The Rondo Brothers are a musical duo from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, consisting of multi-instrumentalists and producers Diamond Jim (Jim Greer) and The Bastard Prince (Brandon Arnovick).

Origins

Greer (primarily keyboards, bass guitar, rhythm guitar, drum programming) and Arnovick (primarily lead guitar, drum programming) worked together at a San Francisco nightclub called the Paradise Lounge. They began their careers as musicians on various projects by

Dan the Automator Daniel M. Nakamura better known by his stage name Dan the Automator, is an American record producer from San Francisco, California. He is the founder of the publishing company Sharkman Music and the record label 75 Ark. Early life Nakamura was bo ...

. Greer also played keyboards for the original

Dr. Octagon Dr. Octagon is a persona created and used by American rapper Keith Matthew Thornton, better known as Kool Keith. First appearing on Thornton's 1996 debut solo album, '' Dr. Octagonecologyst''. The album examines the impersonal/delusional/author ...

live band, and Arnovick played guitar with

Deltron 3030 Deltron 3030 is an alternative hip hop trio composed of producer Dan the Automator (as the Cantankerous Captain Aptos), rapper Del the Funky Homosapien (as Deltron Zero/Deltron Osiris), and DJ Kid Koala (as Skiznod the Boy Wonder). They al ...

and

Lovage Lovage (), ''Levisticum officinale'', is a tall perennial plant, the sole species in the genus ''Levisticum'' in the family Apiaceae, subfamily Apioideae. It has been long cultivated in Europe, the leaves being used as a herb, the roots as a veg ...

, as well as accompanying the groups on US tours. While working for Dan the Automator, Greer also worked as a producer and founded a record label. His first major production was the debut album by art-rock group The Gun & Doll Show, recorded in

Petaluma, California Petaluma (Miwok: ''Péta Lúuma'') is a city in Sonoma County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census. Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village na ...

. Greer also wrote songs with

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westin ...

/ Or Music (

Matisyahu Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), known by his stage name Matisyahu (; ), is an American reggae singer, rapper, beatboxer, and alternative rock musician. Known for blending spiritual themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing soun ...

Los Lonely Boys Los Lonely Boys are an American musical group from San Angelo, Texas. They play a style of music they call "Texican Rock n' Roll," combining elements of rock and roll, Texas blues, brown-eyed soul, country, and Tejano. The band consists of t ...

) artist
essence
and worked as a session player for producer

Bill Bottrell William A. Bottrell (born October 27, 1952) is an American record producer and songwriter. He has collaborated with Michael Jackson, Madonna, Electric Light Orchestra and Sheryl Crow. Biography Between 1967 and 1970, Bottrell attended Cres ...

. The pair formed The Rondo Brothers in 2003 during the recording of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Galactic Galactic is an American jam band from New Orleans, Louisiana. Origins and background Formed in 1994 as an octet (under the name Galactic Prophylactic) and including singer Chris Lane and guitarist Rob Gowen, the group was soon pared down to a ...

's album, '' Ruckus'', which they helped produce. They were asked to join

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

act

Head Automatica Head Automatica was an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York fronted by Daryl Palumbo (also of Glassjaw). History The beginnings of the band stemmed from singer Daryl Palumbo's interests in the hip hop and Britpop genres. Palumbo felt ...

, and subsequently toured the United States with acts including

The Rapture The rapture is an eschatological position held by some Christians, particularly those of American evangelicalism, consisting of an end-time event when all Christian believers who are alive, along with resurrected believers, will rise "in the c ...

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cr ...

Thursday Thursday is the day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fifth day of the week. Name ''Se ...

and

The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...

. They remained on tour with Head Automatica for nearly two years, during which period they were also working as producers and remixers, with work for film and television as well as remixes of songs like

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), known professionally as Patti Page, was an American singer and actress. Primarily known for pop and country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female ar ...

's "Frosty The Snowman", Bob James' "Nautilus", and the song "We're Not Alone" by

Mike Patton Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, producer, film composer and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band Faith No More. Noted for his vocal proficiency, diverse singing techn ...

's project

Peeping Tom Lady Godiva (; died between 1066 and 1086), in Old English , was a late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who is relatively well documented as the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and a patron of various churches and monasteries. Today, she is mainly re ...

. They also recorded their first full-length album, ''No Time Left On Earth'', featuring guest appearances from

Daryl Palumbo Daryl Palumbo (born February 10, 1979) is an American musician, originally from Bellmore, New York. He is the frontman of the bands Glassjaw, Head Automatica and Color Film. As a youth he was a member of the Long Island straight edge band ''Xbus ...

, Kelly Atkins of

20 Minute Loop 20 Minute Loop is a San Francisco-based band notable for its self-proclaimed "freak-pop" sound which exhibited hook-heavy tunes and complex vocal harmonies. The band split up in 2009, but has since reformed. History In its most rudimentary for ...

