The Submarines are an American

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

formed in 2006.

Band history

Working as solo artists in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, the two members of the band, John Dragonetti and Blake Hazard, were introduced through a mutual friend, Joe Klompus. Dragonetti and Hazard formed a romantic and musical partnership, then took their show to Europe. The relationship lasted for four years, but ended in the fall of 2004 when the pair moved to L.A. After the break-up, both Hazard and Dragonetti continued writing songs, and because Hazard still recorded her music in Dragonetti's home studio, the pair quickly discovered the songs they had written were about each other and their sadness in having broken up. They decided to work on a few songs together and eventually got back together, and married. The new songs were mastered for the couple as a wedding present, and those tracks eventually became their first album. Hazard has said of the relationship, "It’s hard, definitely hard. Luckily we are like-minded aesthetically and musically." '' Declare a New State!'', The Submarines' first album was released in 2006 on the

Nettwerk Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk Management, and Nettwerk One Publishing. Established in 1984, the Vancouver-based company was created by Nettwerk principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record ...

label.

Blake Hazard

Blake Hazard is from Burlington, Vermont. Her full given name is Eleanor Blake Hazard, although she prefers her middle name and uses it as her first. She attended the Putney School in southern

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, southeast of her hometown. She is also a graduate of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and is the great-granddaughter of American writer

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

. Blake released a solo album of her own titled "Little Airplane" (2002) just two years previous to her breakup with John on California's election night in 2004. "Little Airplane" was recorded by John in his studio and was released on Boston-based independent record label Kimchee Records. The album can still be obtained on Kimchee's website or through The Submarines web store. Blake is an avid runner and has run numerous marathons and races for many causes. These marathons have taken place in Boston, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles.

John Dragonetti

John attended the American School of Dubai. Originally from Jackson, Michigan, his family moved to

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

when he was young. Upon arriving in Boston, he briefly attended college at the

Berklee School of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

. To support himself, John worked as a bike messenger in the city of Boston and played in several Boston-area bands before going solo. Jack Drag was his moniker for music he recorded at his apartment home studio, which he called Space 67. Much of the recorded material was done on a 4-track cassette recorder. Several singles and a self-titled, full-length album, "The Red Record," or "cataloged as Pop Spelled Backwards" (as dubbed by his friends and bandmates) were released. The first single, "Velour," was released by Dave Gibbs (of the

Gigolo Aunts Gigolo Aunts are an American power pop band, who formed in 1981. Biography Early history The band was formed by middle school students Steve Hurley, Dave Gibbs, Phil Hurley, and Paul Brouwer in 1981 in Potsdam, New York, United States, origin ...

), on his label called Sumerville Records. The second single was put out by John's record label, called Devil's Weed, Inc. A third single was released on Hepcat Records. As a result of these recordings, John was signed to A&M Records. When A&M was acquired by Universal Music, Jack Drag was dropped from the label and he continued recording independently in Space 67. Vowing to keep recording his music, he released more albums with Shifty Disco, Scientific Records and Sugar Free Records. This eventually led to a project with his old friend Peter DuCharme (AKA:

Master Cylinder In automotive engineering, the master cylinder is a control device that converts force (commonly from a driver's foot) into hydraulic pressure. This device controls slave cylinders located at the other end of the hydraulic brake system. A ...

) called the Junior Communist Club. Several tracks left over from the Jack Drag A&M sessions were used for the project, and a few staple commercials resulted from the release. To this date, there have been no plans to release any new material by Jr. Communist Club. John has stated that "Although encouraged to, we never did put together a live show. I'm sure we'll collaborate again but whether it will be under the Jr.Commy moniker remains to be seen." As for his moniker Jack Drag, he states on the Jack Drag web site, "It's all about The Submarines now!"

Band

Jason Stare and Scott Barber are part of the touring band. (As an inside joke, John has said that when the Subs play live with some computer tracks, the band is called The Robots). The Submarines have toured the United States and the world, sometimes as a duo, and sometimes as a full band. Many shows in the beginning, for the band's first tour, consisted of just Blake and John. For the band's second release, ''

Honeysuckle Weeks Honeysuckle Susan Weeks (born 1 August 1979) is a British actress best known for her role as Samantha Stewart (later Wainwright) in the ITV wartime drama series ''Foyle's War''. Early life Weeks was born in Cardiff, Wales, to Robin and Susan ...

