Liquid Blue is an American

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

rock band/cover band formed in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, California, in 1996 by Scott Stephens and Michael Vangerov. The group has performed in more than 500 cities in 100 countries on six continents and have been recognized as "the world's most traveled band"."The Worlds Most Traveled Band"
92024 Magazine. November 29, 2012"Most Traveled Band Headlines Bonsallpalooza"
Fallbrook Bonsall Village News. June 9, 2011Mendoza, Bar
"'The World's Most Traveled Band' cinches OB ties"
San Diego Community News They are more popular in parts of Asia and Europe than in their home country (USA). In 2010 the group scored their first hit in the United States with the song "Earth Passport", which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot Dance Chart in October 2010. Earth Passport was recorded using nine languages including all six of the official languages of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

. Liquid Blue received a

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for "Earth Passport" for "Song Sung in the Most Languages". In 2011 the group was named "Entertainer of the Year - Ensemble" at the Event Solutions Spotlight Awards held in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

on February 28. The band was "certified green" by the

County of San Diego San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

in May 2009.Certified Green, San Diego County.
/ref> The band's official slogan is "Music To Move You." The core unit of Stephens, Vangerov, and Nikki Green have been together since 1998.

Musical style

At the time of their initial LP release, the group's use of Eastern Indian instruments (

tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

, kanun) and scales were unique in pop music with Liquid Blue being one of the first groups to record an entire album blending East Indian music with western pop/rock. Indian influenced songs have appeared on pop albums before, most notably on

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' (often referred to simply as ''Sgt. Pepper'') is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept ...

''. Liquid Blue's somewhat limited number of original compositions all contain "socially conscious" lyrics by primary songwriter Scott Stephens, a former professional

Roller Derby Roller derby is a roller skating contact sport played on an oval track by two teams of five skaters. It is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leaguesA Roller Derby league is synonymous with an individual club or team in other team sports, as ...

skater with the Los Angeles Thunderbirds. Tracks from their highly acclaimed debut album, ''Supernova'', have been included on 20 separate compilation CDs. The album was produced by David DeVore and mixed by

Joe Chiccarelli Joe Chiccarelli is an American record producer, mixer and engineer, who is a native of Boston, Massachusetts, and has been active since the 1980s. He has produced albums by Julieta Venegas, Jason Mraz, Morrissey, Oingo Boingo, Spoon, Young the Gi ...

and was awarded Pop Album of the Year at the Los Angeles Music Awards.Chiccarelli, Joe
/ref>Devore, David
/ref> The album ''Earth Passport'' was released in 2010 and yielded a No. 3 Billboard dance hit. Liquid Blue Belarus

History

Liquid Blue started as a cover band in 1996. In 2002 they were awarded Best Tribute Band at the

San Diego Music Awards The San Diego Music Awards is an awards show held annually in San Diego, California, United States, to recognize the best artists and bands in local music. The awards show benefits the San Diego Music Foundation, a non-profit organization dedica ...

"San Diego Music Awards"
/ref> after several previous nominations. In 2003, they began writing their own material while relying on covers for most of their live shows. The band has their greatest popularity in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, and in 2002 they played their largest show in

Dalian Dalian ( ) is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China (after Shenyang ...

, China for an audience of 65,000 people. In 2005, they became the first American band signed to a major Chinese record label. They played the official Beijing Olympics Kick-Off Concert in 2008."World Famous Party Band Sets Up Shop in Point Loma."
Point Loma Life. May 2014. Pgs. 14-17 The band has done 17 tours of China where they sing songs in both in Mandarin and English.Varga, George
"Sammy Hagar and Liquid Blue's La Jolla jam."
San Diego Union Tribune. Apr. 24, 2013 The band continues to perform in the United States as well. The group has a flexible lineup of seven people, with an "A Team," a "B Team" called Aqua Blue, and a smaller version of the group called Acoustic Blue. In April 2013 when

Sammy Hagar Sam Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose before launching a ...

came to San Diego he hired Liquid Blue to be his backing band and "cover" songs from his entire career, at a fundraising event. Currently most Liquid Blue performances are private corporate events, fundraisers and social events. As of 2014 Liquid Blue had performed in more than 500 cities in over 100 countries. The band has also performed in all 50 U.S. states and every "major league" city (any municipality with at least one major professional sports team) in the USA.

The Hippie House

The band is also known for their colorful center of operations in the Ocean Beach area of San Diego CA, known locally as " the hippie house." The core band members live and/or work at the beachfront home which attracts visitors daily with a California native "peace garden"; a peace pole and a musically themed mural on the surrounding retaining wall. The house and studio is a certified "Green Business" by the County of San Diego."Green Business"
County of San DiegoCurry, Jud
"More From the Widder Curry on the "Hippie House" of Sunset Cliffs"
OB Rag. December 19, 2013Curry, Jud
"The OB Hippie House Dedicates a Peace Pole"
San Diego Free Press. December 23, 2013

Awards

Trivia

BC Jean Brittany Jean Carlson (born April 22, 1987), better known by her stage name BC Jean, is an American singer-songwriter, best known for writing and singing the song " If I Were a Boy" with which Beyoncé would later achieve worldwide commercial suc ...

, a former member of the band,Varga, George (September 10, 2010).
Starbound? Major label debut by San Diego's BC Jean out Monday
The San Diego Union-Tribune. was signed to

J Records J Records was an American record label owned and operated by Bertelsmann Music Group until it was transferred to Sony Music Entertainment when they acquired all of BMG's record labels in late 2008 at the end of their merger. It was distribut ...

(

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

), by

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

in 2009. She co-wrote the worldwide No. 1 hit " If I Were A Boy" for

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

Discography

Studio Albums Charting Singles Compilations Imports

References

External links

Official websiteFacebookYouTubeTwitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liquid Blue Indie rock musical groups from California Musical groups established in 1996 Musical groups from San Diego