The Gufs
Encyclopedia
The Gufs are an American
pop
and rock
band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
. The band's latest album A Different Sea was released on October 17, 2006. Their first single from the album was "Beautiful Disaster", which was the #2 unsigned artist download in October 2006 at the website www.purevolume.com.
The Gufs are best known for their songs "Smile" and "Crash (into Me)".
To celebrate their twentieth anniversary in 2008, The Gufs played a series of four free concerts with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in June.
on bass and lead guitar. The band took their name from a place where a baby's soul comes from before the child is born, a phrase used in the Demi Moore
film The Seventh Sign
. After a few years of playing local eastside Milwaukee bars, the band lineup changed, as Luna left in 1990 to pursue a career in sound engineering, opening the way for Marquette University
student and Milwaukee native Morgan Dawley to fill the vacancy. The band soon gained momentum, performing more frequently throughout Milwaukee. The band also featured percussionist Brian Pettit on all of their albums up to their Atlantic Records Release of "The Gufs." After the album release and tour, Brian left the band to pursue other interests.
The band took second place at a battle of the bands at Marquette University in 1991.
The band released several independent label records and gained increasing exposure nationwide on college radio before being signed by Atlantic Records
. The Gufs' tour with Matchbox Twenty
resulted in Rob Thomas
singing backup on the song "Give Back Yourself" on their Holiday from You album. The Gufs often play Summerfest
.
Rock 95.1 Live. "Smile" was also remixed into a techno trance song at one point in the late 1990s, and recorded acoustic "Give Back Yourself" was included on the compilation CD Aware Compilation, Vol. 7.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. The band's latest album A Different Sea was released on October 17, 2006. Their first single from the album was "Beautiful Disaster", which was the #2 unsigned artist download in October 2006 at the website www.purevolume.com.
The Gufs are best known for their songs "Smile" and "Crash (into Me)".
To celebrate their twentieth anniversary in 2008, The Gufs played a series of four free concerts with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in June.
History
The Gufs began as an eastside Milwaukee band in 1988, with University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee students Goran Kralj and Scott Schwebel. Kralj and Schwebel, roommates and teammates on UWM's soccer team, recruited Kralj's younger brother, Dejan Kralj (still in high school in Northwestern Indiana), and high school friend Tony Luna, to round-off the quartetQuartet
In music, a quartet is a method of instrumentation , used to perform a musical composition, and consisting of four parts.-Western art music:...
on bass and lead guitar. The band took their name from a place where a baby's soul comes from before the child is born, a phrase used in the Demi Moore
Demi Moore
Demi Guynes Kutcher , known professionally as Demi Moore, is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St...
film The Seventh Sign
The Seventh Sign
The Seventh Sign is a 1988 apocalyptic drama film written by Clifford and Ellen Green and directed by Carl Schultz.-Plot:Signs of the apocalypse are appearing, along with a mysterious wanderer. Father Lucci is the Vatican official investigating them...
. After a few years of playing local eastside Milwaukee bars, the band lineup changed, as Luna left in 1990 to pursue a career in sound engineering, opening the way for Marquette University
Marquette University
Marquette University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1881, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities...
student and Milwaukee native Morgan Dawley to fill the vacancy. The band soon gained momentum, performing more frequently throughout Milwaukee. The band also featured percussionist Brian Pettit on all of their albums up to their Atlantic Records Release of "The Gufs." After the album release and tour, Brian left the band to pursue other interests.
The band took second place at a battle of the bands at Marquette University in 1991.
The band released several independent label records and gained increasing exposure nationwide on college radio before being signed by Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
. The Gufs' tour with Matchbox Twenty
Matchbox Twenty
Matchbox Twenty is an American rock band, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1995...
resulted in Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas (musician)
Robert Kelly "Rob" Thomas is an American rock recording artist and songwriter. He is the primary songwriter and lead singer of the band Matchbox Twenty. Thomas also records and performs as a solo artist...
singing backup on the song "Give Back Yourself" on their Holiday from You album. The Gufs often play Summerfest
Summerfest
Summerfest is a yearly music festival held at the Henry Maier Festival Park along the lakefront in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. The festival lasts for 11 days, is made up of 11 stages with performances from over 700 bands, and since the mid-1970s has run from late June through early July, usually...
