Luna is an American rock band formed in 1991 by singer and guitarist

Dean Wareham Dean Wareham (born 1 August 1963) is an American musician and actor who formed the band Galaxie 500 in 1987. He left Galaxie 500 in April 1991 and founded the band Luna. Since Luna's breakup in 2005, Wareham has released albums with fellow Lun ...

after the breakup of

Galaxie 500 Galaxie 500 was an American alternative rock band that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three albums: ''Today'', '' On Fire'' and '' This Is Our Music''. The band was made up of guitarist/vocalist Dean Wareham, drummer Damon K ...

. Described by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' as "the best band you’ve never heard of," Luna combine intricate guitar work, traditional rock rhythms, and poetic lyrics. The earliest edition of the band also included drummer Stanley Demeski and bassist

Justin Harwood Justin Harwood is a New Zealand bass guitarist, notable for his work with several indie rock bands of the 1980s and 1990s, The Chills, Luna, and Tuatara. He worked alongside New Zealand's Martin Phillipps (The Chills), Dean Wareham (Galaxie 500 ...

(Demeski formerly of

The Feelies The Feelies are an American rock band from Haledon, New Jersey. They formed in 1976 and disbanded in 1992 having released four albums. The band reunited in 2008, and released new albums in 2011 and 2017. Although not commercially successful, the ...

and Harwood formerly of New Zealand band

The Chills The Chills are a New Zealand rock band that formed in Dunedin in 1980. The band is essentially the continuing project of singer/songwriter Martin Phillipps, who is the group's sole constant member. For a time in the 1990s, the act was billed a ...

). The original line-up was expanded with the addition of guitarist Sean Eden for their second album, 1994's ''Bewitched''. Lee Wall replaced Demeski on drums in time for 1997's

Pup Tent ''Pup Tent'' is the fourth album by the American alternative rock band Luna, released in 1997. Background "Bobby Peru" is named after an eccentric, overtly creepy character played by Willem Dafoe in the David Lynch film '' Wild at Heart''. Wareh ...

and

Britta Phillips Britta Phillips (born June 11, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and actress. Phillips' music career spans more than 30 years. She came to prominence in the mid-1980s as the singing voice of the title character ...

of Ultra Baby Fat and

The Belltower The was an American alternative rock band from New York City often associated with the shoegazing scene, with members who later joined Luna and Fountains of Wayne. History The band was formed by singers/guitarists Britta Phillips and Jody Porter ...

(also known as the singing voice of animated character Jem) joined when bassist Justin Harwood departed in 2000. Phillips and Wareham became romantically involved and eventually married in 2007.

History

In 1991, after the end of

's US tour supporting the

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instrum ...

, Dean Wareham told his bandmates

Damon Krukowski Damon Krukowski (born September 6, 1963) is an American musician, poet and writer. He was a member of the dreampop band Galaxie 500 and the psychedelic rock band Magic Hour, and is half of the psychedelic folk duo Damon and Naomi. He is also a ...

and

Naomi Yang Naomi Yang (born September 15, 1964) is an American musician, graphic designer, photographer and filmmaker. She was a member of the dreampop band Galaxie 500, psychedelic rock band Magic Hour and is half of the psychedelic folk duo Damon and N ...

that he was quitting the band. Wareham then signed a demo deal with

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

and recorded a number of tracks with

Mercury Rev Mercury Rev is an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York.
Original personnel were No.6 Records No.6 Records was an independent record label, started in 1989 as a subsidiary of Rough Trade Records by A&R representative and booking agent Terry Tolkin. The name of the label came from the British television series ''The Prisoner''; the main ch ...

in the US and Mint Tea in the UK under the name "Dean Wareham." The same year, Krukowski and Yang released an album as Pierre Etiole, later renaming their new project

Damon & Naomi Damon & Naomi are an American dream pop/indie folk duo, formed in 1991 by Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang, formerly of Galaxie 500. History After Galaxie 500 completed a tour of the US supporting Cocteau Twins, guitarist and vocalist Dean Wareha ...

. Elektra's VP of A&R,

Terry Tolkin Terry Tolkin (September 10, 1959 – January 21, 2022) was an American music executive and music journalist. In the 1980s, Tolkin worked for several record labels, including Touch & Go Records, Rough Trade Records, and his own No.6 Records. Fro ...

, was impressed and Wareham signed a deal with Elektra, and started pulling together a band. He first contacted Justin Harwood, whom he had met while Harwood was playing with

, and they recruited drummer Byron Guthrie, formerly from

Ultra Vivid Scene Ultra Vivid Scene was an American alternative rock band, started by Kurt Ralske. Background Former Nothing But Happiness and Crash guitarist Ralske started Ultra Vivid Scene in 1987, was signed to 4AD Records in 1988, and released his first U ...

