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 ====== Elder ====== ====== Elder ======
  
-Heavy Alternative Rock\\ +| **Band:** | Elder | 
-Portsmouth, Virginia, USA+| **Origin:** | Portsmouth, Virginia, USA | 
 +| **Genres:** | Grunge | 
 +| ::: | Alternative Rock | 
 +| ::: | Eclectic | 
 +| **Years Active:** | 1996-1998 | 
 +| **Labels:** | [[Liquid Disc Records]] (1996) | 
 +| ::: | [[Bulletproof Music]] (1997) | 
 +| **Members:** | (1996) Joseph Albanese, Cat Albanese, Willie Dizon, Chris Gildersleeve, Bryan Whitfield | 
 +| ::: | (1997) Joseph Albanese, Cat Albanese, Willie Dizon, Jon Maples, Bryan Whitfield | 
 +| **Associated Acts:** | [[Four Living Creatures]] | 
 +| ::: | [[Sweet Nectar]] | 
 +| ::: | [[Fell Desire]] | 
 + 
 +==== History ==== 
 + 
 +Joe Albanese, Cat Albanese, and Willie Dizon were formerly in [[Four Living Creatures]] before forming Elder.
  
-Joe Albanese, Cat Albanese, and Willie Dizon were formerly in [[Four Living Creatures]] before forming Elder. After Elder, Joe and Cat Albanese formed [[Fell Desire]].+After [[Four Living Creatures]] splintered or broke up, some of the members formed a new band called [[Sweet Nectar]]. [[Sweet Nectar]] essentially re-released [[Four Living Creatures]]'s only full-length //Proletariat Poetry// with a couple of new songs added. But Joe Albanese and Cat Albanese reconnected with former 4LC member Willie Dizon to form a new band called Elder. Chris Gildersleeve and Bryan Whitfield joined Elder, and the band moved into a communal home. In what was described as a one day session, Elder recorded //Used to be Adorable// only six months after forming as a band - on a shoestring budget under the guidance and financial support of their local church home. Live shows around the band's hometown at the time were described as being like "going to punk-goth-rock tent revival."
  
-"In 1991, when Joe Albanese and Willie Dizon formed [[Four Living Creatures]], an aggressively dark Christian rock band, they had no means of forecasting the long and winding road that they would have to travel before that first and most important of all career moves - being signed to a record label. It's probably good though, because had they been able to see their course, they might have opted for one more traveled by, and less instructive.+//Used to be Adorable// received glowing reviews, apparently even from //Circus// magazine (April 1997 issue). The album was described as "funk 'n' punk" goth rock and Middle Eastern vibes with skilled intensity and scorching messages." //Used to be Adorable// also caught the attention of [[Liquid Disc Records]] / [[Vector]] veteran Steve Griffith, as well as David Vanderpoel at 1997's Cornerstone Festival. The story goes that Joe and Willie burst into the radio trailer at Cornerstone where Vanderpoel had an on-air shift in progress. They were looking for a dubbing deck to run demos on for other labels, but ended up impressing Vanderpoel enough for him to interrupt his show and broadcast the demo live on air.
  
-[[Four Living Creatures]] experienced the typical mixed reactions to their shows and the typical lack of enthusiasm from record labels to music that dealt with the scarier moment of Christian life. But the band persevered, recorded their first full-length release, borrowed a Picasso for the cover (from his blue period, natch), and drew the interest of Brad Wells, who had an indie venture at the time called [[Frozen Rope Records]]. Wells contacted [[Gray Dot Records]] for distribution of the [[Four Living Creatures]] record as well as one by [[Harry Gore and the Measles]], and Gray Dot began to market the release, as unique to its genre as was //Shaded Pain// to its in the eighties.+In early October of 1997, Elder and Griffith recorded a new album together. Initially it was called //So Long Babylon//, but at some point was renamed to //Plagues and Woes//. While the second album was well-received, the band found that that musical landscape was changing and their audience was dwindling. This caused tensions in the band, as some members wanted to play harder music while others wanted to add more variety to their sound. Joe also felt that //Plagues and Woes// was where he gave up on his vision for the band some, giving in to industry processes.
  
-And then the band broke up. The stress of the road exacerbated existing tensions, and [[Four Living Creatures]] played their final show in Atlanta. A splinter band eventually signed to [[R.E.X. Music]] as [[Sweet Nectar]], temporarily occupying Dizon's attentions. However, in 1997, Dizon left [[Sweet Nectar]], and reunited with Albanese and his wife since 1992, Cat, as well as Jonathan Maple on drums, and Bryan Whitfield, who had just ended a long fight to be released from the Air Force as a conscientous objector after he converted to Christianity. The band moved into a communal home, following the example of early church models, and recorded //Used to be Adorable// under the guidance and financial support of Pastor David Alexander from their local church home, Abundant Life.+Elder played with many bands in it's short existence, including [[P.O.D.]], [[Mortal]], [[Skillet]], [[Soulfood 76]], [[Dodavahu]], [[Broomtree]] and [[Scaterd Few]]. As the band toured the eastern U.S., the rigors of being on the road took their toll. Apparently, the last concert of their 1998 tour with [[Squad Five-0]], [[Johnny Respect]], and [[Dear Ephesus]] also ended up being the last for the band as well. The band fell apart when two of the members walking off the stage while a third decided to berated the audience before taking off. This just left Joe and Cat alone on stage. Apparently, Joe then decided to smash his guitar, thank the audience, and say good night. "I was astonished by the crowds response," Joe laughed. "They thought we put on quite a show. I need to be on daytime television... that night was tough, truly sad."
  
-//Used to be Adorable// was a stunningly powerful effort, and practically a one-day record, and it caught the eye first of [[Liquid Disc Records]] / [[Vector]] veteran Steve Griffith, who offered the band his production and studio in return for part of their publishing royalties in the eventuality that they were signed. Elder accepted. The second ear it caught was that of David Vanderpoel at 1997's Cornerstone festival, when Joe and Willie burst into the radio trailer where Vanderpoel had an on-air shift in progress. The band was desperate for a dubbing deck to run demos on for other labels at the festival, and what Vanderpoel heard was impressive enough for him to interrupt his show and broadcast the demo live on air. (It's never been confirmed that he actually did dub anything for other labels.)+After Elder, Joe and Cat Albanese started a project called Ozone Park. However, this band was put on hold before releasing any music when their church relocated to Maine in 1999.
  
-The rest as they say, is history. Or future, in this case. In early October of 1997, Elder and Griffith recorded their new twelve-song tour de force, //So Long Babylon//, a shrill indictment of carnal life and its plagues and woes, and an even tougher look at America's pasteurization of Christianity. While //So Long Babylon// (renamed to //Plagues and Woes//) is bound to unsettle the unrighteous, it is the record that Elder survived to make, and a valuable addition to the Christian music lexicon alongside [[L.S.U.]], [[Scaterd Few]], [[SpudGun]], and other socially-focused records. And "Š Babylon" holds its own in its target audience of Christians listening to Jane's Addiction, Tool, Black Sabbath, and Rage Against the Machine."+Around 2000, Joe Albanese tried several times to reunite with Bryan, Jonathan, and Willie to reform Elder, but they refused. In 2001, Joe and Cat relocated to Indiana.
  
-(from [[http://graydot.com/support/eldx.html]])+Around 2001 to 2002, Joe and Cat Albanese began forming a new band called [[Fell Desire]].
  
 ===== Discography ===== ===== Discography =====
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 +{{ :elder_-_demo_-_cover_1.jpg?nolink&200|}}
 ==== Demo ==== ==== Demo ====
  
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 ------ ------
 +{{ :elder_-_used_to_be_adorable.jpg?nolink&300|}}
 ==== Used to be Adorable ==== ==== Used to be Adorable ====
  
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 ------ ------
 +{{ :elder_-_plagues_and_woes.jpg?nolink&300|}}
 ==== Plagues And Woes ==== ==== Plagues And Woes ====
  
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   - America Jones (4:00)   - America Jones (4:00)
  
-*Re-master bonus songs:*+**Re-master bonus songs:**
  
   - I Can See You (1:56)   - I Can See You (1:56)
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 ------ ------
 +
 +===== Links =====
 +
 +  * [[https://eldervb.bandcamp.com|Elder on BandCamp]]
elder.1547743613.txt.gz · Last modified: 2019/01/17 16:46 by admin