The Refreshments (U.S. Band)
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The Refreshments were an
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
Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...
. The band is best known for the single " Banditos" from their 1996 breakthrough album '' Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy'', and also for " Yahoos and Triangles", the theme song to the long-running animated series ''
King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels that initially aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, with four more episodes airing in First-run syndicati ...
''. The latter was a piece the band traditionally performed at soundchecks. The Refreshments disbanded in 1998, although Roger Clyne and P.H. Naffah continue to tour and play Refreshments songs along with new music as
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers is an American rock band from Tempe, Arizona. History Roger Clyne and The Peacemakers formed in 1998, following the removal of Brian Blush and departure of Art Edwards from The Refreshments (American band), The ...
.


History


Background

Originally The Mortals in 1992, Roger Clyne and Dustin "Dusty" Denham wanted to continue playing after that band dissolved. They formed The Refreshments in early 1993 and had considered names like "Pop Enema" and "All You Can Eat" before settling on a more conventional name. The original lineup consisted of Clyne (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica, kazoo), Brian David Blush (lead guitar, backing vocals), Art Edwards (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Denham (drums, percussion, backing vocals). Blush came from a band called August Red, who were active around 1991 and consisted of Tim Thiel, Brian Spector, Brian Blush, Larkin Decker, and Michael Gatt. Denham and Edwards had played together for a short time in a band called The Hanson Brothers. In one year the band went from opening for such powerhouse local bands as
Dead Hot Workshop Dead Hot Workshop is an American rock band based in Tempe, Arizona. The band was a popular fixture of the Tempe music scene in the 1990s, when Tempe was being dubbed as "The Next Seattle" by music reps, and as a region that would produce many ...
and the
Gin Blossoms Gin Blossoms is an American alternative rock band formed in 1987 in Tempe, Arizona. They rose to prominence following the 1992 release of their first major label album, '' New Miserable Experience'', and the first single released from that al ...
to headlining and packing venues five nights a week. The Refreshments applied for entry and performed at
South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
on March 15, 1996 in
Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
, and were not only received, but learned that the band's demo tape had been played for an A&R rep for
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...
; as a result of their performance at the music festival, the band was signed by the label as well as signing with manager Michael Lustig. In 1995, original drummer Dustin "Dusty" Denham departed, and was replaced by Paul "P.H." Naffah, who had played in a local band called Rain Convention. The Refreshments recorded their first record in the summer of 1995 and it was released on February 27, 1996 under the title ''Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy''. The band hit the number one spot on Billboard's Heatseekers list with the single "Banditos" and toured throughout the U.S. “Banditos” peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Alternative Rock charts and crossed over into the Hot 100. The band was slated to leave for an Australian tour in the late fall, but it was canceled by the new president of Mercury Records, and the band members were told to record their second album. Their second album was recorded in early 1997 and it was released in the fall of 1997. There was no financial or promotional support from Mercury to promote a tour, but they continued onward, and closing the first half of the tour in Fall 1997, original drummer Dusty Denham rejoined the band after Naffah stepped away temporarily, with Naffah rejoining the band after the October 9 show in Los Angeles. Mercury Records let the band's recording contract lapse in early 1998, unimpressed by the flagging sales of its second CD, ''The Bottle & Fresh Horses''. The Refreshments decided that the writing was on the wall and left Mercury before they were dropped from the label's lineup. The band sold 10,000 units in December 1997, their last month with the label. The second Refreshments album, 1997's ''The Bottle & Fresh Horses'', spent one week on the chart. The band lost its deal with Mercury around the time Blush's drug problem peaked. In 1998, the band could no longer tolerate his substance use, and Blush was removed from the band. Blush pawned his publishing rights for both “King of the Hill” and the Refreshments catalog for $2,500. The group was known for its "Southwestern sound," similar to other bands hailing from
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
such as The Sidewinders,
Gin Blossoms Gin Blossoms is an American alternative rock band formed in 1987 in Tempe, Arizona. They rose to prominence following the 1992 release of their first major label album, '' New Miserable Experience'', and the first single released from that al ...
,
The Meat Puppets ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
and
Dead Hot Workshop Dead Hot Workshop is an American rock band based in Tempe, Arizona. The band was a popular fixture of the Tempe music scene in the 1990s, when Tempe was being dubbed as "The Next Seattle" by music reps, and as a region that would produce many ...
. The group had two charting singles, both from 1996's ''Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy'' (both written by Roger Clyne): "Banditos" (U.S.
Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...
No. 11,
Modern Rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...
No. 14), and "Down Together" (Modern Rock No. 38).


Current

Lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary songwriter Roger Clyne and drummer Paul "P.H." Naffah renamed the group Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers in 1998, and still perform most of The Refreshments songs live in concert. Clyne is known to occasionally play acoustic shows, with or without Naffah. Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers have released eight studio albums, two live albums and a live DVD of their annual music festival, Circus Mexicus, in
Puerto Peñasco Puerto Peñasco () is a small city located in Puerto Peñasco Municipality in the northwest of the Mexican state of Sonora, from the border with the U.S. state of Arizona. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 62,689 inhabitants. ...
,
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. They also went on to form a close relationship with the
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
team the
Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...
, writing/performing the team's theme song, "The D-Back's Swing". The band has also performed concerts for the team after ballgames at Chase Field and other various team events. Art Edwards is now a writer, and self-published his novels ''Stuck Outside of Phoenix'' and ''Ghost Notes'', with another, ''Badge'', released in early 2014.
Stuck Outside of Phoenix
' was made into a full-length feature film which premiered May 2, 2013. It was produced by Nico Holthaus and directed by Dean Mongan, and stars Brandon Hannifin. Guitarist Brian David Blush is now a member of The Toluenes. The band's first album with Blush was tentatively scheduled for release in February 2011. Blush performed onstage with Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers on July 27, 2010, at Mr. G's in Osceola, Indiana with Clyne, Naffah, and bassist Nick Scropos, performing "Nada". This was his first performance with them since 1998. In March 2013, Roger, PH and Brian re-united and performed as The Refreshments to a raucous crowd at the Circus Mexicus Music Festival in June 2013. Once again, Roger, PH and Brian played at Circus Mexicus in 2016, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ''Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy''. In 2017, the documentary film titled ''Here's To Life – The Story of the Refreshments'' was released on digital/
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
/
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
. The film chronicles the group's beginnings as a bar band, their rise to fame on a major label and issues within the band and the music industry that led to their sudden end.


Band members

Former members * Roger Clyne – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica, kazoo (1992–1998, 2010, 2013, 2016) * Dusty Denham – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1992–1995, 1997 (touring)) * Paul "P.H." Naffah – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1992, 1995–1997, 1998, 2010, 2013, 2016) * Arthur Eugene "Buddy" Edwards – bass guitar, backing vocals, keyboards (1993–1998, 2013) * Brian David Blush – lead guitar, backing vocals (1993–1998, 2010, 2013, 2016) Touring guests * Nick Scropos – bass guitar, backing vocals (2010, 2013, 2016)


Discography


Studio albums

* ''Wheelie'' (self-released, 1994) * '' Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy'' (Mercury Records, 1996) * '' The Bottle & Fresh Horses'' (Mercury Records, 1997)


EPs

* ''Lo, Our Much Praised Yet Not Altogether Satisfactory Lady'' (1995)


Demos

* ''Seattle Demos'' (1994)


Singles


References


External links


The Official Unofficial Refreshments Page

Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers

Art Edwards


{{DEFAULTSORT:Refreshments, The Alternative rock groups from Arizona American jangle pop groups Musical groups from Tempe, Arizona Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups disestablished in 1998 King of the Hill