The Wallflowers
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The Wallflowers | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genres | Rock, roots rock, alternative rock |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Columbia Interscope |
| Members | Jakob Dylan Rami Jaffee Greg Richling Stuart Mathis Jack Irons |
| Past members | Fred Eltringham Mario Calire Barrie Maguire Jim Snider Peter Yanowitz Tobi Miller Michael Ward |
| Website | TheWallflowers.com |
The Wallflowers is a rock band from Los Angeles, California, fronted by Jakob Dylan. Formed in 1989 and originally known as The Apples, the ensemble has gone through numerous personnel changes with Dylan the only constant.
They have released five studio albums, one compilation album and have had various songs on television and movie soundtracks. They have won two Grammy awards for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Rock Song for their song "One Headlight" in 1998.
History
(1992–1994) The Wallflowers
The band started in 1989, playing in Los Angeles's clubs. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1992 on the Virgin Records label. It sold 40,000 copies initially, and has sold an estimated 1,000,000 to date.
The original members of the Wallflowers include Jakob Dylan (vocals and guitar), Barrie Maguire (bass guitar and vocals), Peter Yanowitz (drums and percussion), Rami Jaffee (keyboards and vocals), and Tobi Miller (guitar). Peter Yanowitz and Barrie Maguire left the band shortly after the album's release and went on to join Natalie Merchant's band.
(1996–1998) Bringing Down the Horse
The band seemed quiet for a few years but stormed back on the scene with their 4x platinum 1996 release, Bringing Down the Horse, which comprised such hits as "6th Avenue Heartache" (with Adam Duritz of Counting Crows), "One Headlight" , "The Difference," and "Three Marlenas." The band switched record labels, from Virgin to Interscope. For this album, Dylan was joined by Rami Jaffee and Tobi Miller from the original lineup. Michael Ward (guitar), Mario Calire (drums and percussion) and Greg Richling (bass guitar and vocals) were called in to form the new band. "One Headlight" peaked at #2 and "6th Avenue Heartache" peaked at #33 on the Billboard American Hot 100 Airplay charts. At the Grammy Awards of 1998, The Wallflowers walked away with two Grammys; one for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "One Headlight," and Jakob Dylan was awarded Best Rock Song for writing "One Headlight." Bruce Springsteen joined the Wallflowers for a live performance of their song "One Headlight," at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards. "One Headlight" was the #1 video of the year for 1997 on VH1 and #5 on MTV.
(2000–2001) (Breach)
After almost four years, the Wallflowers continued work on their next album, (Breach), released October 10, 2000; the first single was "Sleepwalker," the video of which poked fun at Dylan's "rock star" status following the success of Bringing Down the Horse. "Sleepwalker" was followed by "Letters From the Wasteland", which was featured with Dylan in a commercial for Coca-Cola. The record was featured on MTV's First Listen show. The band also played Saturday Night Live, featuring the songs "Sleepwalker" and "Hand Me Down".
(Breach) ends with a hidden track entitled "Babybird," often played in concert. Guests on the album included Elvis Costello, who lent vocals on "Murder 101." (Breach) peaked at #13 on the Billboard 200. The album was certified gold on September 21, 2001.
The band supported this album through tours with Tom Petty and John Mellencamp, as well as an extensive headlining tour. While on tour the Wallflowers covered Blur's "Song 2" and The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" regularly. Guitarist Michael Ward left the band following the tour, citing creative differences. The band has officially been a 4-piece ever since.
(2002–2003) Red Letter Days
On November 5, 2002, The Wallflowers released their fourth studio album, Red Letter Days. Red Letter Days peaked at #32 on the Billboard 200. This was the first Wallflowers record that featured Jakob Dylan playing a majority of the lead guitar parts. During their tour opening for John Mellencamp, the band began collaborating with Moe Z M.D., John Mellencamp's keyboardist at that time. Moe Z eventually joined them on tour in support of Red Letter Days. The album had a much more aggressive sound than any of their previous releases, especially the song "Everybody Out of the Water," which they performed on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn. The first single and only music video shot was for "When You're On Top." The single was a smash hit on AAA radio stations, but received little mainstream attention. Subsequent singles from the album include "Closer to You," and "How Good It Can Get" which received radio airplay across multiple formats. Some versions of the album featured an in-studio cover of "(What's So Funny About) Peace Love and Understanding."