. The trio recorded demos (produced by

Dave Fridmann David Lawrence Fridmann is an American record producer and musician. Career From 1990 onwards he co-produced most releases by Mercury Rev and The Flaming Lips. Other bands he has worked with include Weezer, Saxon Shore, Neon Indian, Wolf Gang, ...

) and played a series of live dates with

Mercury Rev Mercury Rev is an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York.
Original personnel were Grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

. Guthrie was replaced by former

Feelies Infocom was an American software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced a business application, a relational database called ''Cornerstone''. Infocom was founded on ...

drummer Stanley Demeski, and this line-up recorded the first album, ''

Lunapark Luna Park is a name shared by dozens of currently operating and defunct amusement parks. They are named after, and partly based on, the first Luna Park, which opened in 1903 during the heyday of large Coney Island parks. Luna parks are small-sc ...

'', produced by

Fred Maher Frederick J. Maher is an American drummer, music programmer and record producer. He was a member of the bands Massacre (1980–81), the Dance, Material, Scritti Politti, and has recorded and toured with Lou Reed. In 1984 he released ''Basic'', ...

and released by Elektra under the name Luna² to avoid confusion with a

new-age music New-age is a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation technique, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management to bring about a state of ecs ...

ian known as "Luna". (Later an accord was reached which allowed the band to use the name Luna.) Shortly after the release of ''Lunapark'', the band placed an advertisement in the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

'' for a guitarist, and Canadian former drama student Sean Eden was recruited. The new four-piece recorded a number of cover versions that would become the ''Slide'' EP, and then toured the US. In mid-1993 the band supported the reformed

Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabri ...

on their European tour, after which they recorded their second album. ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typic ...

'' was recorded in New York City and co-produced by the band with

Victor Van Vugt Victor Van Vugt is a music producer, mixer and engineer. An Australian based in New York, he has had a long association with the careers of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Beth Orton. He has also worked with the likes of P.J. Harvey, Depeche Mod ...

. Velvet Underground guitarist

Sterling Morrison Holmes Sterling Morrison Jr. (August 29, 1942 – August 30, 1995) was an American guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of the rock group the Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, and ...

played guitar on two tracks. The album was released in 1994. In 1995, the band went into Sorcerer Sound studio in New York City with producer Pat McCarthy and engineer Mario Salvati to record their third album ''

Penthouse Penthouse most often refers to: *Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building *Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine *Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...

''. The album featured

Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

guitarist

Tom Verlaine Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, December 13, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the New York City rock band Television. Biography Verlaine was born Thomas Miller in Denville, New Jersey and ...

on the tracks "Moon Palace" and "23 Minutes in Brussels." The album was released in August 1995 to critical acclaim, with ''Rolling Stone'' declaring it one of the essential albums of the 1990s. The album featured a cover of

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

's "Bonnie and Clyde" as a hidden track; the song featured

Lætitia Sadier Lætitia Sadier (born 6 May 1968, sometimes known as Seaya Sadier) is a French musician, best known as a founding member of the London-based avant-pop band Stereolab. In 1996, while Stereolab was still active, she formed the side project Monade. ...

Stereolab Stereolab are an Anglo- French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's music combines influences from krautrock, lounge and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repetit ...

duetting with Dean Wareham. "Bonnie and Clyde" was released as a single in the UK and was named ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' single of the week. ''Pup Tent'' followed in 1997. In 1999, the band recorded ''

The Days of Our Nights ''The Days of Our Nights'' is the fifth album by American alternative rock band Luna, currently out of print in the United States. It includes a cover of the Guns N' Roses hit "Sweet Child o' Mine". Release The album was recorded as Luna's fifth ...

'' for Elektra, but the label declined the album as "not commercially viable" and dropped the band. The record was ultimately released on Jericho Records in the US. Prior to the album's release, Justin Harwood left the band, and was replaced by Britta Phillips. Phillips and Wareham began a romantic affair, leading to Wareham's divorce; the new couple eventually married. After releasing ''Luna Live'' (2001), '' Romantica'' (2002) and '' Rendezvous'' (2004) with their new line-up, Luna announced their final tour (at the time), disbanding after a show at the

Bowery Ballroom The Bowery Ballroom is a New York City live-music venue located at 6 Delancey Street in the neighborhood of Bowery in Manhattan. The Bowery Ballroom holds something of a cult status among musicians as well as audiences. ''Rolling Stone'' magazi ...

on February 27, 2005. Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips continued on as the duo

Dean & Britta Dean & Britta is a musical duo consisting of Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, both former members of Luna. Wareham had formed Luna in 1991 after leaving his first band, Galaxie 500. Phillips joined Luna in 2000, replacing bassist Justin Harwood ...

