The Waxwings
Encyclopedia
The Waxwings are a rock
band from Detroit, Michigan
, United States
, formed in 1997.
The band's lineup consists of Dean Fertita
on vocals and guitar, James Edmunds on drums and percussion, and Kevin Peyok on bass guitar. Brendan Benson
has filled in on guitar for touring, following the departure of guitarist/vocalist Dominic Romano.
They have released three full-length albums: Low to the Ground in 2000, Shadows Of... in 2002, and Let's Make Our Descent in 2004. The band's music draws its influences from 1960s psychedelic pop
and folk rock
, featuring rich, complex instrumentation and vocal harmonies which separate them from the raw garage rock revival scene in Detroit.
The Waxwings have toured with Guided By Voices
, Travis
, Matthew Sweet
, The Strokes
, and fellow Detroit band The White Stripes
.
, after a friend booked a show for him at Arlene's Grocery
in New York five days later. At the time, Fertita was working at the independent Detroit record store Off the Record with bassist Kevin Peyok, and invited him to play the show. Peyok contacted drummer James Edmunds and guitarist Dominic Romano, and the lineup was complete. The band's name, as well as the name of their debut record, was derived from the first line of a poem in Vladimir Nabokov
's novel Pale Fire
:
Previously, Fertita, Romano and Peyok had played together in the shoegaze band Glider along with The Sights
' Mike Trombley.
's Bobsled Records, while he was in Detroit searching for bands to sign. Fertita recommended music from Detroit bands The Go
and The White Stripes
, but did not mention that he was also a musician. A few months later, Salerno contacted Fertita, expressing interest in the Waxwings. The Waxwings signed with Bobsled Records and began work on their debut album, Low to the Ground, recorded at Terrarium Studios in Minneapolis, Minnesota
with Bryan Hanna.
The album was released on May 2, 2000, to positive reviews from critics:
Low to the Ground was featured in Magnet Magazine's Top 20 albums of 2000-2001. As well, the White Stripes have performed a live cover of Fragile Girl with Beck
.
The Waxwings toured in support of Low to the Ground for 15 months, then returned to the studio to record their second album.
Following the release of Shadows of... in 2002, Bob Salerno sent the band a expletive-filled letter ridiculing them for what he considered a poor performance at their CD release party. The letter gained notoriety after being posted on the internet entertainment forum the Velvet Rope.
During this period, guitarist Dominic Romano got married and left the band.
The band separated from Bobsled, although the label still retained the rights to their third record. After hearing Shadows Of... through mutual friend Matt Smith (of Outrageous Cherry
), Rainbow Quartz Records offered to free the Waxwings from their contract with Bobsled.
at Grand Studio in Detroit, and released on August 13, 2004. Benson and Fertita had attended Kimball High School
in Royal Oak, Michigan
together, and Fertita played guitar in Benson's band when scheduling allowed, as well as touring with him. For the Waxwings' 2005 tour, Benson assumed duties as the band's temporary guitarist.
In Spring 2007, Dean Fertita joined Queens of the Stone Age
as the keyboardist for their sixth record, Era Vulgaris
, taking over for Natasha Shneider
. He toured with the band through Fall 2008, and in August 2008 was expected to go into the studio with the band to record their next album. As well, Fertita is the guitarist and one of the main songwriters of supergroup
The Dead Weather
, which includes the Kills
' Alison Mosshart
and fellow Detroit musicians Jack White
and Jack Lawrence
.
Kevin Peyok is now in London-based band The See See.
The See See have toured with the Raconteurs
and plan to release their debut LP in 2009.
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 Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, formed in 1997.
The band's lineup consists of Dean Fertita
Dean Fertita
Dean Fertita is an American rock musician and multi-instrumentalist. Fertita was the lead singer and guitarist of The Waxwings from the band's formation in 1997 to its breakup in 2005...
on vocals and guitar, James Edmunds on drums and percussion, and Kevin Peyok on bass guitar. Brendan Benson
Brendan Benson
Brendan Benson is an American musician and songwriter. He sings and plays guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, and drums. He has released four solo albums and is a member of the band The Raconteurs....
has filled in on guitar for touring, following the departure of guitarist/vocalist Dominic Romano.