Kitka Kitka Women's Vocal Ensemble is an all-female professional vocal ensemble based in Oakland, California and focused on Eastern European women’s vocal traditions. It was founded in 1979 as an offshoot of the Westwind International Folk Ensemble. ...

Vinnie Caruana Vinnie Caruana (born September 25, 1979) is an American singer. He is the vocalist for Long Island punk band The Movielife and lead singer/songwriter for the indie/post hardcore band I Am the Avalanche.

, Samantha Stollenwerck, Pedro Shanahan, and Tim Carter.

Career

Released on September 7, 2004, ''No Time Left On Earth'' contained the college hit "Hey Stewardess", featuring Daryl Palumbo and Samantha Stollenwerck. The Rondo Brothers also played on the album ''

White People White is a Race (human categorization), racialized classification of people and a Human skin color, skin color specifier, generally used for people of Ethnic groups in Europe, European origin, although the definition can vary depending on con ...

'' by

Handsome Boy Modeling School Handsome Boy Modeling School is an American collaborative project between hip hop producers Dan the Automator (Gorillaz, Dr. Octagon, Deltron 3030) and Prince Paul (Stetsasonic, De La Soul, Gravediggaz). The collaboration originally lasted fro ...

, and joined the band on their month-long US tour and several shows at the

Jazz Cafe The Jazz Cafe is a music venue in Camden Town, London. It opened in 1990 on the former premises of a branch of Barclays Bank and has had several owners throughout its history as a music venue. In 2020 the Jazz Cafe celebrates its 30th year, ...

in London, where they also performed with

Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine st ...

. Meanwhile, ''No Time Left On Earth'' was released in Japan on JetSet Records, along with two special edition 12" records. During this time the Rondo Brothers helped produce

The Matches The Matches are an American rock band from Oakland, California, active from 1997 to 2009. Formed as the Locals, the group changed their name after five years to avoid conflict with a Chicago band of the same name. As the Matches, they self-release ...

and

MC Lars Andrew Robert Nielsen (born October 6, 1982), known professionally as MC Lars, is an American record producer, rapper, cartoonist, podcaster and educator. Lars is one of the self-proclaimed originators of "lit-hop", and is the founder and CEO of ...

track "Hot Topic is Not Punk Rock", and issued remixes of artists including

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song " Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...

, and

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...

. In 2006, the Rondo Brothers worked with Bay Area beat boxer

Kid Beyond Andrew Chaikin, better known by his stage name Kid Beyond, is an American singer, beatboxer, live looper and voice actor, based in the San Francisco area. Early career Chaikin attended Brown University and was a leader in the co-ed fraternity Z ...

, and made a remix for the band

Vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from viny ...

featuring keyboardist

Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Rol ...

. They also worked for commercial clients including

John Frieda John Frieda (born Alan Howard Frieda, 9 July 1951) is a British celebrity hairstylist and founder of hair salon and hair product businesses. The hair product business was acquired in 2002 by Kao Corporation, Japan. Early life Frieda was born ...

Banana Republic In political science, the term banana republic describes a politically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the export of natural resources. In 1904, the American author O. Henry coined the term to describe Honduras and neighboring ...

, the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...

and

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

. They began working with producer Jack Douglas and remixed a

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial suc ...

song from their Douglas-produced album '' One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This''. They also worked with other Bay Area artists such as

The Lovemakers The Lovemakers is an Synthpop, electropop/New wave music, new wave band from Oakland, California. The band was formed in the spring of 2002 by Scott Blonde (guitar, vocals) and Lisa Light (vocals, bass) who are the two core members. Light and Blo ...

Scissors for Lefty Scissors For Lefty is an indie rock band based in San Francisco, California, USA. The band's first album, ''Bruno'', was released in 2005 by Rough Trade Records ( UK). Biography Three of the band's members, Bryan Garza, Peter Krimmel and James K ...

, and

Loquat The loquat (''Eriobotrya japonica'') is a large evergreen shrub or tree, grown commercially for its orange fruit and for its leaves, which are used to make herbal tea. It is also cultivated as an ornamental plant. The loquat is in the family ...

. In 2007 the Rondo Brothers released their second album ''Seven Minutes to Midnight'', and went on a second US tour, performing with Chali2NA, André the Giant, and Casual from Hieroglyphics, while backing

on the score for an NBA video game. They also produced remixes for artists such as

Common Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally ...

Shwayze Aaron Smith, better known as Shwayze (born May 29, 1985), is an American rapper. His first single " Buzzin'" peaked at No. 46 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. His second single "Corona and Lime," reached No. 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in t ...

, and MC Lars. The same year they worked on the

Cuba Gooding Jr. Cuba Mark Gooding Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Emmy nomination. After his breakthrough role as Tre Styles in '' Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), he appear ...

and

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

commercial spots for

Hanes Hanes (founded in 1900) and Hanes Her Way (founded in 1985) is a brand of clothing. History Hanes was founded in 1900 by John Wesley Hanes (one of Winston-Salem's wealthiest and most influential business men) at Winston, North Carolina under the ...

