The Dream Syndicate
| The Dream Syndicate | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Rock , alternative |
| founding | 1981 |
| resolution | 1989 |
| Founding members | |
Vocals, guitar
|
Steve Wynn |
guitar |
Karl Precoda (1981-1984) |
| Kendra Smith (1981-1983) | |
| Dennis Duck | |
| Last occupation | |
Vocals, guitar |
Steve Wynn |
guitar |
Paul B. Cutler (from 1986) |
bass |
Mark Walton (from 1984) |
Drums |
Dennis Duck |
| former members | |
bass |
David Provost (1983-1984) |
The Dream Syndicate is an American rock band from Los Angeles that was part of the Paisley Underground , played for the first time between 1981 and 1989 and reunited in 2012.
It originally included Steve Wynn (vocals, guitar), Karl Precoda (guitar), Kendra Smith (bass) and Dennis Duck (drums). Most recently, the band consisted of Wynn, Duck and Paul B. Cutler (guitar) and Mark Walton (bass). The name of the band goes back to a suggestion by Dennis Duck and refers to an experimental group founded by Tony Conrad in New York in the early 1960s (better known as The Theater of Eternal Music ), of which John Cale was also a member.
history
During their studies at the University of California at Davis, Wynn and Smith played with Russ Tolman and Gavin Blair (both later with True West ) in the band The Suspects . Returning to Los Angeles, Wynn recorded a single called 15 Minutes (for the Andy Warhol term of "15 minutes of fame") as a farewell to music. However, he did not implement this intention. While auditioning for the band Goat Deity , he met Precoda, who had followed an ad for a bass player, and they formed The Dream Syndicate, with Precoda switching to guitar. Smith joined the band on bass and brought Dennis Duck, who had previously played in the locally successful band Human Hands from Pasadena.
On February 23, 1982, The Dream Syndicate first performed at Club Lingerie . They recorded a four-track EP in the basement of Wynn's house, which Wynn released on his Down There label, and the band quickly gained local notoriety for their long, feedback- ridden improvisations. They drew from the legacy of The Velvet Underground and Television , but borrowings from Quicksilver Messenger Service and Creedence Clearwater Revival were also recognizable. Wynn later said of her rapid success, “It happened overnight. We didn't have to do anything for it. It was very strange and somehow confused us. "
The band signed a record deal with Slash Records , on whose sub-label Ruby Records their first album The Days of Wine and Roses was released in 1982. The following year, the anthemic first track of this album, Tell Me When It's Over, was released as the A-side of an EP, which also contained a cover version of Buffalo Springfield's Mr. Soul , on Rough Trade Records in the UK. Kendra Smith left The Dream Syndicate and formed the band Opal with David Roback (previously with Rain Parade , later with Mazzy Star ). She was replaced by David Provost (Droogs, Russ Tolman , Denver Mexicans).
Due to the positive media response to the group, A&M Records became aware of them and signed them in 1984. In the same year the group released their most ambitious album, The Medicine Show ; an album that some consider "one of the best rock albums of the 1980s". It was recorded in San Francisco and produced by Sandy Pearlman ( Blue Öyster Cult , The Clash , The Dictators, Pavlov's Dog, Shakin 'Street, Jenifer McKitrick). The completion of this album was due to the temporary breakup of the band with some time and difficulties and contains Merritville and especially John Coltrane stereo blues classics. They played as opening act for REM and U2 and also released the live album This Is Not The New Dream Syndicate Album - live on A&M (supported by studio musician Tommy Zvoncheck), in which Karl Precoda played for the last time and Mark Walton for the first Time could be heard on the bass. They left A&M after the record company rejected the demo of the title Slide Away . The song is included on the album It's Too Late To Stop Now , which was released by the Pat Thomas (Absolute Gray)-led fan club.
Steve Wynn wrote ten songs with Dan Stuart ( Green on Red ) in 1985 , which they recorded with Dennis Duck and colleagues from the Paisley Underground, such as the Long Ryders, and released as Danny and Dusty on the album The Lost Weekend on A&M.
After A&M released the group from their contract, Wynn, Duck, Mark Walton and Paul B. Cutler (previously with Death Rock band 45 Grave ) joined forces to form the final lineup of The Dream Syndicate and recorded two more studio albums, Out Of The Gray (1986), produced by Cutler, and Ghost Stories (1988), produced by Elliot Mazer, who had also produced several Neil Young albums (including Harvest and Time Fades Away ).
As a parting present for A&M, The Dream Syndicate recorded the song Lonely Bull , which was the first hit by A&M boss Herb Alpert in 1962 .
The double live LP Live at Raji’s , also produced by Mazer, was recorded before Ghost Stories , but was only released afterwards. After the band broke up, 3½ appeared among others ; The Lost Tapes 1985–1988, with previously unreleased studio recordings, and The Day Before Wine and Roses , which recorded a live radio performance shortly before their first album was released.
Since the reunification in 2012 the band has been active again, with the new album How Did I Find Myself Here? (2017), and was on tour in 2017.
With These Times (2019) and The Universe Inside (2020) they released two more albums.
Solo projects
After the apparently final end of The Dream Syndicate at the end of the 1980s, Steve Wynn began his successful solo career, Karl Precoda became a professor of literature, Kendra Smith founded the band Opal with David Roback from Rain Parade and Keith Mitchell from Green on Red, which was followed by Mark Walton moved to New Orleans and joined the Continental Drifters, Dennis Duck retired into private life and Paul B. Cutler works as a concert promoter in the Los Angeles area.
Discography
Dream Syndicate
- The Dream Syndicate (1982) EP - Down There Records
- The Days of Wine and Roses (1982) album - Ruby Records / Slash Records
- Medicine Show (1984) album - A&M
- This Is Not the New Dream Syndicate Album …… Live! (1984) album - A&M
- Out of the Gray (1986) album - Chrysalis / Ariola
- 50 In A 25 Zone (1986) mini-album - Big Time
- Ghost Stories (1988) album - Enigma / Virgin
- Live at Raji's (1989) Do album - Enigma / Virgin
- It's Too Late To Stop Now (1989) Album - Another Cowboy (Fanclub Label)
- 3½; The Lost Tapes 1985-1988 (1993) album - Normal
- The Day Before Wine and Roses (1995) album - Normal
- How Did I Find Myself Here? (2017) Album - Anti
- These Times (2019) album
- The Universe Inside (2020) album
Danny & Dusty (with Steve Wynn & Dennis Duck)
- The Lost Weekend (1985) Album - A&M - Reissue: Prima Records
Filmography
- Weathered and Torn (DVD)