They have released three full-length albums: Low to the Ground in 2000, Shadows Of... in 2002, and Let's Make Our Descent in 2004. The band's music draws its influences from 1960s psychedelic pop
Psychedelic pop
Psychedelic pop is a psychedelic musical style inspired by the sounds of psychedelic folk and psychedelic rock, but applied to a pop music setting...
and folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
, featuring rich, complex instrumentation and vocal harmonies which separate them from the raw garage rock revival scene in Detroit.
The Waxwings have toured with Guided By Voices
Guided by Voices
Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band originating from Dayton, Ohio. Beginning with the band's formation in 1983, it made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard...
, Travis
Travis (band)
Travis are a post-Britpop band from Glasgow, Scotland, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...
, Matthew Sweet
Matthew Sweet
Sidney Matthew Sweet is an American alternative rock/power pop musician. He was part of the burgeoning Athens, Georgia music scene in the early and mid-1980s before gaining commercial success during the early 1990s...
, The Strokes
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
, and fellow Detroit band The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
.
Formation
The band was formed by Dean FertitaDean Fertita
Dean Fertita is an American rock musician and multi-instrumentalist. Fertita was the lead singer and guitarist of The Waxwings from the band's formation in 1997 to its breakup in 2005...
, after a friend booked a show for him at Arlene's Grocery
Arlene's Grocery
Arlene's Grocery is a bar and music venue in the Lower East Side, Manhattan. It is located at 95 Stanton Street, and has been a bar/venue since 1996....
in New York five days later. At the time, Fertita was working at the independent Detroit record store Off the Record with bassist Kevin Peyok, and invited him to play the show. Peyok contacted drummer James Edmunds and guitarist Dominic Romano, and the lineup was complete. The band's name, as well as the name of their debut record, was derived from the first line of a poem in Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
's novel Pale Fire
Pale Fire
Pale Fire is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is presented as a 999-line poem titled "Pale Fire", written by the fictional John Shade, with a foreword and lengthy commentary by a neighbor and academic colleague of the poet. Together these elements form a narrative in which both authors are...
:
Previously, Fertita, Romano and Peyok had played together in the shoegaze band Glider along with The Sights
The Sights
The Sights are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 1998. Members include Eddie Baranek , Dave Tick Talkin Lawson , Gordon Smith and Skip Denomme . Former members include Mike Trombley, Mark Leahey, Nate Cavalieri, Matt Hatch, Bobby Emmett and Dave Knepp...
' Mike Trombley.
Low to the Ground
While working at Off the Record, Fertita met Bob Salerno, the head of ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's Bobsled Records, while he was in Detroit searching for bands to sign. Fertita recommended music from Detroit bands The Go
The Go
The Go is an American rock & roll band from Detroit, Michigan. Their sound has evolved from garage punk to a blend of 1960s and 1970s influences, most notably The Beatles....
and The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
, but did not mention that he was also a musician. A few months later, Salerno contacted Fertita, expressing interest in the Waxwings. The Waxwings signed with Bobsled Records and began work on their debut album, Low to the Ground, recorded at Terrarium Studios in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
with Bryan Hanna.
The album was released on May 2, 2000, to positive reviews from critics:
Low to the Ground was featured in Magnet Magazine's Top 20 albums of 2000-2001. As well, the White Stripes have performed a live cover of Fragile Girl with Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
.
The Waxwings toured in support of Low to the Ground for 15 months, then returned to the studio to record their second album.
Shadows Of...
Once again recorded at Minnesota's Terrarium Studios, The Waxwings' second album, Shadows Of..., was released on Bobsled Records on July 11, 2002.Following the release of Shadows of... in 2002, Bob Salerno sent the band a expletive-filled letter ridiculing them for what he considered a poor performance at their CD release party. The letter gained notoriety after being posted on the internet entertainment forum the Velvet Rope.
During this period, guitarist Dominic Romano got married and left the band.
