The Blood Arm are an American five-piece rock band from
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, currently residing in Berlin, Germany. At present, they have released five albums. Their music has been likened to "
James Brown fronting
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.[Talki ...](_blank)
and singing
Fall
Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...
songs" by the ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' and they are renowned for their extremely energetic live performances.
The Blood Arm's music has been featured in the television programs ''
Gossip Girl
''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series based on the novel series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, developed for television by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, ran on The CW network for six sea ...
'', ''
The OC
''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. "O.C." is an initiali ...
'', ''
Nip/Tuck
''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...
'', ''
Chuck
Chuck is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to:
People
Arts and entertainment
* Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet
* Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV producer
* C ...
'', ''
Ravenswood'' and the US version of ''
Shameless'', as well as the hit movie ''
Cloverfield
''Cloverfield'' is a 2008 American found footage monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams, and written by Drew Goddard. It stars Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel and Odette Yus ...
'' and the 2006 documentary ''
Radiant City
''Radiant City'' is a 2006 Canadian film written and directed by Gary Burns and Jim Brown. It is about the suburban sprawl and the Moss family's life in the suburbs. The film is openly critical towards suburban sprawl and its negative effects, b ...
''.
History
Formation
The Blood Arm were formed in LA in 2002.
The band is led by singer Nathaniel Fregoso (born November 29, 1979), who has a reputation for highly energetic live shows, including singing from the tops of speaker stacks, hanging off water pipes, waltzing with members of the audience, or stealing off to the bar to swipe drinks. Fregoso met guitarist Zebastian Carlisle at a karaoke bar in Koreatown and keyboardist / co-vocalist Dyan Valdés at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
, which they both attended.
Early years and ''Bomb Romantics'' (2002–2005)
The founding members of the band performed around Los Angeles as a three-piece until drummer Zachary Amos joined the band in 2003. They self-released the EP ''Four Song Demo'' in 2004 and their debut album ''Bomb Romantics'' in 2005, generating buzz overseas with positive reviews. The album quickly sold out and remains out of print.
On 19 March 2004, the band played an after show party for
Franz Ferdinand
Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.
Fr ...
, who had just performed at LA's Troubadour. Singer
Alex Kapranos
Alexander Paul Kapranos Huntley (born 20 March 1972) is a Scottish musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and author. He is best known as the lead singer and guitarist of Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand. He has also been a part of the ...
quickly began naming the Blood Arm as his favorite new band. The band were interviewed by Franz Ferdinand in the 8 January 2005 issue of the ''NME''.
The Blood Arm were nominated for the ''
LA Weekly'' Music Award for Best New Artist in 2004. The Blood Arm used to travel with a
Master of Ceremonies named Ben Lee Handler, who warmed up the crowd with semi-fictional accounts of how the band arrived at the venue. They won the Best Live Act award at the 2005
South By Southwest Music Conference.
''Lie Lover Lie'' (2005–2009)
The 2005 single "Do I Have Your Attention?" on
Loog Records
Loog Records is a UK-based record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as an imprint of Polydor Records. The label was launched in 2003 and managed by former NME editor James Oldham. It is named after former Rolling Stones mana ...
was a UK radio hit, and the "Say Yes" single released later that year on UK's City Rockers charted in the country's top fifty. Shortly afterward, the Blood Arm signed to the record label
City Rockers
City Rockers is a British independent record label. Their current signed artists include The Sunshine Underground, The Ghost Frequency and The Blood Arm.
Past releases on the label came from bands such as FC Kahuna, The Rakes, Felix Da Houseca ...
/
Because and released their second album ''
Lie Lover Lie'' in October 2006. It received many positive reviews with ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' giving it 5/5, ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' giving it 8/10, and
Artrocker calling it "the best debut album of the year."
The breakout single "Suspicious Character (I Like All the Girls and All the Girls Like Me)" quickly became an indie disco hit. The band also recorded a bilingual French and English version of "Do I Have Your Attention?" with French pop star
Anaïs. The collaboration was a hit in France and led to performances on the French music television show ''
Taratata
''Taratata'' is a French television music show showcasing live and pre-recorded footage of current acts. Presented by Nagui since its début in 1993, the show was initially shown on France 2. The show often involved surprise and unlikely duets, as ...
''.
The band's record label City Rockers folded after the release, leaving the band unable to follow up the release of ''Lie Lover Lie'' in time to capitalize on its momentum. According to Fregoso, "we were left in this weird middle space. It's incredibly confusing being on offshoots of major labels."
''All My Love Songs'' and ''Turn and Face Me'' (2009–2011)
In 2010, the band released the EP ''All My Love Songs'' on Snowhite Records. Their third full-length album ''
Turn and Face Me'' was released by Snowhite Records on 4 July 2011.
''Turn and Face Me'' received generally positive reviews. In their 8/10 review, ''Punk Rock ist nicht tot'' described the album as "bubbly, infectious, inventive pop" and "fun with a capital 'F'."
''Q Magazine'' called ''Turn and Face Me'' "playfully knowing indie rock that could almost be a collision between The Scots and
The Boomtown Rats
The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock music, rock band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hit record, hits including "Like Clockwork", "Rat Trap", "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Banana Repub ...
