The Dandy Warhols are a US
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music....
band formed in
Portland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the state of Oregon. As of July 2008, it has an estimated population of 575,930, making it the 29th most populous in the United States. It has been referred to as the most...
, by
Courtney Taylor-TaylorCourtney Taylor-Taylor is the primary songwriter, lead singer and guitarist for The Dandy Warhols, a band he co-founded. He attended Sunset High School in Beaverton, Oregon, a suburb of Portland...
(vocals, guitar),
Zia McCabeZia McCabe is an American musician. A founding member of the alternative rock band The Dandy Warhols, she plays percussion, bass and keyboards....
(keyboard),
Peter HolmströmPeter Holmström is a guitar player from Portland, Oregon. He is a founding member of The Dandy Warhols and The Rebel Drones. He is a graduate of the Oregon Episcopal School in Portland and also attended NYU. Peter married longtime girlfriend Michele Loew in 2003, taking her maiden name. He has...
(guitar), and
Eric HedfordEric Hedford is a drummer who was a founding member of The Dandy Warhols.-Early Work:He performed on 1995's Dandy's Rule OK?, 1996's The Black Album and 1997's …The Dandy Warhols Come Down. Under the moniker, Aquaman, Hedford is credited for "additional production" on …The Dandy Warhols Come Down's...
(drums), who left in 1998 to be replaced by Taylor-Taylor's cousin
Brent De BoerBrent "Fathead" De Boer is a drummer and backup vocalist with The Dandy Warhols. He replaced founding member Eric Hedford in 1998 and is a cousin of Warhols' frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor. He graduated from Lakeridge High School in Lake Oswego, Oregon in 1994....
. The band's name is a pun on the name of American
pop artPop art is a visual art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
ist
Andy WarholAndrew Warhola , more commonly known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
.
The Dandy Warhols are strongly influenced by
The Velvet UndergroundThe Velvet Underground was an American art rock band formed in New York City, New York. First active from 1965 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists...
, Beach Boys,
Simon and GarfunkelSimon & Garfunkel is an American singer-songwriter duo consisting of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. They formed the group "Tom and Jerry" in 1957, and had their first taste of success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon and Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, backed by the hit single...
,
The BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music...
,
The ShadowsThe Shadows are Britain's most successful instrumental and vocal group with a grand total of 69 UK hit singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and The Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s...
, and
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early lineup...
as well as including implicit musical references to My Bloody Valentine in some songs.
The Dandy Warhols are a US
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music....
band formed in
Portland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the state of Oregon. As of July 2008, it has an estimated population of 575,930, making it the 29th most populous in the United States. It has been referred to as the most...
, by
Courtney Taylor-TaylorCourtney Taylor-Taylor is the primary songwriter, lead singer and guitarist for The Dandy Warhols, a band he co-founded. He attended Sunset High School in Beaverton, Oregon, a suburb of Portland...
(vocals, guitar),
Zia McCabeZia McCabe is an American musician. A founding member of the alternative rock band The Dandy Warhols, she plays percussion, bass and keyboards....
(keyboard),
Peter HolmströmPeter Holmström is a guitar player from Portland, Oregon. He is a founding member of The Dandy Warhols and The Rebel Drones. He is a graduate of the Oregon Episcopal School in Portland and also attended NYU. Peter married longtime girlfriend Michele Loew in 2003, taking her maiden name. He has...
(guitar), and
Eric HedfordEric Hedford is a drummer who was a founding member of The Dandy Warhols.-Early Work:He performed on 1995's Dandy's Rule OK?, 1996's The Black Album and 1997's …The Dandy Warhols Come Down. Under the moniker, Aquaman, Hedford is credited for "additional production" on …The Dandy Warhols Come Down's...
(drums), who left in 1998 to be replaced by Taylor-Taylor's cousin
Brent De BoerBrent "Fathead" De Boer is a drummer and backup vocalist with The Dandy Warhols. He replaced founding member Eric Hedford in 1998 and is a cousin of Warhols' frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor. He graduated from Lakeridge High School in Lake Oswego, Oregon in 1994....
. The band's name is a pun on the name of American
pop artPop art is a visual art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
ist
Andy WarholAndrew Warhola , more commonly known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
.
The Dandy Warhols are strongly influenced by
The Velvet UndergroundThe Velvet Underground was an American art rock band formed in New York City, New York. First active from 1965 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists...
, Beach Boys,
Simon and GarfunkelSimon & Garfunkel is an American singer-songwriter duo consisting of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. They formed the group "Tom and Jerry" in 1957, and had their first taste of success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon and Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, backed by the hit single...
,
The BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music...
,
The ShadowsThe Shadows are Britain's most successful instrumental and vocal group with a grand total of 69 UK hit singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and The Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s...
