The Red Tyger Church
Encyclopedia
http://www.redtygerchurch.com
At the time it was intended as a musical outlet for rituals of the occult group the Ordo Templi Orientis, and was influenced as well by psychedelic
rock opera
s like "Tommy" and "Jesus Christ Superstar", the underground films of Kenneth Anger
, and bands like The Who, The Stones, Dead Moon, Royal Trux, Crash Worship, David Bowie, Fairport Convention, early AC/DC and Northern Soul music
.
The first line-up included Sean K on drums (who'd also played with the punk band The Upsets), AJ on bass, singer Melanie B, and Steve C on lead guitar (who'd also been with Hotwire Titans, John the Conqueror and Sonic Love Affair). In 2003 AJ recorded the bands first EP, "Her Name is Nibiru", at the Hanger Studios in Sacramento. Chris L (from the band The Evening Episode) took over from AJ on bass.
The band got picked up by a record label in Los Angeles called Alive/ Total Energy
, an affiliate of Bomp! Records
, and in 2004, they recorded their first album, "Free Energy", at RetroFit Studios with engineer Tony C. It also featured Celeste M from the San Francisco band Dura Delinquent on sax, and Tony C on congas. Doug A, who did mod concert posters in San Francisco, did the artwork for the album, and fashion designer Tyrus W and Curtis F took the photos.
At the same time a record label in Spain called Holy Cobra Society, put out one of their songs from it called "Angie Vampyre" on a compilation called "We Hate the Underground."(1)
The album based itself around the theme of a worldly and jaded initiate being brought from the darkness of the outer world into the white-light temple of the inner world. However, the band was plagued by many of the realities of its songs, such as mental illness, demons and addiction and in 2005, after Mel, Steve and Chris left and an ill-fated West Coast tour that featured only Mike, Sean and Josh G. on bass and their friend Lauren D. driving the van, the band broke up.
In 2006, the band reformed with Mike, Sean, Steve, and Chris, and brought in Lauren and Becky W. on vocals and Aaron R. (who'd also played with John the Conqueror and Antioch Arrow) on guitar. They had been dropped by Alive, so the band financed the recording of their second album "Magic", which they recorded at Matt Es studio and Pus Cavern Studios in Sacramento, and self-released it in 2007. Local DJ and club promoter Shaun S did the artwork. They had songs left over from the sessions which they released on a 2nd ep called "The Earl King".
During 2008 the band put together a website, continued to play shows and give their albums away for free but problems arose again and Steve, Chris and Lauren left and a friend of the band Brad T came in on bass (who also played with the Sacto band the Ancient Sons and Army of Trees). Mike took over 2nd guitar to back up Aaron and friends Sunny B and Karen S (previously with the Sacto bands Moist, No Kill I and the Skirts) came in on vocals.
In 2009, the band had enough new songs to start a third album so they began work on "Hard to Get Away," about the harsh realities of rock n' roll and psychic vampires, recording at Tony's Retrofit Studios again with their friend Andy L on sax (previously with the Payback, Spawn, and Broken Society) and Becky L who took over vocals from Sunny. A psychedelic compilation called "Trip Inside This House" features an early version of their song "Alusha."The Red Tyger Church#cite note-pukka-3
Currently the band is finishing up the album, videos and a short film and should be releasing them in early 2010.
Biography
Red Tyger Church is a Sacramento/Bay Area gospel punk rock band. It was started as a side project by singer/songwriter Mike Diaz in 2002 in Sacramento, CA, who was at the time in the local punk band The Pretty Girls, and the LA fuzz-rock band, The Warlocks.At the time it was intended as a musical outlet for rituals of the occult group the Ordo Templi Orientis, and was influenced as well by psychedelic
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
rock opera
Rock opera
A rock opera is a work of rock music that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections in the manner of opera. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include...
s like "Tommy" and "Jesus Christ Superstar", the underground films of Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger is an American underground experimental filmmaker, occasional actor and author...
, and bands like The Who, The Stones, Dead Moon, Royal Trux, Crash Worship, David Bowie, Fairport Convention, early AC/DC and Northern Soul music
Northern soul
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound...
.
