The Gufs are an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
pop and
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band from
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
. The band's latest album ''A Different Sea'' was released on October 17, 2006. Their first single from the album was "Beautiful Disaster",
[www.ink19.com review of ''A Different Sea'']
/ref> which was the #2 unsigned artist download in October 2006 at the website www.purevolume.com.
The Gufs are best known for their songs "Smile" and "Crash (into Me)".[Riverfest this year: Better Than Ezra]
from Watertown Daily Times
The ''Watertown Daily Times'' is a newspaper published six days a week, Tuesday through Sunday, in Watertown, New York. It provides coverage of Jefferson County, Lewis County, St. Lawrence County and Oswego County. It was founded in 1861 and ...
[The Gufs return to Milwaukee at www.onmilwaukee.com]
/ref>
To celebrate their twentieth anniversary in 2008, The Gufs played a series of four free concerts with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in June.
/ref>
History
The Gufs began as an eastside Milwaukee band in 1988,University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscons ...
students Goran Kralj and Scott Schwebel. Kralj and Schwebel, roommates and teammates on UWM's soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
team, recruited Kralj's younger brother, Dejan Kralj (still in high school in Northwestern Indiana), and high school friend Tony Luna, to round-off the quartet
In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments.
Classical String quartet
In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...
on bass and lead guitar. The band took their name from a place where a baby's soul comes from before the child is born, a phrase used in the Demi Moore
Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera ''General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the Bra ...
film ''The Seventh Sign
''The Seventh Sign'' is a 1988 American Apocalyptic film, apocalyptic drama horror film written by Clifford and Ellen Green and directed by Carl Schultz. The title and plot reference the seven seals described in the Book of Revelation, the final ...
''. After a few years of playing local eastside Milwaukee bars, the band lineup changed, as Luna left in 1990 to pursue a career in sound engineering
An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...
, opening the way for Marquette University
Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...
student and Milwaukee native Morgan Dawley to fill the vacancy. The band soon gained momentum, performing more frequently throughout Milwaukee. The band also featured percussionist Brian Pettit on all of their albums up to their Atlantic Records Release of "The Gufs." After the album release and tour, Brian left the band to pursue other interests.
The band took second place at a battle of the bands at Marquette University in 1991.
The band released several independent label records and gained increasing exposure nationwide on college radio before being signed by Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...
. The Gufs' tour with Matchbox Twenty
Matchbox Twenty (also known as Matchbox 20 and MB20) is an American rock band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. The group currently consists of Rob Thomas (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brian Yale (bass guitar), Paul Doucette (drums, r ...
resulted in Rob Thomas singing backup on the song "Give Back Yourself" on their ''Holiday from You'' album.Summerfest
Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's central business district. Summerfest attracts app ...
throughout their career.
Members
*Goran Kralj
Goran Kralj is the lead singer and songwriter for The Gufs, a Milwaukee pop-rock band active from 1988 to 1999. The group released their follow-up in 2006 after a seven-year hiatus. Goran and his brother Dejan are graduates of Munster High School ...
- lead singer
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...
*Dejan Kralj - bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
*Morgan Dawley - lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
and backup vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...
*Scott Schwebel - drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
Discography
Albums
Live albums
Singles
"Smile" was included on the compilation CDs ''Sounds of the Leisure Class Records: Midwest Collection'', and ''WIIL
WIIL (95.1 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Union Grove, Wisconsin. The station serves Kenosha (its original city of license), Racine, the southern suburbs of Milwaukee and the northern suburbs of Chicago. WIIL is owned and o ...
Rock 95.1 Live''. "Smile" was also remixed into a techno trance song at one point in the late 1990s, and recorded acoustic "Give Back Yourself" was included on the compilation CD ''Aware Compilation, Vol. 7''.[ www.allmusic.com/ref>
]
References
* www.allmusic.com list of albums (caution:several release dates reflect major label re-release dates)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gufs, The
American pop music groups
Rock music groups from Wisconsin
Musical groups established in 1988
Atlantic Records artists