Longwave (band)
Encyclopedia
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.
was self-produced and caught notice around the burgeoning rock scene in and around Manhattan. The band found its audience by first performing a series of shows at a club called the Luna Lounge on New York's Lower East Side..
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 Longwave formed, Steve played guitar for a short time in a band called Scout, featuring Ashen Keilyn on vocals, which released two albums. Steve soon left Scout to pursue more fervently his own aspirations. Schiltz would eventually collaborate with Keilyn again on his project Hurricane Bells.
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 on LunaSea Records, the record label created by Rob Sacher, co-owner of Luna Lounge, and soon after the band began touring the U.S. to growing popularity, especially among college-aged audiences.
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. Mike left later on for various reasons and started his own band Mikey Jukebox
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
. Three videos were produced for this album, including "Everywhere You Turn," which was directed by writer-director Daedalus Howell
and featured Longwave performing at the Echo (a club in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles) as well as a mannequin factory.
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.
On November 11, 2008, the band released their fourth album, Secrets Are Sinister
.
, The Strokes
, and 1970s post-punk
rockers Television
. There is also a "Shoegaze" stylistic element often noted in some of their music.
E.P.'s
Singles
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band. The band was formed in 1999 by guitarist, songwriter and vocalist Steve Schiltz, guitarist Shannon Ferguson, bassist Dave Marchese and drummer Jeremy Greene.
History
Their first release, entitled EndsongsEndsongs
Endsongs is the first album released by the American indie band Longwave.-Track listing:#"Escape"#"Best Kept Secret"#"Pretty Face"#"Something"#"Crushed Down and Faded"#"Make Me a Believer"#"Brighter Than Time"#"Crash"#"Ending"...
was self-produced and caught notice around the burgeoning rock scene in and around Manhattan. The band found its audience by first performing a series of shows at a club called the Luna Lounge on New York's Lower East Side..
Guitarist Steve Schiltz, originally from Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, formed the band that originally played shows as "The Deaf Aides," named for John Lennon's
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
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 Longwave formed, Steve played guitar for a short time in a band called Scout, featuring Ashen Keilyn on vocals, which released two albums. Steve soon left Scout to pursue more fervently his own aspirations. Schiltz would eventually collaborate with Keilyn again on his project Hurricane Bells.
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
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
.
Endsongs was released in 1999 on LunaSea Records, the record label created by Rob Sacher, co-owner of Luna Lounge, and soon after the band began touring the U.S. to growing popularity, especially among college-aged audiences.
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. Mike left later on for various reasons and started his own band Mikey Jukebox
Mikey Jukebox
Mikey Jukebox is the musical project of Mike James based in Rochester, NY. Before going solo, James was a member of the New York City based band Longwave...
With their popularity on the rise, the band gained the interest of major record labels, and was eventually signed by RCA Records
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
. This allowed them to record their first non-independent
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
release, The Strangest Things
The Strangest Things
-Track listing:#"Wake Me When It's Over"#"Everywhere You Turn"#"Pool Song"#"I Know It's Coming Someday"#"Meet Me at the Bottom"#"Can't Feel a Thing"#"Tidal Wave"#"The Ghosts Around You"#"All Sewn Up"#"Exit"#"Strangest Things"#"Day Sleeper"...
, and also allowed them to work with famed producer Dave Fridmann
Dave Fridmann
Dave Fridmann is an American record producer and musician. From 1990 onwards he co-produced all releases by Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips...
of the The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
and Mercury Rev
Mercury Rev
Mercury Rev is an American alternative rock group, that formed in the late 1980s in Buffalo, New York. Original personnel were David Baker , Jonathan Donahue , Sean Mackowiak, a.k.a...
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
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
and The Vines
The Vines
https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Special:LandingCheck?landing_page=L11_1121_WMUK_Jimmy_DDOptimised&utm_medium=sitenotice&utm_campaign=C11_1121_WMUK_DDvOneOff&utm_source=B11_1121_WMUK_Jimmy&language=en&country=GB...
. Three videos were produced for this album, including "Everywhere You Turn," which was directed by writer-director Daedalus Howell
Daedalus Howell
Daedalus Howell is an American writer, filmmaker and media personality, who leads FMRL, the Future Media Research Lab, a Berkeley, CA-based media venture that produces branded entertainment and transmedia....
and featured Longwave performing at the Echo (a club in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles) as well as a mannequin factory.
After several successful years of touring the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
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
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
has ended.
On November 11, 2008, the band released their fourth album, Secrets Are Sinister
Secrets Are Sinister
Secrets Are Sinister is the title of the fourth album by the band Longwave. It was released on November 11, 2008.- Track listing :#"Sirens in the Deep Sea" – 3:59#"No Direction" – 4:15#"Satellites" – 3:34#"The Devil And The Liar" – 4:44...
.
Style
Their sound has been likened with RadioheadRadiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, The Strokes
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
, and 1970s post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
rockers Television
Television (band)
Television was an American rock band, formed in New York City in 1973. They are best known for the album Marquee Moon and widely regarded as one of the founders of "punk" and New Wave music. Television was part of the early 1970s New York underground rock scene, along with bands like the Patti...
. There is also a "Shoegaze" stylistic element often noted in some of their music.
Band members
The band, as of 2008, is four people strong:- Steve Schiltz - guitars, vocals
- Shannon Ferguson - guitars
- Jason Molina - drums
- Morgan King - bass
Previous members
- Dave Marchese
- Jeremy Greene
- Mike James - drums
- Jeff Sheinkopf - keyboards/guitars
- Paul Dillon - bass guitar
Discography
Studio Albums- EndsongsEndsongsEndsongs is the first album released by the American indie band Longwave.-Track listing:#"Escape"#"Best Kept Secret"#"Pretty Face"#"Something"#"Crushed Down and Faded"#"Make Me a Believer"#"Brighter Than Time"#"Crash"#"Ending"...
(2000) - The Strangest ThingsThe Strangest Things-Track listing:#"Wake Me When It's Over"#"Everywhere You Turn"#"Pool Song"#"I Know It's Coming Someday"#"Meet Me at the Bottom"#"Can't Feel a Thing"#"Tidal Wave"#"The Ghosts Around You"#"All Sewn Up"#"Exit"#"Strangest Things"#"Day Sleeper"...
(2003) - There's a Fire (2005)
- Secrets Are SinisterSecrets Are SinisterSecrets Are Sinister is the title of the fourth album by the band Longwave. It was released on November 11, 2008.- Track listing :#"Sirens in the Deep Sea" – 3:59#"No Direction" – 4:15#"Satellites" – 3:34#"The Devil And The Liar" – 4:44...
(2008)
E.P.'s
- Day Sleeper (EP) (2002)
- Tidal Wave (EP) (2004)
- Life Of The Party (EP) (2004)
- There's a Fire (EP)There's a Fire (EP)There's a Fire is an extended-play album from the band Longwave. It was recorded in 2004, and features six songs from their studio-length album of the same name. The seventh recording, All Your Kings, is unique to this EP...
(2005)
Singles
- "Wake Me When It's Over" (2003)