Long Beach Shortbus

Infobox musical artist
Name = Long Beach Shortbus


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Alias = Shortbus
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Genre = Reggae, Punk rock, Pop rock, Acoustic
Years_active = 2002–2007
Label = Skunk Records Long Beach Records
Associated_acts = Sublime Long Beach Dub Allstars, Falling Idols, Capitol Eye, Bargain Music
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Past_members = Eric Wilson RAS-1 Trey Pangborn Damion Ramirez Kelly Vargas

Long Beach Shortbus was a reggae-influenced punk band from Long Beach, California. The band consists of four regular members: RAS-1 (lead vocals and guitar), Trey Pangborn (guitar), Eric Wilson (bass guitar) and Damion Ramirez (drum kit). Shortbus originated as a side project of RAS-1 and Eric Wilson, eventually taking shape after the Long Beach Dub Allstars disbanded in November 2001.

The band is somewhat of a Supergroup: Eric Wilson from Sublime and Long Beach Dub Allstars, RAS-1 also from Long Beach Dub Allstars, Trey Pangborn from the Falling Idols and Bargain Music and Damion Ramirez from Capitol Eye. The latter two bands, albeit not as well known, were quintessential Long Beach bands that helped influence the sound of Long Beach Shortbus today.

Their first CD was a self-titled EP and featured their hit "California Grace." Their second CD was entitled "Flying Ship of Fantasy", featuring tracks from their first album. "California Grace" is also available on the soundtrack to the MTV reality series Laguna Beach. On October 7th, 2007, it was announced that the band will be parting ways. Their final show took place at the Haunted Ball And Chain festival in San Diego, CA, on November 2nd and 3rd.

ound

The sound of Long Beach Shortbus is a departure from that of Sublime and Long Beach Dub Allstars, lacking the ska and hip-hop influences that both previous bands possessed. Instead, Long Beach Shortbus moves in a more Pop rock, Alternative rock, and Acoustic direction, with most of the songs having a softer feel. The punk, reggae, dub, surf, and blues elements are still present, though, albeit to a lesser degree than Sublime or Long Beach Dub All-stars.

The reason for such a drastic change in sound could possibly be due to a couple of factors. First, the new lineup includes Trey Pangborn and Damion Ramirez, and as a result lacks influence from previous Sublime/LBDAS contributors such as Marshall Goodman, Jack Maness, Opie Ortiz, Tim Wu, and most notably Bud Gaugh. Another factor is simply the deliberate decision by RAS-1 and Eric Wilson to make a new sound that is different than either previous band.

Discography

tudio Albums

* "Long Beach Shortbus" (2002)
* "Flying Ship of Fantasy" (2004)

Compilation Albums

* "Kingrock Entertainment "Listen Up, Volume #1" (2008) http://www.interpunk.com/item.cfm?Item=69240&

ee also

*Sublime
*Long Beach Dub Allstars

External links

* [http://longbeachshortbus.net/ Official Website]
* [http://myspace.com/longbeachshortbus Official MySpace]
* [http://skunk.com/ Skunk Records]
* [http://longbeachrecords.com/ Long Beach Records]
* [http://www.victoriaskafest.ca/media/longbeach.htm "California Grace" music video]