DramaGods (formerly known as Population 1) was a
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 Wale ...
band led by
Extreme guitarist
Nuno Bettencourt
Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt (born September 20, 1966) is a Portuguese-American guitarist. He became known as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme. Bettencourt has recorded a solo album and has founded rock bands including ...
.
The band originally started when Bettencourt released the album ''
Population 1'' in 2002 (late 2001 in Japan). On the album, he recorded all the instruments on most of the tracks. When he decided to go on tour to support the album, he formed a touring band with Joe Pessia on rhythm guitar,
Steve Ferlazzo on keyboards and back-up vocals,
Philip Bynoe
Philip Earl Bynoe is an American musician best known for his work with Steve Vai. He has been the bass player of Vai's touring band since 2012, a role he previously held from 1996 to 2000. He has also played on four of Vai's studio albums.
Other ...
on bass and
Kevin Figueiredo on drums. Later Phil left and Joe took the role of bassist. In 2004, while still under the moniker of Population 1, they released an
EP titled ''
Sessions from Room 4
''Sessions from Room 4'' is an EP released by the band Population 1, led by Extreme/DramaGods guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. The EP is the first official release from the band Population 1, which was previously just a solo project by Nuno Betten ...
''.
In 2005, due to legal issues, Bettencourt dropped the name Population 1 and changed it to DramaGods with the same lineup.
DramaGods released their debut effort ''
Love
Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...
'' in December 2005, available as an import via
Victor Entertainment
is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Entertainment operates the RC ...
(Japan). The band then made their record available as a digital download on
iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
in early 2006.
The band toured in Japan, where they appeared at the Udo Music Festival along with
KISS
A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
,
Santana
Santana may refer to:
Transportation
* Volkswagen Santana, an automobile
* Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles
* Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer
* Sailboat designs by W. D. Schock Corp
** Santana 20
** Santan ...
,
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold Beck (24 June 1944 – 10 January 2023) was an English musician. He rose to prominence as the guitarist of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, ...
,
The Doobie Brothers
The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five decades, with their greate ...
,
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...
,
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are a British rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), Pete Farndon (ba ...
,
Ben Folds Five
Ben Folds Five was an American alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprised Ben Folds (lead vocals, piano), Robert Sledge (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Darren Jessee (drums, backing vocals). Th ...
, and others in July 2006 shortly after Bettencourt took part in a three-date reunion tour with
Extreme in New England.
In the autumn of 2006, DramaGods contributed their song "S'OK" to the album project Artists for Charity – ''
Guitarists 4 the Kids'', produced by Slang Productions to assist World Vision Canada in helping underprivileged kids in need.
In early 2007 DramaGods started to dissolve when Nuno, Steve and Kevin became a part of
Perry Farrell
Perry Farrell (born Peretz Bernstein; March 29, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician referred to as the " Godfather of Alternative Music". Farrell began his career with Psi Com in the early 1980s, before becoming the frontman ...
's musical venture
Satellite Party
Satellite Party was an alternative rock band formed by Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell following the break-up of Jane's Addiction in 2004. Other members included Carl Restivo (bass) and Farrell's wife, Etty Lau Farrell (backing singer a ...
which released one record (
Ultra Payloaded
''Ultra Payloaded'' is the only studio album by American alternative rock band Satellite Party, released on May 29, 2007, on Columbia Records. Co-produced by Perry Farrell and Nuno Bettencourt, the album was preceded by the single, "Wish Upon a ...
). During the subsequent tour, they ended up quitting the band by July 2007 when Nuno and
Gary Cherone
Gary Francis Caine Cherone ( ; born July 26, 1961) is an American rock singer and songwriter. Cherone is known for his work as the lead vocalist of the Boston rock group Extreme (band), Extreme and Van Halen.
Early life
Cherone grew up in Ma ...
reformed Extreme, making it a definitive reunion. Steve Ferlazzo went on to play with
Avril Lavigne
Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. List of awa ...
.
Band members
*
Nuno Bettencourt
Nuno Duarte Gil Mendes Bettencourt (born September 20, 1966) is a Portuguese-American guitarist. He became known as the lead guitarist of the Boston rock band Extreme. Bettencourt has recorded a solo album and has founded rock bands including ...
– vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, piano, drums
*
Steve Ferlazzo – keyboards, synthesizer, piano, backing vocals
* Joe Pessia – bass
*
Kevin Figueiredo – drums
Discography
;Studio albums
* ''
Population 1'' (2002)
* ''
Love
Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment (psychology), attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most su ...
'' (2005)
References
American alternative rock groups
Musical groups established in 2002
Musical groups disestablished in 2007
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