'', Jason joined to play drums for their live shows. Jason has been the band's live set drummer since the release of ''Honeysuckle Weeks'', and is featured in

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...

commercials for the

iPhone 3G The iPhone 3G (also known as iPhone 2) is a smartphone that was designed and marketed by Apple Inc.; it is the second generation of iPhone, successor to the original iPhone, and was introduced on June 9, 2008, at the WWDC 2008 at the Mosco ...

and iPhone 3GS. He is an artist, a college graduate and is from Long Island, New York. On bringing him on tour, John has stated, "I saw him live and I liked his playing. But seriously, just look at him. He looks cool!" For the first leg of the 2011 Love Notes/Letter Bombs tour, The Submarines brought on Scott Barber to play Bass for live performances. Jason and Scott also have a side project together.

Contributors

*Joe Klompus Bass - '' Declare a New State!'' *Peter Adams - Wurli & Chamberlain on "The Good Night" on the '' Declare a New State!'' release Peter also sits in on a Beatles cover "For No One" done in John's home studio in Eaglerock, CA in a home shot video recorded by The Voice Project. The video is on Vimeo and Peter plays organ for the song. *David Michael Curry - Viola - ''Declare a New State!'' *

Jim Eno Jim Eno (born February 8, 1966) is the drummer and one of the founding members of the Austin, Texas band Spoon. He is also a record producer and a semiconductor chip designer. Eno is not related to sound engineer and record producer Brian Eno; ...

- Drums - Spoon John traveled to

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

to work with Jim in his studio and contributed drum tracks for the Love Notes/Letter Bombs release. Jim's studio is called Public Hi-Fi and is based in Austin, Texas. The studio has a rare Neve 8036 Console (marked as #A41) with Uptown Automated Faders, 22 1064 mic/lin input modules and 2 1081 mic/line input modules in the board. The studio runs on both analog and digital. Which runs a Pro Tools HD2 system and a Studer 827 2" 24 track analog tape machine in the facility. *

The Section Quartet The Section Quartet is a string quartet founded by Eric Gorfain that performs cover versions of rock songs. History Eric Gorfain founded the quartet after working for the 1996 tour of Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. He said the quartet fulfilled h ...

*Jason Stare - Drums on "Anymore" - Love Notes/Letter Bombs

826LA ‘Chickens In Love’ compilation

In 2010, The Submarines donated their time and efforts to teach children of the 826LA Organization the art of songwriting and how to creatively express themselves. 826LA held a workshop titled "Songwriting With The Submarines". The results of the workshop were released as a compilation. The compilation includes Los Angeles local bands ( She and Him,

Cold War Kids Cold War Kids is an American alternative rock band from Long Beach, California. Band members are Nathan Willett (vocals, piano, guitar), Matt Maust (bass guitar), David Quon (guitar, backing vocals), Matthew Schwartz (keyboards, backing vocals, ...

, Fiona Apple and

Dum Dum Girls Dum Dum Girls was an American rock band, formed in 2008. It began as the bedroom recording project of singer and songwriter Dee Dee (née Kristin Gundred). She is currently based in Los Angeles. The name is a double homage to the Vaselines' al ...

among others) covering songs written by children in the Submarines' workshop. To celebrate the workshop and the children who participated in the songwriting.

826LA 826LA is a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6–18 with their creative and expository writing skills and helping teachers inspire their students to write. Programs are structured around the beliefs th ...

held a Mini Festival on March 6, 2010, which featured performances by The Submarines, The Happy Hollows and

The Growlers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

Awards

* Winner of the 9th Annual Independent Music Awards: Best Film/TV Song "You Me and the Bourgeoisie", used in Apple's iPhone 3GS ad.

In popular media

* The songs ''You, Me and the Bourgeoisie'' and ''Submarine Symphonika'' were used in

commercials for the

and iPhone 3GS. * The group's song ''Xavia'' was featured on the soundtrack for the film

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist ''Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist'' is a 2008 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Peter Sollett and starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings. Written by Lorene Scafaria and based on the novel of the same name by Rachel Cohn and Da ...

. * In season 4 finale of

Nip/Tuck ''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...

, the song ''Modern Inventions'' was played during Gala Gallardo's operation and the song ''Brighter Discontent'' was lip synced by the lead actors of the show. * The duo recorded a cover version of

Little Boxes "Little Boxes" is a song written and composed by Malvina Reynolds in 1962, which became a hit for her friend Pete Seeger in 1963, when he released his cover version. The song is a social satire about the development of suburbia, and associa ...

for the second season of Weeds. * The Submarines contributed a version of ''My Darling Clementine'' to the Nettwerk compilation For The Kids Three! released October 2, 2007. * “Brightest Hour” from ''Honeysuckle Weeks'' also appeared on

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...

