Witness (band)
Encyclopedia
Witness is a french grunge
band. The band start in 1989 and edit 2 albums (Smooth and Grimace) and 3 EP (Witness, Elec-oustic and Word Give). Witness split in 2001.
Eventually, Paco moved definitely to guitar, while Manu officially becomes the band’s bass guitar player. The band enlarges its playlist and performs more and more often in its home region: the Sarthe, but also in Britanny. WITNESS takes part in various festivals and opens for CALVIN RUSSEL.
Around 1992, many important events occur: the band plays a lot of concerts (72 in just one year), records an entirely DIY demo cassette: First Shoot , and their music turns definitely to Hard Rock.
The following year, WITNESS hits the road and opens for alternative rock bands throughout France, playing in several festivals.
In 1994, the band records a darker 5-track disk named after the band, plays for 15000 people at the Mans’ 24h motorbike race and adds many festival concerts to their list.
The band’s style then becomes more grunge-like and they record another DIY cassette: the 8-song Smooth ; which will then be followed by a 15-track album having the same name in 1996, released by Move On Prod. Gilles, who had already played guitar on some recordings, becomes a full-time member of the band soon after. This 5-members line-up appears on stage during Rennes’ Transmusicales that same year, as well as in other occasions.
In 1997, the members of the band share an unplugged experience in bars and show-cases that can be heard on Elec-oustic.
WITNESS then hits the studio during January 1998 to record Grimace, many guests contributing to this definitely electric album. Unfortunately, Bob gets severely injured in May. Dennis becomes the drummer for a while before leaving the job to Yann, who had already helped out with percussions on Grimace. Bruno, who played the keyboards parts on the album, shares a few stages with them before taking part in some further recordings.
Bob gets his job back as a drummer in 1999, even though he’s still suffering from the sequels of his accident. The band then records a few demos in its home-studio, in order to prepare the Avatar album. The band performs on stage for a while, but Bob is forced to leave his drumming to Yann once again during spring 2000, his handicap making it difficult for him to endure the band’s long sets and unleashed live energy.
Soon after, the band publishes a 4-track demo. The recording sessions for Avatar will then take place from summer 2000 on until 2001 at the MASTER STUDIO with Thierry Chassang, who had already worked on Grimace. The band releases a 3-tracks demo the same year.
WITNESS opens for POPA CHUBBY for the Mans’ 24h and gives its last concert in September, before dissolving 2 months later.
The near-complete album Avatar will unfortunetely not be finished and remains unpublished.
Even though WITNESS has encountered a big success and had many fans, the media only took small interest in the band, apart from a few positive articles in rock magazines and an appearance on a local TV.
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
band. The band start in 1989 and edit 2 albums (Smooth and Grimace) and 3 EP (Witness, Elec-oustic and Word Give). Witness split in 2001.
Biography
WITNESS is born in 1989 and was composed of former members of BLUE BIRD. Their music is mainly based on the seventies’ Blues Rock and Hard Rock. The original line-up was : Cyril as vocalist, Bob as drummer, and Paco and Manu shared guitar and bass guitar. At the time, the band played some gigs on small stages.Eventually, Paco moved definitely to guitar, while Manu officially becomes the band’s bass guitar player. The band enlarges its playlist and performs more and more often in its home region: the Sarthe, but also in Britanny. WITNESS takes part in various festivals and opens for CALVIN RUSSEL.
Around 1992, many important events occur: the band plays a lot of concerts (72 in just one year), records an entirely DIY demo cassette: First Shoot , and their music turns definitely to Hard Rock.
The following year, WITNESS hits the road and opens for alternative rock bands throughout France, playing in several festivals.
In 1994, the band records a darker 5-track disk named after the band, plays for 15000 people at the Mans’ 24h motorbike race and adds many festival concerts to their list.
The band’s style then becomes more grunge-like and they record another DIY cassette: the 8-song Smooth ; which will then be followed by a 15-track album having the same name in 1996, released by Move On Prod. Gilles, who had already played guitar on some recordings, becomes a full-time member of the band soon after. This 5-members line-up appears on stage during Rennes’ Transmusicales that same year, as well as in other occasions.
In 1997, the members of the band share an unplugged experience in bars and show-cases that can be heard on Elec-oustic.
WITNESS then hits the studio during January 1998 to record Grimace, many guests contributing to this definitely electric album. Unfortunately, Bob gets severely injured in May. Dennis becomes the drummer for a while before leaving the job to Yann, who had already helped out with percussions on Grimace. Bruno, who played the keyboards parts on the album, shares a few stages with them before taking part in some further recordings.
Bob gets his job back as a drummer in 1999, even though he’s still suffering from the sequels of his accident. The band then records a few demos in its home-studio, in order to prepare the Avatar album. The band performs on stage for a while, but Bob is forced to leave his drumming to Yann once again during spring 2000, his handicap making it difficult for him to endure the band’s long sets and unleashed live energy.
Soon after, the band publishes a 4-track demo. The recording sessions for Avatar will then take place from summer 2000 on until 2001 at the MASTER STUDIO with Thierry Chassang, who had already worked on Grimace. The band releases a 3-tracks demo the same year.
WITNESS opens for POPA CHUBBY for the Mans’ 24h and gives its last concert in September, before dissolving 2 months later.
The near-complete album Avatar will unfortunetely not be finished and remains unpublished.
Even though WITNESS has encountered a big success and had many fans, the media only took small interest in the band, apart from a few positive articles in rock magazines and an appearance on a local TV.
Members
- Cyril Mercier: vocals
- Paco: guitar
- Gilles Laurent: guitar (1996–2001)
- Emmanuel Berthault: bass, vocals
- Yann Kaddachi: drums (2000–2001)
- Patrick Bourgoin: drums (1989–2000)
- Denis Cochin: drums (1998)