Unified Theory, previously Luma, were an American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band from
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 ...
,
Washington
Washington most commonly refers to:
* George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States
* Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A ...
, formed in 1998. The lineup consisted of
Chris Shinn
Chris Shinn (born August 1, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. From March 2012 to December 2016, he was the lead singer of the band Live. He was previously the lead singer of the band Unified Theory. He is the son of former C ...
(lead vocals, rhythm guitar), formerly of Celia Green, former
Blind Melon
Blind Melon is an American rock band formed in 1990 in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of guitarists Rogers Stevens and Christopher Thorn, drummer Glen Graham, vocalist Travis Warren and bassist Nathan Towne. They are best known ...
members Christopher Thorn (lead guitar) and Brad Smith (bass) as well as
Dave Krusen
David Karl Krusen (born March 10, 1966) is an American musician. Krusen is best known as the first drummer for the American rock band Pearl Jam and for his work on the band's debut album, '' Ten''. Krusen was also a member of the bands Hovercraf ...
(drums) formerly of
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...
.
Following the death of singer
Shannon Hoon
Richard Shannon Hoon (September 26, 1967 – October 21, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer of the band Blind Melon from 1990 until his death in 1995.
Early life
Hoon was born on September 26, 1967, in ...
in 1995, former Blind Melon members Christopher Thorn and Brad Smith moved to Seattle and began working on a new project. This project was put on hold following Thorn's move to Los Angeles. However, after meeting former Celia Green singer Chris Shinn, they regrouped with Smith in Seattle and, with the addition of former Pearl Jam drummer Dave Krusen, formed Luma in 1998. The following year, they released a self-titled
EP before renaming themselves Unified Theory, after
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
's
unified field theory
In physics, a Unified Field Theory (UFT) or “Theory of Everything” is a type of field theory that allows all fundamental forces of nature, including gravity, and all elementary particles to be written in terms of a single physical field. Ac ...
, releasing their
self-titled
An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...
debut album in 2000.
Unified Theory toured in support of their album and began recording their second album. However, in 2001, the band disbanded with Smith citing a "sudden lack of chemistry" for the breakup. Their second album ''Cinematic'' was eventually released in 2006.
History
Early years and formation (1995–1999)
Guitarist Christopher Thorn and bassist Brad Smith were members of
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
Blind Melon
Blind Melon is an American rock band formed in 1990 in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of guitarists Rogers Stevens and Christopher Thorn, drummer Glen Graham, vocalist Travis Warren and bassist Nathan Towne. They are best known ...
.
The band released two studio albums, ''
Blind Melon
Blind Melon is an American rock band formed in 1990 in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of guitarists Rogers Stevens and Christopher Thorn, drummer Glen Graham, vocalist Travis Warren and bassist Nathan Towne. They are best known ...
'' and ''
Soup
Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot – though it is sometimes served chilled – made by cooking or otherwise combining meat or vegetables with Stock (food), stock, milk, or water. According to ''The Oxford Compan ...
'', before singer
Shannon Hoon
Richard Shannon Hoon (September 26, 1967 – October 21, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer of the band Blind Melon from 1990 until his death in 1995.
Early life
Hoon was born on September 26, 1967, in ...
died of a
drug overdose
A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended. Retrieved on September 20, 2014. in 1995.
Smith and Thorn moved to Seattle, Washington following Hoon's death,
with the band taking extended break, releasing ''
Nico
Christa Päffgen (; 16 October 1938 – 18 July 1988), known by her stage name Nico, was a German singer, songwriter, actress, and model.
Nico had roles in several films, including Federico Fellini's '' La Dolce Vita'' (1960) and Andy Warhol's ...
'', a rarities compilation album, in 1996.
The same year, the remaining band members began discussing the possibility of continuing Blind Melon with a new vocalist,
eventually deciding to continue under a different moniker and, unsuccessfully, auditioning a number of singers before going their separate ways.
While in Seattle, Smith and Thorn began a new project that was put on hold after Thorn moved to Los Angeles in early 1998.
Smith began working on a solo album,
while Thorn produced
Amy Correia's album ''Carnival Love'', recorded with
Live
Live may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film
* ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film
* ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film
*'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...