, and
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early lineup...
as well as including implicit musical references to My Bloody Valentine in some songs. Front man Courtney Taylor-Taylor describes the band's beginning as a group of friends who "needed music to drink to."
Early success
The Dandy Warhols performed live shows in bars throughout Portland and released their first album,
Dandys Rule OK? on Tim Kerr Records in 1995. This album was influential in
Capitol RecordsCapitol Records is a major United States-based record label owned by EMI and located in Los Angeles and New York City as part of Capitol Music Group...
' decision to sign the band.
The band first achieved success in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
after the release of their second record
…The Dandy Warhols Come Down in 1997; the lead single "Not If You Were The Last Junkie on Earth" proved popular in many countries across the continent. The band, popular both with their visuals and with their sound, gained a reputation throughout Europe and
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
for selling out their live shows.
Following the release of
Thirteen Tales from Urban BohemiaThirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia is the third album by American rock band The Dandy Warhols.-Track listing:All songs written by Courtney Taylor-Taylor unless otherwise stated.# "Godless" – 5:20# "Mohammed" – 5:20# "Nietzsche" – 5:40...
in 2000, the band gained a firm fan base in the
college radioCampus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the station is based...
scene before garnering critical acclaim and mainstream recognition. The album reached platinum status in the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
along with
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
and various other European countries. It also went platinum in Australia where they tour extensively.
Judd ApatowJudd Apatow is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is well-known for making a distinct series of critically and commercially successful comedy films, including The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Funny People...
's TV series
UndeclaredUndeclared is an American comedy television series that aired on Fox during the 2001–2002 season.-Premise:The half-hour comedy-drama/sitcom was Judd Apatow's follow-up to the TV cult classic Freaks and Geeks, which also lasted for one season. Undeclared centered on a group of college freshmen at...
used the song "Solid" as its theme song. The song "Bohemian Like You" was featured in the indie film
Igby Goes DownIgby Goes Down is a American comedy-drama film that follows the life of Igby Slocumb, a rebellious and sardonic New York City teenager who attempts to break free of his familial ties and wealthy, overbearing mother...
and in an episode of
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and was used in a
VodafoneVodafone is a British mobile network operator, with its headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire, England, UK. It is the largest mobile telecommunications network company in the world by turnover, and has a market value of about £75 billion...
advertising campaign throughout Europe and Australia in 2001. Also, the song was used in the PlayStation, Dreamcast and PC game
Le Mans 24 Hours 1999.
Around this time, Taylor took out a loan to acquire an industrial warehouse space in downtown
Portland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Northwestern United States, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the state of Oregon. As of July 2008, it has an estimated population of 575,930, making it the 29th most populous in the United States. It has been referred to as the most...
(the band's hometown), dubbed "The Odditorium," occupying a quarter city block. The Odditorium is the band's eclectic rehearsal space, recording and mixing studio, also serving as an art space and clubhouse for throwing parties and hosting events.
Welcome to the Monkey House
Welcome to the Monkey HouseWelcome to the Monkey House is the fourth album by The Dandy Warhols. The songs were produced by Courtney Taylor-Taylor and/or Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran, except "Rock Bottom," which was produced by Courtney Taylor-Taylor and Tony Visconti. The album was mixed by Jeremy Wheatley...
, released in 2003, was co-produced by
Nick RhodesNick Rhodes is the English keyboardist for Duran Duran. Rhodes and singer Simon Le Bon are the only members to have been with the band throughout its 29-year professional career...
of
Duran DuranDuran Duran are an English rock band from Birmingham, United Kingdom. They were one of the most successful of the 1980s bands and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States. Since the 1980s they have placed 14 in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart and 21 in the...
and engineered by Brian Coates of
The Great NorthwestThe Great Northwest is a neo-psychedelic project created by studio engineer and producer Brian James "Coatsie" Coates . The group is based around a collective philosophy in which "every one is welcome to participate". Their debut album was recorded in Fresno, California and Portland, Oregon in...
. The album takes its title from
Kurt VonnegutKurt Vonnegut, Jr. was an American novelist known for works blending satire, black comedy, and science fiction including Slaughterhouse-Five , Cat's Cradle , and Breakfast of Champions...
's collection of short stories
of the same nameWelcome to the Monkey House is an assortment of short stories written by Kurt Vonnegut, first published in August 1968. The stories range from war-time epics to futuristic thrillers, given with satire and Vonnegut's unique edge...
. The recording features an eighties synth-rock sound that alienated some devotees of the band's earlier harder-edged guitar sound. It also won critical plaudits for its polish, panache, and the band's capacity to reinvent itself. One of the album's singles, "We Used to Be Friends", was used as the theme song for the Australian reality series
My Restaurant RulesMy Restaurant Rules is an Australian reality television series that aired on the Seven Network. The format also airs in the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, New Zealand and Germany.-Overview:...
