Remy Zero was an American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band from

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, formed in 1989. It was composed of August Cinjun Tate (vocals, guitar), Shelby Tate (guitar, vocals, keyboards), Cedric LeMoyne (bass), Jeffrey Cain (guitar, vocals), and Louis Schefano (drums), who was later replaced by Gregory Slay (drums, percussion).

History

The band was formed in Alabama in the late 1980s while the members were teenagers. The name Remy Zero came from an Alabama railroad worker featured in a box of 4-track tapes with 30 hours of songs, conversations, and trainyard sounds. Cinjun Tate reported in the ''

Evening Times The ''Glasgow Times'' is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Called ''The Evening Times'' from 1876, it was rebranded as the ''Glasgow Times'' on 4 December 2019.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 ...

interview, Tate described Remy Zero as a fictional prophet they had created. Before Remy Zero had released any full-length albums,

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

found their demo tape and invited them to be part of the US tour for '' The Bends''. After that, Remy Zero moved from

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

to Los Angeles to record their first album. The self-titled record received little recognition or sales. The subsequent album, '' Villa Elaine'', generated some acclaim. It was recorded when the band was living in an apartment of the same name in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. Remy Zero's third album, ''

The Golden Hum ''The Golden Hum'' is the third and final studio album by American band Remy Zero, released in 2001, produced for Elektra Records. The album became popular for the song " Save Me", which was featured as the theme song for the TV show ''Small ...

'', was also received well. A 50-second version of the song " Save Me" from ''The Golden Hum'' was used as the theme song for WB/CW's ''

Smallville ''Smallville'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by writer-producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, based on the DC Comics character Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The series was produce ...

'' during its ten-season run. The band's music was also featured on

KCRW KCRW (89.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is an NPR member station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, where the station is licensed. KCRW airs original news and music programming in addition to programming ...

's ''

Morning Becomes Eclectic ''Morning Becomes Eclectic'' (MBE) is an American three-hour adult album alternative radio program first aired in 1977 and broadcast live every weekday from KCRW in Santa Monica, California. The show's name is a play on the Eugene O'Neill t ...

'' radio show. The song "Shattered" was used in the films '' Crazy/Beautiful'' and '' Suicide Kings''. "Fair", from ''Villa Elaine'', was used in the films '' Garden State'' and '' Fanboys'', "

Prophecy In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain di ...

" in '' She's All That'' and '' The Last Kiss'', "Gramarye" appeared in ''

Stigmata Stigmata (, plural of , 'mark, spot, brand'), in Roman Catholicism, Catholicism, are bodily wounds, scars and pain which appear in locations corresponding to the Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion Five Holy Wounds, wounds of Jesus in Christian ...

'', and "Temenos (Here Come the Shakes)" played in the film ''The Chamber''. Additionally, "Perfect Memory" played during the film '' The Invisible'' and the last episode of Smallville's first season. Remy Zero recorded a version of

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, actor and poet who is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, Garfunkel became acquainte ...

's song " Bright Eyes" for the 2002 charity album '' For the Kids''. The band broke up after making ''The Golden Hum'' and many of its members went on to join new bands. Shelby and Cinjun created Spartan Fidelity, Cain joined

Isidore Isidore ( ; also spelled Isador, Isadore and Isidor) is a masculine given name. The name is derived from the Greek name ''Isídōros'' (Ἰσίδωρος, latinized ''Isidorus'') and can literally be translated to 'gift of Isis'. The name has survi ...

and later created Dead Snares; LeMoyne toured with

Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...

's band before joining O+S and later Rose of the West. Gregory Slay created ''Sleepwell''. Drummer Gregory Slay died on January 1, 2010, aged 40, of complications from

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder inherited in an autosomal recessive manner that impairs the normal clearance of Sputum, mucus from the lungs, which facilitates the colonization and infection of the lungs by bacteria, notably ''Staphy ...

