“In our weird, warped, young minds, we thought ourselves the heirs to Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane as much as we were to the Velvet Underground and the Stooges,” says Wynn, 55. ![]() and U2, eventually finding an audience abroad and cult status at home, before imploding in 1989 after four studio albums. During the psych-garage band’s early glory period, when it recorded its now-classic debut, Days of Wine and Roses, the Syndicate was lumped in with other retro-minded West Coast bands - from the Bangles to the Rain Parade - in a movement some called “the Paisley Underground.” But the group’s longer, often improvised songs and sheer love of noise stood out from that dreamy pack. “Once we booked the studio, we figured we’d find a place to get loose and greased up before we go to make the record,” he says.įormed out of Los Angeles, by way of Davis, California, the Dream Syndicate held a much-celebrated 30th anniversary tour in 2012 (without original members Karl Precoda and Kendra Smith, to the chagrin of some fans). The gig is a warm-up for a new album that the Syndicate will soon begin recording at Montrose, their first since 1988’s Ghost Stories, with engineers Bruce and Adrian Olsen. So maybe it shouldn’t surprise people that the prolific journeyman rocker is bringing the reconstituted Dream Syndicate to Strange Matter - the former Twisters - on Saturday, Dec. And he’s recorded numerous albums, including solo projects and with his current group, the Miracle Three, at Montrose Studio in Richmond’s North Side. Not only did Wynn’s influential ’80s band, the Dream Syndicate, perform often in area venues like Twisters and Flood Zone back in the day, he’s got a lot of friends here. “I’ve always felt a real connection to the place,” says the guitarist and songwriter based in New York City’s Queens borough. Richmond is like a second home to Steve Wynn. They recorded Live at Raji’s in 1989 as their swan song.Today’s Dream Syndicate features singer/bandleader Steve Wynn and original drummer Dennis Duck, alongside longtime DS bassist Mark Walton, and frequent Wynn collaborator Jason Victor on guitar (photo by Juan Carlos Quindos). The band had realigned to include Mark Walton on bass and Paul B. As the band label-hopped, a new lineup and falling morale spawned Out of the Grey (Big Time) in 1986 and the Elliot Mazer-produced Ghost Stories (Enigma) in 1988. By this time, Smith had left the band and was replaced by Dave Provost on bass andTom Zvoncheck on keyboards. Wynn took his cues fromNeil Young & Crazy Horse on the record rather than Lou Reed (who was considered a preferable source at the time), and the rootsier sound caused a backlash with the fan base. ![]() Released in 1984, Medicine Show was met with mixed response by the college crowd. Live, they had developed into an assaultive guitar band prone to jamming, which helped earn them the tag as leaders of L.A.’s paisley underground movement. The record has been cited as influential from artists as diverse as Kurt Cobain to the Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson. ![]() It was shortly off to Ruby/Slash for Days of Wine and Roses, the most lauded record on the college charts that year. They debuted with a self-titled, unbelievably Velvet Underground-like EP on Wynn’s own Down There label. 21, 1960) and including Karl Precoda (guitar),Dennis Duck (drums), and Kendra Smith (bass), the band formed in Los Angeles after Smith and Wynn had relocated there from Davis, CA. Dream Syndicate are at the foundation (alongside the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, and R.E.M.) of contemporary alternative music simply because at the time when most bands were experimenting with new technology, the Syndicate deigned to bring back the guitar.
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