.
Members
- Goran KraljGoran KraljGoran Kralj is the lead singer and songwriter for The Gufs, a Milwaukee pop-rock band active from 1988 to 1999. The group released their followup in 2006 after a seven year hiatus. Goran and his brother Dejan are graduates of Munster High School in Munster, Indiana...
- lead singer - Dejan Kralj - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Morgan Dawley - lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
and backup vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists... - Scott Schwebel - 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 ....
Albums
| Year | Title | Label | Other information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Staring Into The Sun Staring Into The Sun Staring into the Sun is the first studio album by the Milwaukee-based rock band The Gufs.-Track listing:All tracks by The Gufs#"Free Again" - 3:49#"Under Breath" - 4:01#"So Far Away" - 3:22#"Small Town" - 3:55#"You Don't Mind" - 4:46... |
Red Submarine Records | |
| 1992 | Songs of Life | Red Submarine Records | |
| 1995 | Collide Collide (1995 album) Collide is the Third studio album by the Milwaukee-based rock band The Gufs.-Track listing:All tracks by The Gufs#"Smile"#"Lost Along The Way"#"Belong"#"Crash "#"Out Somehow"#"Wasting Time"#"Someday Daughter"#"Waiting"... |
Red Submarine Records | |
| 1996 | The Gufs | Atlantic Records Atlantic Records Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz... |
This album is composed mainly of material first released on Collide. |
| 1997 | Collide Sessions Collide Sessions Collide is the Fifth studio album by the Milwaukee-based rock band The Gufs.-Track listing:All tracks by The Gufs#"Belong"#"Someday Daughter"#"Wearing Thin"#"Waiting"#"Emily"#"For A Ride "#"Forever And A Day"#"Track"- Personnel :... |
Red Submarine Records/Don't Records | |
| 1999 | Holiday From You Holiday from You Holiday From You is the second major label release by the Milwaukee-based rock band The Gufs. The album peaked at #33 on the Billboard magazine Top Heatseekers chart. Holiday From You was re-released on Red Submarine Records, with some alternate tracks and revamped artwork, in 2006. The track... |
Atlantic Records Atlantic Records Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz... |
The album peaked at #33 on the Billboard magazine Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... chart. Holiday From You was re-released on Red Submarine Records, with some alternate tracks and revamped artwork, in 2006. |
| 2006 | A Different Sea A Different Sea - Personnel :* Goran Kralj – lead vocals* Dejan Kralj – bass guitar* Morgan Dawley – lead guitar, backup vocals* Scott Schwebel – drums-References:... |
Red Submarine Records | The album features string arrangements from the Milwaukee Symphony Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its primary performing venue is the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts... . Review |
Live albums
| Year | Title | Label | Other information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Circa 89 Circa 89 Circa 89 is a Live recording by the Milwaukee-based rock band The Gufs.-Track listing:All tracks by The Gufs#"Tell The Man Upstairs" - 3:45#"Burning Down The Wall" - 4:08#"Love Falls Down" - 4:23#"Into Nothing" - 4:00#"Out Of Mind" - 6:12... |
Red Submarine Records | |
Singles
"Smile" was included on the compilation CDs Sounds of the Leisure Class Records: Midwest Collection, and WIILWIIL
WIIL is a radio station in Kenosha, Wisconsin that plays Active Rock music and serves Kenosha, Racine, and Milwaukee Counties in Wisconsin, and northern suburbs of Chicago. The call letters stand for Wisconsin and Illinois, as Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, the station's transmitter location, is...
Rock 95.1 Live. "Smile" was also remixed into a techno trance song at one point in the late 1990s, and recorded acoustic "Give Back Yourself" was included on the compilation CD Aware Compilation, Vol. 7.