Gatsbys American Dream
Encyclopedia
Gatsbys American Dream (also known as GAD, Gatsby's, or Gatsby) is a Seattle-based indie rock
band. Since their founding in 2002, they have released four full-length albums and one EP. They have also appeared on several compilations with original songs and covers. Gatsbys American Dream drew their name from F. Scott Fitzgerald
's The Great Gatsby
.
Although the band is difficult to classify into one subgenre, it can be said that they draw influence from alternative
, progressive rock
, pop/rock, hardcore punk
, indie pop
, indie rock
, post-hardcore
, and heavy metal
.
, were (according to Bobby) written by his earlier band, One Point Two. This band was made up of Bobby, Casey Bates, Josh Berg, and Dustin McGhie. The group later met up with the former guitarist and singer of Good for Nothing, Nic Newsham and Ryan Van Wieringen, and formed Gatsbys American Dream. Although Casey Bates never joined the band, he has remained their producer throughout the band's career.
When Acceptance
guitarist Kaylan Cloyd heard a Gatsbys demo, he handed it to Darrick Bourgeois, owner of local record label Rocketstar Recordings. Shortly afterward, Gatsbys signed a two-record deal with Rocketstar and worked with producer Aaron Sprinkle
to record their 2002 debut album Why We Fight. Their first show after being signed drew in a crowd in excess of 500, which was largely due to Rocketstar's extensive promotion.
Shortly after the release of their first album, the line-up changed when bassist Josh Berg left and Kirk Huffman (formerly of K Through Six) was recruited. He is often recognized as the only bassist because Berg never toured with the band. After the bands first tour, Dustin McGhie also left and the band found Rudy Gahadjar, formerly of Waxwing
and Bugs in Amber. .
, a concept album based loosely on George Orwell
’s fable Animal Farm
. Musically, the album found them exploring a harder-edged pop sound, opting for unusual time signatures and tempo changes. Although literary references are common through most of their material, Ribbons and Sugar also began a motif of record label disdain. The lyrics of "Cut the Strings" read:
Following the release of Ribbons and Sugar, the band started to field numerous offers from other, larger record labels. Slightly embittered by the process, the band nevertheless signed a one-record deal with Chicago-based LLR Recordings in 2004. Their contractual record, the more mellow and subdued In the Land of Lost Monsters
EP, was in part a response to the post-Ribbons record label attention the band had received. Most of the labels that approached them wanted the band to write choruses for their next record (a standard songwriting technique the band had, up to that point, seemed to avoid). Newsham's lyrics for Lost Monsters reflected this struggle, criticizing the music industry and expressing the band's wariness of record labels.
and released their third full-length, Volcano
, in April 2005. Thematically, Volcano revolves around Pompeii
(as evidenced by the title of the second track on the record), which stands as a metaphor for the uncontrollable intensity of human emotion. The album is rife with literary and cultural references from such diverse works as children's film Pee-wee's Big Adventure
, Lionhead Studio's Fable
, William Golding's Lord of the Flies
, Tolkien
's The Lord of the Rings
, the action film Jurassic Park
, and Orson Scott Card
's science-fiction epics Ender's Game
and Speaker for the Dead
.
During the tour that followed the release of Volcano, Gatsbys added Kyle O'Quin (also a member of the band Surrounded By Lions). A few months after O'Quin was added to the band, Ryan Van Wieringen met up with the band in Arizona while they were on tour there and rejoined the line up. Since then, he has been touring and performing live as part of the band.
fourth full-length album was released August 8, 2006. The album is peppered with numerous pop culture and literary references, which appear in both the lyrics and song titles, ranging from works by Philip K. Dick
to the television show Lost
.
The band has been relatively inactive since the release of the self-titled album. The band has played a handful of shows in and around the Seattle area, and on April 27, 2007, they played their first out-of-state show since the self-titled album's release at Colgate University
. In a forum post at Gatsbys fansite Snicker at the Swine, Bobby stated the following on the band's decision to ever go on tour again or write another album:
During the hiatus, most of the members started side projects.