The band separated from Bobsled, although the label still retained the rights to their third record. After hearing Shadows Of... through mutual friend Matt Smith (of Outrageous Cherry
Outrageous Cherry
-History:Outrageous Cherry formed in 1992 as a solo project for Matthew Smith, but soon expanded to a four-piece after he began performing live in 1993...
), Rainbow Quartz Records offered to free the Waxwings from their contract with Bobsled.
Let's Make Our Descent
Their third album, Let's Make Our Descent was recorded with Brendan BensonBrendan Benson
Brendan Benson is an American musician and songwriter. He sings and plays guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, and drums. He has released four solo albums and is a member of the band The Raconteurs....
at Grand Studio in Detroit, and released on August 13, 2004. Benson and Fertita had attended Kimball High School
Royal Oak High School
Royal Oak High School is a secondary educational facility located in Royal Oak, Michigan. The current principal is Michael Greening.-History:ROHS is a 2006 consolidation of former intra-city rivals Royal Oak George A. Dondero High School and...
in Royal Oak, Michigan
Royal Oak, Michigan
Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 57,236. It should not be confused with Royal Oak Charter Township, a separate community located nearby....
together, and Fertita played guitar in Benson's band when scheduling allowed, as well as touring with him. For the Waxwings' 2005 tour, Benson assumed duties as the band's temporary guitarist.
Current projects
The news page of the Waxwings official site states that the band has begun working on songs for the fourth album. This was last updated in 2005.In Spring 2007, Dean Fertita joined Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...
as the keyboardist for their sixth record, Era Vulgaris
Era Vulgaris (album)
Era Vulgaris is the fifth full length studio album by American hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age. The album was completed in early April 2007 and released on June 8, 2007 in some countries, June 11, 2007 in the United Kingdom and June 12, 2007 in the United States...
, taking over for Natasha Shneider
Natasha Shneider
Natasha Shneider was a Russian musician. She was most notably the keyboardist and vocalist in the musical group Eleven, and was the partner of bandmate Alain Johannes...
. He toured with the band through Fall 2008, and in August 2008 was expected to go into the studio with the band to record their next album. As well, Fertita is the guitarist and one of the main songwriters of supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
The Dead Weather
The Dead Weather
The Dead Weather is an American alternative rock supergroup, formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2009. Composed of Alison Mosshart , Jack White , Dean Fertita and Jack Lawrence , The Dead Weather debuted at the opening of Third Man Records' Nashville...
, which includes the Kills
The Kills
The Kills is a rock band formed by American singer Alison Mosshart and British guitarist Jamie Hince . Their first three albums, Keep On Your Mean Side, No Wow, and Midnight Boom, have garnered much critical praise...
' Alison Mosshart
Alison Mosshart
Alison Nicole Mosshart is an American singer, songwriter and occasional model best known as the lead vocalist for the indie rock band The Kills and blues rock band The Dead Weather. She started her musical career in 1995 with the Florida punk rock band Discount which disbanded in 2000...
and fellow Detroit musicians Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
and Jack Lawrence
Jack Lawrence (bassist)
"Little" Jack Lawrence is a musician from Covington, Kentucky, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee.- Career :Lawrence plays bass guitar in The Raconteurs, The Greenhornes and The Dead Weather, as well as the autoharp and banjo in Blanche...
.
Kevin Peyok is now in London-based band The See See.
The See See have toured with the Raconteurs
The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs is an American rock band that was formed in Detroit, Michigan, featuring four members known for other musical projects: Jack White , Brendan Benson , Jack Lawrence , and Patrick Keeler .-Formation:The...
and plan to release their debut LP in 2009.
Discography
| Date of release | Title | Record label |
|---|---|---|
| May 2, 2000 | Low to the Ground | Bobsled Records |
| July 11, 2002 | Shadows Of... | Bobsled Records |
| August 13, 2004 | Let's Make Our Descent | Rainbow Quartz |
Unofficial
- rollingstone.com Rolling Stone review of Low to the Ground
- rollingstone.com Rolling Stone review of Shadows Of...
- In Music We Trust Interview with the Waxwings
- SuicideGirls Interview with Dean Fertita
- Music Remedy - Music Video for "What's Needed Now"