, and also appeared on the soundtrack for the hit documentary ''

My Kid Could Paint That ''My Kid Could Paint That'' is a 2007 documentary film by director Amir Bar-Lev. The movie follows the early artistic career of Marla Olmstead, a young girl from Binghamton, New York who gains fame first as a child prodigy painter of abstract ...

''. Later that year they produced their first full-length film score, for '' Lonely Street''. In 2008 they co-produced (with

Les Claypool Leslie Edward Claypool (born September 29, 1963) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and author. He is best known as the founder, lead singer, bassist, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the ro ...

) the album ''Fogshack Music Volume Two'' by

, produced tracks for MC Lars album '' This Gigantic Robot Kills'', and contributed production to YT Cracker's album ''The Digital Gangster''. Southern artist

Eric Lindell Eric Lindell (born 1969, Northern California, United States) is an American singer-songwriter. His recording career began in 1996 as a regional Sonoma County-based artist. Since 2006, when he was picked up by Alligator Records, he has toured na ...

included a song co-written by the Rondo Brothers on his 2008 album ''Gulf Coast Highway'', and they released, with Sony Music, a library version of their album ''Seven Minutes To Midnight'', distributed for producers and DJs. In 2009 the Rondo Brothers won a remix contest organized by

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; 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 i ...

, who selected their remix of her song "The Sun Is Down" to post on her website, and Greer produced Cyndi Harvell, an artist he discovered through Jack Douglas, also accompanying her on bass at the

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (HSB), originally Strictly Bluegrass, is an annual free and non-commercial music festival held the first weekend of October in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California. Conceived and subsidized by San Francisco ve ...

festival. Around this time the Rondo Brothers also contributed production to the album ''The Upside'' by The Kin, a band with whom they also began a side project called "Rondo Sessions". In 2009 and 2010 the Rondo Brothers recorded over 40 songs with The Kin. In 2010 they released their third album ''The Foreign Globester'', a concept album with

Motion Man In physics, motion is the phenomenon in which an object changes its position with respect to time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed and frame of reference to an observer ...

K.Flay Kristine Meredith Flaherty (born June 30, 1985), better known as K.Flay, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and rapper. Her debut album '' Life as a Dog'' was released in 2014, peaking on ''Billboard''s Heatseekers Albums chart at No. ...

and Beefy. The album was released through

Oglio Records Oglio Records is an American record company started in 1993 by Carl Caprioglio. The label issues compilations of rare 1980s modern rock and new wave songs, many previously unreleased on CD. In addition to releasing new material by artists such ...

and was featured on the cover of the ''East Bay Express'', an Oakland weekly. 2010 saw the Rondo Brothers co-write the song "Heart of Steel" with the band Galactic, which was named by

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from othe ...

as a top single and included by the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' as one of the "Top ten best songs of 2010". The song was featured in the TV show ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy Horror fiction, horror Drama (film and television), drama television show, television series produced and created by Alan Ball (screenwriter), Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a ...

''. Around this time the Rondo Brothers' live drummer Tim Carter also worked on an album by British band

Kasabian Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and occasional vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff, and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Ka ...

. The Rondo-produced track by

Foster the People Foster the People is an American indie pop band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2009. Its members are singer Mark Foster, guitarist Sean Cimino, and keyboardist Isom Innis. Foster founded the band in 2009 after spending several years in ...

, "Chin Music For The Unsuspecting Hero", was included on their smash hit single "

Pumped Up Kicks "Pumped Up Kicks" is a song by American indie pop band Foster the People. It was released as the band's debut single in September 2010, and the following year was included on their EP ''Foster the People'' and their debut album, ''Torches''. "Pu ...

". In 2011, the Rondo Brothers worked with folk artists

Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion Sarah Lee Guthrie (born February 17, 1979) and Johnny Irion (born John Phillip Irion; February 3, 1969) are a musical duo. Guthrie and Irion were married on October 16, 1999, and began performing together as an acoustic duo in late 2000. Their m ...

, and did several further remixes for Foster The People. In 2012 they recorded the album ''

Proper Cowboy ''Proper Cowboy'' is the fourth album released by Diego's Umbrella, released in July 2012. ''Proper Cowboy'' marks the band's first time collaboration with San Francisco producers The Rondo Brothers ( MC Lars, Foster the People), as well as t ...

'' for Bay Area band Diego's Umbrella, and collaborated with

Angelo Moore Angelo Carmen Christopher Moore (born November 5, 1965) is an American musician, best known for his work as lead singer and saxophonist for the Los Angeles ska and funk metal band Fishbone. Moore also performs and records under the stage name D ...

of Los Angeles ska band

Fishbone Fishbone is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1979, that plays a fusion of ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul. AllMusic has described the group as "one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the l ...

for the single "Brand New Step".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rondo Brothers, The American hip hop groups