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The Motels

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The Motels

The Motels were a New Wave music band from the Los Angeles area best known for "Only the Lonely" and "Suddenly, Last Summer", each of which peaked at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 and 1983, respectively. Their song "Total Control" reached number 7 on the Australian charts in 1979. Martha Davis, the lead singer, reformed a version of the band called The Motels featuring Martha Davis, in 1998; as of 2008 she continues to appear under that name with various line-ups.

History

First incarnation

The Motels

The first incarnation of The Motels formed in Berkeley, California, in 1971.[1] Lisa Brenneis (bass) coaxed Dean Chamberlain (lead guitar), Chuck Wada (rhythm guitar) and Martha Davis (vocals, guitar) into forming a band (then called The Warfield Foxes).[2] Hoping for better exposure and seeking a recording contract they made a move to Los Angeles in 1975. While in L.A., Lisa Brenneis left and the band changed its name to "Angels of Mercy" and then to "The Motels", with both Davis and Wada contributing original songs to the repertoire.[3] The band acquired two new members around this time to fill vital slots; Richard D'Andrea on bass and Robert Newman on drums.[4]

The Motels and two other local bands, The Pop and The Dogs, kicked off the local band scene with a concert at a self-produced show, 'Radio Free Hollywood' held at the old theatre, Troupers Hall. Prior to this show, few if any unsigned bands played local high profile clubs like the Whisky and The Roxy.[5] The band guested on Rodney Bingenheimer's popular radio show and, after recording a demo for Warner Brothers, which was turned down, they were offered a contract with Capitol Records. The band declined Capitol's offer and disbanded in 1977, citing musical differences amongst themselves.[4]

Chamberlain was heard again in his band Code Blue which signed to Warner Brothers Records. Richard d'Andrea joined The Pits and later enjoyed almost three years with The Know. Robert Newman is a successful art director and designer. Chuck Wada still writes and performs and is a financial advisor.[6]

Second, most successful incarnation

In March 1978, Davis and future lead guitarist Jeff Jourard (formerly of a pre-fame version of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) decided to reform The Motels[4] and extensive auditions resulted in a new line-up consisting of Jourard's brother Marty who played both the saxophone and keyboards, Michael Goodroe on bass, and Brian Glascock on drums.[7] Short on funds, the band shared rehearsal space with The Go-Go's at L.A.'s notorious punk basement, the Masque, and they played in Chinatown, at Madame Wong's restaurant/nightclub with such regularity, they were nearly the house band.[8] The Motels began to draw a faithful crowd around the L.A. music scene and on Mother's Day 1979 the group signed with Capitol and released their debut album The Motels 4 months later. Their first single, "Closets and Bullets," made no impact on the charts, but their second single, "Total Control," found its way to the Top 20 in France and the Top 10 in Australia.[4]

In 1980 Jourard was replaced as lead guitarist by Davis' boyfriend Tim McGovern[9] and the band went back into the recording studio to record their second album, entitled Careful. Released in June 1980, the album climbed to the #45 spot on the U.S. album charts.[4] In Europe and the UK, the songs "Days Are OK" and "Whose Problem?" were Top 50 hits; "Whose Problem?" was also a top hit in Australia[10] and "Danger" was a Top 20 hit in France.[11]

The band hired record producer Val Garay for their third album, Apocalypso. It was scheduled to be released in November 1981, but after Capitol Records heard the final product, they rejected it for being "not commercial enough" and "too weird".[8][12] The band attempted to go back and re-record the entire album but in the process, Davis and McGovern's relationship dissolved and by December 1981 McGovern was no longer in the band. (McGovern subsequently formed the band Burning Sensations.) The rest of the members forged on to finish recording the new album while using studio musicians to fill in for the vacant guitar spot for several of the tracks. Adrian Peritore (who went by the name Guy Perry because his former producer had misspelled his name on an album cover) was hired in late January and played lead guitar on some of the tracks, including "He Hit Me." The album, now titled All Four One, was released April 5, 1982.[8]

All Four One (1982) was the band's best-selling album.