"Return to Wonderland
" show at El Corazon in Seattle, which included Places and Numbers (Bobby Darling with all members except Newsham as a backing band), and Princess Dinosaur (Nic Newsham). The show concluded with all of the members of Gatsbys American Dream going on stage after Places and Numbers and playing "Theatre" off of Volcano.
On October 5, 2010, entirely through newly created Facebook
/Twitter
accounts, the band announced they were officially reuniting. They also hinted towards the album they began recording by uploading pictures and mentioning Casey Bates
' studio. The band also asked fans to contact their booking agent and request cities for a future tour. Gatsby noted that side projects Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground and Wild Orchid Children in particular would not be affected by the reunion.
In the January of 2011, the band worked with the Overdue Collection Agency, a record label dedicated to remastering vinyl records and sending the profits to a charity of the band's choice. With the label, GAD re-released their first two albums, Why We Fight and Ribbons & Sugar on vinyl, with the goal of raising $5,500 for water.org. They exceeded their goal well before the due date and plan to release their first EP, In the Land of Lost Monsters, at a later time.
On March 4, 2011, the band finally unveiled new material, with a song titled Modern Man on their new official website. In order to hear it, fans have to play a game in similar fashion to Angry Birds
. On March 11, a second song, "Born Dead," was scheduled to be streamed. However, the group decided to delay the song's release in respect for those who suffered the recents events
in Japan
The song was released a few days after the event, but under the title "Untitled".
It contains footage by Casey Bates, Eric Slagle, and the band.
It was produced, edited, and designed by Casey Bates
.
The video contains three music videos including the Ribbons and Sugar
CD release party, touring and recording featurettes, over 150 photos, personal member videos, behind the scenes footage of a year with the band when they were recording and touring in support of Ribbons and Sugar.
's album, Razia's Shadow.
. The band independently released their debut album, titled The Compound, in 2008.
, which was itself a reference to an army's color code from the book Ender's Game
by Orson Scott Card
. To date, the band has released 3 tracks for download on their MySpace page. On August 23, Newsham posted a MySpace bulletin stating that due to popular request, he would start writing more songs for RedRedBlue, but that they would likely be acoustic-only.
and Forgive Durden
.
The band started taking pre-orders in late October 2007 for a 4-song EP, which includes the songs released for streaming on the band's Myspace page. After a manufacturing error caused delays in the release of the EP, the band started shipping orders in January 2008. The EP's artwork is by John Gourley
.
Wild Orchid Children signed to Equal Vision Records in the summer of 2010, The Wild Orchid Children Are Alexander Supertramp was subsequently released on Tuesday, November 9, 2010. The album features all four tracks from the previous EP, re-recorded with extended sections and additional instrumentation.
To date, the label's only release is the live Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground DVD/CD Live at the Pretty Parlor. The label's website states that a 5-song EP by Seattle band Man in the Blue Van will be released toward the end of the year as well as a 10" vinyl-only release from Huffman's Wild Orchid Children.
. The band came out of an idea both members had about mapping out an entire album using guidelines for the tempo and key and setting up the session in ProTools before playing a single note. Currently, the band has only released a single song titled "Godzilla" on Forgive Durden's blog.
's "Razia's Shadow" is a musical involving several artists in the Seattle indie scene. The album features Nic as King Malka in the song "Meet the King", and Rudy playing the drums throughout the album.
Band Members:
in early 2010 and released their debut EP, Waking The Dead, on a pay what you can
model through Bandcamp.com. A full-length album titled Travels is expected later in 2010.
website Bandcamp.com.
The band is currently working on their to-be-titled full length in Seattle, WA. The album features 11 new songs and was recorded in Seattle at three different locations with local producer, Derek Moree.
Members
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band. Since their founding in 2002, they have released four full-length albums and one EP. They have also appeared on several compilations with original songs and covers. Gatsbys American Dream drew their name from F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
's The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922....
.
Although the band is difficult to classify into one subgenre, it can be said that they draw influence from alternative
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...
, progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, pop/rock, hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
, indie pop
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
, indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
, post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
, and 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...
.
