Wax Fang is an American rock band formed in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
, United States, that combines elements of classic, psychedelic, progressive, and experimental rock music, as well as electronic and folk. The band consists of Scott Carney, Corey McAfee, Zach Driscoll, and Dave Chale.
History
''Black And Endless Night''
The debut LP, ''Black & Endless Night'', was originally released as a solo album by Scott Carney in December 2005. After Jacob Heustis (bass) and Kevin Ratterman (drums) began performing with Carney, the band began playing under the moniker ''Wax Fang'' and ''Black & Endless Night'' was subsequently re-released as a Wax Fang album on their own label, ''Don't Panic Records.''
''La La Land''
After touring with
My Morning Jacket
My Morning Jacket is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Kos ...
in the fall of 2006, the band entered
Ardent Studios
Ardent Studios is an American recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The studio was founded in the late 1950s by John King, Fred Smith, and John Fry. Over time, it has become a commercially successful recording studio.
...
with engineer ''Doug Easley'' (
Easley McCain Recording
Easley McCain Recording is an American recording studio, based in Memphis, Tennessee, notable for recording musicians such as Tav Falco's Panther Burns, Oblivians, Grifters, Pavement, Sonic Youth, Come, White Stripes, Townes Van Zandt, ...
) (
Pavement,
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...
,
Guided by Voices
Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band formed in 1983 in Dayton, Ohio. It has made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard. The most well-known lineup of the band consisted o ...
) to begin recording their next album,
La La Land
''La La Land'' is a 2016 American musical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress who meet and fall in love while pursuing ...
. The band then opened for ''My Morning Jacket'' on New Year's Eve 2006 at
The
Fillmore 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 ...
.
In 2007, ''Wax Fang'' opened for
Spoon
A spoon (, ) is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a table setting, place setting, it ...
,
Black Mountain,
Man Man,
The Whigs and
The Features
The Features is an American indie rock band from Sparta, Tennessee. The original lineup consisted of Matt Pelham, Roger Dabbs, and Don Sergio. The most recent iteration consists of Pelham, Dabbs, Rollum Haas, and Mark Bond. They have released ...
. ''La La Land'' was released in November 2007.
In 2009, the band played
SXSW
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 ...
,
Summerfest
Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's Third Ward business district. Summerfest is known ...
, and the
Wakarusa Festival.
In February 2010, the band signed with ''Absolutely Kosher Records'' for the European release of ''La La Land''. ''Wax Fang'' toured the UK in May 2010 playing such festivals as ''All Tomorrow's Parties (curated by Pavement)'', ''The Dot To Dot Festival'',
The Great Escape Festival, and "the Stag & Dagger Festival". The tour also included a BBC Session on
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
.
In 2013, Scott Carney scored episode 151 of the television series ''
American Dad'', and the song "Majestic" was featured prominently in the storyline.
''The Astronaut (Part 1)''
In October 2010, ''Wax Fang'' released a 17-minute digital-only single on
Removador Recordings & Solutions called ''The Astronaut (Part 1).'' The band opened for My Morning Jacket at the
KFC Yum! Center to commemorate the release.
In November 2011, ''Wax Fang'' toured with
Dr. Dog.
''Mirror, Mirror EP''
In August 2012, ''
SPIN'' announced the release of the ''
Mirror, Mirror EP''. ''SPIN'' later premiered the video for the title track, "Mirror, Mirror". The video was self- produced by Scott Carney and Jacob Heustis.
In April 2013, ''SPIN'' announced the release of Wax Fang's digital-only single, "The Blonde Leading The Blonde". The following month, on May 22, 2013, the video for "The Blonde Leading The Blonde" was premiered on
Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is best known for having hosted Late-night talk show, late-night talk shows, beginning with ''Late Night with Conan O'B ...
's online site
Team Coco.
On August 30, 2013, MTV Hive premiered the standalone track "King of the Kingdom of Man".
''Victory Laps''
On May 5, 2017, Wax Fang released their fourth studio album titled ''Victory Laps''.
Touring
The band has toured alongside acts such as
My Morning Jacket
My Morning Jacket is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Kos ...
,
Spoon
A spoon (, ) is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a table setting, place setting, it ...
,
Man Man,
The Whigs,
The Features
The Features is an American indie rock band from Sparta, Tennessee. The original lineup consisted of Matt Pelham, Roger Dabbs, and Don Sergio. The most recent iteration consists of Pelham, Dabbs, Rollum Haas, and Mark Bond. They have released ...
, and
Dr. Dog.
Festivals include
SXSW
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 ...
,
Summerfest
Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's Third Ward business district. Summerfest is known ...
,
Wakarusa Festival,
All Tomorrow's Parties (curated by Pavement),
The Dot To Dot Festival,
The Great Escape Festival and the
Stag and Dagger Festival.
Members
;Current Members
*Scott Carney - lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, piano, theremin, percussion
*Corey McAfee - Manager, Bass
*Zach Driscoll - Keyboards
*Dave Chale - Drums
; Former Members
*Kevin Ratterman - drums, percussion, keyboards, synthesizer (2005–2011)
*Jacob Heustis - bass, keyboards, backing vocals (2005–2017)
Discography
Albums
* ''Black And Endless Night'' (2005) re release under the name Wax Fang (2006)
* ''
La La Land
''La La Land'' is a 2016 American musical romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as a struggling jazz pianist and an aspiring actress who meet and fall in love while pursuing ...
'' (2007)
* ''The Astronaut'' (2014)
* ''Victory Laps'' (2017)
Singles
* "Majestic" (2008)
* "The Astronaut (Part 1)" (2010)
* "The Blonde Leading The Blonde" (2013)
* "King Of The Kingdom Of Man" (2013)
* "Hearts Are Made For Beating" (2013)
* "Exit Strategy" (2015)
* "Pusher" (2017)
* "The Things I Do for Fun" (2017)
* "Glass Island (feat. Lacey Guthrie)" (2017)
EPs
* ''Mirror, Mirror'' (2012)
*Repetition (2019)
In popular culture
The 151st episode of ''
American Dad!
''American Dad!'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker (producer), Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on February 6, 2005, following Super Bowl XXXIX, with the r ...
'', entitled "
Lost in Space", features the songs "Majestic", "The Astronaut Part 2" and "At Sea".
References
{{Authority control
American experimental rock groups
American folk rock groups
American progressive rock groups
American psychedelic rock music groups
Musical groups established in 2005
Musical groups from Louisville, Kentucky
Rock music groups from Kentucky
2005 establishments in Kentucky