Before any singles were released from All Four One, the song "Mission of Mercy" had enough airplay to reach #23 on the Billboard Rock Album Cuts chart.[4][13] The first single from the album, "Only the Lonely," found its way to #6 on the U.S. rock charts by June and later #9 on the U.S. pop chart, while two other releases, "Take the L" and "Forever Mine," made the Billboard Hot 100.[12] Their first successful U.S. album coincided with the emergence of MTV, which led to music videos for both "Only the Lonely" and "Take the L." Davis won a "Best Performance in a Music Video" at the American Music Awards in 1982 for her performance in the "Only the Lonely" video.[14] For the 1982 tour the band added keyboardist/guitarist Scott Thurston.[8]

Val Garay was now firmly in control of album and video production and, upon the firing of Fritz Turner Management, became the band's new manager.[8] The Motels returned to the recording studio in February 1983 and released the album Little Robbers in the fall. The first single from the album, "Suddenly Last Summer," was a Top 10 hit in the United States, and the album went gold in the U.S., Canada, and several other countries.[13] In January the band appeared on Saturday Night Live.

In August 1983, at the insistence of producer/manager Garay, David Platshon was added on drums with Glascock reluctantly moving over to percussion.[citation needed]

The first leg of the Little Robbers tour started in January 1984 but ended abruptly in February with the firing of Garay as manager for personal reasons.[8] Drummer Platshon was dropped and Glascock resumed his spot on the drum chair. The band continued performing under new management with stops in Japan and Hawaii, and they recorded songs for two film soundtracks: "Long Day" was recorded for Moscow on the Hudson and "In the Jungle" was recorded for the movie Teachers. By mid-summer they were back in the recording studio to work on new material.

In late 1984 Capitol Records brought in producer Richie Zito to help maintain the band's commercialism.[15] It took well over a year but with the finishing touches done at Giorgio Moroder's hi-tech studio in the San Fernando Valley,[8] the group released their sixth album, Shock, in September 1985. The first single, "Shame," reached #21 on the U.S. pop charts and #10 on the U.S. rock charts.[13] Two other singles were released, "Shock," and "Icy Red." From early 1986 to February 1987 The Motels worked on songs for a 7th album. It was not to be. Citing that the group was broke, on February 13, 1987, Martha Davis took each member in turn to a local bar to say she had decided to dissolve the band and go solo.[8]

All members of the 1982-1987 version of the band reunited in 2004 for an appearance on VH1's Bands Reunited; rejoining Davis were Michael Goodroe, Marty Jourard, Brian Glasscock and Adrian Peritore (aka "Guy Perry.")[16]

Martha Davis solo

Davis released her first solo album entitled Policy in October 1987. Musicians who worked with her included Clarence Clemons, Kenny G and Charlie Sexton. In November, she had a number 8 hit in Australia with "Don't Tell Me the Time", but in the U.S. the song only reached #80. While reviewers still loved her voice the album was panned as too lightweight and having no atmospheric punch.[17] Soon afterwards, Davis asked to be released from her contract with Capitol.

After leaving Capitol Records, Davis focused on different music styles, and recorded songs for several movie soundtracks but it seemed her music career was coming to an end.[18] Then, in the early 1990s, she started getting occasional surprise gigs which found Davis experimenting with new songs she had written.[18] In late 1994 she played at some old haunts in Ventura, Los Angeles, and San Juan Capistrano, California.

Third incarnation: The Motels featuring Martha Davis

In 1997 Martha Davis began appearing live with a band composed of Erik Lemaire-Guitar, Adrian Burke-Bass, Jason Loree-Drums, David Van Pattoen-Keyboards/guitar. This grouping began calling themselves Martha Davis & The Motels in March 1998. After 1998, the lineup was: Mic Taras on lead guitar, Angelo Barbera on bass, Kevin Bowen on keyboards, Michael Barbera on keyboards and sax, and Jason Loree on drums.[19] The gigs consisted almost entirely of new material. In 2001 the band changed to a compact, four piece ensemble with Davis, Taras, Fritz Lewak (drums), and David Sutton (bass).[20] By 2004 the band had performed more than 70 concerts and toured in the U.S. and Australia. As of 2006 the band included Davis on vocal and guitar, Nick Johns (bass/keyboard), Eric Gardner (drums), Clint Walsh (guitar), and Jon Siebels (guitar).[1]

In 2005 Davis and the new Motels released an independent CD titled "So the Story Goes". All copies sold out.[21] Sony Records has released a live album, recorded in 2006, titled Standing Room Only, which was recorded live at the famed Coach House Club in San Juan Capistrano, a small suburb seaside town about an hour out of Los Angeles. Martha Davis and the Motels still tour and record and they have plans for more music releases in the future.[1] The Motels featuring Martha Davis appeared on the U.S. version of Hit Me Baby One More Time and toured the U.S. and Australia in 2007.[22]