, on their album ''
The Distance to Here
''The Distance to Here'' is the fifth studio album by the band Live (band), Live, released in 1999. It debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200, selling 138,000 copies in its first week and was certified Music recording sales certi ...
'',
and searched for a singer for their project.
After listening to several singers,
Thorn met vocalist
Chris Shinn
Chris Shinn (born August 1, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. From March 2012 to December 2016, he was the lead singer of the band Live. He was previously the lead singer of the band Unified Theory. He is the son of former C ...
, during his time as touring guitarist with Live, after hearing an album by his previous band Celia Green.
Shinn soon relocated to Seattle, due to his own house in North Carolina being burnt down,
staying at Thorn's house while the guitarist was on tour with Live.
Thorn and Shinn then regrouped with Smith and began recording material.
It was during recording that Smith invited friend, and former
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...
drummer,
Dave Krusen
David Karl Krusen (born March 10, 1966) is an American musician. Krusen is best known as the first drummer for the American rock band Pearl Jam and for his work on the band's debut album, '' Ten''. Krusen was also a member of the bands Hovercraf ...
to record with them,
with Krusen eventually joining the lineup permanently, forming Luma in mid-1998.
The following year, they released a four-song self-titled
EP through their website, and toured the
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...
from July 29–August 18, the same year.
By the end of the year,
Luma changed their name to Unified Theory, named after
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
's final hypothesis
unified field theory
In physics, a Unified Field Theory (UFT) or “Theory of Everything” is a type of field theory that allows all fundamental forces of nature, including gravity, and all elementary particles to be written in terms of a single physical field. Ac ...
.
''Unified Theory'' and break up (1999–2001)
By 2000, Unified Theory signed with
Universal Records
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...
subsidiary 3.33 Music Group
while they relocated to Los Angeles and began recording their debut album.
The album was recorded at Stank Face Laboratories and Lucky Dog Studios in Seattle, and was produced by both Thorn and Smith,
and mixed by
Andy Wallace.
Jon Bolton and Matthew Steer contributed additional drums to the recording, while string arrangements were handled by Dave Dysart.
In June, Unified Theory shot a music video for their first single "California" with director Bobby G,
before touring the US in July.
The band's debut album entitled ''
Unified Theory
Unified Theory, previously Luma, were an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1998. The lineup consisted of Chris Shinn (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), formerly of Celia Green, former Blind Melon members Christopher Thorn (lead ...
'' was released on August 15, 2000, through 3.33 Music Group in North America only.
''Unified Theory'' went on to sell over 16,000 albums by 2002.
"California" and "Wither" were both released as singles.
However, with the exception of Seattle, most major market radio stations avoided playing "California."
Critically, the album received generally positive reviews.
Reviewing for
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, Greg Prato stated that "Unified Theory's self-titled debut shows that Shinn has brought a more modern rock sound to the proceedings, mixing
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott Buckley (raised as Scott Moorhead; November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997) was an American musician. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, he attracted a cult following in the early 1990s performing at venues in ...
and
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 ...
with Smith and Thorn's retro rock stylings" and that the "12-track debut is a refreshing break from the norm."
Lina Lecaro, of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'', describes the album as "a little too much like its members' former projects." However, "there are a couple of unique gems in the derivative dust."
''
The Stranger'' stated that the album "sounds like
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1985. The band's best known line-up consisted of lead vocalist Perry Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, drummer Stephen Perkins and guitarist Dave Navarro. Jane's Addicti ...
, but not as hard."
''
Classic Rock
Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
'' stated that the band's "self-titled debut has to be one of the most exciting, spiritual albums of recent times" and that "their sound combines flashes of the off-the-wall genius that was
Blind Melon
Blind Melon is an American rock band formed in 1990 in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of guitarists Rogers Stevens and Christopher Thorn, drummer Glen Graham, vocalist Travis Warren and bassist Nathan Towne. They are best known ...
's calling card, the odd reminder of the 90s
Seattle scene and a whole host of fascinating influences."
In support of the album, Unified Theory performed a number of dates in August,
and toured supporting
Counting Crows
Counting Crows is an American rock band from the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of rhythm guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immergl� ...
