User:Megbop/Sandbox

This is Megbop's Sandbox Page please do not touch. Back to Megbop's Userpage User:Megbop

The Strand
Origin	Vernon Hills, Illinois
Genres	Post-Industrial Electro-Industrial Electronica EBM
Years active	1999–present
Members	Dave Strand, Scott Levy, Steve Laskarides, Elias Lewter, Laura McQuaig
Past members	Jeremy Reich, Kimberly Brown, Neal Parker, Randall Hampton, Esmeralda Villalobos
Website	strandland.com

The Strand

The Strand is an Arizona based industrial music group. Dave Strand formed the band in 1999. The current band members include Laura McQuaig, Bryon Anderson, Elias Lewter, Scott Levy, Dave Strand, and Steve Laskarides. The Strand’s style varies from industrial dance, EBM, electro-industrial, and industrial rock.

History of The Strand

1990s

Founding member David Levy started creating music on his Amiga computer in the early 1990s in Vernon Hills, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. His project was called The Strand. His songwriting was heavily influenced by the industrial music coming from the Wax Trax record label in Chicago. In 1999 Dave moved to Arizona and took the stage name, Dave Strand. Shortly after, the Strand was officially created. The Strand’s first members were Dave Strand, Randall Hampton, Kimberly Brown, Steve Laskarides, Neal Parker, Scott Levy, and Jeremy Reich.

1999-2000

The Strand’s first demo two and three song CD was produced and circulated among local industrial music fans. An eight song demo, “Digging in the Trench” was sold online in 1999. In 2000, “In the Trench”, their first full-length CD was released. Their CD release and debut performance took place around this time at the Power Plant in Phoenix, Arizona. The Strand went big with their first live stage performance which included electronic and acoustic drums, keyboards, costumes and video projection. In 2000 Randall Hampton departed to work on other projects.

2000-2004

Between the years 2000-2004, the Strand continued to build their fan base and performed in the southwest US. They supported several renowned touring bands including: VNV Nation, And One, Assemblage 23, Covenant, Dismantled, Imperative Reaction, and the Azoic. Neal Parker, the drummer, left the band in 2003 and was replaced by Bryon Anderson. During this time they gained the sponsorship of Trash City Entertainment. They were then able to release two more CDs in 2004; a remix album featuring the work of esteemed industrial musicians and their second full-length CD titled “Diatom”.

2004-2007

In 2005 the Strand played the main stage at Convergence 11. In 2007 they were featured on the main stage at the Dark Arts Festival in Salt Lake City. Shortly after, female vocalist, Kimberly left the band to pursue her education.

2007-2012

In the fall of 2007 the band recruited Laura McQuaig as their new female vocalist. During the female vocalist auditions, keyboardist Jeremy Reich left the Strand. Elias Lewter, former band member of the Marbles and Dubok joined the band as a replacement. Shortly after the Strand’s third full-length CD, “Destroyers of that which is destroyed and rulers of that which is not destroyed” was released. The release featured vocals by Laura McQuaig as well as Kimberly Brown. The band went on their first official multi-state tour in 2008 performing in several Midwest states. In 2008 they performed at the Oscillation Festival held in New Mexico. Dave Strand married his long time girlfriend Kelly Zamora in 2011 at a ceremony taking place in Tuscon, Arizona. In 2012 their fourth full length album, Combat Advantage was released, along with a 20 minute Post Apocalyptic short film of the same name featuring band members of The Strand, Hardwire, Ikonoklast, and Black Opz, as well as guest appearances by James Bound and Nick Phrasavath. On October 27th 2012, The Strand performed on the main stage at Mesa's Nightmare on Main Street, opening for Combichrist and Letz Massacre.

2012-Present

In Spring of 2012, Dave and Kelly announced they were expecting a child; their daughter, Madeline, was born October 25th 2012. From 2013-2015 Dave Strand took time off from song-writing to spend more time with their family. The band would sporadically play concerts, but not as frequently as before. In 2016 The Strand announced that they have started working on new music and have begun booking concerts for 2016.

Current Band Members

• Dave Strand (1992–present)

Vocals

• Scott Levy (1999–present)

Keyboards

• Steve Laskarides (1999–present)

Keyboards

• Elias Lewter (2007–present)

Drums

• Laura McQuaig (2007–present)

Vocals and Keyboards

• Mike Marsh (2014–present)

Keyboards

Former Band Members

• Bryon Anderson (2006-2013)

Drums

• Jeremy Reich (1999–2007)

Keyboards

• Kimberly Brown (1999–2007)

Vocals and Keyboards

• Neal Parker (1999–2003)

Drums

• Randall Hampton (1999–2000)

Sound FX

• Esmeralda Villalobos (2007)

Vocals

Other Contributors

Seth Ludeman - Keyboards, Guitars, and live assistance for 2006 tour.

Dean Barbella - Spoken word on song Apparent Disaster

Sarah Hudson - Vocals on song Deceived

External links

• The Strand's Homepage