Luna (1990s American band)
| Luna | |
|---|---|
Luna, 1997.
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| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City, New York, USA |
| Genres | Indie pop, indie rock, dream pop |
| Years active | 1991–2005, 2015 |
| Labels | No.6, Beggars Banquet, Elektra, Jericho, Jetset, Arena Rock Recording Co. |
| Website | lunamusic.com |
| Past members |
Dean Wareham Sean Eden Britta Phillips Lee Wall Justin Harwood Stanley Demeski Byron Guthrie Matt Quigley |
Luna are a dream pop/indie pop band formed in 1991 by singer/guitarist Dean Wareham after the breakup of Galaxie 500. Described by Rolling Stone as “the best band you’ve never heard of”, Luna combined intricate guitar work, traditional rock rhythms and poetic lyrics.
The earliest edition of the band also included drummer Stanley Demeski and bassist Justin Harwood (Demeski formerly of The Feelies and Harwood formerly of New Zealand band The Chills). The original line-up was expanded with the addition of guitarist Sean Eden for their second album, 1994's Bewitched. Lee Wall replaced Demeski on drums in time for 1997's Pup Tent, and Britta Phillips of The Belltower (also known as the singing voice of animated character Jem) joined when bassist Justin Harwood departed in 2000. Phillips and Wareham became romantically involved and eventually married in 2007.
In 1991, after the end of Galaxie 500's US tour supporting the Cocteau Twins, Dean Wareham told his bandmates Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang that he was quitting the band. Wareham then signed a demo deal with Elektra Records and recorded a number of tracks with Mercury Rev drummer Jimmy Chambers. Some of these recordings were later released on the "Anesthesia" single on No.6 Records in the US and Mint Tea in the UK under the name "Dean Wareham."
Elektra's VP of A&R, Terry Tolkin, was impressed and Wareham signed a deal with Elektra, and started pulling together a band. He first contacted Justin Harwood, whom he had met while Harwood was playing with The Chills, and they recruited drummer Byron Guthrie, formerly from Ultra Vivid Scene. The trio recorded demos (produced by Dave Fridmann) and played a series of live dates with Mercury Rev guitarist Grasshopper. Guthrie was replaced by former Feelies drummer Stanley Demeski, and this line-up recorded the first album, Lunapark, produced by Fred Maher and released by Elektra under the name Luna² to avoid confusion with a new-age musician known as "Luna". (Later an accord was reached which allowed the band to use the name Luna.)
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