,
VAST
VAST is an American alternative rock band based in Seattle, United States. The acronym VAST stands for Visual Audio Sensory Theater and is the main creation of singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jon Crosby. The band is signed to 2blo ...
and Live.
In 2001, the band headlined their own North American tour from February 12–March 1,
before performing 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 ...
in March.
The band began writing and recording material for their second album before announcing their breakup later in the year.
Smith cited frustrations during the writing of their new album as the reason, stating "in the past eight months the band's focus became hazy at best" and despite efforts to keep the band together, it was time for them "to move on" and that "the decision to split was made about two weeks ago
nd that theirminds were elsewhere way before that."
Post–breakup activities (2001–present)
Following the breakup of Unified Theory, Smith released his debut solo album ''Mercy'', under the alias Abandon Jalopy, in 2001.
The album featured contributions from his former Blind Melon bandmates,
including Thorn who also co-produced the album,
with Smith touring in support of the album in 2002.
Smith and Thorn would continue to co-produce a number of albums together, including the debut album of American singer-songwriter
Anna Nalick
Anna Christine Nalick ( ; born March 30, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter. Her debut album, ''Wreck of the Day'', featuring her first radio hit, "Breathe (2 AM)", was released on April 19, 2005. Nalick left her label under Sony in 2009 a ...
entitled ''
Wreck of the Day'' released on April 19, 2005,
and American Minor's self-titled debut album released on August 16, the same year.
In 2006, Thorn co-produced
Cheyenne Kimball's debut album ''
The Day Has Come'', which also featured additional drums by Krusen, released on July 11,
while Smith and Thorn produced
Under the Influence of Giants'
self-titled
An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...
album, released on August 8 the same year.
Shinn moved to Los Angeles, following the breakup, and began working on a new band with Krusen called Move As A Verb.
Though they recorded one song, titled "Want and Need," Shinn and Krusen would part ways, with Shinn forming Everything is Energy with former
She Wants Revenge
She Wants Revenge is an American rock band, based in San Fernando Valley, California. Formed in 2004, the band is a duo of singer and guitarist Justin Warfield and multi-instrumentalist Adam Bravin. Their music has been influenced by post-pun ...
guitarist Thomas Froggatt and former
Ours
Ours may refer to:
People
* Ours (singer), a French singer and songwriter.
* Wes Ours (born 1977), an American football player
Music
* Ours (band), an American rock group
Songs
* "Ours" (song), by Taylor Swift, 2011
* "Ours", a song by Ed Sh ...
drummer Kirke Jan in 2003.
Both Froggatt and Jan would depart the band, with guitarist Noah Lebenzon, Shinn's former bandmate in Celia Green, bassist
Joey Clement and drummer David Brotherton joining the band by 2006, with Everything is Energy releasing their self-titled album the following year.
Krusen would go on to form Novatone with guitarist Robert Lyons and former
Green Apple Quick Step
Green Apple Quick Step, often abbreviated as GAQS, is an American rock band from Seattle. Their sound was described as hard-edged, post-grunge rock. The band began as Inspector Luv and the Ride Me Babys in Tacoma, Washington before becoming G ...
singer
Tyler Willman, releasing their debut album entitled ''Time Can't Wait'' in 2005.
The same year, he contributed drums to
Thee Heavenly Music Association's debut album ''Shaping the Invisible'',
while in 2008, Krusen's former band
Candlebox
Candlebox is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington. Since its formation in 1990, the group has released eight studio albums, several charting singles, a compilation, and a CD+DVD.
Candlebox found immediate success with the release ...
released first album in ten years entitled ''
Into the Sun'', which featured additional drums previously recorded by Krusen.
After befriending singer Travis Warren, who was interested in having Smith and Thorn produce his music, the trio, along with former Blind Melon members
Rogers Stevens
Thomas Rogers Stevens (born 31 October 1970) is an American guitarist, best known for being a founding member of the alternative rock band Blind Melon. He has also been a member of the bands Extra Virgin and The Tender Trio, and he is an attorney ...
and Glen Graham, began working with Warren on new songs
and announced the reformation of Blind Melon in 2006.
They toured from October 8–22 in 2007,
and released their first studio album, since ''
Soup
Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot – though it is sometimes served chilled – made by cooking or otherwise combining meat or vegetables with Stock (food), stock, milk, or water. According to ''The Oxford Compan ...
