The Night Marchers
Encyclopedia
The Night Marchers are an alternative rock
band formed in 2007 in San Diego, California
. The band is composed of singer
/guitarist
John Reis
, guitarist Gar Wood, bassist
Tommy Kitsos, and drummer
Jason Kourkounis. Reis, Wood, and Kourkounis had previously performed together in the Hot Snakes
, while Kitsos previously performed with CPC Gangbangs
. The Night Marchers' debut album See You in Magic
was released in 2008 through Vagrant Records
.
/guitarist
John Reis
after the breakups of his previous musical acts. Reis had previously performed in numerous bands including Pitchfork
(1986–1990), Drive Like Jehu
(1990–1995), Rocket from the Crypt
(1990–2005), the Hot Snakes
(1999–2005), and the Sultans (2000–2007). After the breakup of the Sultans in January 2007 Reis took a break from performing, focusing on raising his new child, opening a recording studio
and a bar
, and running his record label
Swami Records
. He announced the formation of a new group in August 2007, including guitarist Gar Wood, bassist
Tommy Kitsos, and drummer
Jason Kourkounis. All of the members had previously been active in other bands: Wood had performed in Beehive and the Barracudas, Kitsos in CPC Gangbangs
, and Kourkounis in The Delta 72
. Wood and Kourkounis had also previously been members of the Hot Snakes
with Reis. In The Night Marchers the members use pseudonym
s that they had used with their previous acts. Reis goes by "Speedo", the name he had used in Rocket from the Crypt. Wood uses the stage name "Dner" which he had also used in Beehive and the Barracudas. Kitsos uses "Skitsos", which he had used in CPC Gangbangs. Kourkounis uses the pseudonym "Jsinclair", which he had also used in the Hot Snakes.
Reis described the sound of the new group as an amalgamation of his previous bands and influences:
He has also remarked that The Night Marchers' sound is more varied that his previous groups, since he no longer has multiple acts dividing his attention:
The band's debut album See You in Magic
was released on April 22, 2008 through Vagrant Records
. In an interview, Reis said: “With each year, your perspective gets a little bit broader. My appreciation for different sounds becomes more varied,” says Reis. “And I rely on that feeling to sustain my love and excitement when it comes to picking up an electric guitar. With the Night Marchers, I think our scope of influence is a little bigger than it was with Hot Snakes, who had a bigger scope of influence than Rocket from the Crypt.”
Of the songwriting for See You in Magic, Reis said in an interview: “Some of the songs go back a couple years and a couple were written two days before,” Reis said. “It was kind of a large timeframe for me, because usually when you make a record, they’re all kind of part of the same idea that germinated over a two- or three-month period. Creativity for me is something that happens in brief moments where it just happens, and hopefully I’m lucky enough to have a guitar in my hands. It’s not like I can write a song everyday.”
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band formed in 2007 in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. The band is composed of singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
/guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
John Reis
John Reis
John Reis is an American musician, singer, guitarist, record label owner, and disc jockey. He is best known as the singer and guitarist for the rock band Rocket from the Crypt, which he formed and fronted for the entirety of its career from 1990 to 2005...
, guitarist Gar Wood, bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Tommy Kitsos, and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Jason Kourkounis. Reis, Wood, and Kourkounis had previously performed together in the Hot Snakes
Hot Snakes
Hot Snakes were an American post-hardcore band led by Rick Froberg and John Reis, formed in 1999 in San Diego, California and disbanded in 2005. Reis and Froberg had previously performed together in Pitchfork and Drive Like Jehu, after which Reis had found international success with Rocket from the...
, while Kitsos previously performed with CPC Gangbangs
CPC Gangbangs
CPC Gangbangs were a Montreal, Quebec-based garage punk band, with members of Les Sexareenos , The Spaceshits , Lyle Sheraton and the Daylight Lovers , Grime, and Milky Ways. The group's debut LP “Mutilation Nation” was released in 2007 on Swami Records...
. The Night Marchers' debut album See You in Magic
See You in Magic
See You in Magic is the debut album by the San Diego, California rock band The Night Marchers, released in 2008 by Vagrant Records and Swami Records. The Night Marchers are the latest musical project of singer/guitarist John Reis, previously of Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu, Rocket from the Crypt, the...
was released in 2008 through Vagrant Records
Vagrant Records
Vagrant Records is an indie rock label based in Los Angeles, California and is home to such artists as The Hold Steady, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Active Child, PJ Harvey, Reptar, School of Seven Bells, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Thrice, James Vincent McMorrow, Placebo, and many...
.
History
The Night Marchers were formed by singerSinging
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
/guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
John Reis
John Reis
John Reis is an American musician, singer, guitarist, record label owner, and disc jockey. He is best known as the singer and guitarist for the rock band Rocket from the Crypt, which he formed and fronted for the entirety of its career from 1990 to 2005...
after the breakups of his previous musical acts. Reis had previously performed in numerous bands including Pitchfork
Pitchfork (band)
Pitchfork was an American post-hardcore band formed in 1986 in San Diego, California and disbanded in 1990. They are most well known as the first "real" band of guitarist John Reis, who would later gain fame as the frontman in Rocket from the Crypt, and as the first collaboration between Reis and...
(1986–1990), Drive Like Jehu
Drive Like Jehu
Drive Like Jehu was an American post-hardcore and alternative rock band from San Diego active from 1990 to 1995. Formed by rhythm guitarist and vocalist Rick Froberg and lead guitarist John Reis following the breakup of their band Pitchfork, the band's lineup also included bassist Mike Kennedy and...