, and later on the American cult drama
Veronica MarsVeronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004 during UPN's last two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Television Network...
. It also was used on an episode of The O.C. (Season 1 Episode 12) as well as on an episode of Wonderfalls (Season 1, Episode 4). "I Am a Scientist" is featured on most episodes of the British television program
Brainiac: Science AbuseBrainiac: Science Abuse is a British entertainment TV show with a science motif. Numerous experiments are carried out in each show, often to verify whether common conceptions are true or simply to create impressive explosions...
(it plays in the background of the "I Can Do Science Me" segment).
Odditorium or Warlords of Mars
Odditorium or Warlords of MarsOdditorium or Warlords of Mars is a 2005 album by The Dandy Warhols.This is the fifth album produced by The Dandy Warhols. Television personality Bill Kurtis narrated the introduction sequence for this album.-Track listing:...
, partially named after and recorded in the band's The Odditorium studio, was released on September 13, 2005. "Smoke It" was the first track released for radio play. The album has been described as a return to form for the band, moving away from the synth-heavy sound of
Welcome to the Monkey House and back toward the largely guitar-oriented, diverse arrangements of
Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia.
...Earth to the Dandy Warhols...
The band released their eighth record,
...Earth to the Dandy Warhols...…Earth to The Dandy Warhols… is the sixth official studio album by alternative rock band The Dandy Warhols, released for download and streaming play on 19 May, 2008. The LP & CD versions of the album were released 18 August 2008. It is their first recording after leaving Capitol Records...
digitally through a subscription service on May 19, 2008. The CD version was released on August 18, 2008. The double-disc LP includes a cd version along with the full album on vinyl. The album also featured collaborations with
Mark KnopflerMark Knopfler OBE is a British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer....
and the
Heartbreakers'For the New York based band, see The HeartbreakersTom Petty and the Heartbreakers are a Heartland rock band, most of whose members are from the United States of America. They were formed in 1976 by Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, and Benmont Tench, all of whom had been members of Mudcrutch...
Mike CampbellMichael Wayne Campbell is an American guitarist and record producer, best known for his work with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers....
.
Other developments
Along with
The Brian Jonestown Massacre (BJM)The Brian Jonestown Massacre is a neo-psychedelic rock band, led by Anton Newcombe. The group was founded by Newcombe, Matt Hollywood, Ricky Rene Maymi, Patrick Straczek and Travis Threlkel in the early 1990s in San Francisco, California...
, The Dandy Warhols were the subjects of the 2004 documentary
DiG!DiG! is a 2004 documentary film directed by Ondi Timoner, and produced by Ondi Timoner, Vasco Nunes and David Timoner. Compiled from seven years of footage, it contrasts the developing careers of the bands The Dandy Warhols and The Brian Jonestown Massacre and the bands' respective frontmen...
This film captured a
love-hate relationshipA love-hate relationship is a personal relationship involving simultaneous or alternating emotions of love and enmity. This relationship does not have to be of a romantic nature, and may be instead of a sibling one...
between both bands, highlighting the interaction of BJM frontman
Anton NewcombeAnton Alfred Newcombe is a singer-songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist and founder, lead singer, guitarist, and head of the neo-psychedelic rock band, The Brian Jonestown Massacre.-Music:...
and Courtney Taylor. It was recorded over the course of seven years by
Ondi TimonerOndi Timoner is an American film director, producer and editor. She is the only director, along with her team, to win a Sundance grand jury award twice in the festival's history.-History:...
, and won the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2004
Sundance Film FestivalThe Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in the state of Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the U.S. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as the Sundance Resort, the festival is the premier...
.
Guitarist Peter Holmström appears as a guest musician on
The Dead Stars On HollywoodThe Dead Stars On Hollywood are an American rock band based in New York City, that incorporates elements of glam, new wave and goth into their alternative rock sound...
EP entitled
Anthems for the Friendly-Fire Generation.
In December 2006, the song "Have A Kick Ass Summer (Me and My Friends)" was featured in the downloadable song-pack for the
XboxThe Xbox is a video game console produced by Microsoft. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console market, and competed with Sony's PlayStation 2, Sega's Dreamcast, and Nintendo's GameCube...
video game
Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 4Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 4 is the twelfth home version of Dance Dance Revolution released in the United States. It was released by Konami on November 14, 2006, for the Microsoft Xbox video game console. About 70 songs are available in total in this version...
.
