Orange 9mm was a
post-hardcorePost-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
bandIn music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
from
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
formed in 1994 by Chaka Malik and
Chris TraynorChris Traynor is an American guitarist, bassist and studio musician. He has played with Orange 9mm, Helmet, Bush, Rival Schools and Gavin Rossdale....
after the breakup of Malik's band
BurnBurn is a New York hardcore band which began in 1988 playing what could be considered progressive hardcore music with introspective lyrics.-History:...
.
History
Chaka Malik and Chris Traynor began writing songs together in 1992, releasing an
EPAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
in 1994 on
Revelation RecordsRevelation Records is an independent record label focusing originally and primarily on hardcore punk. The label is known for its role in the evolution of hardcore and metallic post-hardcore with important releases by bands such as Youth of Today, Warzone, Sick of It All, Quicksand, Side By Side,...
. The line-up for this recording included
Larry GormanLarry Gorman is a rock drummer. Gorman has played in bands such as Glassjaw, Head Automatica, Orange 9mm, A Day for Honey , Fountainhead, and The Black Tie Party. As of 2009, he is the drummer with the band Asobi Seksu.- References :...
on drums and Eric Thrice on bass.
Following the departure of Thrice to play bass for
H2O-Prologue:Prior to the formation of H2O, in the early-mid-1980s, Todd Morse and Rusty Pistachio were part of the speed punk band "Roadside Petz". This band featured Wayne Williams on drums...
, Davide Gentile joined the band, and soon after, Detroit native Matthew Cross took over on drums. With this line-up, they began writing material for their 1995 major label release
Driver Not Included on
East West RecordsEast West Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group, and operates under WMG's Independent Label Group.-History:...
(a subsidiary of
Elektra RecordsElektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
). The album was recorded in
Los AngelesLos 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...
with
Dave JerdenDave Jerden is an American record producer, engineer and mixer who mostly works with artists in the alternative rock, punk rock and metal genres....
(
Alice in ChainsAlice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...
,
Jane's AddictionJane's Addiction is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985. The band's original line-up featured Perry Farrell , Dave Navarro , Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins . After breaking up in 1991, Jane's Addiction briefly reunited in 1997 and again in 2001, both times...
) producing. Additional songs, "Magnet," "Suspect," and a re-recording of "Can't Decide" from the Revelation EP were later recorded in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Following the release of
Driver Not Included, Orange 9mm toured the US with
HelmetHelmet is an alternative metal band from New York City formed in 1989. Founded by vocalist and lead guitarist Page Hamilton, Helmet has had numerous lineup changes, and Hamilton has been the only constant member....
,
QuicksandQuicksand was an American post-hardcore band from New York City founded in 1990 by singer/songwriter Walter Schreifels. Their debut self-titled EP was followed by two major label albums, Slip and Manic Compression...
,
KornKorn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...
, and
DeftonesDeftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno , Stephen Carpenter , Chi Cheng , Frank Delgado , and Abe Cunningham . Currently Sergio Vega is standing in on bass while Cheng recovers from a car accident...
; they were also featured on the first
AirwalkThe airwalk is a skateboarding trick invented in 1983 by Tony Hawk, who performed it on ramps and half pipes. In 1986, Rodney Mullen invented the Ollie Airwalk, a flatground version of the Airwalk. The name Ollie Airwalk is often mistaken by the Ollie Airwalk trick in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater...
Sno-Core Tour. Later, they toured Europe with
BiohazardBiohazard is a band originally based in Brooklyn, New York. They are acknowledged as one of the earliest bands to fuse hardcore punk and heavy metal with elements of hip hop. The original lineup consisted of Vocalist/Guitarist Billy Graziadei, bassist/vocalist Evan Seinfeld, guitarist Bobby Hambel,...
, and were on the bill for three shows with
The OffspringThe Offspring is an American punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1984. Known as Manic Subsidal until 1986, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Greg K. and drummer Pete Parada...
.
With shifts and mergers occurring in
Warner Music GroupWarner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
(the parent company of Elektra and Atlantic), Orange 9mm moved to
Atlantic RecordsAtlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. During the writing sessions for what would become their second full-length, Davide Gentile left the band to pursue audio engineering. Orange 9mm's second full-length,
Tragic, was recorded in New York City, with
Dave SardyDavid Sardy is a Brooklyn born-and-raised composer, musician, songwriter, and record producer- Biography :...
(
BarkmarketBarkmarket was a rock music group formed in New York City in 1987. Personnel were singer/guitarist and main songwriter Dave Sardy, bass guitarist John Nowlin and drummer Rock Savage....
, Helmet,
Marilyn MansonMarilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
) producing. For these sessions, Chris Traynor played bass. At the end of the initial recording sessions for
Tragic, Taylor McLam joined the band on bass (McLam played drums in Traynor's previous band, Fountainhead). On the first day of rehearsals, McLam offered one of his own compositions, which became the minor hit "Failure." The song was recorded immediately, and included on
Tragic.
Two weeks prior to the first tour to promote
Tragic, Chris Traynor left Orange 9mm to play second guitar for the seminal New York band Helmet. The band recruited former Supertouch bassist
Chris VitaliChris Vitali is an American musician. Known for his flamboyant style of playing the bass guitar, Vitali has played in numerous bands in the New York City rock scene since 1990. Most notably, he was the bassist for New York City's prolific hard rock act Orange 9mm from 1995-1999...
to take over on bass, and McLam was moved to guitar.