The band was a part of many exclusive performances during promotion of the record, including a Live at the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame concert for MTV, and a special televised concert for VH1, Live at Alcatraz, being the first band to ever play a concert on the infamous island. They also played "When You're on Top" on Last Call with Carson Daly, and "How Good It Can Get" on The Late Show with David Letterman.
(2005–2006) Rebel, Sweetheart
The band's most recent release, Rebel, Sweetheart was released on May 24, 2005. This is the first Wallflowers record available as a DualDisc. The DVD, directed by American video director Jason B. Bergh, included interviews and exclusive performances and arrangements of many of the band's songs, including reworked versions of "One Headlight" and "6th Avenue Heartache" as well as an amusing band interview with comedian Jon Lovitz. Brendan O'Brien (Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Train) was called in to produce the record and played guitar as well. Fred Eltringham, the newest Wallflowers member, played drums. A video was filmed for their first single "The Beautiful Side of Somewhere" which hit #5 on AAA radio.
The second single released was "God Says Nothing Back."
In promoting the record, The Wallflowers performed special televised concerts for the Oxygen Custom Concert Series on the Oxygen channel and were also featured on the PBS series Soundstage. Singer/songwriter Carole King was the special guest performer for the Oxygen concert.
In conjunction with the release of Rebel, Sweetheart the band released an exclusive iTunes Originals album for the iTunes music store. The album featured exclusive performances and interviews with Jakob Dylan. The band also volunteered to perform for sailors on the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis as the troops were returning to California.[1]
Much to the dismay of longtime fans, The Wallflowers did not tour in 2006, although keyboardist Rami Jaffee toured with the Foo Fighters for their acoustic tour, and drummer Fred Eltringham worked with the Dixie Chicks. Jakob Dylan toured with T-Bone Burnett during Burnett's first tour in 20 years. Dylan played 40 minute solo opening sets for the tour. The two share a long history that extends further than just Burnett's impactful production work on Bringing Down the Horse.
The Wallflowers parted ways with record company Interscope in 2006. Jakob Dylan recorded a couple of solo songs in 2006, including "Here Comes Now," which was featured prominently in the television show Six Degrees.
(2007–2010) Hiatus and greatest hits album
Jakob Dylan performed John Lennon's song "Gimme Some Truth" with Dhani Harrison for the Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur CD.
On August 31, 2007, The Wallflowers announced that they would be touring for the first time in two years. The band played shows at clubs in the Northeast and Midwest United States in October and November 2007. In a late 2007 post on the band's website it was revealed that keyboardist Rami Jaffee left the band. Singer-songwriter Stuart Mathis joined the band as the lead guitarist for those shows.
Jakob Dylan released his first solo album Seeing Things on June 10, 2008.
On June 16, 2009, The Wallflowers released a greatest-hits album, Collected: 1996-2005, which included two unreleased tracks. They embarked on a nationwide tour in the summer of 2009 in support of the album. Bill Appleberry and Stuart Mathis accompanied the band on the tour, playing keyboards and guitar, respectively.
(2011–present) Reunion and new album
On November 1, 2011, Jakob Dylan told Rolling Stone magazine that The Wallflowers have ended their hiatus, stating: "I always wanted to. I never suggested we were breaking up. We all felt we were losing the plot a little bit and we needed a break. And that year break becomes two years, then becomes three years, and before you know it five or six years go by pretty quickly. I can't do what I do in the Wallflowers without them. I miss it. I'm happy to put the acoustic guitar down. That was something I wanted to do, but I never planned on hitting the road and just being the guy with a guitar out there. That never has been exciting to me. I came up loving bands and I want to be in one." He also revealed that a new album is in the works.[2]
In an interview with St. Joseph News Press, Jakob revealed the lineup for the reunion, "Rami Jaffee and Greg Richling and Fred Eltringham. It would be the same lineup as the last record, and two of those guys have been with me since ’92."[3]
On January 31, 2012 the band posted on their official Facebook page that they are currently in the studio with the following line-up: Jakob Dylan, Rami Jaffee, Greg Richling, Stuart Mathis, and drummer Jack Irons.
