Funeral Party
Encyclopedia
Funeral Party is a four piece American band made up of Chad Elliot, James Torres, Kimo Kauhola and Tim Madrid. They formed the band one night in a park in their hometown of Whittier, California
, a suburb just outside Los Angeles, California
, choosing to name themselves after The Cure
song of the same name
. The band became their ticket out of Whittier: "We all came from the same shitty town, and you have two choices: grow up and get a job or get out. That's what we tried to do with the band..."
Over time they had acquired a cult following which in turn lead to numerous gigs at backyard parties and warehouses every weekend in the Los Angeles area. One show they played in a gang-affiliated location involved somebody in the crowd being stabbed while they performed "New York City Moves to the Sound of L.A.".
Initially they didn't own any musical equipment of their own and had to borrow it from the bands they performed with as well as their siblings, also musicians.
After seeing a performance, Lars Stalfors, who primarily works with The Mars Volta
, invited the band to record in their studio.
Their first recording session yielded the song "Chalice".
The band were first signed to Fearless Records
, but after having them on their roster for some time it became apparent to the band that the label had no interest in supporting them.
Their tenure at Fearless resulted in the Bootleg EP released in 2008.
NME
placed them at number 47 on their '50 Best New Bands of 2010' end-of-year list.
After moving on from Fearless, the band signed to Sony Music for their debut release The Golden Age of Knowhere
which was released on January 24, 2011 in the UK, and on January 21, 2011 digitally/January 28, 2011 physically in Australia. The US release date was March 29, 2011.
They supported this first release with appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman
, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Conan.
Whittier, California
Whittier is a city in Los Angeles County, California about southeast of Los Angeles. The city had a population of 85,331 at the 2010 census, up from 83,680 as of the 2000 census, and encompasses 14.7 square miles . Like nearby Montebello, the city constitutes part of the Gateway Cities...
, a suburb just outside Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, choosing to name themselves after The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
song of the same name
Faith (The Cure album)
Faith is the third album by British band The Cure, released in April 1981.- Overview :Faith is generally a brooding, atmospheric, and sombre album, although it has a flash of anger in the form of the song "Doubt", and some edge in the driving single "Primary"...
. The band became their ticket out of Whittier: "We all came from the same shitty town, and you have two choices: grow up and get a job or get out. That's what we tried to do with the band..."
Over time they had acquired a cult following which in turn lead to numerous gigs at backyard parties and warehouses every weekend in the Los Angeles area. One show they played in a gang-affiliated location involved somebody in the crowd being stabbed while they performed "New York City Moves to the Sound of L.A.".
Initially they didn't own any musical equipment of their own and had to borrow it from the bands they performed with as well as their siblings, also musicians.
After seeing a performance, Lars Stalfors, who primarily works with The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta
The Mars Volta is a Grammy award winning American progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2001 by guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the band incorporates various influences including progressive rock, krautrock, jazz fusion, Latin American music, and...
, invited the band to record in their studio.
Their first recording session yielded the song "Chalice".
The band were first signed to Fearless Records
Fearless Records
Fearless Records is an alternative rock-oriented record label that has been signing artists since 1994. Fearless is based in Westminster, California and are best known for their early pop-punk moments captured in the Fearless Flush Sampler and Punk Bites releases, as well as additional releases by...
, but after having them on their roster for some time it became apparent to the band that the label had no interest in supporting them.
-
- "The label we were on before was Fearless Records, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., and they weren't putting us in the direction we wanted to go. They had this idea of us as a pop punk band and that's totally not what we're about. They have bands like Blink 182. They used to have At The Drive-In, who were awesome, but they also saw – and I have no idea what gave them this idea – this pop punk thing and we are not about that. So we tried our hardest to get thrown off the label, and Sony was already knocking on our door."
Their tenure at Fearless resulted in the Bootleg EP released in 2008.
NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
placed them at number 47 on their '50 Best New Bands of 2010' end-of-year list.
After moving on from Fearless, the band signed to Sony Music for their debut release The Golden Age of Knowhere
The Golden Age of Knowhere
-B-sides and bonus tracks:-Personnel:*Chad Elliott – vocals, keyboards on "Just Because" and "Relics to Ruins"*James Lawrence Torres – guitar*Kimo Kauhola – bass*Alfredo Ortiz – drums, percussion...
which was released on January 24, 2011 in the UK, and on January 21, 2011 digitally/January 28, 2011 physically in Australia. The US release date was March 29, 2011.
They supported this first release with appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Conan.
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
||
| 2011 | The Golden Age of Knowhere The Golden Age of Knowhere -B-sides and bonus tracks:-Personnel:*Chad Elliott – vocals, keyboards on "Just Because" and "Relics to Ruins"*James Lawrence Torres – guitar*Kimo Kauhola – bass*Alfredo Ortiz – drums, percussion...
|
37 |
Extended plays
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2008 | Bootleg
|
| 2011 | Live at the BBC
RCA Records RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label... |
Singles
| Year | Single | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "New York City Moves to the Sound of L.A." | The Golden Age of Knowhere |
| "Just Because" | ||
| "Finale" | ||