Drive (Band)
Encyclopedia
Drive was a five-piece progressive metal
, power metal
, heavy metal
, and hard rock
band formed in Houston, Texas
, USA by Rick Chavez. They released two albums, Characters in Time (1988) and Diablero (1992).
Drive formed in Houston, TX in the mid-80s when it’s members were barely out of high school, but the band soon moved to Los Angeles
, which had become the epicenter of the hard rock scene. After winning a radio contest with their song “I Need The Nights”, Drive landed on the Best of the West compilation released by Rampage Records, the hard rock division of Rhino Records. Rampage quickly signed the band, and in July 1988 Drive released their debut LP, Characters in Time. The album received tremendous reviews from the industry’s top hard rock press, including the coveted 5 “K” rating from Kerrang! Magazine. The album also received solid airplay from hard rock stations around the country, including the Los Angeles powerhouse, KNAC
.
What separated Drive from the “hair” bands of the Sunset Strip
were their intelligent lyrics, intricate musicianship and soaring vocals which were more Iron Maiden
than Poison
, more Judas Priest
than Warrant, but with a strong and original voice all their own.
At the beginning of the next decade the band left Rampage and signed with Zoo Records
, a new BMG
label that would later become famous for the band Tool
. In 1992 the band released the sonically advanced and more mature sounding Diablero to rave reviews from the metal underground.
Unfortunately, a shake-up at the label along with the dawn of the metal-killing “grunge” scene left the album without much of a push, and the band’s recording career was put on hold as the band members moved back to Texas.
According to a review of Characters in Time, “Vocalist David Taylor gives off an incredibly awesome performance” and “the next driving force behind this release outside of the powerful vocals is definitely the guitar work of Chavez” which goes “ catchy rockin’ rhythms to rippingly fast riffs”
On June 25, 2009, while driving along a San Antonio interstate, lead singer David Taylor lost control of his vehicle due to a tire malfunction, causing him to crash. He was airlifted to an area hospital where he died of his injuries five days later. He was 44.”
Progressive metal
Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal originating in the United Kingdom and North America in the late 1980s...
, power metal
Power metal
Power metal is a style of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. The term refers to two different but related styles: the first pioneered and largely practiced in North America with a harder sound similar to speed metal, and a...
, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, and hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
band formed in Houston, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, USA by Rick Chavez. They released two albums, Characters in Time (1988) and Diablero (1992).
Drive formed in Houston, TX in the mid-80s when it’s members were barely out of high school, but the band soon moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, which had become the epicenter of the hard rock scene. After winning a radio contest with their song “I Need The Nights”, Drive landed on the Best of the West compilation released by Rampage Records, the hard rock division of Rhino Records. Rampage quickly signed the band, and in July 1988 Drive released their debut LP, Characters in Time. The album received tremendous reviews from the industry’s top hard rock press, including the coveted 5 “K” rating from Kerrang! Magazine. The album also received solid airplay from hard rock stations around the country, including the Los Angeles powerhouse, KNAC
KNAC
KNAC is an internet based heavy metal music radio station. It was previously a Los Angeles, California area FM radio station.-KNAC at 105.5 FM:...
.
What separated Drive from the “hair” bands of the Sunset Strip
Sunset Strip
The Sunset Strip is the name given to the mile-and-a-half stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with Hollywood at Harper Avenue, to its western border with Beverly Hills at Sierra Drive...
were their intelligent lyrics, intricate musicianship and soaring vocals which were more Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
than Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...
, more Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
than Warrant, but with a strong and original voice all their own.
At the beginning of the next decade the band left Rampage and signed with Zoo Records
Zoo Records
Zoo Records was a British independent record label formed by Bill Drummond and David Balfe in 1978. Zoo was launched in order to release the work of the perennially struggling Liverpool band, Big in Japan...
, a new BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
label that would later become famous for the band Tool
Tool (band)
Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up has included drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Since 1995, Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour...
. In 1992 the band released the sonically advanced and more mature sounding Diablero to rave reviews from the metal underground.
Unfortunately, a shake-up at the label along with the dawn of the metal-killing “grunge” scene left the album without much of a push, and the band’s recording career was put on hold as the band members moved back to Texas.
According to a review of Characters in Time, “Vocalist David Taylor gives off an incredibly awesome performance” and “the next driving force behind this release outside of the powerful vocals is definitely the guitar work of Chavez” which goes “ catchy rockin’ rhythms to rippingly fast riffs”
On June 25, 2009, while driving along a San Antonio interstate, lead singer David Taylor lost control of his vehicle due to a tire malfunction, causing him to crash. He was airlifted to an area hospital where he died of his injuries five days later. He was 44.”
Members
- David Taylor – vocals
- Rick Chavez – guitar/vocals
- Mercy Valdez – guitar on Characters in Time/Diablero
- Mike Conde – guitar on Diablero
- Michael Anthony Guerrero – bass
- Valentine San Miguel – drums
- Guest Musicians on Diablero
- Mike Ribiero - bass
- Raudel B.Estrada - Drums
External links
- http://www.themusicsover.com
- http://www.metal-archives.com/review.php?id=14599
- http://masterofpuppets-stayheavy.blogspot.com/2009/03/drive-characters-in-time-1988.html
- http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=1573
- http://brutalmetal.com/cgi-bin/band.cgi?BandNum=10709
- http://davidtaylormemorial.blogspot.com/2009/07/characters-in-time-and-diablero.html