Dieselhed
Encyclopedia
Arcata, California
-Demographics:-2010 Census data:The 2010 United States Census reported that Arcata had a population of 17,231. The population density was 1,567.4 people per square mile...
.
Early career
Dieselhed formed in 1989 in the San Francisco Bay AreaSan Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
playing a blend of country, punk, and pseudo-classic rock. Drummer Heifetz spread his time between Dieselhed and the genre-bending experimentalists Mr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle was an experimental band from Northern California. The band was formed in 1985 while the members were still in high school and was named after a children's educational film. Mr. Bungle released four demo tapes in the mid to late 1980s before being signed to Warner Bros. Records and...
. Singer-songwriter Virgil Shaw
Virgil Shaw
Virgil Shaw is an American singer/songwriter currently residing in Portland, Oregon.Virgil grew up in Fairfax, California.Virgil began his career in Arcata, CA in the late 1980s as a member of the high energy speed-pop band Brent's T.V.. He later moved to San Francisco where he played in the band...
previously played in Arcata outfit Brent's T.V. Bassist Ellis had been a founding member of the local disbanded funk rock
Funk rock
Funk rock is a music genre that fuses funk and rock elements. Its earliest incarnation was heard in the late 1960s through the mid-1970s by acts such as the Jimi Hendrix Experience , Eric Burdon and War, Trapeze, Parliament-Funkadelic, Betty Davis and Mother's Finest. The 1990s were known for acts...
band Psychefunkapus
Psychefunkapus
Psychefunkapus was a thrash funk band from the San Francisco Bay Area that released two albums for Atlantic Records in the early nineties. They got their name from their love of psychedelic music and a reference to a P-Funk song warning the coming of the "Funkapus".-History:Psychefunkapus formed in...
, and Jonathan Segel
Jonathan Segel
Jonathan Segel is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He has played with Camper Van Beethoven, Sparklehorse, Eugene Chadbourne, and Dieselhed.-Biography:...
was a former member of local indie-faves Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven is an American alternative rock group formed in Redlands, California in 1983.An eclectic band, Camper Van Beethoven mixes elements of pop, ska, punk rock, folk and alternative country, as well as various types of world music. Their aggressive musical pluralism created a...
.
The band signed a recording contract with independent label Amarillo Records
Amarillo Records
Amarillo Records is a defunct independent record label that operated out of San Francisco from 1992 to 2001. It was owned by Gregg Turkington. The label specialized in releasing experimental post-punk avant-garde rock...
in the early 1990s. Dieselhed released three full length albums for Amarillo while maintaining a national touring schedule throughout the 90s, often accompanied by road manager John Tynan.
Dieselhed's self-titled 1993 debut was received well, leading to a modest spurt of college radio airplay. The band wound up selling out Amarillo's first two pressings of the album. Their second album, Tales of a Brown Dragon, came out in 1995 and helped to expand their growing fan base. Dieselhed became regulars at the SXSW music festival held each year in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. Their third album, 1997's Shallow Water Blackout, was produced by Dwight Yoakam
Dwight Yoakam
Dwight David Yoakam is an American singer-songwriter, actor and film director, most famous for his pioneering country music...
engineer Dusty Wakeman
Dusty Wakeman
Dusty Wakeman is a rock/country music producer and engineer based in Burbank, California. Wakeman is also credited as a bass player on many recordings. Dusty has worked with Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams, Jim Lauderdale, Buck Owens, Michelle Shocked, Tom Russell, Roger Clyne and the...
. Dieselhed followed their 1997 release with two U.S. tours opening for Link Wray
Link Wray
Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray Jr was an American rock and roll guitarist, songwriter and occasional singer....
. For these dates Ellis and Heifitz would return to the stage after their opening set each night to back Wray. The two would go on to become Wray's regular backing band from 1997 to 2003.
Later years
In 1998 Dieselhed signed a new contract with Bong Load Records, a label still riding the success of their recording and release of BeckBeck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
's critically acclaimed gold record Mellow Gold
Mellow Gold
Mellow Gold is the third studio album by American alternative rock musician Beck, as well as his major label debut. Mellow Gold was released on March 1, 1994 on the strength of the surprise hit "Loser"...
. Dieselhed issued Elephant Rest Home in 1998 (a collection of previously unreleased songs) and their final album, the rarely-seen Chico and the Flute in 2000 on Bongload before disbanding later in 2000.