In 2005, Martha Davis performed at Seattle, Washington's Teatro ZinZanni.[23] For which she collaborated with TZ Maestro Norm Durkee" to make the special CD "Omnium" which is available only through their Gift Shop. In August 2007, she joined other 70s and 80s acts for the Australian concert series Countdown Spectacular 2. She sang 3 Motels songs solo. Her second solo album "So the Story Goes" was released in 2005, although being recorded with many of the new Motels members, it was released as a solo album, not until Standing Room Only was the band referred to on the albums as the Motels.

The album "Clean Modern and Reasonable", issued in September 2007, was the first release under the banner "the Motels" in 22 years. The album contains acoustic versions of past hits, b sides and Martha Davis solo material including new takes on 'Take The L' , 'Only the Lonely' and 'Suddenly Last Summer'. In April 2008 The Motels released two new albums on the same day, "This," and "Beautiful Life," the latter taking the listener on a dark journey through Martha's life.[1]

On April 9, 2008, Martha Davis and the Motels performed on the reality TV program High School Reunion shown on the TV Land channel. The program staged a mock prom for the show's participants on the last evening. The two songs performed were 'Only the Lonely' and 'Suddenly Last Summer'.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

  • Motels (1979) #13 AU, #175 US
  • Careful (1980) #26 AU, #45 US
  • All Four One (1982) #16 US, #20 AU
  • Little Robbers (1983) #22 US, #34 AU
  • Shock (1985) #23 AU, #36 US
  • Clean Modern and Reasonable (2007)
  • This (2008)
  • Beautiful Life (2008)

Compilations

  • No Reservations - The Best of The Motels (1988) #48 AU
  • No Vacancy (1991)
  • All Four One - Expanded (1999)
  • Anthologyland (2001)
  • Classic Masters (2002)
  • The Best Of The Motels (2003)
  • The Motels Essential Collection (2005)

Live album

  • Standing Room Only (2007)

Martha Davis solo albums

  • Policy (1987) #28 AU, #127 US
  • So the Story Goes (2004)

Singles

Year Song U.S. Hot 100 US Adult Contemporary Chart US Modern Rock Chart U.S. Dance AU singles CN singles UK singles FR singles NZ singles Album
1981 "Closets and Bullets" - - - - - - - - - Motels
"Total Control" 109 - - - 7 - - 19 11 Motels
"Anticipating" - - - - - - - - - Motels
1980 "Danger" - - - - 88 - - 15 30 Careful
"Whose Problem" - - - - 43 - 42 - - Careful
"Days are OK" - - - - - - 41 - - Careful
1982 "Mission of Mercy" - - 23 - - - - - - All Four One
"Only the Lonely" 9 - 6 7 - - - - 10 All Four One
"Take the L" 52 - 28 - 21 21 - - 44 All Four One
"Forever Mine" 60 - - - - - - - - All Four One
1983 "Art Fails" - - - - - - - - - All Four One
"Suddenly Last Summer" 9 - 1 18 34 11 - - 28 Little Robbers
"Remember the Nights" 36 - 10 - - - - - - Little Robbers
1984 "Footsteps" - - - - - - - - - Little Robbers
"Little Robbers" - - 18 - - - - - - Little Robbers
"In the Jungle" - - - - - - - - - Teachers Soundtrack
1985 "Shame" 21 - 10 14 18 - - - - Shock
"Shock" 84 - - - - - - - - Shock
"Icy Red" - - - - - - - - - Shock
1986 "Love and Affection" - - - - - - - - - Soul Man Soundtrack
1987 "Shame on You" - - - - - - - - - Golden Child Soundtrack
"We've Never Dance" - - - - - - - - - Made in Heaven Soundtrack
"Don't Tell Me the Time" 80 - - - 8 - - - - Policy
1988 "Tell it to the Moon" - - - - 65 - - - - Policy
"Just Like You" - - 15 - - - - - - Policy
"Don't Ask Out Loud" - - - - 90 - - - - Policy
"What Money Might Buy" - - - - - - - - - Policy