(1990–1995), Rocket from the Crypt
Rocket from the Crypt
Rocket from the Crypt was an American rock band led by John Reis, formed in 1989 in San Diego, California and disbanded in 2005.The band gained critical praise and the attention of major record labels after the release of their 1992 album Circa: Now!, leading to a recording contract with Interscope...
(1990–2005), the Hot Snakes
Hot Snakes
Hot Snakes were an American post-hardcore band led by Rick Froberg and John Reis, formed in 1999 in San Diego, California and disbanded in 2005. Reis and Froberg had previously performed together in Pitchfork and Drive Like Jehu, after which Reis had found international success with Rocket from the...
(1999–2005), and the Sultans (2000–2007). After the breakup of the Sultans in January 2007 Reis took a break from performing, focusing on raising his new child, opening a recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
and a bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
, and running his record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Swami Records
Swami Records
Swami Records is a San Diego based independent record label specializing in punk rock, indie rock and garage rock that was founded in 2000 by John Reis...
. He announced the formation of a new group in August 2007, including guitarist Gar Wood, bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Tommy Kitsos, and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Jason Kourkounis. All of the members had previously been active in other bands: Wood had performed in Beehive and the Barracudas, Kitsos in CPC Gangbangs
CPC Gangbangs
CPC Gangbangs were a Montreal, Quebec-based garage punk band, with members of Les Sexareenos , The Spaceshits , Lyle Sheraton and the Daylight Lovers , Grime, and Milky Ways. The group's debut LP “Mutilation Nation” was released in 2007 on Swami Records...
, and Kourkounis in The Delta 72
The Delta 72
The Delta 72 were an American alternative music band formed in Washington, DC in the summer of 1994, later relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
. Wood and Kourkounis had also previously been members of the Hot Snakes
Hot Snakes
Hot Snakes were an American post-hardcore band led by Rick Froberg and John Reis, formed in 1999 in San Diego, California and disbanded in 2005. Reis and Froberg had previously performed together in Pitchfork and Drive Like Jehu, after which Reis had found international success with Rocket from the...
with Reis. In The Night Marchers the members use pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s that they had used with their previous acts. Reis goes by "Speedo", the name he had used in Rocket from the Crypt. Wood uses the stage name "Dner" which he had also used in Beehive and the Barracudas. Kitsos uses "Skitsos", which he had used in CPC Gangbangs. Kourkounis uses the pseudonym "Jsinclair", which he had also used in the Hot Snakes.
Reis described the sound of the new group as an amalgamation of his previous bands and influences:
He has also remarked that The Night Marchers' sound is more varied that his previous groups, since he no longer has multiple acts dividing his attention:
The band's debut album See You in Magic
See You in Magic
See You in Magic is the debut album by the San Diego, California rock band The Night Marchers, released in 2008 by Vagrant Records and Swami Records. The Night Marchers are the latest musical project of singer/guitarist John Reis, previously of Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu, Rocket from the Crypt, the...
was released on April 22, 2008 through Vagrant Records
Vagrant Records
Vagrant Records is an indie rock label based in Los Angeles, California and is home to such artists as The Hold Steady, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Active Child, PJ Harvey, Reptar, School of Seven Bells, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Thrice, James Vincent McMorrow, Placebo, and many...
. In an interview, Reis said: “With each year, your perspective gets a little bit broader. My appreciation for different sounds becomes more varied,” says Reis. “And I rely on that feeling to sustain my love and excitement when it comes to picking up an electric guitar. With the Night Marchers, I think our scope of influence is a little bigger than it was with Hot Snakes, who had a bigger scope of influence than Rocket from the Crypt.”
Of the songwriting for See You in Magic, Reis said in an interview: “Some of the songs go back a couple years and a couple were written two days before,” Reis said. “It was kind of a large timeframe for me, because usually when you make a record, they’re all kind of part of the same idea that germinated over a two- or three-month period. Creativity for me is something that happens in brief moments where it just happens, and hopefully I’m lucky enough to have a guitar in my hands. It’s not like I can write a song everyday.”
Band members
- Skitsos (Tommy Kitsos) - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Jsinclair (Jason Kourkounis) - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Speedo (John ReisJohn ReisJohn Reis is an American musician, singer, guitarist, record label owner, and disc jockey. He is best known as the singer and guitarist for the rock band Rocket from the Crypt, which he formed and fronted for the entirety of its career from 1990 to 2005...
) - guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, lead vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Dner (Gar Wood) - guitar, backing vocals
Albums
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | See You in Magic See You in Magic See You in Magic is the debut album by the San Diego, California rock band The Night Marchers, released in 2008 by Vagrant Records and Swami Records. The Night Marchers are the latest musical project of singer/guitarist John Reis, previously of Pitchfork, Drive Like Jehu, Rocket from the Crypt, the... |
Vagrant Vagrant Records Vagrant Records is an indie rock label based in Los Angeles, California and is home to such artists as The Hold Steady, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Active Child, PJ Harvey, Reptar, School of Seven Bells, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Thrice, James Vincent McMorrow, Placebo, and many... |
Singles
| Year | Single | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | "Whose Lady R U?" | See You in Magic |
| 2011 | "Thar She Blows" / "All Hits" | — |