Season 4 Episode 14 - ''The Becoming'' during a scene in which Derek asks Meredith whether or not she wants him to stay with her to watch a patient overnight rather than go home with Rose. * “Wake Up Song” from ''Honeysuckle Weeks'' was featured in the second season of the CW series ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...

''. * An instrumental version of ''Modern Inventions'' from the album ''Declare a New State!'' was used for the end credits of the 2007 documentary ''The Pixar Story''. Portions of the album version of this song appear in the credits to episode No. 441 of ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internatio ...

'', ''When Patents Attack'' (podcast release date July 24/2011). * The Submarines' song ''You Me And The Bourgeoisie'' is featured as one of the available free tracks for download on the iPhone app Tap Tap Revenge 3. * Their song ''Modern Inventions'' was used in the Mozilla Seabird concept video, created by Billy May. * The Submarines covered

The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...

's ''Boys Don't Cry'' for American Laundromat Records tribute compilation ''Just Like Heaven - a tribute to The Cure''. * The Submarines covered

The Jesus and Mary Chain The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid. After signing to independent label Creation Records, they re ...

's song ''Just Like Honey'' on their Love Notes/Letter Bombs release as a bonus track. (Nettwerk, 2011) * Their song “Plans” appeared on

Season 7 Episode 16 - ''Not Responsible''. * The Submarines' song "Fire" was featured in the

Kindle Fire The Amazon Fire, formerly called the Kindle Fire, is a line of tablet computers developed by Amazon. Built with Quanta Computer, the Kindle Fire was first released in November 2011, featuring a color 7-inch multi-touch display with IPS tech ...

TV commercial titled "Light your fire and more..." (2012). * The Submarines' song ''Birds'' was featured in the 2012 coming of age comedy film ''

LOL LOL, or lol, is an initialism for laughing out loud and a popular element of Internet slang. It was first used almost exclusively on Usenet, but has since become widespread in other forms of computer-mediated communication and even face-to ...

'' starring

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip ho ...

and

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 Br ...

. * John Dragonetti provides the original soundtrack for the documentary film We Are Legion documenting the origins and

hacktivism In Internet activism, hacktivism, or hactivism (a portmanteau of ''hack'' and ''activism''), is the use of computer-based techniques such as hacking as a form of civil disobedience to promote a political agenda or social change. With roots in hac ...

work of the loosely knit group Anonymous. * The Submarines' song "Tigers" was featured during the ending credits of the 2014 film "Two Night Stand". * In 2016, 'The Submarines' song 'Brightest Hour' was featured in the first episode of the FX series '' Better Things'' starring

Pamela Adlon Pamela Fionna Adlon (; ; born July 9, 1966) is an American actress. She is known for voicing Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series ''King of the Hill'' (1997–2010), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. She also voiced Baloo in '' Jung ...

, created by Adlon and

Louis C.K. Louis Alfred Székely (; born September 12, 1967), known professionally as Louis C.K. (), is an American stand-up comedian, screenwriter, actor, and filmmaker. C.K. won three Peabody Awards, three Grammy Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and a ...

* Their song ''Maybe'' was featured on the Season 2 finale of ''

The Good Place ''The Good Place'' is an American fantasy comedy television series created by Michael Schur. It premiered on NBC on September 19, 2016, and concluded on January 30, 2020, after four seasons and 53 episodes. Although the plot evolves signific ...

''.

Discography

Albums

*'' Declare a New State!'' (Nettwerk, 2006) *''

'' (Nettwerk, 2008) *'' Love Notes/Letter Bombs'' (Nettwerk, 2011)

EPs

*''Remix EP'' (Nettwerk, 2006) *''Shoelaces EP'' (Nettwerk, 2012)

Live

*''Live Session'' (iTunes Exclusive, 2006)

Compilations

* ''For the Kids Three!'' Compilation (Nettwerk, 2007) * ''Just Like Heaven - A Tribute to The Cure'' Compilation (American Laundromat, 2008)

Video

* The Submarines - Peace & Hate (Official Video) ''Declare a New State!'' (Nettwerk, 2006) * The Submarines - Submarine Symphonika (Official Video)

'' (Nettwerk, 2008) * The Submarines - You, Me, and the Bourgeoisie (Official Video)

'' (Nettwerk, 2008) * The Submarines - Fire (Official Video) Love Notes/Letter Bombs (Nettwerk, 2011)

References

External links

Myspace
on public radio program

The Sound of Young America ''Bullseye with Jesse Thorn'' (formerly ''The Sound of Young America'') is a public radio program and podcast based in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California, and distributed by National Public Radio (NPR). The weekly show is currently h ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Submarines, The Independent Music Awards winners Indie pop groups from Los Angeles