Spahn Ranch (band)
Encyclopedia
Spahn Ranch was an electro-industrial
group from Los Angeles
. Active from 1992 to 2000, the band was well known in a sub-genre of industrial music for its fusion of electronic dance
, industrial
and gothic music.
and released a self-titled, four-song EP
, with vocals supplied by Scott Franklin (later to become bassist for The Cramps
).
In 1993, they added vocalist Athan Maroulis
and recorded their debut album, Collateral Damage. Their second album, The Coiled One, appeared two years later in the midst of Morton leaving the band due to creative and logistical differences. The album became a fan favorite and is regarded as a classic LP of the genre. After his departure, the line-up was expanded to include Christian Death
drummer David Glass, Screams for Tina
guitarist Kent Bancroft, and Tubalcain drummer Harry Lewis. This offered a beginning of the fuller, more diverse, dark electro-industrial sound that Spahn Ranch would continue to pursue. By 1997, Spahn Ranch had pared themselves down to the three-piece unit of Green, Maroulis and Lewis.
Spahn Ranch continued to release albums throughout the late 1990s. Architecture, released in 1997, featured contributions from Killing Joke
/Prong bassist Paul Raven and Rockats/Nancy Sinatra
guitarist Danny B. Harvey. This album took an even more experimental approach to the Spahn Ranch sound, incorporating elements of drum and bass, dub and for the first time, live guitar parts. Beat Noir, in 1998, followed a similar path even further and included work with Bauhaus
/Love & Rockets
bassist David J
.
The band regularly toured throughout North America during their existence with the likes of Front Line Assembly
, Front 242
, Switchblade Symphony
and The Electric Hellfire Club. Spahn Ranch also made a couple of European treks prior to their demise as a group in 2000.
Closure was a posthumous release in 2001
of their final album recorded in 2000
.
Electro-industrial
Electro-industrial is a music genre drawing on EBM and post-industrial that developed in the mid-1980s. While EBM has a minimal structure and clean production, electro-industrial has a deep, complex and layered sound. The style was pioneered by Skinny Puppy, Front Line Assembly, and other groups,...
group from 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...
. Active from 1992 to 2000, the band was well known in a sub-genre of industrial music for its fusion of electronic dance
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
, industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
and gothic music.
History
The band was formed in 1992 by Matt Green and his New York-based collaborator, Rob Morton. That same year, they signed to Cleopatra RecordsCleopatra Records
Cleopatra Records is a Los Angeles-based independent record label.- History :Founded in 1992 by Brian Perera, it specializes in gothic rock, hard rock, heavy metal and reissues of out-of-print music...
and released a self-titled, four-song EP
Extended play
An 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...
, with vocals supplied by Scott Franklin (later to become bassist for The Cramps
The Cramps
The Cramps were an American rock band, formed in 1976 and active until 2009. The band split after the death of lead singer Lux Interior. Their line-up rotated much over their existence, with the husband and wife duo of Interior and lead guitarist Poison Ivy the only permanent members...
).
In 1993, they added vocalist Athan Maroulis
Athan Maroulis
Athanasios Demetrios Maroulis is an actor, vocalist and record producer born in Brooklyn, New York. He is the older brother of singer Constantine Maroulis....
and recorded their debut album, Collateral Damage. Their second album, The Coiled One, appeared two years later in the midst of Morton leaving the band due to creative and logistical differences. The album became a fan favorite and is regarded as a classic LP of the genre. After his departure, the line-up was expanded to include Christian Death
Christian Death
Christian Death is an American deathrock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1979. The band was founded and fronted by Rozz Williams. Christian Death is most notable for their first album Only Theatre of Pain....
drummer David Glass, Screams for Tina
Screams For Tina
Screams for Tina is a dark wave rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 by Marvin Rinnig and Warren Mansfield ....
guitarist Kent Bancroft, and Tubalcain drummer Harry Lewis. This offered a beginning of the fuller, more diverse, dark electro-industrial sound that Spahn Ranch would continue to pursue. By 1997, Spahn Ranch had pared themselves down to the three-piece unit of Green, Maroulis and Lewis.
Spahn Ranch continued to release albums throughout the late 1990s. Architecture, released in 1997, featured contributions from Killing Joke
Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English post-punk band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England; other sources report the band formed in early 1979.Related news articles: Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock,...
/Prong bassist Paul Raven and Rockats/Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra, and remains best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"....
guitarist Danny B. Harvey. This album took an even more experimental approach to the Spahn Ranch sound, incorporating elements of drum and bass, dub and for the first time, live guitar parts. Beat Noir, in 1998, followed a similar path even further and included work with Bauhaus
Bauhaus (band)
Bauhaus was an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...
/Love & Rockets
Love and Rockets (band)
Love and Rockets were an English alternative rock band formed in 1985 by former Bauhaus members Daniel Ash , David J , and Kevin Haskins . Former Bauhaus vocalist Peter Murphy had embarked on a solo career after Bauhaus split in 1983...
bassist David J
David J
David John Haskins , better known as David J, is a British alternative rock musician. He was the bassist for the gothic rock band Bauhaus and Love and Rockets....
.
The band regularly toured throughout North America during their existence with the likes of Front Line Assembly
Front Line Assembly
Front Line Assembly is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy. Influenced by early Industrial acts such as Cabaret Voltaire, Portion Control, D.A.F., Test Dept, SPK, and Severed Heads, FLA has developed its own unique sound while combining...
, Front 242
Front 242
Front 242 is a pioneering Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. They are known for being the premier pioneer of electronic body music and as a major influence on the electronic and industrial music genres.-Formation:...
