Love Among Freaks
Love Among Freaks |
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Love Among Freaks was an alternative rock/funk rock band, founded in the New Jersey, USA area.
Beginning
The band started out with Steve Smyth, Bob Pantella, and Alexis Lehman. The band had combined Lehman's use of funk with the bass, and Pantella had combined drum loops along with his live drumming at shows.[1] Pantella had previously played in Raging Slab. Combinations like these made Love Among Freaks different from the rock scene.
Movies
Director Kevin Smith, a native of the New Jersey scene, noticed Love Among Freaks. He asked them to do the musical score for his first film, Clerks, in 1994[2]. When the film went big, so did Love Among Freaks. The songs "Clerks" and "Berserker" were in the movie and soundtrack. Yet, the band wouldn't release a full-length album until years later after personnel changes that included the addition of vocalist Layonne Holmes and percussionist/spoken word poet Timo Scott.
The band reappeared in 1997 for Kevin Smith's 3rd movie, Chasing Amy. One of their songs was featured in the movie. The next year, Love Among Freaks decided to finally release a full-length album, titled Representin' Planet Earth. The band became a staple of the New Jersey scene, but never broke into the mainstream audience.
Breakup
It was assumed that Love Among Freaks had broken up a while after. Layonne later started a group (along with her mother Delores Holmes, who sang for Bruce Springsteen as a backup and Debbie Vaughn ), titled Rain . Timo Scott formed a duo band called Iwo Dada, and Dee and her daughter Layonne recorded backgrounds.[3]
Bob Pantella went on to become the new drummer for the band Monster Magnet. Pantella and Alexis Lehman had started an electronica band called Billyrubin.[4] They released their debut, Billyrubin, in 2003. In 2007 Pantella joined The Atomic Bitchwax. Also in 2007, Pantella and Jim Baglino (Human Remains, Dead Guy, Monster Magnet) formed RIOTGOD, along with Garrett Sweeny (of Psycho Daisy), and Mark Sunshine. In 2010, Pantella appeared on LadyKiller's debut self-titled release. He is credited as having played drums on 13 of the 16 songs, in addition to having tracked more than half of the album at his recording studio in Sayerville, NJ.
Steve Smyth has been a regular contributor to the Howard Stern Radio Show with his song parodies in 2006 and 2007.
Members
- Steve Smyth - Lead vocals, guitar
- Bob Pantella - Drums
- Layonne Holmes - Backup vocals
- Timo Scott - Drums, backup vocals
- Alexis Lehman - Bass
Discography
- Clerks: Music From The Motion Picture - 1994
- Representin' Planet Earth - 1998
References
- ^ Cached biography page http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:yoYsKt46oq4J:artists3.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/Love_Among_Freaks/+love+among+freaks+captain&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us.
- ^ LAF 1994 http://www.myspace.com/loveamongfreaksclerks1994
- ^ Music connections http://web.archive.org/web/20091027055138/http://www.geocities.com/dreamingbones/music2.html
- ^ CD Baby: BILLYRUBIN: Billyrubin