Longwave (band)
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| Longwave | |
|---|---|
| Origin |  New York, USA |
| Genre(s) | indie rock |
| Years active | 1999—present |
| Label(s) | RCA Records |
| Website | LongwaveTheBand.com |
| Members | |
| Steve Schiltz Shannon Ferguson Jason Molina Jeff Sheinkopf Paul Dillon |
|
| Former members | |
| Dave Marchese Jeremy Greene Mike James |
|
Longwave is an American indie rock band. The band was formed in 1999 by guitarist, songwriter and vocalist Steve Schiltz, guitarist Shannon Ferguson, bassist Dave Marchese and drummer Jeremy Greene.
Contents |
[edit] History
Their first release, entitled Endsongs was self-produced and caught notice around the burgeoning rock scene in and around Manhattan. The band found its audience by becoming the house band at a club called the Luna Lounge.
Guitarist Steve Schiltz, originally from Rochester, New York, formed the band that originally played shows as "The Deaf Aides," named for John Lennon's comments that open the Let It Be album. A few months after Steve left Rochester to begin a career in music, he returned to play regular gigs at a coffee house called Blue Sunday. The Deaf Aides, with their regularly revolving members, eventually included bassist Dave Marchese.
Before Long-wave formed, Steve played guitar for a short time in a band called ScoutBand, which released an album. Steve soon left Scout to pursue more fervently his own aspirations.
Soon Drummer Jeremy Greene joined the band, followed by Shannon Ferguson, who had been working in a studio as a bassist for various bands on the West Coast.
Endsongs was released in 1999, and soon after the band began touring the U.S. to growing popularity, especially among the college-aged consumer.
Jeremy Greene left the band, which allowed a long time friend of Steve, (and fellow Rochester native) Mike James (formerly Mike Lapiana) to join as drummer.
With their popularity on the rise, the band gained the interest of major record labels, and was eventually signed by RCA Records. This allowed them to record their first non-independent release, The Strangest Things, and also allowed them to work with famed producer Dave Fridmann of the The Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev fame.
The release of The Strangest Things opened up an entirely new world of possibilities for the band, as they began to tour with the biggest bands of the year including The Strokes and The Vines. Reviews of the album include that of NME magazine which read simply "Fucking Amazing!"
After several successful years of touring the UK and US, Longwave returned to the studio for their 2nd major release, There's a Fire. The line up of the band continued to change just prior to entering the studio with Marchese and James both exited for various reasons. This left Steve and Shannon to perform all of the bass guitar on the album, but also led the two to expand their sound by assigning keyboard duties (formerly held down by Ferguson) to new members. Nic Brown, who had previously done numerous tours with the band, performed all drums on "There's a Fire."
In 2006 and 2007, the band was active in terms of touring, playing shows mostly in the Northeastern United States. Since the release of "There's a Fire", they have released three songs on their myspace page, assumedly in preparation of their next album. However, that webpage also specifies that they are no longer signed to a record label, leading one to believe the band's relationship with RCA Records has ended. Consequently, it is difficult to determine when a fourth album will be released.
[edit] Style
Their sound has been likened with Radiohead, The Strokes, and 1970s post-punk rockers Television.
[edit] Band members
The band, as of 2005, is five people strong:
- Steve Schiltz - guitars, voice
- Shannon Ferguson - guitars
- Jason Molina - drums
- Jeff Sheinkopf - keyboards/guitars
- Paul Dillon - bass guitar
[edit] Previous members
- Dave Marchese
- Jeremy Greene
- Mike James
[edit] Discography
- Endsongs (2000)
- The Strangest Things (2003)
- Tidal Wave (EP) (2004)
- There's a Fire (album) (2005)
- There's a Fire (EP) (2005)