Line-up
- Nic Newsham: vocals
- Bobby Darling: guitar, vocals
- Ryan Van Wieringen: guitar, vocals (Appears on "Why We Fight" and "Ribbons & Sugar"; left for college after sophomore CD and returned to tour after the release of the self-titled)
- Kirk Huffman: bass, vocals
- Rudy Gajadhar: drums and percussion
Former members
- Kyle O'Quin: keyboard, vocals
- Dustin McGhye: Drums (on "Why We Fight")
- Josh Berg: Bass (on "Why We Fight")
Origins and Why We Fight
The prototypes for the songs on the band's first record, Why We FightWhy We Fight (album)
Why We Fight is the first album from Seattle-based Gatsbys American Dream. It is presumably named after the World War II documentary series....
, were (according to Bobby) written by his earlier band, One Point Two. This band was made up of Bobby, Casey Bates, Josh Berg, and Dustin McGhie. The group later met up with the former guitarist and singer of Good for Nothing, Nic Newsham and Ryan Van Wieringen, and formed Gatsbys American Dream. Although Casey Bates never joined the band, he has remained their producer throughout the band's career.
When Acceptance
Acceptance (band)
Acceptance was an alternative rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1998. They released their first EP, Lost for Words, in 2000, followed by Black Lines to Battlefields in 2003...
guitarist Kaylan Cloyd heard a Gatsbys demo, he handed it to Darrick Bourgeois, owner of local record label Rocketstar Recordings. Shortly afterward, Gatsbys signed a two-record deal with Rocketstar and worked with producer Aaron Sprinkle
Aaron Sprinkle
Aaron Sprinkle is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer from Seattle, Washington.-Career:His career in music began in high school with a group called BellBangVilla. BellBangVilla became Poor Old Lu and they released a number of albums . Aaron Sprinkle also sang and played...
to record their 2002 debut album Why We Fight. Their first show after being signed drew in a crowd in excess of 500, which was largely due to Rocketstar's extensive promotion.
Shortly after the release of their first album, the line-up changed when bassist Josh Berg left and Kirk Huffman (formerly of K Through Six) was recruited. He is often recognized as the only bassist because Berg never toured with the band. After the bands first tour, Dustin McGhie also left and the band found Rudy Gahadjar, formerly of Waxwing
Waxwing (band)
Waxwing was an indie rock band from Seattle, Washington that drew influences from a wide variety of folk and punk groups.-History:The band was formed in 1996 after the dissolution of Lying on Loot, of which Rocky Votolato and Rudy Gajadhar were members...
and Bugs in Amber. .
Ribbons and Sugar
In 2003, the band released their second record, Ribbons and SugarRibbons and Sugar
Gatsbys American Dream released their second album, Ribbons and Sugar, in 2003. As indicated by the title, the album is based loosely around the George Orwell fable Animal Farm.-Album details:...
, a concept album based loosely on George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
’s fable Animal Farm
Animal Farm
Animal Farm is an allegorical novella by George Orwell published in England on 17 August 1945. According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to and during the Stalin era before World War II...
. Musically, the album found them exploring a harder-edged pop sound, opting for unusual time signatures and tempo changes. Although literary references are common through most of their material, Ribbons and Sugar also began a motif of record label disdain. The lyrics of "Cut the Strings" read:
"This is awful to think who decides what should or should not stay, what ends up on the cutting room floor. Apparently it's not my choice to make."
In the Land of Lost Monsters
Gatsbys' two-record deal with Rocketstar was fulfilled with Ribbons and Sugar, and the band decided not to renew their contract. Later, guitarist Ryan Van Wieringen would leave the band to further his college education.Following the release of Ribbons and Sugar, the band started to field numerous offers from other, larger record labels. Slightly embittered by the process, the band nevertheless signed a one-record deal with Chicago-based LLR Recordings in 2004. Their contractual record, the more mellow and subdued In the Land of Lost Monsters
In the Land of Lost Monsters
In the Land of Lost Monsters is an EP by Gatsbys American Dream released in 2004. After their second release Ribbons and Sugar, the band grew rapidly in popularity with their fans, but not with record labels...
EP, was in part a response to the post-Ribbons record label attention the band had received. Most of the labels that approached them wanted the band to write choruses for their next record (a standard songwriting technique the band had, up to that point, seemed to avoid). Newsham's lyrics for Lost Monsters reflected this struggle, criticizing the music industry and expressing the band's wariness of record labels.