The first line-up included Sean K on drums (who'd also played with the punk band The Upsets), AJ on bass, singer Melanie B, and Steve C on lead guitar (who'd also been with Hotwire Titans, John the Conqueror and Sonic Love Affair). In 2003 AJ recorded the bands first EP, "Her Name is Nibiru", at the Hanger Studios in Sacramento. Chris L (from the band The Evening Episode) took over from AJ on bass.
The band got picked up by a record label in Los Angeles called Alive/ Total Energy
Alive Records
Alive Naturalsound Records – also known simply as Alive Records – started in 1994 in Los Angeles, California, by Patrick Boissel, is an independent record label specializing in garage rock, punk blues, garage punk, psychedelic rock, power pop and blues-rock music. It grew out of Boissel's...
, an affiliate of Bomp! Records
Bomp! Records
Bomp! Records is an Los Angeles-based indie label formed in 1974 by fanzine publisher and music historian Greg Shaw.-History:The label has featured punk, pop, powerpop, garage rock, new wave, old school rock, neo-psychedelia among other genres, and its roster has included artists such as The Modern...
, and in 2004, they recorded their first album, "Free Energy", at RetroFit Studios with engineer Tony C. It also featured Celeste M from the San Francisco band Dura Delinquent on sax, and Tony C on congas. Doug A, who did mod concert posters in San Francisco, did the artwork for the album, and fashion designer Tyrus W and Curtis F took the photos.
At the same time a record label in Spain called Holy Cobra Society, put out one of their songs from it called "Angie Vampyre" on a compilation called "We Hate the Underground."(1)
The album based itself around the theme of a worldly and jaded initiate being brought from the darkness of the outer world into the white-light temple of the inner world. However, the band was plagued by many of the realities of its songs, such as mental illness, demons and addiction and in 2005, after Mel, Steve and Chris left and an ill-fated West Coast tour that featured only Mike, Sean and Josh G. on bass and their friend Lauren D. driving the van, the band broke up.
In 2006, the band reformed with Mike, Sean, Steve, and Chris, and brought in Lauren and Becky W. on vocals and Aaron R. (who'd also played with John the Conqueror and Antioch Arrow) on guitar. They had been dropped by Alive, so the band financed the recording of their second album "Magic", which they recorded at Matt Es studio and Pus Cavern Studios in Sacramento, and self-released it in 2007. Local DJ and club promoter Shaun S did the artwork. They had songs left over from the sessions which they released on a 2nd ep called "The Earl King".
During 2008 the band put together a website, continued to play shows and give their albums away for free but problems arose again and Steve, Chris and Lauren left and a friend of the band Brad T came in on bass (who also played with the Sacto band the Ancient Sons and Army of Trees). Mike took over 2nd guitar to back up Aaron and friends Sunny B and Karen S (previously with the Sacto bands Moist, No Kill I and the Skirts) came in on vocals.
In 2009, the band had enough new songs to start a third album so they began work on "Hard to Get Away," about the harsh realities of rock n' roll and psychic vampires, recording at Tony's Retrofit Studios again with their friend Andy L on sax (previously with the Payback, Spawn, and Broken Society) and Becky L who took over vocals from Sunny. A psychedelic compilation called "Trip Inside This House" features an early version of their song "Alusha."The Red Tyger Church#cite note-pukka-3
Currently the band is finishing up the album, videos and a short film and should be releasing them in early 2010.
Albums
- Free Energy (2004), Alive - Total Energy Records
- Magic (2007), Self-produced
- Hard To Get Away (2009), Currently in the works
Current members
- Mike Diaz – vocals, guitar
- Sean Kehoe - drums, percussion
- Aaron Richards - guitars
- Karen Simmons - vocals
- Cheryl Martin - bass
Past members
- Chris Loental - bass
- Steve C - guitar
- Lauren Devine - vocals
- AJ Wilhelm - bass
- Becky Wolf - vocals
- Sunny Balfour - vocals
- Melanie Berlin - vocals
- Paula Campbell - tambourines
- Tony Cale - congas
- Celeste Moreno - sax
- Josh Gibson - bass
- Curtis Franklin - guitar
- Jerry Fiore - drums
- Tatiana Latour - vocals
- Brian Latour - vocals
- Becky Lotspiech - vocals, tambourine
- Andy Laughlin - sax
- Brad Teichman - bass