The Czars
| The Czars | |
|---|---|
| Origin | United States |
| Genres | Slowcore, dream pop, alternative rock |
| Years active | 1994–2006 |
| Labels | Bella Union (UK) |
| Past members |
John Grant Chris Pearson Jeff Linsenmaier Andy Monley Roger Green Elin Palmer |
The Czars was an alternative rock band, formed in 1994 in Denver by John Grant and Chris Pearson. They released six studio albums, one EP, and three singles in the duration of their career. After the release of Goodbye in 2004, five of the six members of The Czars left the band over the span of nine months, leaving John Grant as the sole member of the band. After the exit of the other members, John Grant continued to tour under the name before deciding to pursue a solo career. Members Andy Monley and Roger Green, along with musician David Devine, appear on Sorry I Made You Cry as guitarists.
Following the band's breakup, Grant took some time off from the music business, and returned to recording and performing in 2010 with his debut solo album Queen of Denmark.
Originally going by the name Titanic, The Czars was formed by Grant, Pearson, and Linsenmaier after Grant came back from a long stay in Germany in 1994. Prior to forming the band, John Grant aspired to be a translator in Germany before realizing that his English skills were poor and he would be unable to have the job he desired. The band went through numerous personnel changes in its early stages. It took a few years before the official line-up was formed: John Grant on vocals and piano, Jeff Linsenmaier on drums, Andy Monley and Roger Green on guitar, and Chris Pearson on bass.
In 1996, the band's demos were released on the album Mood Swing through their own record label, Velveteen Records. The following year, the album The La Brea Tar Pits of Routine was also released by Velveteen Records. It has been noted by John Grant that the band and himself were dissatisfied with this album. Grant personally felt that the songs on the album weren't strong on a lyrical level and some of his vocals were out of tune. Both releases were self-produced and self-released by the band. During this period of time, John Grant's lyrics were mostly improvised and he often added new words to his lyrics during live performances, making it difficult for Grant to ever do the same song twice.
The same year The Czars released The La Brea Tar Pits of Routine, Simon Raymonde, former bassist of the Cocteau Twins, formed the record label Bella Union. Grant, a big fan of Cocteau Twins, used this as an opportunity to send a disc to the label. Raymonde was pleased with their efforts and saw potential in the band, but the tracks he received didn't impress him enough to immediately work with the band. This did not end the relationship between Raymonde and The Czars. Instead, it opened up a line of communication between the two and The Czars continued to create demos to send to Raymonde. The demos that were sent after the initial disc impressed Raymonde and the band was invited to start an album on the Bella Union label.
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