Singles

  • "Closets and Bullets" (1979)
  • "Total Control" (1979) #7 AU, #109 US
  • "Anticipating" (1980) JP
  • "Danger" (1980) #15 FR, #88 AU
  • "Whose Problem?" (1980) #42 UK, #43 AU
  • "Days Are OK" (1981) #43 UK
  • "Mission of Mercy" (1982) #33 US album track
  • "Only the Lonely" (1982) #9 US, #28 AU
  • "Take the L" (1982) #21 AU, #52 US
  • "Forever Mine" (1982) #60 US
  • "Art Fails" (1983) FR
  • "Suddenly Last Summer" (1983) #9 US, #34 AU
  • "Remember the Nights" (1983) #36 US
  • "Little Robbers" (1983) #18 US album track
  • "Footsteps" (1984) Europe only
  • "In the Jungle" (1984)
  • "Shame" (1985) #18 AU, #21 US
  • "Shock" (1985) #84 US
  • "Icy Red" (1986) AU
  • "Love and Affection" (1986) (Martha Davis and Sly Stone)

Martha Davis Solo

  • Omnium with Teatro ZinZanni Maestro Norm Durkee (2005)
  • A T. Rex Named Sue (2005)
  • That 80's Merry Christmas Album (2006)

Singles:

  • "We've Never Danced" (1987)
  • "Don't Tell Me the Time" (1987) #8 AU, #80 US
  • "Tell It to the Moon" (1988) #65 AU
  • "Just Like You" (1988) #15 US album track
  • "Don't Ask Out Loud" (1988) #90 AU
  • "What Money Might Buy" (1988) AU

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Davis, Martha. "Martha Davis Bio," MarthaDavis.com, official website. Retrieved 24 April 2007.
  2. ^ VH1. "VH1 Biographies."
  3. ^ Anthologyland CD, liner notes. EMI Music, 2000, isbn 7-9005-81607-2
  4. ^ a b c d e f Exclusive Magazine. Interview by Russell Trunk in 'Lonely No More' article, January 2007 edition.
  5. ^ "The Mod Pop Punk Archives," PunkModPop.free.fr. Retrieved 24 April 2007.
  6. ^ Management Consulting Services Company, Woodland Hills, CA.
  7. ^ Los Angeles Times, "The Motels: Booked Solid", by Don Snowden. April 29, 1979.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Jourard, Marty. "Marty Jourard Bio," Jourard.com, official website. Retrieved 24 April 2007.
  9. ^ Los Angeles Times, "Martha Davis: Rock Singer On The Rise", by Robert Hilburn, June 17, 1980.
  10. ^ Guest, Thomas J. "Thirty Years Of Hits." 1991. Carter & Ormsby Books
  11. ^ Music Week trade paper. August 1980
  12. ^ a b No Vacancy. Liner notes from album insert, 1990.
  13. ^ a b c Essential Collection. Liner notes from album insert, 2005. isbn 724386370624.
  14. ^ Mars Talent Agency. "The Motels Biography." Retrieved 26 April 2007.
  15. ^ Los Angeles Times, "Davis, Motels Recharge With Shock", by Dennis Hunt. October 6, 1985.
  16. ^ VH1 Bands Reunited. "Bands Reunited Official Website"
  17. ^ Los Angeles Times, "Davis Checks Out Of Motels With Policy", by Connie Johnson. October 18, 1987
  18. ^ a b Ventura Theatre Guide. June 1998
  19. ^ Rolling Stone Magazine. "The Motels Return With Their Version 2.0" by Blair Fischer. September 2, 1999.
  20. ^ Chicago Sun-Times. "Out And About." November 15, 2002.
  21. ^ CDBaby. "cdbaby.com"
  22. ^ Countdown Spectacular 2 Tour. "countdown.com.au"
  23. ^ Charles Campbell (26 May 2005). "Vaudeville lives in Seattle". The Georgia Straight. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

References

  • Rolling Stone Magazine - The Motels Return With Their "Version 2.0" - 9/2/99
  • Orange County Register - Entertainment Section - 7/16/05
  • Personal Writings from band members - Official website themotels.com
  • Former band member Marty Jourard - Jourard.com
  • Creem Magazine - Take The El Out Of MOTELS And It's Motes - February 1983
  • Creem Magazine - The Motels: Martha Davis Feeds Her Family - December 1980
  • Los Angeles Times - The Motels: Booked Solid - 4/29/79
  • Orange County Weekly - No Vacancy - 10/5/2000
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