Gumball (band)
Encyclopedia
Gumball was an American rock
band formed in New York City
in 1990. The original lineup consisted of Don Fleming
(vocals
and guitar
), Eric Vermillion (vocals, bass
), and Jay Spiegel (drums
). In 1992, a fourth member was added, Malcolm Riviera (guitar, keyboards) who had previously played with Fleming and Spiegel in the Velvet Monkeys
.
label. The two left Dinosaur Jr. shortly after the release of the single. Jay Spiegel approached his friend Eric Vermillion, a member of Camp Hill, PA's The Stump Wizards, about playing with the two. Vemillion agreed and subsequently quit The Stump Wizards. After less than a week's rehearsal, the new trio played its first show and Gumball was born.
The fall of 1990 found Gumball in the studio, and their first release came our shortly thereafter on the Paperhouse/Sire label in England. The release was a 12 inch EP with the songs "All the Time"/"Yellow Pants"/"Gettysburg".
Gumball soon found itself with a record deal with NYC's Caroline Records
. They recorded and released the album Special Kiss
and embarked on a tour with Mudhoney
, Sonic Youth
, and other similar American indie bands of the early 1990s.
In 1991, Gumball was approached by Columbia Records A&R man Jim Dunbar about signing to the label for a two-album contract. Soon thereafter, the deal was signed and Gumball immediately re-entered the studio and began recording their major label debut, Super Tasty
. The sessions were done in Wisconsin with producer Butch Vig
, who later engineered Nirvana
's major label debut Nevermind
.
Although Gumball recorded Super Tasty as a trio, fourth member (and long time musical associate) Malcolm Riviera joined the band shortly after the album's release. The foursome began rehearsing and in early 1993 toured in support of the album.
After a tour of the U.S., Europe, and Japan, Gumball returned to the studio in the fall of 1993 to record their second album for Columbia, Revolution on Ice
. The album was released by Columbia/Sony in 1994 and the band toured in support of it throughout that year.
Columbia exercised its option to drop Gumball from its roster after disappointing sales from Revolution on Ice. The band released a live CD on their own label in late 1994 called Tokyo Encore
, but by early 1995 the band had decided to call it quits rather than begin shopping for another label.
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 formed in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1990. The original lineup consisted of Don Fleming
Don Fleming
Donald Denver "Don" Fleming was an American college and professional football player who was a defensive back in the National Football League for three seasons in the early 1960s. Fleming played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the...
(vocals
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
), Eric Vermillion (vocals, bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
), and Jay Spiegel (drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
). In 1992, a fourth member was added, Malcolm Riviera (guitar, keyboards) who had previously played with Fleming and Spiegel in the Velvet Monkeys
Velvet Monkeys
Velvet Monkeys is an American rock band currently based in New York City, formed in 1980. The name "Velvet Monkeys" was a combination of The Velvet Underground and The Monkees.-Background:...
.
History
After Fleming and Spiegel's group B.A.L.L. broke up in 1990, the duo briefly joined Dinosaur Jr. and released one single on the Sub PopSub Pop
Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
label. The two left Dinosaur Jr. shortly after the release of the single. Jay Spiegel approached his friend Eric Vermillion, a member of Camp Hill, PA's The Stump Wizards, about playing with the two. Vemillion agreed and subsequently quit The Stump Wizards. After less than a week's rehearsal, the new trio played its first show and Gumball was born.
The fall of 1990 found Gumball in the studio, and their first release came our shortly thereafter on the Paperhouse/Sire label in England. The release was a 12 inch EP with the songs "All the Time"/"Yellow Pants"/"Gettysburg".
Gumball soon found itself with a record deal with NYC's Caroline Records
Caroline Records
Caroline Records started out as a subsidiary of Richard Branson's Virgin Records label during the early to mid 1970s. The label originally specialized in putting out budget price LPs by mainly progressive rock and jazz artists generally not considered to have a great deal of 'mainstream' or...
. They recorded and released the album Special Kiss
Special Kiss
Special Kiss was the first album by Gumball, a band formed by Don Fleming and Jay Spiegel following the breakup of B.A.L.L., and recruited Eric Vermillion soon after...
and embarked on a tour with Mudhoney
Mudhoney
Mudhoney is an American alternative rock band. Formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1988 following the demise of Green River, Mudhoney's members are vocalist and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner, bassist Guy Maddison, and drummer Dan Peters. Original bassist Matt Lukin left the...
, Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
, and other similar American indie bands of the early 1990s.
In 1991, Gumball was approached by Columbia Records A&R man Jim Dunbar about signing to the label for a two-album contract. Soon thereafter, the deal was signed and Gumball immediately re-entered the studio and began recording their major label debut, Super Tasty
Super Tasty
Super Tasty was the second album by Gumball and first major label full length release. It was released in 1993 and greeted by generally positive reviews. Three singles, Accelerator, The Damage Done and Real Gone Deal received airplay on Alternative radio and 120 Minutes. The album also features...
. The sessions were done in Wisconsin with producer Butch Vig
Butch Vig
Butch Vig is an American musician and record producer, best known internationally as the drummer of the Madison, Wisconsin-based alternative rock band Garbage and the producer of multi-platinum selling album Nevermind by Nirvana....
, who later engineered Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
's major label debut Nevermind
Nevermind
Nevermind is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991. Produced by Butch Vig, Nevermind was the group's first release on DGC Records...
.
Although Gumball recorded Super Tasty as a trio, fourth member (and long time musical associate) Malcolm Riviera joined the band shortly after the album's release. The foursome began rehearsing and in early 1993 toured in support of the album.