Lead song writer Virgil Shaw
Virgil Shaw
Virgil Shaw is an American singer/songwriter currently residing in Portland, Oregon.Virgil grew up in Fairfax, California.Virgil began his career in Arcata, CA in the late 1980s as a member of the high energy speed-pop band Brent's T.V.. He later moved to San Francisco where he played in the band...
went on to release two critically acclaimed solo albums, Quad Cities and Still Falling, for San Francisco's indepent label Future Farmer Records
Future Farmer Records
Future Farmer Records is an independent record label based in San Francisco, California.Inspired by skateboarding culture Future Farmer was founded in 1996 by San Joaquin Valley natives Jeff Klindt and Dennis Mitchell.Former label member M...
. Co-songwriter Zac Holtzman now plays in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-based band Dengue Fever
Dengue Fever (band)
Dengue Fever is a six-member band from Los Angeles who combine Cambodian pop music and lyrics with psychedelic rock.-History:The band was formed in 2001 by Ethan Holtzman and his brother Zac after Ethan was inspired by a trip to Cambodia...
. Danny Heifetz
Danny Heifetz
Danny Heifetz is an American musician of Jewish descent usually living in Sydney, Australia. He is primarily a drummer and percussionist, but also plays trumpet...
, now raising a family in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, stays busy with local studio session work and drum lessons. Atom Ellis
Atom Ellis
Atom Ellis, , is a bass guitarist from San Francisco, California. Atom was a founding member of the Thrash Funk band Psychefunkapus from 1986-1992 and a member of the San Francisco band Dieselhed from 1993-2000...
resides between San Francisco and Los Angeles and performs as bassist with Neil Hamburger
Neil Hamburger
Neil Hamburger is a standup comedian character played by comedian and musician Gregg Turkington.-Style:Hamburger's live act, which is quite different from his many albums, features a barrage of question/answer jokes aimed often at celebrity targets, including Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, The Red...
, The New Cars
The New Cars
The New Cars was a band formed in 2005 with two of the original members of the 1970s/1980s new wave band The Cars. The band was composed of Todd Rundgren, drummer Prairie Prince, Kasim Sulton, and original Cars members Greg Hawkes and Elliot Easton...
and The Tubes
The Tubes
The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band, whose 1975 debut album included the hit single, "White Punks on Dope". During its first fifteen years or so, the band's live performances combined quasi-pornography with wild satires of media, consumerism, and politics...
. Guitarist Shon McAllin is currently a licenced contractor residing in the deep woods of Northern California.
Band members
- Virgil ShawVirgil ShawVirgil Shaw is an American singer/songwriter currently residing in Portland, Oregon.Virgil grew up in Fairfax, California.Virgil began his career in Arcata, CA in the late 1980s as a member of the high energy speed-pop band Brent's T.V.. He later moved to San Francisco where he played in the band...
– Guitar and Vocals - Zac Holtzman – Guitar and Vocals
- Atom EllisAtom EllisAtom Ellis, , is a bass guitarist from San Francisco, California. Atom was a founding member of the Thrash Funk band Psychefunkapus from 1986-1992 and a member of the San Francisco band Dieselhed from 1993-2000...
– Bass and Vocals - Danny HeifetzDanny HeifetzDanny Heifetz is an American musician of Jewish descent usually living in Sydney, Australia. He is primarily a drummer and percussionist, but also plays trumpet...
– Drums, Percussion, and Horns - Shon McAlinn – Lead Guitar
Auxiliary members
- Jonathan SegelJonathan SegelJonathan Segel is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He has played with Camper Van Beethoven, Sparklehorse, Eugene Chadbourne, and Dieselhed.-Biography:...
– Violin (until 1994) - Ralph CarneyRalph CarneyRalph Carney is an American musician. While his primary instruments are various saxophones and clarinets, Carney collects and plays many instruments, often unusual or obscure ones....
– Various Reed and Brass Wind Instruments - Jeff Palmer – Saw
- Josh Roberts – Guitar, Vocals, Drums
Discography
- Dieselhed (Amarillo 1994)
- Tales of a Brown Dragon (Amarillo 1995)
- Shallow Water Blackout (Amarillo 1997)
- Elephant Rest Home (Bong Load 1999)
- Chico and the Flute (Bong Load 2000)