Troy Van Leeuwen of Failure/A Perfect Circle/Queens of the Stone Age, Jonathan Davis of Korn, Richie Birkenhead, Chris Vrenna of Nine Inch Nails/Tweaker, Aimee Echo of theSTART, Pat Briggs of Psychotica, Hollinson Robinson, Jed Whedon, Sunny Levine and Nigel John Taylor of Duran Duran have also made several contributions to Deadsy's projects (in particular on the commercial release of their album Commencement).
[edit] Discography
- Deadsy (1997) (never in stores)
- Commencement (1999) (never in stores)
- Commencement (2002)
- Phantasmagore (2006)
[edit] Videography
Official music videos:
- The Key to Gramercy Park
- Brand New Love
Web videos:
- She Likes Big Words
- Babes In Abyss
- Razor Love (short clip)