Volcano
Several months after the EP's release, the band settled on Fearless RecordsFearless Records
Fearless Records is an alternative rock-oriented record label that has been signing artists since 1994. Fearless is based in Westminster, California and are best known for their early pop-punk moments captured in the Fearless Flush Sampler and Punk Bites releases, as well as additional releases by...
and released their third full-length, Volcano
Volcano (Gatsbys American Dream album)
Volcano is the fourth album by Gatsbys American Dream. The album is also known by the full title printed on the cover, Gatsbys American Dream and the Volcano....
, in April 2005. Thematically, Volcano revolves around Pompeii
Pompeii
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman town-city near modern Naples in the Italian region of Campania, in the territory of the comune of Pompei. Along with Herculaneum, Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning...
(as evidenced by the title of the second track on the record), which stands as a metaphor for the uncontrollable intensity of human emotion. The album is rife with literary and cultural references from such diverse works as children's film Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
Pee-wee's Big Adventure is a 1985 American adventure comedy film directed by Tim Burton in his full-length debut and starring Paul Reubens as Pee-wee Herman. Reubens also co-wrote the script with Phil Hartman and Michael Varhol. Supporting roles are played by Elizabeth Daily, Mark Holton, Diane...
, Lionhead Studio's Fable
Fable (video game)
Fable is an action role-playing video game in the Fable series. It was developed for Xbox, Mac OS X, and Windows platforms, by Big Blue Box, a satellite developer of Lionhead Studios, and was published by Microsoft. The game shipped for Xbox on October 14, 2003...
, William Golding's Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding about a group of British boys stuck on a deserted island who try to govern themselves, with disastrous results...
, Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, the action film Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
, and Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
's science-fiction epics Ender's Game
Ender's Game
Ender's Game is a science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. The book originated as the short story "Ender's Game", published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Elaborating on characters and plot lines depicted in the novel, Card later wrote additional...
and Speaker for the Dead
Speaker for the Dead
Speaker for the Dead is a science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card and an indirect sequel to the novel Ender's Game. This book takes place around the year 5270, some 3,000 years after the events in Ender's Game...
.
During the tour that followed the release of Volcano, Gatsbys added Kyle O'Quin (also a member of the band Surrounded By Lions). A few months after O'Quin was added to the band, Ryan Van Wieringen met up with the band in Arizona while they were on tour there and rejoined the line up. Since then, he has been touring and performing live as part of the band.
Self-titled album and hiatus
Gatsby's self-titledGatsbys American Dream (album)
-Track Title References:* "You All Everybody" is the title of a song by Charlie Pace's band "Driveshaft" on the TV show Lost. Aside from the title, this song and the one on the show bear no similarities....
fourth full-length album was released August 8, 2006. The album is peppered with numerous pop culture and literary references, which appear in both the lyrics and song titles, ranging from works by Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
to the television show Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
.
The band has been relatively inactive since the release of the self-titled album. The band has played a handful of shows in and around the Seattle area, and on April 27, 2007, they played their first out-of-state show since the self-titled album's release at Colgate University
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
. In a forum post at Gatsbys fansite Snicker at the Swine, Bobby stated the following on the band's decision to ever go on tour again or write another album:
During the hiatus, most of the members started side projects.
Reunion
In September 2010, at Forgive Durden'sForgive Durden
Forgive Durden is an indie rock band from Seattle, Washington, who got their name from the novel Fight Club. They are signed to Fueled By Ramen...
"Return to Wonderland
Wonderland
-Literature:*Wonderland , the setting of Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland*Wonderland , a 1971 novel by Joyce Carol Oates...
" show at El Corazon in Seattle, which included Places and Numbers (Bobby Darling with all members except Newsham as a backing band), and Princess Dinosaur (Nic Newsham). The show concluded with all of the members of Gatsbys American Dream going on stage after Places and Numbers and playing "Theatre" off of Volcano.
