Unida
Encyclopedia
Unida was an American
stoner rock
band that was formed after the dissolution of Kyuss
and Slo Burn
. The band originally consisted of John Garcia
(vocals), Arthur Seay (guitar), Miguel Cancino (drums) and Dave Dinsmore
(bass). Dinsmore was later replaced by Scott Reeder, who was in turn replaced by Eddie Plascencia. Paul Gray
of Slipknot
fame has also played with the band as a touring bassist.
In 1999, the band appeared on a split CD release with Swedish band Dozer
. The Unida portion was titled The Best of Wayne-Gro EP. Later that year, they released their debut full length album entitled Coping with the Urban Coyote on the now defunct Man's Ruin Records
.
Relations with their next record company, American Recordings, ended with legal problems. Their second album, The Great Divide, was originally scheduled for release in 2001 but is now in limbo. The album has surfaced on the internet in bootleg
form. In a 2002 interview, bassist Scott Reeder spoke out about the delay in getting the full-length album released.
"Everything was set to come out on American via Columbia Records, and you know, we've been meeting a lot of people who've been working on it," he explained. "The artwork was done, everything was looking really good, and then, I guess, (American owner) Rick Rubin had a falling out with Sony, moved the whole label over to Island Def Jam, and apparently, after months of being just strung along — 'Oh, yeah, the release date got bumped back a little bit' — finally we found out that somebody at the label didn't like the record, so they didn't want to deal with it. The lawyers had to go back and forth for months and months and months — a chess game where every move takes two months... 'You have sixty days to reply to this letter'...and...so we just got out of the deal, a month ago."
Since the delay, John Garcia has released three studio albums and one live album with Hermano and toured with the band in the latter half of 2008. In 2004, Unida appeared on the High Times Records' High Volume: The Stoner Rock Collection, contributing the track Left Us To Mold. Garcia is also working on a solo album. Arthur Seay (principal song writer, guitarist) and Mike Cancino (Drums) along with their longtime friend Eddie Plascencia (who also has been filling the bass duties in UNIDA recently) have started a new band called House of Broken Promises (H.O.B.P.). H.O.B.P. have also filmed a video with Rick Kosick (from Jackass fame) to coincide with the release of their forthcoming album "Using the Useless".
Unida's song "Black Woman" was featured on the soundtrack to the skateboarding
video game Tony Hawk's Underground
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stoner rock
Stoner rock
Stoner rock or stoner metal is a subgenre of heavy metal, combining elements of psychedelic rock, blues rock, traditional heavy metal and doom metal. Stoner rock is typically slow-to-mid tempo and features a bass-heavy sound, melodic vocals, and 'retro' production...
band that was formed after the dissolution of Kyuss
Kyuss
Kyuss is a rock band, originally from Palm Desert, California. After forming in the late 1980s and releasing an EP under the name Sons of Kyuss in 1990, the band shortened its name to Kyuss. Over the next five years the band released four full-length albums, and one last split EP in 1997 with...
and Slo Burn
Slo Burn
Slo Burn was a short-lived stoner rock band active during 1996 and 1997. The band was formed by John Garcia of the influential stoner rock band Kyuss, which had split up months previously...
. The band originally consisted of John Garcia
John Garcia (singer)
John Garcia is a vocalist who has been a member of Kyuss, Slo Burn, Unida and Hermano. His vocals have become synonymous with modern stoner rock and the desert rock sound.-Kyuss:...
(vocals), Arthur Seay (guitar), Miguel Cancino (drums) and Dave Dinsmore
Che (band)
Ché was an American stoner rock band founded by former Kyuss drummer Brant Bjork. Ché released their only LP Sounds of Liberation in 2000....
(bass). Dinsmore was later replaced by Scott Reeder, who was in turn replaced by Eddie Plascencia. Paul Gray
Paul Gray (Slipknot)
Paul Dedrick Gray also known as The Pig or by his number #2 was an American musician, best known as the bassist, primary songwriter and one of the founding members of the Grammy Award-winning metal band Slipknot....
of Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
fame has also played with the band as a touring bassist.