. On May 22, 2010, Remy Zero played their first show together in eight years as a tribute to Gregory in New Orleans, the town where he was born. This was followed by the release of the new single Til the End" on the label Popantipop, on September 7, 2010. From October 7 to 12, 2010, Remy Zero performed in memory of their drummer at venues including Dante's in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, The Crocodile Cafe in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Cafe Du Nord in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, and in

Spaceland Spaceland was an alternative rock/indie rock nightclub in the Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California, Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, that existed between 1995 and 2011. The club was formerly a popular disco to young locals c ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The band's Twitter account confirmed that these shows would be the final word from the band. On October 18, 2011, Gregory Slay's final solo album, released under the moniker Horsethief Beats, titled ''The Sound Will Find You'', featured Remy Zero bandmates Jeffrey Cain and Cedric Lemoyne and was published on the Communicating Vessels label. Jeffrey Cain is now a member of the Australian band the Church, best known for their 1988 hit song "

Under the Milky Way "Under the Milky Way" is a single by Australian alternative rock band the Church, released on 15 February 1988, and appears on their fifth studio album ''Starfish''. The song was written by bass guitarist and lead vocalist Steve Kilbey and h ...

". Cinjun Tate composed the music for Amy Jo Johnson's 2016 movie, '' The Space Between''. In 2020, a mostly new studio recording featuring Shelby Tate and Cinjun Tate was released digitally under the name Zero Brothers. In March 2025, Remy Zero performed at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles as part of a charity concert to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ''Garden State'', alongside the Shins, Iron & Wine, Cary Brothers, and

Laufey Laufey may refer to: Mythology and fictional characters * Laufey (mythology) Laufey or Nál is a figure in Norse mythology and the mother of Loki. The latter is frequently mentioned by the matronymic ''Loki Laufeyjarson'' (Old Norse 'Loki Laufey' ...

Band members

* August Cinjun Tate – vocals, guitar * Shelby Tate – guitar, vocals, keyboards * Jeffrey Cain – guitar * Cedric LeMoyne – bass * Louis Schefano – drums (1989–1996) * Gregory Slay – drums (c. 1996–2003) Touring * Leslie Van Trease – guitar, keyboards * Chip Kilpatrick – drums (2010)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:150 bottom:80 top:0 right:20 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1989 till:31/12/2010 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:2 ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:1989 BarData = bar:CT text:Cinjun Tate bar:ST text:Shelby Tate bar:JC text:Jeffrey Cain bar:CL text:Cedric LeMoyne bar:LS text:Louis Schefano bar:GS text:Gregory Slay Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:keyboard value:purple legend:Keyboards id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:touring value:yellow legend:Live_guest id:studio value:black legend:Studio_album LineData = layer:back at:30/01/1996 color:studio at:25/08/1998 color:studio at:18/09/2001 color:studio PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:CT from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/2003 color:vocals bar:CT from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/2003 color:guitar width:3 bar:ST from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/2003 color:vocals width:3 bar:ST from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/2003 color:keyboard width:7 bar:ST from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/2003 color:guitar bar:JC from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/2003 color:guitar bar:CL from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/2003 color:bass bar:GS from:01/01/1996 till:01/01/2003 color:drums bar:LS from:01/01/1989 till:01/01/1996 color:drums bar:CT from:22/05/2010 till:22/05/2010 color:vocals bar:CT from:22/05/2010 till:22/05/2010 color:guitar width:3 bar:ST from:22/05/2010 till:22/05/2010 color:vocals width:3 bar:ST from:22/05/2010 till:22/05/2010 color:guitar bar:JC from:22/05/2010 till:22/05/2010 color:guitar bar:CL from:22/05/2010 till:22/05/2010 color:bass

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

Singles

References

External links

*
Save Me from My Half-Life Drive Documentary

Remy Zero interview, October 10, 2010
{{Authority control Alternative rock groups from Alabama American post-grunge musical groups Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 2003 Musical groups from Birmingham, Alabama Capitol Records artists DGC Records artists Warner Music Group artists Elektra Records artists