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LUNA, band, Dean Wareham, Lee Wall, Sean Eden, Justin Harwood

Luna.

MEMBERS

Dean Wareham,

Justin Harwood, (1991-00)

Byron Guthrie, (1991)

Stanley Demeski, (1992-96)

Sean Eden, (1993-)

Lee Wall, (1997-)

Matt Quigley, (2000)

Britta Phillips, (2001-)


HOMETOWN

New York, New York


MOST POPULAR

Penthouse


GREATEST HITS

Anesthesia
Bonnie and Clyde
California (All the Way)
Chinatown
City Kitty
Tiger Lily
23 Minutes in Brussels


ALSO

LUNA's site

LUNA on Wikipedia


DESCRIPTION

Luna was a "dream pop"/indie pop band formed in 1991 by Dean Wareham after the breakup of Galaxie 500, with Stanley Demeski and Justin Harwood (Demeski formerly of The Feelies and Harwood formerly of New Zealand band The Chills).


RELATED ARTISTS

THE BELLTOWER (Britta)

THE CHILLS (Justin)

DEAN AND BRITTA (Dean/Britta)

THE FEELIES (Stanley)

GALAXIE 500 (Dean)

LUNA Pup Tent vinyl LP
LUNA, band, Dean Wareham

Dean and Sean
Photo by Thomas Barrasso Nebula Studios.
Taken at the Paridise in Boston, MA on the Pup Tent tour.


LUNA, band, Dean Wareham, Lee Wall, Sean Eden, Justin Harwood

Sean, Lee, Dean, Justin
Photo by [unknown]



ELEKTRA A. & R.

Terry Tolkin


ADDITIONAL LIVE PLAYERS

Sean "Grasshopper" Mackowiak (1991),

Mark Robinson (1991)


AND

Dean and Britta's site


DEAN'S MEMOIR

Black Postcards


ALSO

The only constant member for the life of the band was Dean Wareham.


FILM


TELL ME DO YOU MISS ME

A trailer for the Luna documentary film. Directed by Matthew Buzzell.


LOVEDUST

Performed live on network television.


BIOGRAPHY

In 1991, after leaving Galaxie 500, Dean Wareham signed a demonstration recording deal with Elektra Records, and recorded some demos with drummer Jimy Chambers of Mercury Rev. Songs included Anesthesia, I Can't Wait, and Slash Your Tires. Anesthesia was released as a single (under the name Dean Wareham) on Number 6 records.

Elektra liked what they heard and Dean began to put Luna together, calling his friend Justin Harwood (former bassist with the Chills) in New Zealand. Justin moved over to New York City, taking an apartment on east 16th street, and the two began auditioning drummers. The first drummer's name was Byron Guthrie, and the trio rehearsed in the basement underneath his apartment on Avenue B. They recorded another group of demos (produced by Dave Fridmann) and played a couple of shows together that included Grasshopper (also of Mercury Rev) on guitar.

Byron was replaced by Stanley Demeski (ex of the Feelies), and this lineup (Dean, Justin and Stanley) recorded the first album, Lunapark. The record was produced by Fred Maher (former drummer with Richard Hell and the Voidoids and Lou Reed) and recorded at RPM Studios in New York.

Upon completion of Lunapark, an ad was placed in the Village Voice seeking a permanent guitar player, and Sean Eden was recruited. Sean had come to New York to pursue an acting career after studying at North Carolina School of the Arts.

The first recordings as a quartet were the covers for the Slide EP: Ride Into the Sun, That's What You Always Say, Indian Summer, and the Christmas single Egg Nog. These recordings were produced by the band and recorded at Mixolydian Studios in Boonton, New Jersey.

Luna toured the United States in the fall of 1992 and spring of 1993 opening for The Screaming Trees and the Sundays respectively, and landed the bizarre job of opening for the Velvet Underground on their European tour that summer.

Bewitched was recorded in the fall of 1993, co-produced by Victor Van Vugt, and recorded in New York at Right Track and RPM over a period of six weeks. Sterling Morrison of the VU came to New York and played guitar on two songs, Friendly Advice and Great Jones Street. Bewitched was released in 1994.

Luna's third album, Penthouse (1995), was recently deemed one of the 150 best albums of the 90s by Rolling Stone magazine. Most of the record was recorded by Mario Salvati at Sorcerer Sound in New York. Penthouse features a secret hidden track which is a duet with Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab and a cover version of Serge Gainsbourg's Bonnie and Clyde, and the record also features Television guitarist Tom Verlaine on a couple of tracks. The record was mixed, with some additional recording and production by Pat McCarthy.

In 1997 Lee Wall replaced Stanley Demeski on drums. Lee had in fact been working at RPM making coffee and sweeping the supply closet during the Penthouse sessions, and he (like Sean) had attended North Carolina School of the Arts. His first assignment was a short but hellish trip to Spain. Upon returning the band recorded demos for the Pup Tent album. Pup Tent was recorded over a period of 14 weeks at seven different studios, mostly in New York but also including a three week stint in Cannon Falls, MN in the dead of winter. It was painstakingly produced from beginning to end by Pat McCarthy (R.E.M.'s current producer).

In November and December of 1998 LUNA recorded their fifth album, The Days of Our Nights, produced by Paul Kimble at Sear Sound and RPM studios in New York. After much discussion, the powers at the Elektra Entertainment Group decided that they did not want to release The Days of Our Nights. It was released on schedule in Europe by Beggar's Banquet, and the band were quickly signed by the Jericho label in the U.S. The album was released domestically in October,and went to Number One on the college radio charts.