On October 5, 2010, entirely through newly created Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
accounts, the band announced they were officially reuniting. They also hinted towards the album they began recording by uploading pictures and mentioning Casey Bates
Casey Bates
Casey Bates is a Seattle based music producer, mixer, and musician. He has recorded his own music and worked with several artists on record labels such as Fearless, Fueled by Ramen, Equal Vision Records, and Eyeball Records...
' studio. The band also asked fans to contact their booking agent and request cities for a future tour. Gatsby noted that side projects Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground and Wild Orchid Children in particular would not be affected by the reunion.
In the January of 2011, the band worked with the Overdue Collection Agency, a record label dedicated to remastering vinyl records and sending the profits to a charity of the band's choice. With the label, GAD re-released their first two albums, Why We Fight and Ribbons & Sugar on vinyl, with the goal of raising $5,500 for water.org. They exceeded their goal well before the due date and plan to release their first EP, In the Land of Lost Monsters, at a later time.
On March 4, 2011, the band finally unveiled new material, with a song titled Modern Man on their new official website. In order to hear it, fans have to play a game in similar fashion to Angry Birds
Angry Birds
Angry Birds is a puzzle video game developed by Finnish computer game developer Rovio Mobile. Inspired primarily by a sketch of stylized wingless birds, the game was first released for Apple's iOS in December 2009...
. On March 11, a second song, "Born Dead," was scheduled to be streamed. However, the group decided to delay the song's release in respect for those who suffered the recents events
2011 Yunnan earthquake
The 2011 Yunnan earthquake was a 5.4 magnitude earthquake that occurred on 10 March 2011 at 12:58 CST, with its epicenter in Yingjiang County, Yunnan, People's Republic of China, near the Burmese border. A total of 26 people died and 313 were injured with 133 in serious condition...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
The song was released a few days after the event, but under the title "Untitled".
Full-length albums
- Why We FightWhy We Fight (album)Why We Fight is the first album from Seattle-based Gatsbys American Dream. It is presumably named after the World War II documentary series....
(Rocketstar, 2002) - Ribbons and SugarRibbons and SugarGatsbys American Dream released their second album, Ribbons and Sugar, in 2003. As indicated by the title, the album is based loosely around the George Orwell fable Animal Farm.-Album details:...
(Rocketstar, 2003) - VolcanoVolcano (Gatsbys American Dream album)Volcano is the fourth album by Gatsbys American Dream. The album is also known by the full title printed on the cover, Gatsbys American Dream and the Volcano....
(Fearless, 2005) - Gatsbys American DreamGatsbys American Dream (album)-Track Title References:* "You All Everybody" is the title of a song by Charlie Pace's band "Driveshaft" on the TV show Lost. Aside from the title, this song and the one on the show bear no similarities....
(Fearless, 2006)
Singles and EPs
- In the Land of Lost MonstersIn the Land of Lost MonstersIn the Land of Lost Monsters is an EP by Gatsbys American Dream released in 2004. After their second release Ribbons and Sugar, the band grew rapidly in popularity with their fans, but not with record labels...
(LLR, 2004) - Volcano Bonus Disc (Fearless, 2005)
Compilations
- A Santa Cause: It's A Punk Rock Christmas (Immortal, 2003) - "Christmas Time Is Here"
- In Honor: A Compilation to Beat Cancer (Vagrant Records, 2004) - "The Rundown"
- Punk Goes 80's (Fearless, 2005) - "Just Like Heaven"
- Warped Tour 2005 Compilation (SideOneDummy, 2005) - "Theatre"
- Music On The Brain Vol. 2 (Smartpunk, 2005) - "Theatre"
- Taste of Christmas (Warcon, 2005) - "Saint Nicholas"
- Music On The Brain Vol. 3 (Smartpunk, 2006) - "Station 5: The Pearl"
- Paupers, Peasants, Princes & Kings: The Songs Of Bob Dylan (Doghouse Records, 2006) - "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"
- NHL07 (EA Sports, 2006) - "Theatre"
- Equal Vision Summer Sample 2011 - "Modern Man"
A Year in the Gulch
A Year in the Gulch was released in 2003.It contains footage by Casey Bates, Eric Slagle, and the band.