After a tour of the U.S., Europe, and Japan, Gumball returned to the studio in the fall of 1993 to record their second album for Columbia, Revolution on Ice
Revolution on Ice
Revolution on Ice was the third and final studio album by Gumball. The album, released in 1994, was the only one to featuring new member Malcolm Riviera of Velvet Monkeys fame on keyboards...
. The album was released by Columbia/Sony in 1994 and the band toured in support of it throughout that year.
Columbia exercised its option to drop Gumball from its roster after disappointing sales from Revolution on Ice. The band released a live CD on their own label in late 1994 called Tokyo Encore
Tokyo Encore
Tokyo Encore was the final release by Gumball. After leaving Columbia Records at the end of 1994, the band released a live album compiled from the band's 1993 tour of Japan and sold through their fan club on their own T.E.C. Tones label. Gumball were joined on stage by members of Shonen Knife...
, but by early 1995 the band had decided to call it quits rather than begin shopping for another label.
Band members
- Don FlemingDon Fleming (musician)Don Fleming is an American musician, best known for being the frontman of Velvet Monkeys, B.A.L.L., and Gumball.-Biography:...
(guitar, vocals) - Eric Vermillion (bass)
- Jay Spiegel (drums)
- Malcolm Riviera (guitar, keyboard)
Albums
| Title | Release date | Label |
| Special Kiss Special Kiss Special Kiss was the first album by Gumball, a band formed by Don Fleming and Jay Spiegel following the breakup of B.A.L.L., and recruited Eric Vermillion soon after... |
1991 | Primo Scree |
| Super Tasty Super Tasty Super Tasty was the second album by Gumball and first major label full length release. It was released in 1993 and greeted by generally positive reviews. Three singles, Accelerator, The Damage Done and Real Gone Deal received airplay on Alternative radio and 120 Minutes. The album also features... |
1993 | Columbia |
| Revolution On Ice Revolution on Ice Revolution on Ice was the third and final studio album by Gumball. The album, released in 1994, was the only one to featuring new member Malcolm Riviera of Velvet Monkeys fame on keyboards... |
1994 | Columbia |
| Tokyo Encore Tokyo Encore Tokyo Encore was the final release by Gumball. After leaving Columbia Records at the end of 1994, the band released a live album compiled from the band's 1993 tour of Japan and sold through their fan club on their own T.E.C. Tones label. Gumball were joined on stage by members of Shonen Knife... |
1994 | T.E.C. Tones |
EPs
| The Damage Done The Damage Done (EP) The Damage Done is an EP released by Gumball in 1993.-Track listing:#"The Damage Done" Article text.#"Thunder "#"Chew The Chew"#"Straight Line"#"Upsetters"... |
1993 | Columbia |
| Wisconsin Hayride Wisconsin Hayride Wisconsin Hayride was the first major label release by Gumball. The EP, Recorded and Released in 1992, was a teaser set to capitalize on the Alternative rock boom of the time before they could spend time recording a proper full length... |
1992 | Columbia |
Singles
| Year | Title | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "All The Time All the Time "All the Time" is a song that has been recorded by two country music singers. The first version, by Kitty Wells, peaked at #18 on the country music charts in 1959. It was the b-side to her single "Mommy for a Day," which peaked at #5.... " |
Special Kiss | Paperhouse |
| 1991 | "Sonic Youth / Gumball / Laughing Hyenas / These Immortal Souls: Sub Pop Singles Club #121" | Subpop | |
| 1991 | "This Town" | Special Kiss | Paperhouse |
| 1991 | "Light Shines Through" | Paperhouse/Waterfront Recordings | |
| 1992 | "Girl Don't Tell Me/ Strawberry Fields Forever" | Get Hip Recordings | |
| 1992 | "New Rose New Rose "New Rose" was the first single by British punk rock group The Damned, released on October 22, 1976. It was the first single by a British punk group, and was released in the Netherlands, Germany, and France in 1977.... " |
Wisconsin Hayride | Columbia |
| 1993 | "Accelerator" | Super Tasty | Columbia |
| 1993 | "The Damage Done" | Super Tasty | Columbia |
| 1993 | "Real Gone Deal" | Super Tasty | Columbia |
| 1994 | "Nights On Fire" | Revolution On Ice | Columbia |
| 1994 | "Whatcha Gonna Do" | Revolution On Ice | Columbia |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | "New Rose New Rose "New Rose" was the first single by British punk rock group The Damned, released on October 22, 1976. It was the first single by a British punk group, and was released in the Netherlands, Germany, and France in 1977.... " |
Dave Markey Dave Markey Dave Markey is an American film director.As a self-taught filmmaker and musician, Markey directed, produced, edited, and photographed most of his films, the majority of which has been self-funded and distributed. His work documents the punk scene in Southern California throughout the 1980s and 1990s... |
| 1993 | "Accelerator" | Dave Markey Dave Markey Dave Markey is an American film director.As a self-taught filmmaker and musician, Markey directed, produced, edited, and photographed most of his films, the majority of which has been self-funded and distributed. His work documents the punk scene in Southern California throughout the 1980s and 1990s... |
| 1993 | "The Damage Done" | Dave Markey Dave Markey Dave Markey is an American film director.As a self-taught filmmaker and musician, Markey directed, produced, edited, and photographed most of his films, the majority of which has been self-funded and distributed. His work documents the punk scene in Southern California throughout the 1980s and 1990s... |
| 1993 | "Real Gone Deal" | Casey Niccoli |
| 1994 | "Revolution on the Rocks" | Dave Markey Dave Markey Dave Markey is an American film director.As a self-taught filmmaker and musician, Markey directed, produced, edited, and photographed most of his films, the majority of which has been self-funded and distributed. His work documents the punk scene in Southern California throughout the 1980s and 1990s... |