MU330
Encyclopedia
MU330 are a ska punk
band from St. Louis
, Missouri
.
Formed by students of St. Louis University High School in 1988, MU330 played a self-described brand of music called "Psycho Ska
", high energy ska punk
marked by manic performances and humorous, often strange lyricism. Since 1997, however, the band's musical direction has shifted towards a more melodic and lyric-driven ska/indie rock
sound, a combination that's been described as "Weezer
meets The Specials
".
Dan Potthast (guitar
/vocals
), Ted Moll (drums
), Chris Diebold (bass
) and Robert Bell (trombone
) have remained with MU330 since the band's inception, while trombonist Gerry Lundquist has been a member for over a decade. Though several different frontmen have been featured in the past, Potthast has always acted as the band's principal songwriter and lyricist.
Singer Dan Potthast has released solo work and has also started a second band The Stitch Up with former Slow Gherkin frontman James Rickman. Drummer Ted Moll has a side project band called Bagheera.
Ska punk
Ska punk is a fusion music genre that combines ska and punk rock. It achieved its highest level of commercial success in the United States in the late 1990s. Ska-core is a subgenre of ska punk, blending ska with hardcore punk.The characteristics of ska punk vary, due to the fusion of contrasting...
band from St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
.
Formed by students of St. Louis University High School in 1988, MU330 played a self-described brand of music called "Psycho Ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
", high energy ska punk
Ska punk
Ska punk is a fusion music genre that combines ska and punk rock. It achieved its highest level of commercial success in the United States in the late 1990s. Ska-core is a subgenre of ska punk, blending ska with hardcore punk.The characteristics of ska punk vary, due to the fusion of contrasting...
marked by manic performances and humorous, often strange lyricism. Since 1997, however, the band's musical direction has shifted towards a more melodic and lyric-driven ska/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...
sound, a combination that's been described as "Weezer
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
meets The Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
".
Dan Potthast (guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
/vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
), Ted Moll (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
), Chris Diebold (bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) and Robert Bell (trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
) have remained with MU330 since the band's inception, while trombonist Gerry Lundquist has been a member for over a decade. Though several different frontmen have been featured in the past, Potthast has always acted as the band's principal songwriter and lyricist.
Biography
The original members met in St. Louis University High School music class 330 (hence the name of the band).Singer Dan Potthast has released solo work and has also started a second band The Stitch Up with former Slow Gherkin frontman James Rickman. Drummer Ted Moll has a side project band called Bagheera.
Press (up to 1994)
- John Kavanaugh - vocals, trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
- Dan Potthast - vocals, guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Ted Moll - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, vocals - Chris Diebold - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Robert Bell - tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
- Matt Knobbe - tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
Chumps on Parade (1995-1997)
- Jason Nelson - vocals
- Dan Potthast - vocals, guitar
- Ted Moll - drums, vocals
- Chris Diebold - bass
- Rob Bell - trombone
- Traygen Bilsland - saxophone
- Nick Baur - Trumpet
1997 - present
- Dan Potthast - vocals, guitar
- Ted Moll - drums, vocals
- Chris Diebold - bass
- Robert Bell - trombone
- Gerry Lundquist - trombone
Albums
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Press | Moon Ska Records / Asian Man Records Asian Man Records Asian Man Records is a small, DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established May 1996.-Artists:... |
| 1996 | Chumps on Parade Chumps on Parade Chumps on Parade is the second studio album by American ska punk band MU330, released on Dill Records in 1996 and subsequently re-issued by Asian Man Records in 1997.... |
Dill Records Dill Records Dill Records was a small punk rock/ska record label based out of Monte Sereno, California, that put out CDs/records from 1989-1998. The name is an allusion to initially the label's only band, Skankin' Pickle. It was started by Mike Park, a.k.a. Bruce Lee of Skankin' Pickle. The first other band... / Asian Man Records |
| 1997 | Crab Rangoon Crab rangoon (MU330 album) Crab Rangoon is the third studio album by American ska rock band MU330, released on Asian Man Records in 1997.Crab Rangoon marked a major turning point in MU330's sound, moving from the manic punk rock-infused third wave ska of their previous albums and into a more mellow indie rock influenced... |
Asian Man Records |
| 1999 | MU330 MU330 (Self-Titled) MU330 is the fourth studio album by American ska rock band MU330, released on Asian Man Records in 1999.-Track listing:All songs written and composed by Dan Potthast except where otherwise noted.#"Vow Vow" - 1:53#"Favorite Show" - 3:36... |
Asian Man Records |
| 1999 | Winter Wonderland! Winter Wonderland (MU330 Album) Winter Wonderland! is a Christmas album, the fifth studio album by American ska rock band MU330, released on Asian Man Records in 1999. According to Dan Potthast, the album came about when MU330 was asked to contribute a Christmas song to a Japanese ska compilation... |
Asian Man Records |
| 2002 | Ultra Panic Ultra Panic Ultra Panic is the sixth and - as of 2010 - last studio album by Missouri ska rock band MU330, released on Asian Man Records in 2002.Ultra Panic marked MU330's return to a predominantly ska-based sound, following the heavy indie rock slant of Crab Rangoon and their 1999 self-titled album... |
Asian Man Records |
Live albums
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | "Oh Yeah!" Live "Oh Yeah!" Live "Oh Yeah!" Live is a live album of American ska rock band MU330, recorded at various shows throughout 1999 and released on Asian Man Records in 2001.... |
Asian Man Records Asian Man Records Asian Man Records is a small, DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established May 1996.-Artists:... |
Compilations
| Year | Title | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Best of MU330 | California Roll | Japan-only compilation with four unreleased songs |
Singles, demos and non-album tracks
| Year | Title | Label | Notes/Track(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 199? | Salamander Stew | No Record Co. | Demo cassette |
| 1996 | "Jason" b/w "Now" 7" | Moon Ska Records | "Jason", "Now" |
| 1997 | MU330 / Blue Meanies Split 7" | Asian Man Records Asian Man Records Asian Man Records is a small, DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established May 1996.-Artists:... |
"Vacation" (Caffey Charlotte Caffey Charlotte Irene Caffey is an American rock and roll guitarist and songwriter, best known for her work in the Go-Go's in the 1980s, including writing "We Got the Beat."... , Valentine Kathy Valentine Kathy Valentine is the American bass guitarist for the all-girl rock band, The Go-Go's.... , Wiedlin Jane Wiedlin Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and actress. She is best known as the rhythm guitarist of the all-female New Wave band The Go-Go's.-Early life:... ) |
| 1998 | Time Bomb EP 7" | H.Y.R. | "Hoosier Love", "LA", "Ireland" Split with Punishment Park. Released only in Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... . |
| 2000 | Doppel Pack soundtrack | "Better Than Pork" (Potthast) | |
| 2000 | Metalliska: A Ska Tribute to 80's Metal | Too Hep | "Motorbreath" (Hetfield James Hetfield James Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,... ) |
| 2007 | Ska Is Dead Compilation CD | Asian Man Records | "Please Don't Run" |
External links
- The Official MU330 Website
- MU330 at FacebookFacebookFacebook 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...
, operated by Potthast - Dan Potthast's Official Website
- Mu330 at Last.fmLast.fmLast.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....