It was produced, edited, and designed by Casey Bates
Casey Bates
Casey Bates is a Seattle based music producer, mixer, and musician. He has recorded his own music and worked with several artists on record labels such as Fearless, Fueled by Ramen, Equal Vision Records, and Eyeball Records...
.
The video contains three music videos including the Ribbons and Sugar
Ribbons and Sugar
Gatsbys American Dream released their second album, Ribbons and Sugar, in 2003. As indicated by the title, the album is based loosely around the George Orwell fable Animal Farm.-Album details:...
CD release party, touring and recording featurettes, over 150 photos, personal member videos, behind the scenes footage of a year with the band when they were recording and touring in support of Ribbons and Sugar.
Side projects
The following bands were started during Gatsbys's unofficial hiatus. Of all the Gatsbys members, Rudy Gajadhar is the only one with no other known projects, though he played drums with Search/Rescue at a June 2007 show in Seattle and recorded drums for Forgive DurdenForgive Durden
Forgive Durden is an indie rock band from Seattle, Washington, who got their name from the novel Fight Club. They are signed to Fueled By Ramen...
's album, Razia's Shadow.
Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground
Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground is an indie band started by Kirk Huffman and Kyle O'Quin. Like Gatsbys, the band draws influence from a wide variety of musical genres. Though the band only has three official members, they have been known to perform with as many as 11 additional musicians on stage.Search/Rescue
Search/Rescue is a progressive rock band formed by members of Gatsbys American Dream and AcceptanceAcceptance (band)
Acceptance was an alternative rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1998. They released their first EP, Lost for Words, in 2000, followed by Black Lines to Battlefields in 2003...
. The band independently released their debut album, titled The Compound, in 2008.
RedRedBlue
RedRedBlue is Newsham's powerpop side project with Justin Harcus of Pale Pacific. The band's name is taken from a Gatsbys song from In the Land of Lost MonstersIn the Land of Lost Monsters
In the Land of Lost Monsters is an EP by Gatsbys American Dream released in 2004. After their second release Ribbons and Sugar, the band grew rapidly in popularity with their fans, but not with record labels...
, which was itself a reference to an army's color code from the book Ender's Game
Ender's Game
Ender's Game is a science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. The book originated as the short story "Ender's Game", published in the August 1977 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. Elaborating on characters and plot lines depicted in the novel, Card later wrote additional...
by Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card
Orson Scott Card is an American author, critic, public speaker, essayist, columnist, and political activist. He writes in several genres, but is primarily known for his science fiction. His novel Ender's Game and its sequel Speaker for the Dead both won Hugo and Nebula Awards, making Card the...
. To date, the band has released 3 tracks for download on their MySpace page. On August 23, Newsham posted a MySpace bulletin stating that due to popular request, he would start writing more songs for RedRedBlue, but that they would likely be acoustic-only.
Wild Orchid Children
Wild Orchid Children is another band featuring Huffman and O'Quin. In August 2007, the band started a MySpace page and posted a single song, titled "Ahead of Us the Secret" which was also made available for free download at Gatsbys fansite Snicker At The Swine. The band features musicians from other prominent Seattle bands The DivorceThe Divorce
The Divorce was a rock band from Seattle, Washington, originally composed of Shane Berry, lead vocals, keyboard, guitar and tambourine, Jimmy Curran and Kyle Risan, drums. The band's first full-length release was There Will Be Blood Tonight on Fugitive Records in 2003...
and Forgive Durden
Forgive Durden
Forgive Durden is an indie rock band from Seattle, Washington, who got their name from the novel Fight Club. They are signed to Fueled By Ramen...
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The band started taking pre-orders in late October 2007 for a 4-song EP, which includes the songs released for streaming on the band's Myspace page. After a manufacturing error caused delays in the release of the EP, the band started shipping orders in January 2008. The EP's artwork is by John Gourley
Portugal. The Man
Portugal. The Man is an American psychedelic rock band based in Portland, Oregon, but originally from Wasilla, Alaska. The group released their first two albums with Fearless Records. They also released material on their own imprint Approaching AIRballoons through indie label Equal Vision Records...
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Wild Orchid Children signed to Equal Vision Records in the summer of 2010, The Wild Orchid Children Are Alexander Supertramp was subsequently released on Tuesday, November 9, 2010. The album features all four tracks from the previous EP, re-recorded with extended sections and additional instrumentation.
