Game Theory (band)
Encyclopedia
Game Theory was an American
rock
band from 1981 to 1989. The group's lead singer, Scott Miller
, went on to front the band The Loud Family
. Game Theory is best known for its double LP Lolita Nation
. The band favored hyper-literary references, a la Jean-Luc Godard
, including the evident tip-of-the-hat to Vladimir Nabokov
. The CD version of Lolita Nation has become a collector's item, fetching upwards of $100US in online auctions and elsewhere.
The band had been given positive reviews in rock magazines, and had enjoyed much airplay on college radio. However, many factors got in the way of greater success. Soon after the release of their 1989 album, Two Steps From the Middle Ages, their record label, Enigma Records, went out of business. In addition, there were conflicts within the group as their guitarist and vocalist Donnette Thayer left the group to form Hex with Steve Kilbey
of The Church
. Finally, drummer Gil Ray sustained an injury, causing him to bow out part way through their promotional tour.
The band lineup as of Two Steps from the Middle Ages consisted of:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock
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 1981 to 1989. The group's lead singer, Scott Miller
Scott Miller (Californian musician)
Scott Miller was formerly a member of the 1980s power pop group Game Theory and lead singer of the group The Loud Family. Both bands were based in the San Francisco Bay Area...
, went on to front the band The Loud Family
The Loud Family (band)
The Loud Family is an American band based in San Francisco that began in 1991, went on hiatus in 2000 and returned in 2006. The band is named after the real-life Loud family, stars of the 1973 TV show An American Family, the first reality TV show...
. Game Theory is best known for its double LP Lolita Nation
Lolita Nation
Lolita Nation is the fourth official album by Game Theory. Originally released in 1987 as a double LP, it is often considered to be the group's finest work. Mark Deming of Allmusic notes that the album contains "more than a few flat-out brilliant tracks" [], while William Ham, writing for Dancing...
. The band favored hyper-literary references, a la Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
, including the evident tip-of-the-hat to 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...
. The CD version of Lolita Nation has become a collector's item, fetching upwards of $100US in online auctions and elsewhere.
The band had been given positive reviews in rock magazines, and had enjoyed much airplay on college radio. However, many factors got in the way of greater success. Soon after the release of their 1989 album, Two Steps From the Middle Ages, their record label, Enigma Records, went out of business. In addition, there were conflicts within the group as their guitarist and vocalist Donnette Thayer left the group to form Hex with Steve Kilbey
Steve Kilbey
Steven John Kilbey is the lead singer-songwriter and bass guitarist for The Church, an Australian rock band. He is also a music producer, poet, and painter....
of The Church
The Church (band)
The Church is an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1980. Initially associated with new wave and the neo-psychedelic sound of the mid 1980s, their music later became more reminiscent of progressive rock, featuring long instrumental jams and complex guitar interplay...
. Finally, drummer Gil Ray sustained an injury, causing him to bow out part way through their promotional tour.
The band lineup as of Two Steps from the Middle Ages consisted of:
- Scott MillerScott Miller (Californian musician)Scott Miller was formerly a member of the 1980s power pop group Game Theory and lead singer of the group The Loud Family. Both bands were based in the San Francisco Bay Area...
(lead vocal, guitars) - Shelley LaFreniere (keyboards)
- Gil Ray (drums)
- Donnette ThayerDonnette ThayerDonnette Thayer is a vocalist and guitarist most active in the 1980s and early 1990s underground rock scenes. Thayer has been described as "the enchantress" , "a suave successor to California flower-pop" , and "Gaea personified"...
(backing vocal, guitars) - Guillaume Gassuan (bass)
Albums
- Blaze of Glory (1981)
- Pointed Accounts of People You Know (1983)
- Distortion (1984)
- Dead Center (1984)
- Real Nighttime (1985)
- Big Shot ChroniclesBig Shot ChroniclesThe Big Shot Chronicles is Game Theory's third full-length album, recorded with a mostly new line-up. This album's best known track, "Erica's Word", is band leader Scott Miller's take on the dissolution of the original Game Theory line up....
(1986) - Lolita NationLolita NationLolita Nation is the fourth official album by Game Theory. Originally released in 1987 as a double LP, it is often considered to be the group's finest work. Mark Deming of Allmusic notes that the album contains "more than a few flat-out brilliant tracks" [], while William Ham, writing for Dancing...
(1987) - Two Steps from the Middle AgesTwo Steps from the Middle AgesTwo Steps from the Middle Ages is the final album of original material released by Game Theory before breaking up. Band leader Scott Miller went on to form The Loud Family....
(1988) - Tinker to Evers to ChanceTinker to Evers to Chance (album)Tinker to Evers to Chance is a compilation album of songs by Game Theory, released in 1990. The liner notes describe the included tracks as songs which "reached national obscurity, as opposed to local obscurity." Band leader Scott Miller went on to form The Loud Family.The album's title refers to...
(1989) compilation - Distortion of Glory (1993) remix