, Switchblade Symphony
Switchblade Symphony
Switchblade Symphony was a San Francisco, United States–based band which was formed in 1989 by composer Susan Wallace and vocalist Tina Root. They released their first album in 1995 on the Cleopatra Records label...
and The Electric Hellfire Club. Spahn Ranch also made a couple of European treks prior to their demise as a group in 2000.
Closure was a posthumous release in 2001
2001 in music
See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....
of their final album recorded in 2000
2000 in music
See also:* 2000 in music Record labels established in 2000-Events:*January – Gary Glitter is released from jail, two months before his sentence for sexual offences ends.*January 1**John Tavener is knighted in the New Year's Honours List....
.
Albums/EP's
- Spahn Ranch (19921992 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1992.-January–February:*January 11**Nirvana's Nevermind album goes to #1 in the US Billboard 200 chart, establishing the widespread popularity of the Grunge movement of the 1990s....
) Cleopatra, U.S.United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... - Collateral Damage (19931993 in musicThis is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....
) Cleopatra, U.S. - Collateral (19931993 in musicThis is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....
) Zoth Ommog, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... - The Blackmail Starters Kit (19941994 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1994.-January–February:*January 25 – Alice in Chains release their Jar of Flies album which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the first ever EP to do so....
) Cleopatra, U.S. - Breath and Taxes (1994) Zoth Ommog, Germany
- The Coiled One (19951995 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1995.- January–February :*January 18 – Jerry Garcia crashes his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California, USA, but is not injured in the accident....
) Cleopatra, U.S. - In Parts Assembled Solely (19961996 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January – At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact...
) Cleopatra, U.S. - Architecture (19971997 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1997.-January:*January 9 – David Bowie performs his 50th Birthday Bash concert at Madison Square Garden, New York City, USA with guests Frank Black, The Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, Robert Smith of The Cure, Lou Reed, and Billy...
) Cleopatra, U.S. - Architecture: Beta (1997) Out Of Line, Germany
- Retrofit (19981998 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
) Cleopatra U.S. Out Of Line, Germany - Limited Edition 12"- first 4 Tracks from Retrofit (1998) Cleopatra, U.S.
- Beat Noir (1998) Cleopatra, U.S./ Out Of Line, Germany
- Anthology 1992-1994 (20002000 in musicSee also:* 2000 in music Record labels established in 2000-Events:*January – Gary Glitter is released from jail, two months before his sentence for sexual offences ends.*January 1**John Tavener is knighted in the New Year's Honours List....
) Cleopatra, U.S. - Closure (20012001 in musicSee also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....
) Cleopatra, U.S. / Cryonica, U.K.United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Compilation Appearances
- The Whip -1 track "Machine Politics" (Original Version) 1993 Cleopatra, U.S. (CD and Cassette)/ Music Research, Germany / Jungle Records, U.K. (CD only)
- Mysterious Encounters -1 track "Antibody" (Alternate Mix) 1994 Cleopatra, U.S.(CD and Cassette)
- Industrial Revolution Second Edition -1 track "Succumber" (Blacklist)1994 Cleopatra, U.S. (CD only)
- Body Rapture Volume 4 -1 track "Succumber" (Blacklist) 1994 Zoth Ommog, Germany (CD only)
- A Saucerful of Pink -1 track "One of These Days" 1995 Cleopatra, U.S. Cherry Red Records U.K. (CD only)
- The Digital Space Between Vol 2 -1 track "Forceps"(Fezmix) 1995 Cleopatra U.S. Hard Records, Denmark (CD only)
- There is No Time -1 track "One of These Days" (different mix) 1995 Ras Dva, U.S.(CD only)
- Industrial Revolution Third Edition -1 track "Vortex" (extended Mix) 1996 Cleopatra, U.S.(CD only)
- Vertigo Compilation 3 1996 -1 track "Locusts (Pygmy Children mix) 1996 Germany (promo only CD available with Vertigo magazine)
- Covered In Black -1 track "Shot Down In Flames" 1997 Cleopatra, U.S. / RCA Victor, Japan / Zebra-Cherry Red Records, U.K. (CD only)
- Ultimate Drum 'N' Bass -1 track "The Mark Inside" 1997 Hypnotic, U.S. (CD only)
- Electronic Lust V.1 -1 track "In the Aftermath" (Astralasia Mix 2) 1998 Orkus, Germany (CD only)
- Hymns Of The Warlock -1 track "Dig It" 1998 Cleopatra, U.S. (CD only)
- The Black Bible -1 track "An Exit" (Alternate mix) 1999 Cleopatra, U.S. (CD only)
- Virgin Voices -1 track "Swim" 1999 Cleopatra, U.S. / RCA Victor, Japan (CD only)
- We Will Follow -1 track "I Will Follow" 1999 Cleopatra, U.S. / Anagram Records, U.K. (CD only)
- Awake The Machines Vol. 2 -1 track "Remnants (CKultur Mutation mix) 1999 Out Of Line, Germany (CD only)
- Darken my Fire - 1 track "Strange Days" 2000 Cleopatra, U.S. / EMI, Japan / Anagram Records, U.K. (CD only)
Music Videos
- Breath and Taxes (19931993 in musicThis is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....
) - Locusts (19951995 in musicThis is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1995.- January–February :*January 18 – Jerry Garcia crashes his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California, USA, but is not injured in the accident....
), directed by Joseph KahnJoseph KahnJoseph Kahn is an American music video, advertising, and feature film director.-Early life:Kahn was born in Jersey Village, Texas, a suburb of Houston. He is of Korean ancestry. He spent part of his childhood growing up in Livorno, Italy until his family moved to Texas...