Dexter Freebish is a band based in

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

, Texas, consisting of Robert Kyle (lead singer), Scott Romig (guitarist), Chris Lowe (bassist/backing vocalist), Charles Martin (additional guitarist), and Rob Schilz (drummer). They are perhaps best known for the 2000 single "Leaving Town," which peaked at number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under Hot 100. They have released five albums and one extended play, with their most recent release being the October 19, 2010 LP ''Shine On''.

History

The band was originally named "The Twigs" while starting out in Austin, TX playing a residency at Hondo's on 6th Street. They later changed it to Dexter Freebish. The name comes from " Dexter Frebish's Electric Roller Ride", the name of a former

roller coaster A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usua ...

at Astroworld theme park in Houston, TX. (Note that the coaster's name has only one 'e' in 'Frebish') In 1999, the band won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Song of the Year for their song “Leaving Town," picked from approximately 27,000 entries. They eventually signed with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

and recorded their first major label album in 2000 titled ''A Life of Saturdays''. The lead single, "Leaving Town," was a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

radio hit, peaking at 22 on the US pop charts on February 24, 2001. The song's video was played frequently on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

and

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, through PMN’s MTV Entertainment Group Subdivision. The channel launched initially as an all-music ...

. The second single, "My Madonna," received moderate radio play but failed to chart. In 2001, Dexter Freebish was personally invited by

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

to play at the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

for the opening of the John Lennon Exhibit. Several of Dexter Freebish's songs have appeared on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's ''

The Real World ''The Real World'' (known as ''Real World'' from 2014 to 2017) is an American reality television series produced through MTV and Bunim/Murray Productions that most recently aired on Facebook Watch after airing on MTV from 1992 to 2017. It wa ...

''. The band has also toured the world and played several shows for the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

stationed in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. In 2001, Dexter Freebish contributed a live performance of their song "My Madonna" to the charity album '' Live in the X Lounge IV''. Soon after, the band decided to part ways with Capitol Records due to creative differences. Their next album, ''Tripped Into Divine'', was released on

Independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

Sixthman Records. The lead single, "Prozak", won Best Rock Song in the 2004 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. After a four-year hiatus, the band partnered up with Artwerk, a joint venture between

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

and the

Nettwerk Music Group Nettwerk Music Group is an independent record label founded in 1984. The Vancouver-based company was created by principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record label to distribute recordings by the band Moev, but the label expanded in Ca ...

. The band announced the release of a 'Best Songs' album, set to be released January 13, 2009. The album consisted of re-recorded songs from the band's previous catalog, as well as four brand new tracks. October 19, 2010 the band released "Shine On", their first full-length album of new material in over six years. Their songs have been featured in several video games, mostly with the

label. The song "Ghosts" is featured in '' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004'', "Save Me" in ''

Superman Returns ''Superman Returns'' is a 2006 American superhero film directed by Bryan Singer, and written by Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris from a story by Singer, Dougherty and Harris, based on the DC Comics character Superman. It serves as a homage ...

'', and both "Falling Down" and "Life of Saturdays" in '' NHL 2004''. "Pretty People" was re-recorded in

Simlish Simlish is a constructed language devised by game designer Will Wright for the '' Sims'' game series developed by Electronic Arts. During the development of '' SimCopter'' (1996), Wright sought to avoid real-world languages, believing that pla ...

for

Maxis Maxis is an American video game developer and a Division (business), division of Electronic Arts (EA). The studio was founded in 1987 by Will Wright (game designer), Will Wright and Jeff Braun, and acquired by Electronic Arts in 1997. Maxis is ...

-Electronic Arts game '' The Sims 2: University'', and "The Other Side" is featured in ''

The Sims 3 ''The Sims 3'' is a 2009 social simulation video game developed by the Redwood Shores studio of Maxis, and published by Electronic Arts. Part of ''The Sims'' series, it is the sequel to ''The Sims 2''. It was released on June 2, 2009, for Micros ...

'', which was released June 2, 2009.

Albums

References

External links

*
Dexter Freebish official Myspace pageThe official Dexter Freebish Facebook pageThe official Dexter Freebish Twitter page
* {{Authority control Capitol Records artists Musical groups from Austin, Texas Rock music groups from Texas Musical groups established in 1995 1995 establishments in Texas