", though the album also drew comparisons with
Roxy Music
Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone ...
,
Kevin Rowland and
the Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...
.
The band promoted the album with a lengthy European tour, beginning and eventually culminating in Germany. The promotional tour included an appearance on ''Berlin Live'' on
ZDF
ZDF (, short for Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen; ; "Second German Television") is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is run as an independent nonprofit institution, which was founded by all fe ...
(a popular music show from Berlin) alongside
Art Brut and dEUS.
Berlin
2011 also saw Fregoso and Valdés relocate to Berlin, Germany, followed a year later by Carlisle. According to Fregoso, the move was inspired by a desire for reinvention. Berlin's storied musical history also played a huge role: says Fregoso, "I wanted to understand why so much great music had come out of Germany and I wanted The Blood Arm to be a part of that tradition."
Drummer Amos did not make the move with them and they were temporarily joined by ex-
Rumble Strips
Rumble strips (also known as sleeper lines or alert strips) are a road safety feature to alert inattentive drivers of potential danger, by causing a tactile vibration and audible rumbling transmitted through the wheels into the vehicle interior. ...
drummer Matthew Wheeler.
The band currently reside together in a shared flat in Berlin's
Prenzlauer Berg
Prenzlauer Berg () is a locality of Berlin, forming the southerly and most urban district of the borough of Pankow. From its founding in 1920 until 2001, Prenzlauer Berg was a district of Berlin in its own right. However, that year it was incor ...
district which they refer to as "HQ".
Fregoso and Valdés spent their first winter in Berlin penning the songs that would become the band's fourth studio album, ''Infinite Nights''.
The pair performed the new songs acoustically on a free "tour" of Berlin's U8 U-Bahn line, stopping at each station to perform a different song.
''Infinite Nights'' (2011–2014)
''Infinite Nights'' was recorded in a studio in Berlin's seedy Neukölln neighborhood and released on RIP Ben Lee Records on 17 June 2013,
and "shows a different shade to the band with half the songs being quieter, more introspective, and reflective" according to ''The Vinyl District'' which named the Blood Arm the UK Artist of the Week.
The album's more mature and introspective sound garnered praise from the music press, with ''Q Magazine'' likening Fregoso and Valdés to a "modern-day
Lou Reed and
Moe Tucker
Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker (born August 26, 1944) is an American musician and singer-songwriter who was the drummer for the New York City-based rock band the Velvet Underground. After they disbanded in the early 1970s, she left the music industry ...
" on the melancholy ballad "Torture", proclaiming that the move to Berlin "has done them good: this is the sound of the real Blood Arm stepping up to the mic."
The Blood Arm were selected to participate in a citywide musical project called Lokalhymnen Berlin, in which Berlin-based bands were asked to write an original song about the city. The resulting track and video, "The Invitation", was released on the ''Lokalhymnen'' CD and DVD compilation on 13 December 2013.
''Kick 'Em in the Sunglasses'' (2014–present)
In 2014, the band was joined by drummer Sebastian Völkers and bassist Ferdinand Kumpfmüller, who together form the music production company Mimic.
With the new line-up, the Blood Arm recorded their fifth studio album ''Kick 'Em in the Sunglasses'' in their own Berlin-based studio. The album was released in February 2016 on Duchess Box Records.
Solo projects
Valdés co-founded the group
Everybody Was in the French Resistance...Now! with singer
Eddie Argos
Eddie Argos (born Kevin Macklin 25 October 1979) is the lead singer of English rock band Art Brut, and writer of comics.
Personal life
Born in Weymouth, England, Argos later moved to Poole, Dorset as a young child, and has subsequently writt ...
of Art Brut, in which the pair wrote responses to popular songs. The album ''Fixin' the Charts, Vol. 1'', for which she composed all of the music and played the majority of instruments, was released in 2010 on
Cooking Vinyl and supported by a worldwide tour. She is also currently the touring keyboard player for the seminal German indie band
Die Sterne.
Fregoso released a solo album under the moniker Thee Nathaniel Fregoso & the Bountiful Hearts on Duchess Box Records in 2014. Lead single "Transatlantic Panic Attack" was a radio hit on rock station Flux FM in Berlin.
Discography
Albums
* ''Bomb Romantics'' (2004)
* ''
Lie Lover Lie'' (2006)
* ''
Turn and Face Me'' (2011)
* ''Infinite Nights'' (2013)
* ''Kick 'Em in the Sunglasses'' (2016)
EPs
* ''4 Song Demo'' (2004)
* ''All My Love Songs'' (2010)
Singles
* "Do I Have Your Attention?" (2005)
* "Say Yes" (2005)
* "Suspicious Character" (2006) –
UK No. 62
* "Angela" (2007)
* "Do I Have Your Attention?" (with French singer Anaïs) (2007)
* "She's a Guillotine" (2011)
* "Relentless Love" (2011)
* "Midnight Moan" (2013)
* "Matters of the Heart" (2013)
Interviews
The Scenestar – December 2006Splendid Berlin — 2014
References
External links
Official siteOfficial blogOnline StoreThe Blood Armat ''
Drowned in Sound''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blood Arm, The
Musical groups established in 2002
Alternative rock groups from California
2002 establishments in California
American expatriates in Germany
Because Music artists