Red Lightning were a

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

-based rock band composed of English

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

Alain Whyte Alain Gordon Whyte (pronounced Alan) (born 3 July 1967) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and singer. He was Morrissey's main songwriting partner and guitarist between 1991 and 2007. Prior to 1991, Whyte previously been in the band ...

(of Morrissey's band) on lead vocals and guitar, John DiMambro on bass guitar and Milo Todesco on drums. The band lists U2,

The Clash The Clash were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave music, new wave moveme ...

The Cult The Cult are an English rock band formed in 1983 in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead singer Ian Astbury' ...

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to em ...

and Morrissey as its influences.

Background

The three band members have a diverse musical background spanning

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

English pop English pop may mean or refer to: * pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often use ...

orchestral An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...

was most renowned as a guitarist, supporting vocalist and co-writer in Morrissey. Whyte has a background in rockabilly. John DiMambro (aka Johnny Anger) is a long-time fan of Morrissey and The Smiths. John grew up in Los Angeles' punk scene. He has recorded on bass with

Down by Law Down most often refers to: * Down, the relative direction opposed to up * Down (gridiron football), in American/Canadian football, a period when one play takes place * Down feather, a soft bird feather used in bedding and clothing * Downland, ...

Jack Grisham Jack Grisham (born July 22, 1961) is an American rock vocalist, musician, raconteur and political activist from Southern California. He is the vocalist for the punk rock band T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty), which emerged from the late 1970s L ...

T.S.O.L. T.S.O.L. (True Sounds of Liberty) is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Long Beach, California. Although most commonly associated with hardcore punk, T.S.O.L.'s music has varied on each release, including such styles as deathrock, ...

, and the

psychobilly Psychobilly is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It's been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional countrified rock style known as rockabilly, ram ...

band The Rocketz . He performed live with

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...

Jane Wiedlin Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin (born May 20, 1958) is an American musician and singer, best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist of the new wave band The Go-Go's. She has also had a successful solo career. The Go-Go's w ...

The Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, Beli ...

, and

Agent Orange Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the United States Armed Forces, U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam ...

. Milo Todesco had recorded and performed live with

Down By Law Down most often refers to: * Down, the relative direction opposed to up * Down (gridiron football), in American/Canadian football, a period when one play takes place * Down feather, a soft bird feather used in bedding and clothing * Downland, ...

Armen Chakmakian Armen John Chakmakian (Western Armenian: Արմէն Չագմագեան; Eastern hy, Արմեն Չաքմաքյան) born (February 11, 1966) in Glendale, California) is an Armenian-American musician, composer, recording artist, and producer. Form ...

Shadowfax The name Shadowfax may refer to: * Shadowfax (Middle-earth), a fictional horse ridden by Gandalf the wizard in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''Lord of the Rings'' * Shadowfax (band), a new age/electronic musical group ** ''Shadowfax'' (album), an album by th ...

, Jim Cherry of

Strung Out Strung Out is an American punk rock band from Simi Valley, California, formed in 1989. They are known mainly for their musical style, which fuses aspects of melodic punk rock, progressive rock and heavy metal to form their primary sound. They ...

Pully Pully () is a municipality in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Lavaux-Oron. It is one of the eastern suburbs of the city of Lausanne, located on the shores of Lake Geneva (''Lac Léman'') and at the foot of the vi ...

Zero Down Zero Down was an American punk rock trio formed by former Strung Out bassist Jim Cherry, former Down by Law drummer Milo Todesco and former War Called Peace guitarist John McCree. Frontman Cherry (who was also guitarist and songwriter for Strun ...

, and played timpani with UCLA Choir conductor Roger Wagner.

Band history

Red Lightning played their first official show on April 30, 2005 at the Knitting Factory in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a metonymy, shorthand reference for the Cinema of the United States, U.S. film industry and the people associated with i ...

. They recorded a full-length album with producer David Newton (Mighty Lemon Drops, Fonda, The Blood Arm and Blue Aeroplanes) in 2005. Due to irreconcilable differences Red Lightning split in November 2006. The band announced their split via their Myspace page

Discography

EPs

''LA Crash Landing'' (November 2005) #"Something out of Nothing" #"Crushed" #L.A. Crash Landing #Sign Up #I Miss You #Black Dog Day #Stuck (Acoustic Version) #Were you ever in my Life (Acoustic Version)

References

External links

* http://redlightningmusic.com * http://www.myspace.com/redlightningmusic * http://www.alainmatters.com {{Authority control Rock music groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles