London After Midnight

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Biography

London After Midnight (sometimes abbreviated as LAM ) is a project formed in the 1990s by songwriter and instrumentalist Sean Brennan. It is active to the present day.

The project is considered by many as a prominent act of the second generation gothic rock movement, some critics have credited the band with reviving the gothic music scene in the early 90s.Dark Asylum magazine, issue 1, USA, 1995, page 16
London After Midnight has a following worldwide, with a large fanbase in the goth subculture . However, in interviews Sean Brennan has shunned the use of this label and others to describe his music, calling it "artistically limiting".

Ideology and themes

Brennan is known for his support of animal rights , Environmentalism|pro-environmental and human rights issues, anti-corporate control of media, and progressive and Liberalism|liberal politics . He voices this support through London After Midnight Internet outlets, such as their official website and music. Some people think some of the music released by London After Midnight follows personal and emotional themes which are often Romantic love|romantic . However, this is often a misconception — may of these songs reference a subject that is anything but romantic. The lyrics demonstrate a morbid wit, with songs like "Your Best Nightmare" being akin to an Edward Gorey -esque tale.Dark Entries magazine (Belgium 1999, page 10).

Since the 1990s, London After Midnight has had a political focus, while early albums show hints of political leanings; for example, the 1991 track "Revenge" featured political elements, along with an Adolf Hitler introduction sound clip. (Politically, the track was not geared toward or sympathetic of Nazism .)Recent London After Midnight material (such asnew CD release "Violent Acts of Beauty"), which has been performed in concert, is highly political with songs like "Feeling Fascist? ," "The Pain Looks Good on You," "America's a Fucking Disease," and others.

History

London After Midnight formed in Los Angeles, California during 1988, and played at several clubs in the area, debuting live at premier Los Angeles Gothic rock club, Helter Skelter. In the early days London After Midnight had various temporary members who joined Brennan when performing live, but did not perform on the albums. However, former live keyboardist Tamlyn contributed an instrumental Outburn magazine, USA, Autumn 1999, page 32 called "Ice" for the 1998 release of Oddities (London After Midnight album)|Oddities at Brennan's request, and an instrumental entitled "Perversion" on the 93' Ruins demo tape released as a preview of what was to become their second album, Psycho Magnet .

After garnering a fanbase aided by the release of a self-titled demo, the project released their début album Selected Scenes from the End of the World in 1991. In 1992 bassist Michael Areklett joined the line-up after the resignation of live bassist Rob Podzunas. Like Tamlyn, Michael Areklett appeared live as a recurring member, rather than a guest. Around this period, Douglas Avery also joined, replacing drummer Ian Haas. Eddie Hawkins was part of the original live line up, but was replaced in 1990.

Touring and releases

In the earliest days the live band played mainly on the West Coast of the United States . Following the release of the self titled debut, LAM gradually expanded their Californian fanbase, eventually traveling to Mexico in 1994 (something few alternative acts were doing at the time)Music Connection magazine, USA, January 2001, page 51 and progressing to tour the United Kingdom , France , Germany , Italy , South America and further in the United States .

Sean then expanded on the original demo release and recorded more songs for "Selected Scenes from the End of the World" released in late 1992.

Coinciding with the release of the follow-up album Psycho Magnet in 1996, London After Midnight headlined the Whitby Gothic Weekend in England , amongst other concerts in the UK, Europe, Mexico and the US. At this time, Sean Brennan had begun to expand musically. The project continued on with a third album titled Oddities (London After Midnight album)|Oddities released in 1998, featuring a cover of a track named "Sally's Song" from the film The Nightmare Before Christmas . This CD was vastly different from other releases in that it featured acoustic and ethereal alternative mixes of songs, along with a few brand new tracks.

Around this time London After Midnight was garnering international press and was featured on the covers of many magazines, while co-headlining major concert festivals like the Zillo summer festival, with The Cure and Green Day. LAM has since toured the world extensively playing alongside other popular bands such as Green Day , HIM (Finnish band)|HIM (who have cited LAM as an influence), Rammstein , Soft Cell , and others, headlining and co-headlining to crowds of over 30,000 in Latin America , the US and Europe.

Recent times

The last London After Midnight album, Violent Acts of Beauty, was released in 2007. LAM has, however, re-released (in 2003) two of the past three releases in Europe and the Russian Federation, (which charted on the Deutsche Alternative Charts ) adding previously unreleased bonus tracks.

In 2006 a new London After Midnight song was released on the Saw II (soundtrack)|Saw II motion picture soundtrack, it featured bands such as Queens of the Stone Age , Skinny Puppy , Lore and others, it reached number one on the Deutsche Alternative Charts .

In February 2007 a teaser trailer for London After Midnight's fourth long-awaited studio album Violent Acts of Beauty was released on the band's official website and LAM's YouTube page. The trailer stated that the album was due for a Spring/Summer 2007 release. The album itself was released in Fall 2007 (North America). Brennan made critical remarks about today's music scene and the current Myspace generation, he said, "All the counter-cultures that existed have been corrupted; especially Goth and Punk, they're gone, they don't exist anymore. The kids care more about their MySpace pages, their image...and bullshit vanity."

Images

Wave Gotik Treffen 2008

Live Members

Current live band members

Sean Brennan – founder, songwriting, musician on all CDs, Singing|vocals , guitar , bass, cello, violin, keyboards, programming, drums (1989–present)

Peter Pace – live Drum kit|drums (2008–present)

Matthew Setzer – live guitar (2008–present)

Randy Mathias – live bass guitar|bass (2005–present)

Former Live Members

Tamlyn – Keyboard instrument|keyboards , sounds , Sampler (musical instrument)|samplers (1988–2003)

Joe S. - drums (live and recorded for Violent Acts of Beauty & Saw II Soundtrack) (2001–2008)

Trouble Valli – live guitar (one concert only) (2008)

Eddie Hawkins – live guitar (1988–1990, 2001–2008)

John Koviak – live bass/guitar (1989–1992)

Ian Haas –Original drummer and recordings(1988–1992)

Douglas Avery – live drums (1992–1999)

Rob Podzunas – live bass (1992–1992)

Michael Areklett – live bass (1992–2005)

Stacy – live guitar (one concert only) (1993)

William Skye – live guitar (1994–1999)

Discography

Albums

Selected Scenes from the End of the World (1992) (re-release with bonus tracks 2003 and 2008)

Psycho Magnet (1996) (re-release with bonus tracks 2003 and 2008)

Oddities (London After Midnight album)|Oddities (1998) (re-release 2008)

Violent Acts of Beauty (2007)

EPs

Kiss (London After Midnight EP)|Kiss (1995)

Demos

London After Midnight (demo)|London After Midnight (1990)

Ruins (demo)|Ruins (1993)

Videography

Innocence Lost... (1993), then re-released in 1998 with 2 new songs and extra footage.

Copyright Citations

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