Rogue Wave (band)
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Sub Pop (2004-2007)
Brushfire Records (2007-2013)
Vagrant (2013-present)
Easy Sound Recording Company (2016-present)
Rogue Wave | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Rogue Wave singer Zach Rogue performing with the band in 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Oakland, California, United States |
| Genres | pop rock, lo-fi |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | Responsive Recordings (2002-2004) Sub Pop (2004-2007) Brushfire Records (2007-2013) Vagrant (2013-present) Easy Sound Recording Company (2016-present) |
| Members | Zach Rogue Pat Spurgeon Masanori Christianson Jon Monahan |
| Past members | Sonya Westcott Evan Farrell Gram LeBron Patrick Abernethy Steve Taylor Ken Christianson Cameron Jasper Dominic East Dan Iead Rob Easson |
| Website | Official website |
Rogue Wave is a rock/pop band from Oakland, California, and headed by Zach Schwartz (a.k.a. Zach Rogue) who created the band after losing his job in the dot-com bust. Their first album was Out of the Shadow which was released privately in 2003 and re-released in 2004. In the fall of 2004 they went on a national tour of the United States. Their most recent album, Cover Me, was released on February 17, 2017, through Easy Sound Recording Company.
Formation of Rogue Wave and other projects
In early 2002, Zach Rogue decided to take some time off from his home base of San Francisco and set off with a one-way ticket to New York in March with the intention of recording one or two songs with friend Bill Racine. He came away with an album's worth of material that would later become Rogue Wave's debut, Out of the Shadow. After returning to the Bay Area with a nearly completed record in hand, Zach decided to leave his former band, the Bay Area-based Desoto Reds, in which he played guitar, and form his own group. At the end of 2002, while preparing the album for release, Zach rounded out the band's lineup with the addition of Patrick Spurgeon (drums, keys, samples, vocals) Sonya Westcott (bass, vocals), and Gram LeBron (guitar, keys, vocals).[1]
Patrick Spurgeon has played with bands Churches, Pancho San, Somehow at Sea, Antenna, Stranded at the Drive In, Ramona the Pest, Brando, Steve Kowalski, Lessick, and has also released solo work as The Phantom Drummer.[2]
Gram LeBron has been involved in the bands Com Jr, Get Better, The Album Leaf, Port O'Brien, Long and Golden, schrasj, Sad Like Crazy, Conundrum, Jessica Six, All Transistor and has also released solo work as Golden Gram.[2] He currently plays with Outer Embassy and composes for film and commercials.
Sonya Westcott was in the band Venus Bleeding before her time with Rogue Wave.[2]
Evan Farrell played with The Japonize Elephants, Mega Mousse, Amaldecor, Big Mule, Hunted Haunted Bazergahn Klezmorchestra, Grande Rouge, Kentucky Nightmare, Mama HooHoo.[2]
Patrick Abernethy was formerly a keyboard player with Beulah before joining Rogue Wave.
Departure and death of Evan Farrell
Evan Farrell left Rogue Wave after the recording of Asleep at Heaven's Gate to pursue his other project, The Japonize Elephants, but remained a friend of the band.[3] Farrell died soon after on December 23, 2007, in Oakland CA, suffering from "massive smoke inhalation" in an apartment fire caused by a dangerously obsolete gas-fired floor furnace. Gram LeBron was also in the house. Awakened by Evan's warnings, he was unable to rescue him when forced from the house by the flames.[4] He left behind a wife and two young children.[5] Farrell himself had replaced original bassist Sonya Westcott in 2004. Patrick Abernethy joined the band in 2007 to take Farrell's place on bass and was later replaced by Cameron Jasper in 2009.
D-Tour
The band is featured extensively in the documentary, D-Tour, produced and directed by Jim Granato, which chronicles Spurgeon's struggles with kidney disease and his wait for a transplant. The film was featured on the show "Independent Lens" on PBS.[6] Spurgeon was born with a single kidney.
Permalight
On November 18, 2009, Zach Rogue announced the release date for their fourth full-length album, Permalight.[7] It was released on March 2, 2010, through Brushfire Records.
Nightingale Floors
Rogue Wave announced the release of their fifth studio album, Nightingale Floors,[8] on March 27 via their Facebook page. It was released on June 4, 2013.
Signing to Easy Sound Recording Company and Delusions of Grand Fur
In February 2016, the band announced the release of their sixth studio album, Delusions of Grand Fur, through new record label Easy Sound Recording Company (created in 2014 and home to Fruit Bats, Futurebirds, Vetiver, and Marianne Faithfull, among others). It was released on April 29, 2016.
Band members
Current
- Zach Rogue – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards (2002–present)
- Patrick Spurgeon – drums, percussion, keyboards, samples, vocals (2002–present)
- Masanori Christianson – bass, keyboards, glockenspiel (2010, 2012–present)
- Jon Monahan – guitar, keyboards (2014–present)
Former
- Sonya Westcott – bass, vocals (2002–2004)
- Nathan Petty – drums (2003–2004)
- Evan Farrell – bass, vocals, keyboards (2004–2007; died 2007)
- Patrick Abernethy – bass, keyboards (2007–2008)
- Gram LeBron – guitar, keyboards, vocals, drums (2002–2008)
- Steve Taylor – keyboards, guitorgan (2009–2010)
- Ken Christianson – keyboards, violin, vocals (2010)
- Cameron Jasper – bass, vocals (2008–2011)
- Dominic East – guitar, pedal steel, vocals (2007–2012)
- Dan Iead – guitar, steel pedal (2013)
- Rob Easson – keyboards (2013)
- Nyles Lannon – keyboards, vocals (2016)
Timeline
