Description

Lead by iconic frontman Courtney Taylor-Taylor, the Dandy Warhols are one of pop music's most inspired and musically infectious bands, embodying the wild abandon and hedonist artistry of rock's past. The Portland, Oregon quartet mix a heavy dose of 1960s sounds (from swirling psychedelia to the Velvet Underground) with the smacked-out guitar washes of British shoegazers like My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive. A highly-publicized spat with their colleagues in San Francisco's Brian Jonestown Massacre formed the basis of the acclaimed documentary DIG!, and solidified the Warhols' reputation as one of the most adventurous and enjoyable rock bands of the 1990s and 00s.

Biography

This Portland, Oregon, USA quartet emerged when Peter Holmstrom (guitar) pressured friend Courtney Taylor (vocals/guitar) into forming a band in mid-1993. The duo enlisted the aid of the equally inexperienced Eric Hedford (drums/vocals). Fourth member Zia McCabe (keyboards/bass/percussion) was asked to round out the line-up despite having never played an instrument before. Originally calling themselves Andy Warhol's Wet Dream, the band changed its name to the Dandy Warhols and soon made a name for itself on the Portland club scene. Tapping into the trippier side of psychedelic rock, the band's shows travelled the same astral plane as early Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett and Hawkwind. In 1995, the Dandy Warhols recorded Dandys Rule OK for Portland label Tim Kerr. Their moody debut was coached in lots of atmospherics and featured tributes to Lou Reed ("(Tony, This Song Is Called) Lou Weed") and Andy Warhol's quip on fame via an extended 16-minute jam ("It's A Fast-Driving Rave Up With The Dandy Warhols").
The band's live shows and impressive debut soon started a major-label bidding war which the cheeky quartet took advantage of by going out to dinner with as many A&R reps as possible. After signing with Capitol Records, the band released ... The Dandy Warhols Come Down. The album showed them delving into "shoegazing" space-rock reminiscent of Spiritualized and My Bloody Valentine, particularly on songs such as "Be-In" and "Pete International Airport", and showing a knack for straightforward garage rock ("Cool As Kim Deal"). The biggest attention grabber was "Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth", a song that ostensibly criticized heroin use but instead passed it off as being merely passé. A video was later made by famed photographer David LaChappelle. After touring as an opening act for Teenage Fanclub and Radiohead, the Dandy Warhols returned to the studio in early 1999. Brent De Boer replaced Hedford on the band's third album, the wonderfully-titled Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia.
A huge change of direction came about with the follow-up Welcome To The Monkey House. Gone were the loose guitar chords and organised sloppiness, and in their place were slick production songs, a glut of keyboards and a strong 80s feel. The producers Courtney Taylor-Taylor and ex-Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes had obviously used their influence to shape the album's sound.
DISCOGRAPHY: Dandys Rule OK (Tim Kerr 1995)***, ... The Dandy Warhols Come Down (Tim Kerr/Capitol 1997)****, Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia (Capitol 2000)****, Welcome To The Monkey House (Capitol 2003)**.

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