User:CincyUte/sandbox
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| Moderndog | |
|---|---|
| Origin |  American Fork, Utah |
| Genre(s) | Hard Rock, Alternative Rock |
| Years active | 1996-2001 |
| Label(s) | Independent |
| Members | |
| Adam Miller Sean Carroll Darren Hall Danny Warnick |
|
Moderndog was an American rock band, hailing from American Fork, Utah. The group featured Adam Miller (vocals, guitar), Sean Carroll (vocals, guitar), Darren Hall (guitar), and Danny Warnick (drums). Adam Miller and Sean Carroll were the principle songwriters for the band, but the group also kept an extensive number of cover songs in their repertoire.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] The Early Years (1996-1997)
The band members, who met each other while attending High School together, originally formed the group in the Spring of 1996, under the name Ephesus ("it's from the Bible"). They regularly rehearsed in the garage at Danny's house, and quickly accumulated a modest collection of original compositions. By the summer of that year, they felt confident enough to submit an entry in a Battle of the Bands contest held at the Utah County Fair in Spanish Fork, Utah, on August 16, 1996. The winner of the contest would receive free time in a recording studio. The band performed the songs Welcome to our World, A Day in the Park, and The Shell, at what would be their first ever live show. However, the band finished in last place, and wouldn't perform live again for nearly a year.
As they tried to put this disappointing experience behind them, the first matter of business for the group was to change the name of the band. Arranging the first syllables of each of their last names, they came up with the name The Carmil Warhal. And with a new name brought a new identity and focus to the quartet. They spent the next year writing new songs, reworking many of their old songs, and permanently discarding others. So by the time the band was ready to take to the stage and perform live again, they had dozens of impressive original songs, and had rehearsed a variety of covers by their favorite bands. The chance to play a live show again came in June of 1997, when the band performed at a Music Festival hosted at the Summerhayes music store in Orem, Utah. There, the band entertained State Street traffic and the small crowd of music lovers in attendance with a mix of originals and covers. The set lasted about 30 minutes, and included the following songs:
Overall, the band was quite pleased with their performance, but they wouldn't have a chance to build on this accomplishment for over two years, as three of the band members would soon be leaving to serve two-year Mormon missions.
[edit] Moderndog (1999-2001)
[[:Image:|"Better" (Demo)]] [[Image:|180px|noicon]]
When they weren't busy saving souls, Elders Miller, Hall, and Warnick spent their free time writing songs, and otherwise anticipating the band's eventual reunion upon their return from the Missionary service. Meanwhile, Sean waited out the hiatus by writing music, and by familiarizing himself with the finer points of studio production. Thus, when they finally reunited in October 1999, the band found themselves with a plethora of new material, modern recording capabilities, and above all, the maturity and anxiousness to establish a place for themselves in the local music scene. To begin this new era, the band thought it appropriate to once again change their name, and forever be known as Moderndog.
Just a few short months after the reunion, the band was invited to help usher in the new millennium by playing a two-hour set at a newly-opened pizza restaurant in Provo, UT, called Hey, That's My Pizza. The restaurant's owner expected a large turnout, and offered to pay the band $200 to perform. They accepted the offer, rehearsed a lengthy setlist, and nervously counted down the days until their arrival onto the local music scene. Unfortunately, the estimated attendance to the event was grossly overrated. And those that were in attendance were mostly young kids looking for a safe place to spend New Years Eve. Still, the band appreciated the valuable opportunity to play a live show; they also came out ahead with $200, along with all the free pizza they could eat. The same could not be said for the owners of the establishment, who's overestimation in attendance led to a painful financial loss, which in turn led to Hey, That's My Pizza's imminent demise, and ultimately, the owner's fatal decision to drink a bottle of drain-o.
During the Spring of 2000, Moderndog was invited to be the opening act for a local band called Suncloud, who had scheduled a few shows in and around Salt Lake City. Moderndog opened for them twice during this tour: first at The Dead Goat Saloon in downtown Salt Lake City, and a week later at The Club in Park City. Both shows were played in front of sparse crowds, however the band used this opportunity to experiment with their songs in a live stage. Afterwards, the band decided they would turn their focus to recording an album, and try to capture this live dynamic in the studio.
Through these live experiences, and the newfound focus on recording, the band's repertoire undertook another overhaul. It quickly became apparent which songs should be included in an album. The studio also became an ideal place to test out new songs with more precise melodies, or which were otherwise too difficult to perform live. In the meantime, Moderndog was also invited to make an appearance on the Jake Ball Radio Show, on KSRR 1400 AM in Provo, where they played a live acoustic version of their song Better.
Over the course of the next year, the band tried in vain to complete an album. The demands of recording revealed a need for further rehearsals; meanwhile, rehearsals were typically too short and too infrequent to be effective. It began to seem that recording an entire album would be an impossible task. Ultimately, these sessions resulted in just a few incomplete tracks. Without anything to show for their time in the studio, band again began to look for opportunities to play live.
Their next live performance was in the spring of 2001, in Spanish Fork, Utah — the same city where the band had made their debut five years earlier. The band was the final act of a bill that included several other local bands. But although a sizable crowd had assembled to see the show, most had left by the time Moderndog took the stage. Nevertheless, the group was anxious to again take the stage, and played a very solid, high-energy set to the remaining spectators. This was easily Moderndog's best performance ever, but it also turned out to be their last.
[edit] Breakup
By the Summer of 2001, the cracks in the band's foundation had begun to show. Frustrated with their lack of progress, and inability to agree on how to make a name for themselves or how to focus their efforts, the band members soon found themselves meeting as a band less and less. In July of that year, the group decided to call it quits. The split was mostly amicable, as the four band members remained good friends for the next few years. In fact, most of the band members felt that Moderndog would inevitably reunite after some time off.
The closest Moderndog has come to a reunion since then was in early 2003, when Adam, Danny, and Sean met at Sean's house to record a demo. This session lasted over an hour, during which time about a half-dozen acoustic songs were recorded, which included vocals by Adam. To this day, the 2003 Demo stands as the best Moderndog recording.
