Utris

Utris is an American rock and roll music outfit. Formed in Washington, D.C. in 1995, Utris hit its popular peak in the late 1990s before breaking up in the wake of the 2001 terror attacks.

Early History

Andrew Deerin (vocals) and John P. Hastings (guitars) met during their freshman year at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC. The following year, Hastings was forced in to a 2 year rehabilitation in London. Reunited and rededicated their senior year, Hastings and Deerin began collaborating and auditioning a band. Tom Coan was tapped to play bass and Damon Dwyer to play drums. Rehearsal commenced in the basement of Dwyer's parents' Alexandria home in the winter of 1995.

The first official concert Utris played was a co-headline (with blues-jam powerhouse Conjurman) at the Screaming Eagle Jam in March of 1995. Shortly after, the band cut a 3 track demo of Hastings and Deerin's songs including their ode to the popular pinball game "Cyclone". Copies of the tapes, originally intended solely for industry distribution, began to leak in the spring of 1995. Priced at $3.00 (US), copies of the tape quickly sold out. Time, unfortunately, was not on the band's side and graduation and college flung the members across three states.

The Balls Era

In November of 1995 the band played an impromptu show at The Grog and Tankard in Washington, DC. The show was unexpectedly packed and the club quickly signed the band on for another show in December. As the date of the show approached, however, Coan was nowhere to be found. Two days before, the band turned to Conjurman lead bassist Deke Shipp to fill the void. Only 15 at the time and initially hired to play only the one gig, Shipp impressed and was soon asked to join the band full time. He accepted, cementing the group's lineup through the end of the millennium.

The summer of 1996 found the band back at the Grog and Tankard every Sunday night sharpening their attack and being joined by luminaries such as US Soccer star Alexi Lalas. The band was also busy at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, VA cutting their first full length record. The 7 track eponymous record which came to be known as "The Balls Album" was finished and released in August 1996. Featuring tracks such as "A Walk with Renee", "Again" and the tune that they would be forever linked to: "Passing Me By", The Balls Album was produced in a single run of 1000 CDs.

The following years saw the band ramp up its touring, playing a slew of college festivals and large events. To handle the increasingly complex logistics, the band brought in Christopher Browne (of Brownetowne Management) as manager in 1998. Browne replaced longtime consultant Chas Patrizia. The band was also recording its second record "The Long Walk Home" which was released by Annex Records in January 2000.

During this time, Disaster seemed to strike the band in front of its largest audiences. In 1998 at a show at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, VA, 35 of the band's 45 minute set was lost to equipment malfunction. The remaining 10 minutes were spent playing a rousing cover of The Police's "So Lonely", during which the group segued into "The Hootch" a popular song by the band Everything, who was also the headliner that evening. In 1999 at a gig in Tempe, AZ the band's set was cut short after a speaker fell from a 2nd story ledge, injuring a 20 year student from the University of Arizona.

The Long Walk Home

In October 2000 the band, along with Sam Jacobs, CEO of Annex Records, and Sam's 2 dogs, Nuke and Crash, moved to a horse farm outside of Charlottesville, VA. Sales of "TLWH" were sluggish and band sought to re-energize itself creatively and rededicate itself to improving musicianship. Both proved true as never-recorded songs "In Orbit" and "In The City" came to define what die-hard fans breathlessly refer to as the band's "In" period.

Over the next year the band began playing regular dates in New York and other cities along the East Coast. A Dodge Ram van was purchased to accommodate the increased travel and new equipment. Tensions mounted, however, and in April 2001 original member Damon Dwyer left the group. He was replaced by James Graham, who was living in a Toyota at the time, and later Stuart Gunter. By late summer 2001, the band decided to not renew their lease in Charlottesville and move on. A final show was played at The Tokyo Rose in August 2001. It was the best show the band ever played.

Band Members

*John Patrick Hastings (guitars)
*Andrew Deerin (lead vocals, keyboards)
*Deke Shipp (electric bass guitar)
*Damon Dwyer (drums - left-handed)

*James Graham (drums)
*Tom Coan (bass)
*Stuart Gunter (drums)

Discography

*"UTRIS (The Balls Album)" 1996
*"Llantas Usadas (EP)" 1998
*"The Long Walk Home " 1999
*"Annex Records Sampler Vol. 2" 2000