The Dandy Warhols' songs were featured prominently in the first and third season of the
FOXThe Fox Broadcasting Company , commonly referred to as Fox , is an American television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, from 2004 to 2009 Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the 18–49 demographic...
drama
The O.C.The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
, and also in a number of major motion pictures, including
9 Songs9 Songs is a 2004 British film directed by Michael Winterbottom. The title refers to the nine songs played by eight different rock bands that complement the story of the film....
.
The Dandy Warhols covered
The CureThe Cure are an English alternative rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976 by Robert Smith, Lawrence Tolhurst and Michael Dempsey. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
song "
Primary"Primary" is the first single from The Cure's third studio album Faith, released in 1981 on Fiction Records. It was the first song by The Cure to be remixed as a separate extended mix for release on 12" single...
" on the charity album
Perfect as Cats: A Tribute to the CurePerfect as Cats: A Tribute to the Cure is a charity record released by Los Angeles indie label, Manimal Vinyl on October 28, 2008. It features covers of The Cure favourites by Dandy Warhols, Bat For Lashes, Kaki King, Devastations, ex-Godflesh frontman, Justin K...
, released on October 28, 2008 on
Manimal VinylManimal Vinyl is a Los Angeles based record label founded in 2006 by fashion stylist, Paul Beahan. They have released records from UK acts Bat for Lashes and Caroline Weeks, French band, Aquaserge which feature members of Stereolab and Acid Mothers Temple and a bulk of Los Angeles artists ranging...
Records, with profits going to
Invisible Children Inc.' is a media-based, 5013 non-profit that provides secondary education to children in northern Uganda. The organization is based out of San Diego, California and has offices in Gulu, Uganda and London, England.- History :...
The Dandy Warhols are releasing a collaborative album called
Breathe Easy to benefit conservation projects. The recordings, which started on October 21, 2008, took place at the band's The Odditorium studio in Portland, Oregon. They collaborated with bands such as
The BraveryThe Bravery is an American rock band from New York City that consists of Sam Endicott , Michael Zakarin , John Conway , Mike Hindert , and Anthony Burulcich...
,
The KooksThe Kooks are an English indie pop band formed in Brighton, East Sussex, in 2004. Formed by Luke Pritchard , Hugh Harris , Paul Garred and Max Rafferty the lineup of the band remained constant until 2008 with the departure of Rafferty...
, Dinosaur Jr.'s
J MascisJ Mascis is an American musician, perhaps best-known as the singer, guitarist and songwriter for Dinosaur Jr.- Biography :...
, and
SpoonA spoon is a utensil consisting of a small shallow bowl, oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery , especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for serving. Spoons are also used in food preparation to measure, mix, stir and toss ingredients...
.
A live performance of You Were The Last High features in the film
9 Songs9 Songs is a 2004 British film directed by Michael Winterbottom. The title refers to the nine songs played by eight different rock bands that complement the story of the film....
.
Hottest 100 of all time
The Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You was voted #85 in the 2009
Triple Jtriple J is a nationally-networked, government-funded Australian radio station , mainly aimed at youth...
Hottest 100 of all time, voted by the Australian public .
Albums
- Dandys Rule, OK? (1995)
- …The Dandy Warhols Come Down (1997)
- Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia
Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia is the third album by American rock band The Dandy Warhols.-Track listing:All songs written by Courtney Taylor-Taylor unless otherwise stated.# "Godless" – 5:20# "Mohammed" – 5:20# "Nietzsche" – 5:40...
(2000)
- Welcome To The Monkey House
Welcome to the Monkey House is the fourth album by The Dandy Warhols. The songs were produced by Courtney Taylor-Taylor and/or Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran, except "Rock Bottom," which was produced by Courtney Taylor-Taylor and Tony Visconti. The album was mixed by Jeremy Wheatley...
(2003)
- The Black Album
The Black Album was originally recorded in 1996 by The Dandy Warhols as a follow up to their debut album, Dandys Rule, OK?, but was rejected by the band's label Capitol Records...
(1996, 2004)
- Come on Feel the Dandy Warhols
Come On Feel the Dandy Warhols is a B-sides compilation by American alternative rock band The Dandy Warhols. The album features re-recorded versions of the tracks "Head" and their cover of Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" from The Black Album, several covers and the songs...
(2004)
- Odditorium or Warlords of Mars
Odditorium or Warlords of Mars is a 2005 album by The Dandy Warhols.This is the fifth album produced by The Dandy Warhols. Television personality Bill Kurtis narrated the introduction sequence for this album.-Track listing:...
(2005)
- ...Earth to the Dandy Warhols...
…Earth to The Dandy Warhols… is the sixth official studio album by alternative rock band The Dandy Warhols, released for download and streaming play on 19 May, 2008. The LP & CD versions of the album were released 18 August 2008. It is their first recording after leaving Capitol Records...
(2008)
- The Dandy Warhols are Sound (2009)
External links