In December of 1999 Justin Harwood returned to New Zealand for good. He was replaced on bass by Britta Phillips. The band recorded their next album, Romantica, in 2001, with Gene Holder, at Jolly Roger Studios in Hoboken. The album was mixed by Dave Fridmann at Tarbox Road studios. Once the record was completed, Luna signed with Jetset Records. For the Romantica tour, Luna added keyboard player Lara Gray to the band, she has been performing with them whenever possible.

Romantica was followed by the mini-LP Close Cover Before Striking, which features cover versions of songs by the Rolling Stones and Kraftwerk, a handful of new Luna songs, and two video clips.

Luna's final album, Rendezvous (2004), was produced by Bryce Goggin at his Trout Recording studio in Brooklyn. The band played their very last shows at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City, at the end of March, 2005.

2006 will see two new releases from Luna. One is a documentary about the band's final tour, directed by Matthew Buzzell, and tentatively titled Tell Me Do You Miss Me. The DVD will be released by Rhino DVD. Rhino will also release a single-disc compilation of Luna's greatest hits.



DEAN WAREHAM

Dean Wareham was born in Wellington, New Zealand. He emigrated first to Sydney, Australia, and then to New York City on July 31, 1977 during the "Summer of Sam." In New York City he attended high school with Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang. Later the three became known as the Boston band GALAXIE 500, who made three albums between 1987 and 1991 (currently available on the Rykodisc label). In 1992 Dean started Luna. He has a Bachelor's degree in Social Studies.



DISCOGRAPHY


SINGLES

Time
Anesthesia
Slash Your Tires
Indian Summer
Smile
Slide
This Time Around
Tiger Lily
Hedgehog / 23 Minutes in Brussels
Bonnie and Clyde / Chinatown
3 Stories
Season of the Witch
Outdoor Miner
Ihop
Bobby Peru
In the Flesh
Everybody's Talkin'
Beautiful View
Superfreaky Memories
Dear Pauline
Dear Diary
Lovedust
Speedbumps


ALBUMS

Lunapark
Bewitched
Penthouse
Luna [USA]
Pup Tent
Luna [Australia]
Days of Our Nights
Luna Live!
Romantica
Close Cover Before Striking
Rendezvous
Best of Luna


COMPILATIONS

Your Invitation to Suicide
The Bob No.48
WEA News 2/94
CMJ New Music No.8
Grooves
Hey Knucklehead
Virtually Alternative July 97
Un Ete 97
Rolling Stone New Voices No.17
Rolling Stone New Voices No.28
CMJ New Music No.90
Home Sleep Home
Samsonic Festival
East of Broadway
His and Hers, Vol.1


FILM

Tell Me Do You Miss Me


SOUNTRACKS

I Shot Andy Warhol
Mr. Jealosy
The Myth of Fingerprints
Sorority Boys


RELATED

The Belltower
The Chills
The Feelies
Dean and Britta
Galaxie 500


SONGS

23 Minutes in Brussels
The Alibi
Anesthesia
Astronaut
Beautiful View
Beggar's Bliss
Bewitched
Black Champagne
Black Postcards
Bob Le Flambeur
Bobby Peru
Bonnie and Clyde (Bonnie Parker Version)
Bonnie and Clyde (Clyde Barrow Version)
Broken Chair
Buffalo Boots
California (all the Way)
Chinatown
Cindy Tastes of Barbecue
City Kitty
Crazy People
The Creeps
Dance With Me
Dear Diary
Dear Pauline
Dizzy
Double Feature
Dream Baby Dream
Drunken Whistler
Early Morning
Egg Nog
The Enabler
Everybody's Talkin'
Eyes in My Smoke
Four Thousand Ways
4th of July
Fly into the Mistery
Freakin' and Peakin'
Friendly Advice
Fuzzy Wuzzy
Going Home
Goodbye
Great Jones Street
Happy New Year
Hedge Hog
Hello, Little One
Hey Sister
I Can't Wait
I Know You Tried
I Want Everything
Ihop
In the Flesh
Indian Summer
Into the Fold
It's Bringing You Down
Jealous Guy
Kalamazoo
La Poupee Qui Fait Non
Lost in Space
Lovedust
Malibu Love Nest
Math Wiz
Mermaid Eyes
Moon Palace
Motel Bambi
The Moviegoer
Neon Lights
New Haven Comet
1995
No Regrets
The Old Fashioned Way
Only Women Bleed
Orange Peel
Outdoor Miner
The Owl & the Pussycat
Pup Tent
Rainbow Babe
Rememories
Renee is Crying
Requiem for a Mouse
Rhythm King
Ride into the Sun
Rock Your Baby
Roll in the Sand
Rollercoaster
Romantica
The Rustler
Season of the Witch
Seven-Eleven
Seven Steps to Satan
Sideshow by the Seashore
Slash Your Tires
Sleeping Pill
Slide
The Slow Song
Smile
Speedbumps
Star-Spangled Man
Still at Home
Superfreaky Memories
Swedish Fish
Sweet Child O'Mine
Teenage Lightning
Thank You For Sending Me An Angel
That's What You Always Say
This Time Around
Tiger Lily
Time
Time to Quit
Tracy I Love You
U.S. Out Of My Pants!
Waiting on a Friend
We're Both Confused
Weird and Woozy
Whispers
Words Without Wrinkles