Collider was an electroclash punk rock band formed in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
in 1997 by singer and keyboardist
Jed Davis
Jed Davis (born July 7, 1975 in Farmingdale, New York) is an American musician based in New York City. He sings and plays keyboards as a solo artist and with The Hanslick Rebellion, Collider, and Skyscape.
Music career
Skyscape and early so ...
and guitarist Sean Gould. The duo's combination of electronic beats and synthesizers with rock guitars and pop song structure made Collider an early entrant to the
Electroclash
Electroclash (also known as synthcore, retro-electro, tech-pop, nouveau disco, and the new new wave) is a genre of music that fuses 1980s electro, new wave and synth-pop with 1990s techno, retro-style electropop and electronic dance music. It ...
movement. In fact, as the genre had not yet been named, Davis and Gould referred to their style as "electropunk".
Between 1997 and 1999, Collider performed regularly across
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
state but concentrated mainly on Manhattan's
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets.
Traditionally ...
. In addition to frequent gigs at
CBGB
CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...
, the
Mercury Lounge
The Mercury Lounge is a live music venue in the Lower East Side of New York City. Like its brother venue The Bowery Ballroom, The Mercury Lounge is celebrated as an iconic indie venue due to its acoustics, its fostering and even launching of upc ...
and the Spiral, the duo also played monthly at
Coney Island High
Coney may refer to:
Places
* Côney, a river in eastern France
* Coney, Georgia, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Coney Island (disambiguation)
People
* Dean Coney (born 1963), English footballer
* Hykiem Coney (1982–2006), A ...
.
Collider's first two albums, ''Blowing Shit Up'' (1998) and ''Physics'' (1999), were released by New York label Eschatonality, the latter in conjunction with
MP3.com.
In 2000, Davis and Gould added a rhythm section of Chris DeRosa on Drums and Tom Kaz on Bass and toned down the electronic elements as the band moved towards straightforward punk rock. In this form, the band came to the attention of
Joey Ramone
Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American musician, best known as the lead singer and a founding member of the punk rock band Ramones. His image, voice, and his tenure with the R ...
, who invited Collider to open for him at what would be his final
CBGB
CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...
appearance, on October 18, 2000. This version of Collider was also the support act when
Living Colour
Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. The band currently consists of guitarist Vernon Reid, lead vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Doug Wimbish (who replaced Muzz Skillings in 1992 ...
reunited at CBGB on December 21, 2000.
In 2002, with a new rhythm section of Mike Keaney (bass) and Joe Abba (drums), Collider signed with
SonaBLAST! Records
sonaBLAST! Records is a Louisville, Kentucky-based independent record label founded by film producer Gill Holland in 2002.
Artist roster
* Andrew T. Hunt
* Bastion
* Beady
* Belushi Speed Ball
* Ben Arthur (musician)
* Ben Sollee
* Broken C ...
and recorded a 6-song EP, ''WCYF'', with original
Ramones
The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...
drummer and producer
Tommy Ramone
Thomas Erdelyi (born Tamás Erdélyi; January 29, 1949 – July 11, 2014), known professionally as Tommy Ramone, was a Hungarian American record producer and musician. He was the drummer for the influential punk rock band the Ramones for t ...
producing. ''WCYF'' would be the first album produced by Tommy Ramone since
The Replacements' ''
Tim'' in 1985.
This version of Collider served as the live backing band for
Maverick Records
Maverick was an American entertainment company founded in 1992 by Madonna, Frederick DeMann, and Veronica "Ronnie" Dashev, and formerly owned and operated by Warner Music Group. It included a record label (Maverick Records), a film production ...
singing duo
The Deuce Project in 2003, and as a session group for a number of singers and duos in New York City and
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...
,
. Davis and Gould disbanded Collider in 2004 in order to pursue other projects.
References
{{Reflist
Electroclash groups
Electronic music groups from New York (state)
Punk rock groups from New York (state)
Musical groups from New York City
Musical groups established in 1997
Musical groups disestablished in 2004