Biography All Music Guide Wikipedia
All Music Guide:
Sporting one of the most irritatingly cutesy pop culture reference band names since the respective heydays of REO Speedealer and Eve's Plum, Ringo Deathstarr are a quartet from Austin, TX, with a single, unapologetic influence: Psychocandy by the Jesus and Mary Chain. So overt a cop of the Reid brothers' trademark blend of bored, mumbled vocals, sheets of untethered feedback, and pounding, technique-free drumming that the lyrics of their song "Some Kind of Sad" directly quote the Jesus and Mary Chain's signature song, "Just Like Honey," Ringo Deathstarr are the Rutles of the C-86 scene. Ringo Deathstarr were originally formed in 2005 by singer and guitarist Elliott Frazier in his hometown of Beaumont, TX, but after moving to the more musically happening climes of Austin, he stabilized a final lineup with guitarist Renan McFarland, bassist Alex Gehring, and drummer Dustin Gaudet. Ringo Deathstarr's self-titled debut, a five-song EP, was released by the British label SVC Records in the fall of 2007.
Wikipedia:
Ringo Deathstarr is an alternative rock band from Austin, Texas, which channels such diverse influences as Fugazi, The Cure, The Smiths, My Bloody Valentine, and The Velvet Underground into their own unique sonic fingerprint. The band was originally formed by singer/songwriter Elliott Frazier in 2005, and released their eponymous EP in 2007. This was followed by a string of singles and a series of international tours hitting both coasts and the streets of the UK and Japan. The band’s debut full-length album, Colour Trip, was released in February 2011 by Club AC30. They are touring with The Smashing Pumpkins in the winter of 2011/2012.
History
The band were originally started by Frazier in his hometown, Beaumont, but soon soon he moved to the more musically active town of Austin, where he stabilized a lineup consisting of guitarist Renan McFarland, bassist Alex Gehring, and drummer Dustin Gaudet. The band's debut 5-song EP, Ringo Deathstarr, was released on SVC Records in the fall of 2007 in the UK, and on Fan Death Records in 2009. It was later re-released with extra tracks as Sparkler. After a few more years of playing shows, shuffling around members before finally settling on Gehring and drummer Daniel Coborn, and honing their sound, the band was signed by the UK label Club AC30 after gaining popularity at their Reverence Festival in 2009. The band's debut full-length album, Colour Trip, was first released by Club AC30 in February 2011 in the UK, then was licensed by Sonic Unyon for release in North America, and Vinyl Junkie for release in Japan.
Style
The band has been generally described as having a sound that that is heavily influenced by the procurers of the shoegaze sound, such as Ride, The Jesus & Mary Chain, and My Bloody Valentine. Allmusic describes them as "immersing themselves so totally in the style of their influences that they sound exactly like them", yet also noting that "if you take a more positive stance, you can commend the trio’s skill at re-creation, lose yourself in the warmly fuzzy guitars that flood the album from beginning to end, or let the honey-sweet vocals of bassist Alex Gehring wash away your nagging doubts". BBC took a less positive stance, saying of the band that "they offer evidence that ultimately, it doesn't matter if your band lacks any real ingenuity or originality, because if you play loud enough people will, eventually, begin to notice you", summarizing the band as "shoegaze drone-noise from Texas, done well but done several times before" .