Members
- Kirk Huffman - vocals
- Kyle O'Quin - keys
- Thomas HunterForgive DurdenForgive Durden is an indie rock band from Seattle, Washington, who got their name from the novel Fight Club. They are signed to Fueled By Ramen...
- guitar - Andy Lum - drums
- Aaron Benson - percussion
- Ryan Van Wieringen - baritone guitar & percussion
- Scot Porter - percussion & effects
Bombs Over Bellevue
Bombs Over Bellevue is an independent label started by Huffman.To date, the label's only release is the live Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground DVD/CD Live at the Pretty Parlor. The label's website states that a 5-song EP by Seattle band Man in the Blue Van will be released toward the end of the year as well as a 10" vinyl-only release from Huffman's Wild Orchid Children.
Keith Ledger
Keith Ledger is a punk band featuring Nic Newsham on vocals. So far, the band has released four tracks for streaming on their Myspace page and played a handful of shows in the Seattle area.Zero Cool
Zero Cool is a rock band featuring Bobby Darling and Thomas Dutton of Forgive DurdenForgive Durden
Forgive Durden is an indie rock band from Seattle, Washington, who got their name from the novel Fight Club. They are signed to Fueled By Ramen...
. The band came out of an idea both members had about mapping out an entire album using guidelines for the tempo and key and setting up the session in ProTools before playing a single note. Currently, the band has only released a single song titled "Godzilla" on Forgive Durden's blog.
Members
- Bobby Darling - guitar, bass, vocals
- Thomas DuttonForgive DurdenForgive Durden is an indie rock band from Seattle, Washington, who got their name from the novel Fight Club. They are signed to Fueled By Ramen...
- drums, vocals
Razia's Shadow
Forgive DurdenForgive Durden
Forgive Durden is an indie rock band from Seattle, Washington, who got their name from the novel Fight Club. They are signed to Fueled By Ramen...
's "Razia's Shadow" is a musical involving several artists in the Seattle indie scene. The album features Nic as King Malka in the song "Meet the King", and Rudy playing the drums throughout the album.
Princess Dinosaur
Princess Dinosaur is a side project started by Nick Vombrack (formerly of Dr Manhattan) with help from Nic Newsham. They currently have three songs on their myspace page. They released a six-song EP titled "A Goldfish and his Friends" for one "Like" on FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
Band Members:
- Guitars, Drums: Nick Vombrack
- Vocals, Lyrics: Nic Newsham
Places and Numbers
Bobby Darling has recorded new material under the moniker Places and Numbers with the help of friend/producer Casey Bates, using an iBook and a Macbook Pro while they traveled around Europe. Places and Numbers signed to Equal Vision RecordsEqual Vision Records
Equal Vision Records is a record label based in Albany, New York, which has a focus in metal or punk-based rock genres. Equal Vision Records was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo ....
in early 2010 and released their debut EP, Waking The Dead, on a pay what you can
Pay what you can
Pay what you can is a non-profit or for-profit business model which does not depend on set prices for its goods, but instead asks customers to pay what they feel the product or service is worth to them. It is often used as a promotional tactic, but can also be the regular method of doing business...
model through Bandcamp.com. A full-length album titled Travels is expected later in 2010.
Ticktockman
Ticktockman is an alternative band composed of Andy Lum and Ryan Van Wieringen. They released their first EP, Periscope, for sale on iTunes on February 3, 2010. It is also up for download on the pay what you canPay what you can
Pay what you can is a non-profit or for-profit business model which does not depend on set prices for its goods, but instead asks customers to pay what they feel the product or service is worth to them. It is often used as a promotional tactic, but can also be the regular method of doing business...
website Bandcamp.com.
The band is currently working on their to-be-titled full length in Seattle, WA. The album features 11 new songs and was recorded in Seattle at three different locations with local producer, Derek Moree.
Members
- Ryan Van Wieringen - vocals
- Andy Lum - guitar
- Morgan 'Boon' Bruner - guitar
- Phil Sells - bass
- Brock Lowry - drums