In support of
Tragic, the band toured the U.S. with artists including The Misfits, Deftones,
Sick of it AllSick of It All is an American hardcore punk band from Queens, New York. Formed in 1986, the band consisted of brothers Lou Koller on vocals and Pete Koller on lead guitar, Rich Cipriano on bass, and Armand Majidi on drums. There have been only two member changes since their inception, with Max...
,
Ned's Atomic DustbinNed's Atomic Dustbin are an English rock band formed in Stourbridge in West Midlands in November 1987. The band took their name from an episode of The Goon Show. The band were unusual for using two bass players in their lineup: Alex Griffin played melody lines high up on one bass, and Mat Cheslin...
,
Local HLocal H is an American rock duo, formed by Joe Daniels and Scott Lucas in Zion, Illinois in 1987. Local H's 1996 album, As Good as Dead, includes the top 10 hit "Bound for the Floor" Author, rock critic and Rolling Stone contributor Greg Kot and the Chicago Tribune named the band its 2008 Chicago...
, and
ClutchClutch is an American rock band from Germantown, Maryland, formed in 1990. The band's first release was an EP entitled Pitchfork, which debuted in October 1990. Their first studio album, Transnational Speedway League, was released three years later in 1993. To date, Clutch has released nine studio...
, among others, including headlining runs and one-offs with
The Sisters of MercyThe Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company...
and
Type O NegativeType O Negative was a gothic metal band from Brooklyn, New York City. The band also incorporated elements of doom metal and thrash metal. Their dramatic lyrical emphasis on themes of romance, depression, and death resulted in the nickname "The Drab Four"...
.
Struggling both for real support from the label, and from not fitting neatly into an established commercial niche, Orange 9mm was released from its contract with Atlantic following the
Tragic tour cycle. For the next three years, Orange 9mm would write and record a great deal of material under a wide range of influences. Periodically, the band would perform one-offs and small weekend runs; during this period they released a split EP in Japan and did a week's worth of shows in that country.
Midway through this creative process, Orange 9mm released a five-song EP,
Ultraman vs. Godzilla, with Ng Records. The fit between the band and the label seemed a good one; Orange 9mm was given a great deal of room to work on material, and new songs and new sessions kept coming. Over 15 new songs were recorded in the summer of 1998 in the basement of Taylor's Long Island home, and for a few months this material was assumed to be the foundation of the next record. The music was raw and experimental, incorporating more progressive rhythms, more percussion, and 70s-era synths and electric pianos. However, the only piece from these sessions to be finalized and released was the song that became "Alien," which would appear on their third full-length, 1999's
Pretend I'm Human. Soon after, bassist
Chris VitaliChris Vitali is an American musician. Known for his flamboyant style of playing the bass guitar, Vitali has played in numerous bands in the New York City rock scene since 1990. Most notably, he was the bassist for New York City's prolific hard rock act Orange 9mm from 1995-1999...
left the band to pursue other interests. Again a three-piece, Malik, McLam, and Cross continued writing.
Now working in the basement of Ng studios on New York City's lower east side, the three refocused and redirected their creative energy by reducing new material to its barest elements. New songs were far more stripped down and refined, yet sounded larger than anything the band had done previously.
Five songs were quickly recorded with legendary hardcore producer Don Fury at Fury Studios on Spring Street. These included "Pretend I'm Human" and "Tightrope," which would also appear on
Pretend I'm Human.
When it came time to record what would become
Pretend I'm Human, Orange 9mm moved to California in the late winter of 1998/early spring of 1999 to work with producer Neil Perry. Much of the material that appeared on
Pretend I'm Human was written in the studio. Typically, the band would arrive at the studio in the morning, have breakfast and coffee, and as a band listen to music, either something created the day before or to a CD.
RushRush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
,
Jay-ZShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
and
Miles DavisMiles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
were on regular rotation. The band spent the morning and early afternoon writing in the studio and by afternoon would lay down the basic tracks for the song.
The end result was a real departure in many ways from their previous work. Gone was the haphazard, almost rushed feel of their early work, replaced with a new focus and with production that allowed the full range of sound to come through. There was of course a trade-off here; many Orange 9mm fans appreciated the frantic pace and tone of previous records, while the band found the creative process incredibly rewarding.
In the interim between finishing the recording of
Pretend I'm Human and beginning to tour once again, a new line-up was solidified. Alex Bongiorno, who'd played with Cross in Detroit during the early 90s (the two would play again later in the Detroit industrial band Firewerk), played second guitar briefly; the slot was eventually filled by Dan Spellman, and bass duties were assumed by Greg "Bass" Eckelman, formerly of Ng labelmates The Phoids. The addition of a second guitar was crucial for the new material, and added to their previous material.
Discography
- Orange 9mm, 1994 Revelation Records
Revelation Records is an independent record label focusing originally and primarily on hardcore punk. The label is known for its role in the evolution of hardcore and metallic post-hardcore with important releases by bands such as Youth of Today, Warzone, Sick of It All, Quicksand, Side By Side,...
- Driver Not Included, 1995 East West Records
East West Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group, and operates under WMG's Independent Label Group.-History:...
- Tragic, 1996 Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
- Ultraman Vs. Godzilla [EP], 1998 Ng Records
- Pretend I'm Human, 1999 Ng Records