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Biography
Infobox musical artist| name = The Secret Machines| image = The-Secret-Machines-01.jpg| caption = The Secret Machines, performing at Metro in Chicago, on October 24, 2008. Left to right: Josh Garza, Phil Karnats, Brandon Curtis.| background = group_or_band| origin = Dallas, Texas|Dallas , Texas , United States | genre = Alternative rock , space rock , new prog | years_active = 2000& ndash;present| label = Reprise Records|Reprise | associated_acts = Tripping Daisy , School of Seven Bells , Captain Audio, UFOFU | website = URL| http://www.thesecretmachines.com/| current_members = Brandon Curtis Josh Garza Phil Karnats | past_members = Benjamin Curtis (musician)|Benjamin Curtis The Secret Machines are a power trio|three-piece United States|American alternative rock musical band|band . Originally from Dallas, Texas before moving to New York City , they describe their musical style as space rock . The original lineup consisted of two brothers, Brandon Curtis|Brandon and Benjamin Curtis (musician)|Benjamin Curtis , and Josh Garza . In March 2007, Benjamin left the band, and was replaced by Phil Karnats.
History
Early years
Before forming The Secret Machines the members played in various Dallas bands such as: UFOFU , Captain Audio , Comet and When Babies Eat Pennies , but perhaps the most significant was Tripping Daisy . Captain Audio was formed by Garza and vocalist/guitarist/chief songwriter Regina Chellew in the late 1990s as a two-piece noise duo.cite web|last=Swihart|first=Stanton|title=My Ears Are Ringing But My Hearts OK - Captain Audio|url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/my-ears-are-ringing-but-my-hearts-ok-r428643/review|work= Allmusic |accessdate=15 October 2011 Brandon — and occasionally Ben — Curtis joined soon after as the original duo began to develop a more standard rock sound. In a few months the band was getting regular local press and in a little over a year they had recorded and released the EP ''My Ears Are Ringing But My Heart's OK (1999) and the full-length Luxury or Whether It Is Better To Be Loved than Feared (2000) to positive reviews. Shortly after the release of Luxury the band went on extended hiatus and eventually disbanded when the boys moved to New York, leaving Chellew in Dallas to form the band Chao and later join indie pop outfit The Happy Bullets .
Captain Audio is essentially the same band as the Secret Machines, with the exception of Chellew. Sonically the groups are very similar, much more so than any of the members' other former bands. Although Captain Audio is a bit more prone to experimentation and sound collage and the Secret Machines are much more a standard indie rock band, the Captain Audio records form the template that the Curtis brothers built upon when they headed for New York. In the liner notes for Captain Audio's Luxury , all of the additional musicians who played on the album are credited simply as "Secret Machines".
September 000 and Now Here Is Nowhere
The band went to Chicago first, where they recorded their EP, September 000 , six weeks after forming, before continuing to New York, New York|New York . The EP didn't sell well, but remained a hit on indie radio while "Marconi's Radio" and "Breathe" are fan favourites.
In 2004, The Secret Machines released their first full length CD - Now Here Is Nowhere . Their second EP, ''The Road Leads Where It's Led , was released on 7 June 2005. The song "Nowhere Again", from the their debut album, was used in promotional spots for American during its launch, and appeared in the 2006 videogame Driver: Parallel Lines .cite web|url= http://music.ign.com/articles/689/689128p1.html |title=Driver: Parallel Lines: Sounds of 2006 - Music News at IGN |publisher=Music.ign.com |date= |accessdate=2011-10-15
"Nowhere Again" is the band's biggest hit to date, being played at nearly every show since its conception.
Ten Silver Drops and Ben's departure
Ten Silver Drops , their second album, leaked onto file sharing websites following the release of their lead single "Alone, Jealous and Stoned" in the United Kingdom|UK .
The album once again did not sell well but garnered favorable reviews.
In 2006, the band did a headlining In-the-Round tour.
Benjamin Curtis left the band on March 3, 2007 to focus full time on his new band, School of Seven Bells . The news was posted by Brandon Curtis on the Secret Machines' message board.cite web|last=Curtis|first=Brandon|title=Announcements|url= http://web.archive.org/web/20080417061517/ http://thesecretmachines.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/580005655/m/1621021234|work=The Secret Machines Message Board|accessdate=7 April 2012
Third album
After Ben's departure from the band, Secret Machines played two shows in New York, one at the Annex,cite web|title=Secret Machines Gigography, Tour History|url= http://www.songkick.com/artists/142461-secret-machines/gigography? page=8|work= Songkick |accessdate=15 October 2011 and the other at the newly opened Highline Ballroom. At these shows, the band played mostly new material to be put on their next album. They included two new members: Blasco ( Interpol (band)|Interpol 's touring keyboardist) on guitar, keyboards, and bass, and ex- Tripping Daisy member Phil E. Karnats on guitar. Since these shows, Karnats has become the official guitarist of the band, replacing Ben.
The band finished recording quickly during May 2007 and released a new, Secret Machines (album)|self-titled album in the United States of America on October 14, 2008.cite web|url= http://www.nme.com/news/the-secret-machines/38646 |title=NME news story about future album |publisher=Nme.com |date=2008-08-04 |accessdate=2011-10-15 The http://worlds-fair.net/news/2008/08/14/the-secret-machines-release-exclusive-new-non-album-track/ online release notice features a free download of a non-album B-side titled "Dreaming of Dreaming." Phil E. Karnats announced on his MySpace blog that he recorded guitar parts for the album and will continue to play live with the band. The album has received a perfect 5-star review on venuszine.com.cite web|last=Zine |first=Venus |url=https://venuszine.com/articles/music/4451/The_Secret_Machines |title=Review of The Secret Machines |publisher=Venuszine.com |date= |accessdate=2011-10-15
Style
"They take Pink Floyd psychedelia, Led Zeppelin stomp, and The Who -inspired choruses and charge them full of big-rock beats, atmospheric keyboards and all kinds of electronic whooshes." & mdash; Rolling Stone
''Marfa Mystery Lights – The Secret Machines – A Concert for the UFO's (A performance conceived and filmed by Charles de Meaux) (2007), Les presses du réel
Soundtracks
The Secret Machines have three tracks on the soundtrack for the 2007 film Across the Universe (film)|Across the Universe , which highlights the music of the Beatles , set to the story of a handful of characters living out the songs. They perform "I Am the Walrus" with Bono singing; an instrumental, " Flying (The Beatles song)|Flying " and " Blue Jay Way " in their notable style.
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.thesecretmachines.com/ The Secret Machines
http://www.thesecretmachines.ning.com The Secret Machines social network
http://www.myspace.com/secretmachines Official The Secret Machines MySpace Page
http://www.comfortcomes.com/2008/10/06/secret-machines-secret-machines/ The Secret Machines - Self Titled Review
http://popwreckoning.com/2008/10/21/secret-machines-with-tk-webb-the-visions-webster-hall-nyc/ Secret Machines @ Webster Hall, NYC: 10-18-08 (PopWreckoning live show review)
Interviews
http://auralstates.com/2008/10/the-secret-machines-w-brandon-curtis.html Interview with Brandon Curtis at Aural States (01.10.2008)
http://www.klangschau.com/content/view/214/137 The Secret Machines talk about Ten Silver Drops
The Secret Machines DEFAULTSORT:Secret Machines, The Category:American indie rock groups Category:Musical groups from Dallas, Texas Category:Space rock
