Switchblade Symphony was an American
rock band 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 ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
. Their music combined
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, ...
sounds with heavy synth sequences and
ethereal vocals to create a union of
classical music and
gothic rock.
History
Switchblade Symphony was formed in 1989 by composer Susan Wallace and vocalist
Tina Root
Tina Root (born Bettina Root), also now known as Tina Minero, is an American classically trained female vocalist and songwriter from Los Angeles, California, perhaps most famous for her work performing as the lead singer of Switchblade Symphony d ...
. The band's name refers to the cutting up elements of classical music to mix them with harder sounds.
They released their first album in 1995 on the
Cleopatra Records
Cleopatra Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1992 by Brian Perera. The record label has since grown into a family of labels, including Hypnotic Records, Purple Pyramid Records, ...
label. They also had two live guitarists, first Robin Jacobs (who later joined
Razor Skyline
The Razor Skyline is an American, San Francisco, United States–based goth/industrial band.
History
Formed in Seattle in 1994, the band began life as Journal of Trauma and consisted of members Karen Kardell and the_gun. The chemistry was insta ...
) and then
George Earth
George Earth (born July 3, 1966) is an American musician, guitarist, songwriter, composer, music producer, comic book artist, and talk show host from Echo Park, California. He is perhaps best known as the lead guitarist for both World Enter ...
(most recently of Small Halo, also with Tina Root), and three live drummers, first Eric Gebow (now with
Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in 1987. It was purchased in July 2017 by the Canadian company Cirque du Soleil. Blue Man Group is known for its stage productions, which incorporate many kinds of music and art, b ...
), Justin Clayton, and then Scott van Shoick.
The band's second album, ''Bread and Jam for Frances'', was released in 1997.
The album peaked at #119 on the
CMJ Radio Top 200.
Switchblade Symphony disbanded in November 1999. Subsequently, Tina Root started
Tre Lux. In 2008, Tina Root and George Earth formed Small Halo, a band based out of
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 ...
, California.
Their song "Clown" was featured in the 1998 film ''
Wicked'' starring
Julia Stiles
Julia O'Hara Stiles (born March 28, 1981) is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Stiles began acting at the age of 11 as part of New York's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Her film debut was a small role in ''I'' ''Love Yo ...
. Their song "Gutter Glitter" was also featured in an episode of ''
The Boulet Brothers' Dragula''.
Discography
Albums and EPs
* ''
Serpentine Gallery
The Serpentine Galleries are two contemporary art galleries in Kensington Gardens, Hyde Park, Central London. Recently rebranded to just Serpentine, the organisation is split across Serpentine South, previously known as the Serpentine Gallery ...
'' (1995)
* ''Scrapbook'' (1997) (
EP) (out of print)
* ''
Bread and Jam for Frances
''Bread and Jam for Frances'' is the second studio album by Switchblade Symphony. It was recorded at Brilliant Studios in San Francisco and Private Island Trax in Hollywood and mastered at Private Island Trax. The original CD artwork erroneou ...
'' (1997)
* ''
The Three Calamities
''The Three Calamities'' is the third and final studio album from Switchblade Symphony. The album peaked at #25 on the CMJ
CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, host ...
'' (1999)
* ''
Sinister Nostalgia
Switchblade Symphony was an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Their music combined orchestral sounds with heavy synth sequences and ethereal vocals to create a union of classical music and gothic rock.
History
Switchblade Sy ...
'' (2001) (
remix
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
es)
* ''Sweet, Little Witches'' (2003) (live performances and video track)
* ''
Serpentine Gallery Deluxe'' (2005)
Singles
* "Clown" (1996)
* "Drool" (1997)
Other
* ''Fable'' (1991) (out of print demo cassette)
* ''Elegy'' (1992) (out of print demo cassette)
* "Girlscout" (single) (recorded with
Jack Off Jill
Jack Off Jill was an American gothic rock band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, founded in 1992 by vocalist Jessicka, drummer Tenni Ah-Cha-Cha, bassist/keyboardist Agent Moulder, and guitarist Michelle Inhell. Though these four women were the ini ...
) (1998)
Compilation albums
* ''From the Machine'', featured the song: "Mine Eyes" (Index Records, 1990)
* ''Gothic Rock Volume 2: 80's Into 90's'' (1995)
* ''Gothik'' (1995) (re-released in 2006)
* ''Wired Injections'' (1996)
* ''Gothic Divas Presents: Switchblade Symphony, Tre Lux, and New Skin'' (Cleopatra, 2006)
* ''Psycho Tina's Hell House Of Horrors'', featured the song "Witches (Live)" (Cleopatra, )
* ''Burning From the Outside: Retail Slut'', featured the song "Clown (Razed In Black Vs. Transmutator Remix) " (Cleopatra, 2007)
* ''The Devil's Songbook'', featured the song "Wicked" (2010)
* ''Virgin Voices 2, A Tribute to Madonna'', featured the song "Lucky Star"
References
External links
Tre Lux– Tina Root's new band
Cleopatra Records– Switchblade Symphony's record label
{{Authority control
Rock music groups from California
Musical groups from San Francisco
Trip hop groups
American gothic rock groups
Musical groups established in 1989