'', entitled ''
For My Friends
''For My Friends'' is the third studio album by American rock band Blind Melon
Blind Melon is an American rock band formed in 1990 in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of guitarists Rogers Stevens and Christopher Thorn, drummer ...
'' on April 22, 2008.
The band performed at the
MusiCares
MusiCares Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 1989 and incorporated in 1993 by the The Recording Academy, National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Meant for musicians to have a place to turn in times of financial, pers ...
MAP Fund benefit concert and announced plans to tour in support of their album.
However, the tour was soon cancelled after Blind Melon parted ways with Warren.
The band were to perform a number of shows with Thorn and Smith's former bandmate Shinn, though a lack of preparation time resulted in the band cancelling the tour.
Unified Theory released their second album ''Cinematic'' on
iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
in December 2006. The band did not reunite to perform any shows to promote the album.
Unified Theory reunited for one show on August 4, 2010 at the King King in Hollywood. Chris Shinn's other band Everything is Energy opened the show.
Chris Shinn joined the band
Live
Live may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film
* ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film
* ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film
*'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...
in 2012 as their new lead singer.
Musical style
Following the release of their debut album, ''
College Music Journal
CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...
'' writer Sandy Masuo described the release as a "nexus of musical styles that draws on everything from
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
to
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
.
Hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
merges with
power pop
Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...
over a trippy undercurrent that flares up in tracks like "Passive.""
Describing the songwriting process, Smith stated that each band member "puts their personality into the song even if it was almost completely written by one person" and that once a song goes through the band, it gives it the character of the band members.
Comparisons were also made between vocalist
Chris Shinn
Chris Shinn (born August 1, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. From March 2012 to December 2016, he was the lead singer of the band Live. He was previously the lead singer of the band Unified Theory. He is the son of former C ...
and
Shannon Hoon
Richard Shannon Hoon (September 26, 1967 – October 21, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer of the band Blind Melon from 1990 until his death in 1995.
Early life
Hoon was born on September 26, 1967, in ...
, due to their similar vocal styles and lyrical content,
though
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
writer Greg Prato believes Shinn has "brought a more modern rock sound to the proceedings."
Band members
*
Chris Shinn
Chris Shinn (born August 1, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. From March 2012 to December 2016, he was the lead singer of the band Live. He was previously the lead singer of the band Unified Theory. He is the son of former C ...
– lead vocals, rhythm guitar
*Christopher Thorn – lead guitar
*Brad Smith – bass
*
Dave Krusen
David Karl Krusen (born March 10, 1966) is an American musician. Krusen is best known as the first drummer for the American rock band Pearl Jam and for his work on the band's debut album, '' Ten''. Krusen was also a member of the bands Hovercraf ...
– drums
Discography
;Studio albums
* ''Unified Theory'' (15 August 2000), Universal
# "Cessna" – 3:48
# "California" – 3:07
# "Instead Of Running" – 3:39
# "Wither" – 3:56
# "The Sun Will Come" – 3:26
# "AM Radio" – 4:03
# "Fin" – 4:33
# "Self Medicate" – 4:26
# "Passive" – 4:25
# "Full Flavor" – 3:54
# "Not Dead" – 4:01
# "Keep On" – 4:58
* ''Cinematic'' (9 December 2006), Wishbone Recordings
# "15 Hits" - 4:15
# "We Don't Break" - 5:10
# "Beneath the Underdog" - 4:01
# "Can't Let Us Down" - 6:02
# "All in One" - 3:12
# "1st 50 Ft." - 3:39
# "Perfect Qualities" - 4:04
# "Oscar and Me" - 4:33
# "Anna" - 4:18
# "One Less" - 4:34
;EPs
* ''Luma'' (1999)
Singles
Music videos
References
Deutsche Nationalbibliothek "Feldtheorie"https://portal.dnb.de/opac.htm?query=feldtheorie&method=simpleSearch
External links
*
{{Authority control
Alternative rock groups from Washington (state)
Hard rock musical groups from Washington (state)
Musical groups established in 1998
Musical groups disestablished in 2001
Musical groups from Seattle
American musical quartets