- Suburban Rhythm
Suburban Rhythm (S.R.) was a
ska punk band fromLong Beach, California . Formed in1990 , the band had a short-lived but prolific and influential career. In their prime, they played numerous shows in small-venue clubs with many now famous O.C. bands opening their performances, including Sublime,No Doubt , andReel Big Fish . Suburban Rhythm met with many internal band conflicts and band roster changes in their short years. The band broke up in1994 and three years later in1997 their only full-length album, "Suburban Rhythm" was released. Despite their very limited exposure and short career, Suburban Rhythm remains highly influential and one of ska/punk's most legendary bands.History
In August of
1989 , vocalist Dennis Owens, guitarist Jake Kline, keyboardist Rodi DelGadillo, bassist Deryke Cardenaz, and drummer Christine Tasche formed a band called The Silent Invasion. After a few months of rehearsal, the band played their one and only show just afterChristmas in Tasche's back house in front of a few friends. Shortly after, Tasche left the band.Several months later, John Gamba responded to their "Drummer Wanted" flyer and was soon added to the band roster. The band soon decided to change their name to Suburban Rhythm. Kline hated the name, but due to him having missed that particular meeting in which the name was changed, the others decided Kline would have no say in the matter. Eight months later and after playing several shows, Gamba was ousted due to "personality conflicts", leaving the band once again without a drummer.
Carlos De La Garza, drummer for ska band, The Trenchtown Invaders, took Gamba's spot as drummer. One month later, Cardenaz quit for unknown reasons. Through an "acquaintance of an acquaintance", the band found Ed Kampwirth to replace Cardenaz. With the addition of Kampwirth, the band's sound began to solidify.
Height of career
With Kampwirth and de la Garza forming a solid rhythm section, the band's musicianship and song writing had greatly improved, and the band played numerous shows, in the Long Beach and Orange County area.In October of
1992 , the band released their first (and only) demo, "Hose". After this, the size of Suburban Rhythm's fan base grew dramatically.In April of
1993 , due to general unhappiness in the band's musical direction, Kline quit the band to work on his own musical project, a band calledEggbeater . Kline's departure left the band with Dennis Owens and Rodi DelGadillo as the only two original members remaining. The band vowed to break up if any more of the core members (including Kampwirth and De La Garza) decided to quit, fearing replacing any more members might "water things down to the point of embarrassment."Despite depression within the band, they decided they would stick together and find a new guitarist. After several try-outs including
Reel Big Fish founderAaron Barrett , the band choseNuckle Brothers guitarist Scott Moran. Soon after this, Chris Siglin was hired as the band's manager.What Ever Happened To Suburban Rhythm? Why Did Ed and Scott Quit?
In late October or early November of
1993 , Suburban Rhythm started to record their first album. At this point, band member relations were becoming unstable. According to Owens, more and more arguments ensued between band members about "this-that-and-the-other's problem with this-that-and-the-other".The initial recording sessions proved unsatisfactory. After several more arguments, it was decided to re-record the album at another studio. Friction among the band members grew worse as the band continued to argue. Finally, in the middle of the sessions, Kampwirth and Moran announced they were quitting the band. The band kept the promise they made after Kline left and put the band to rest. S.R. played its last show on April 2,
1994 in Costa Mesa, CA. The band released the "Almost There" ep at the time of their break up, the EP featured 4 songs from the scrapped album.Ed quit to start his own band
Larry which featured futureSave Ferris singerMonique Powell . Scott quit, primarily, because of personal and creative conflicts with singer, Dennis Owens.Compilation
In 1997, three years after the band's breakup, a posthumous 16-song compilation CD was released from Long Beach record label
Solid Recordings . The album contains three tracks from the "Hose" demo cassette, all four tracks from the "Almost There" 7" vinyl, plus nine previously unreleased tracks, which were the unreleased songs from the scrapped first album. The compilation also includes five tracks recorded live from theBig Black Room inSanta Ana, California in1993 , as well as a hidden garage-recorded track entitled "Uniform of Destruction".The cd also features liner notes written byNo Doubt guitaristTom Dumont , who, at that point, had gone on to achieve worldwide success.Musical style
Suburban Rhythm ran the gamut of musical styles. While primarily labeled a
ska /punk band, some of their recordings displayed styles fromfunk (e.g. "18 Inch Ruler"), to metal,jazz ,blues ,prog , and even country (e.g. "Blue Hawaii"). Their tone also had range, from dark and moody styles, such as "Coming Out Of The Woodwork" and "Tension", to playful, fast-driven songs like "Game Show", "Bixville" and their cover ofCarl Douglas ' "Kung Fu Fighting ".The band displayed a musical dexterity and elasticity, and managed to blend numerous musical influences, and stretched the boundaries of what was normally expected from a ska/punk band.This musical versatility is referenced in
Reel Big Fish 's 'S.R.(The Many Versions Of)' on their2006 live albumOur Live Album Is Better Than Your Live Album .Influence and Legacy
Shortly after Suburban Rhythm's break-up a large number of the band's contemporaries would go on to find success, and this would, in part, lead to a nationwide ska revival in the mid and late 90's. Additionally, a large number of younger Orange County ska bands had cited Suburban Rhythm as an influence. Most notably, O.C. ska band
Reel Big Fish has paid homage to Suburban Rhythm on many occasions. Their second full-length CD, "Turn the Radio Off ", includes a tribute song to Suburban Rhythm entitled "S.R". This song is notable during their live shows, as they play multiple versions of it spanning across several genre such as emo, punk, rap, disco, and death metal. They also covered Suburban Rhythm's "Uniform of Destruction" for theSka Parade 's compilation album, "Runnin' Naked thru the Cornfield". (Suburban Rhythm's "Coming out of the Woodwork" is featured on the same album.)Various members of Suburban Rhythm have gone on to play in numerous bands, and are still active in the Long Beach, Orange County and
Los Angeles musical communities.Owens, de la Garza, and Delgadillo, would go on to form the power-pop groupAction League which would play from 1995-1999.Dennis Owens currently plays withBlowUpBlow andFree Moral Agents as well as Dj's in various clubs in Long Beach and Orange County, most notably at the long-runningGood Foot that Owens started with Delgadillio in 1998.Ed Kampwirth would form theprog bandLarry which would feature futureSave Ferris singerMonique Powell , and would go on to play withSpecials memberNeville Staples , Kampworth now plays with Dios.Carlos de la Garza, would go on to play drums withReel Big Fish ,Gogogo Airheart ,Lyra , andRay Barbee , and currently runsMusic Friends recording studio, and works as a recording engineer and producer.Scott Moran would later play guitar withThe Aquabats and currently plays guitar with skate-legendRay Barbee 's instrumental ensemble.Members
*Dennis Owens (vocals)
*Rodi DelGadillo (keyboard)
*Deryke Cardenaz (bass guitar ) (1990–1992)
*Ed Kampwirth (bass guitar ) (1992–1994)
*Jake Kline (guitar ) (1990–1993)
*Scott Moran (guitar ) (1993–1994)
*Christine Tasche (drums) (1990, with The Silent Invasion)
*John Gamba (drums) (1990–1991)
*Carlos de la Garza (drums) (1991–1994)Discography
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