Soundtracks
The Wallflowers have had numerous original and cover songs featured in television and movie soundtracks:
| Song | Original artist | Soundtrack |
|---|---|---|
| "Into the Mystic" | Van Morrison | American Wedding |
| "Heroes" | David Bowie | Godzilla (also in NHL 99) |
| "I Started a Joke" | Bee Gees | Zoolander |
| "I'm Looking Through You" | The Beatles | I Am Sam |
| "Here Comes Now" (produced by Steve Lillywhite) | Jakob Dylan | Six Degrees |
| "Stardust Universe" | Jakob Dylan | Jericho |
| "Everybody Out of the Water" | The Wallflowers | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation |
| "Empire in My Mind" | The Wallflowers | The Guardian |
| "No Matter What" | Jakob Dylan | NCIS |
| "One Headlight" | The Wallflowers | Cold Case |
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [4] |
US Heat [4] |
CAN [4] |
UK [5] | ||||||
| 1992 | The Wallflowers
|
— | — | — | — | ||||
| 1996 | Bringing Down the Horse
|
4 | 1 | 6 | 58 | ||||
| 2000 | (Breach)
|
13 | — | 9 | 161 |
| |||
| 2002 | Red Letter Days
|
32 | — | — | — | ||||
| 2005 | Rebel, Sweetheart
|
40 | — | — | — | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Compilations
- "One Headlight" (on Excess Baggage, 1997)
- "Angel on My Bike" (on KCRW Rare on Air, Vol. 3, 1997)
- "Used to Be Lucky" (on No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees, 1999)
- "Everybody Out of the Water" (on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, 2002)
- "Too Late for Goodbyes" (on Trampoline Records Greatest Hits, Vol. II, 2003)
- "Lawyers, Guns, and Money" (on Enjoy Every Sandwich: The Songs of Warren Zevon, 2004)
- "Gimme Some Truth" written by John Lennon. Jakob Dylan & Dhani Harrison (on Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur, 2007)
- Collected: 1996–2005 – Interscope – 2009
Digital albums
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Main | US Mod | US Adult | UK [5] |
CAN | AUS | |||
| 1996 | "6th Avenue Heartache" | 33[A] | 10 | 8 | 26 | — | 8 | — | Bringing Down the Horse |
| "One Headlight" | 2[A] | 1 | 1 | 1 | 54 | 1 | 14 | ||
| 1997 | "The Difference" | 23[A] | 3 | 5 | 14 | — | 12 | — | |
| "Three Marlenas" | 41[A] | 21 | 17 | 27 | 111 | 13 | — | ||
| 1998 | "Heroes" | 26[A] | 4 | 9 | 20 | — | 13 | 38 | Godzilla: The Album |
| 2000 | "Sleepwalker" | 73 | 26 | 31 | 21 | — | — | — | (Breach) |
| 2001 | "Letters from the Wasteland" | — | — | — | 38 | — | — | — | |
| 2002 | "When You're on Top" | — | — | — | 33 | — | — | — | Red Letter Days |
| "Closer to You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "How Good It Can Get" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005 | "The Beautiful Side of Somewhere" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Rebel, Sweetheart |
| "God Says Nothing Back" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
- A. ^ Charted only on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.[7]
References
- ^ http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=15867
- ^ "Jakob Dylan Planning Wallflowers Reunion". Rolling Stone. 2011-11-01. Retrieved 2011-11-04.
- ^ "Jakob Dylan talks Wallflowers reunion". St. Joseph News Press. 2011-11-09. Retrieved 2011-12-15.
- ^ a b c "allmusic ((( The Wallflowers > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ a b "Chart Log UK: Kristine W - Tammy Wynette". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ a b "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - July 26, 2010: Wallflowers certified albums". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
- ^ Whitburn 2004, p. 611