In 1999, the band appeared on a split CD release with Swedish band Dozer
Dozer
Dozer is a stoner rock band from Sweden.- Early years :Dozer was formed in Borlänge, Sweden in 1995, playing local youth centres and supporting any bands that came to their hometown. In 1998 the band recorded a Split EP with the American band Unida...
. The Unida portion was titled The Best of Wayne-Gro EP. Later that year, they released their debut full length album entitled Coping with the Urban Coyote on the now defunct Man's Ruin Records
Man's Ruin Records
Man's Ruin Records was an independent record label, owned and founded by Bay Area artist Frank Kozik. After the 1994 release of Man's Ruin's first record, entitled Experimental Audio Research : Delta 6, Kozik worked with artists who he wanted to release; he also designed all of the sleeve art for...
.
Relations with their next record company, American Recordings, ended with legal problems. Their second album, The Great Divide, was originally scheduled for release in 2001 but is now in limbo. The album has surfaced on the internet in bootleg
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
form. In a 2002 interview, bassist Scott Reeder spoke out about the delay in getting the full-length album released.
"Everything was set to come out on American via Columbia Records, and you know, we've been meeting a lot of people who've been working on it," he explained. "The artwork was done, everything was looking really good, and then, I guess, (American owner) Rick Rubin had a falling out with Sony, moved the whole label over to Island Def Jam, and apparently, after months of being just strung along — 'Oh, yeah, the release date got bumped back a little bit' — finally we found out that somebody at the label didn't like the record, so they didn't want to deal with it. The lawyers had to go back and forth for months and months and months — a chess game where every move takes two months... 'You have sixty days to reply to this letter'...and...so we just got out of the deal, a month ago."
Since the delay, John Garcia has released three studio albums and one live album with Hermano and toured with the band in the latter half of 2008. In 2004, Unida appeared on the High Times Records' High Volume: The Stoner Rock Collection, contributing the track Left Us To Mold. Garcia is also working on a solo album. Arthur Seay (principal song writer, guitarist) and Mike Cancino (Drums) along with their longtime friend Eddie Plascencia (who also has been filling the bass duties in UNIDA recently) have started a new band called House of Broken Promises (H.O.B.P.). H.O.B.P. have also filmed a video with Rick Kosick (from Jackass fame) to coincide with the release of their forthcoming album "Using the Useless".
Unida's song "Black Woman" was featured on the soundtrack to the skateboarding
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...
video game Tony Hawk's Underground
Tony Hawk's Underground
Tony Hawk's Underground, abbreviated to THUG, is a skateboarding video game, available for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and Xbox platforms released in 2003. A PC version was released exclusively in Australia as a budget release in 2005. This version was ported by Beenox. In 2004,...
.
Discography
- Unida/DozerUnida/Dozer-Vinyl:-Personnel:* John Garcia - Vocals* Dave Dinsmore - Bass* Arthur Seay - Guitars* Miguel Cancino - Drums...
- (Split EP, 1999) - Meteor City - Coping with the Urban CoyoteCoping With The Urban CoyoteCoping with the Urban Coyote is the first full release from the desert rock band Unida on Man's Ruin Records. The song "Black Woman" was featured on the soundtrack of the popular game Tony Hawk's Underground.-CD track listing:# Thorn – 3:14...
- (1999) - Man's Ruin RecordsMan's Ruin RecordsMan's Ruin Records was an independent record label, owned and founded by Bay Area artist Frank Kozik. After the 1994 release of Man's Ruin's first record, entitled Experimental Audio Research : Delta 6, Kozik worked with artists who he wanted to release; he also designed all of the sleeve art for... - Rise 13: Magick Rock, Vol. 1Rise 13Rise 13: Magick Rock Vol. 1 is a compilation CD of stoner rock and doom metal bands; including Goatsnake, Orange Goblin, Sheavy, Spirit Caravan, and Unida...
- (1999) the song "Black Woman" - The Great Divide - (2001) (Unreleased, but leaked onto the Internet)
- "High Times" High Volume: The Stoner Rock Collection - (2004) the song "Left Us To Mold"