, initially formed in 2003. In 2012, Sean Eden joined a Dean & Britta performance at the Shine A Light Festival in Brooklyn, performing a short set of Luna tunes in a one-off reunion performance. In 2014, Dean Wareham announced via Twitter that Luna would reunite for a tour of Spain in 2015, to be followed by US dates. In 2017, Luna announced two new releases, a Luna covers LP, ''A Sentimental Education'', and a 6-song original instrumental EP, ''A Place Of Greater Safety'', with a tour of Spain in October and a North American tour in November 2017. Since then, Luna has been touring around the United States and Europe.

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (1992) *''

'' (1994) *''

'' (1995) *''

'' (1997) *''

'' (1999) *'' Luna Live (Live album)'' (2001) *'' Romantica'' (2002) *'' Rendezvous'' (2004) *''Best of Luna'' (2006) * ''Lunafied'' (2006) (Available as download and ''Best of Luna'' bonus disc) *'' A Sentimental Education'' (2017) *Live Bewitched (2022) *Live Penthouse (2022) *Live Rendezvous (2022)

EPs

*''

Slide Slide or Slides may refer to: Places * Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998 * ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018 *''Slide'', by Patrick Glees ...

'' (1993) *'' EP'' (1996) *''EP'' (1997) ''(Australian release consisting of mostly live songs from Pup Tent)'' *''

Close Cover Before Striking ''Close Cover Before Striking'' is an EP by Luna. It contains two videos ("Lovedust" and "1995" from '' Romantica''), as well as Rolling Stones and Kraftwerk covers. The digital re-release in 2011 added Led Zeppelin and Alice Cooper covers. ...

'' (2002) *''A Place Of Greater Safety'' (2017) *''Postscripts'' (2019)

Singles

* Smile (LP Version)/Slash Your Tires (LP Version)/Rollercoaster/Hey Sister (Demo Version) (1993) * This Time Around * Chinatown (Radio Edit)/Chinatown (Album Version) (1995) * Hedgehog/23 Minutes in Brussels/ No Regrets/Happy New Year (1995) * Bonnie & Clyde (Bonnie Parker Version)/Chinatown/ Thank You for Sending Me an Angel/Bonnie & Clyde (Clyde Barrow Version) (1995) * Bonnie & Clyde/Chinatown (1995) * Outdoor Miner/Roll In the Sand (1996) * Season of the Witch (Edit) from I Shot Andy Warhol Soundtrack (1996) * Season of the Witch/

Indian Summer An Indian summer is a period of unseasonably warm, dry weather that sometimes occurs in autumn in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Several sources describe a true Indian summer as not occurring until after the first frost, or more s ...

/Lost in Space/23 Minutes in Brussels (1996) * Bobby Peru (Radio Edit)/Audio Biography (1997) * IHOP/Fuzzy Wuzzy/Words without Wrinkles (1997) * Bobby Peru/

In the Flesh In the Flesh may refer to: Books * ''In the Flesh'' (2009 graphic novel), a collection of stories by Koren Shadmi Film and TV * ''In the Flesh'' (1998 film), an American gay-themed murder mystery film * ''In the Flesh'' (2003 film), an Indian ...

/Beggar's Bliss (Demo)/Bob le Flambeur (1997) * Hedgehog/23 Minutes in Brussels (1997) * Beautiful View/Bobby Peru(U.S. Radio Edit)/California (Live) (1998) * Superfreaky Memories/ Neon Lights/the Bad Vibe Merchant (1999) * Lovedust/Black Postcards/

Only Women Bleed "Only Women Bleed" is a song by Alice Cooper, released on his debut solo album '' Welcome to My Nightmare'' in 1975. It was written by Cooper and Dick Wagner, and was the second single from the album to be released. Background It is a ballad abo ...

(2002) * Speedbumps/Astronaut/Eyes in My Smoke (2004)

DVDs

*''

Tell Me Do You Miss Me Luna is an American rock band formed in 1991 by singer and guitarist Dean Wareham after the breakup of Galaxie 500. Described by ''Rolling Stone'' as "the best band you’ve never heard of," Luna combine intricate guitar work, traditional rock r ...

'' (2006)

Other releases

* Dean Wareham Anesthesia containing songs Anesthesia/I Can't Wait/Tomato Poodle * Dream Baby Dream from the guest album Invitation to a Suicide (1997) * Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham L'Avventura (2003) * Britta Phillips & Dean Wareham Back Numbers (2007) * Dean & Britta 13 Most Beautiful: Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen (2010) * Dean & Britta Sonic Souvenirs (2003 EP) * Dean Wareham Emancipated Hearts (2013) * Dean Wareham Dean Wareham (2014)

Soundtracks

*''

Irma Vep ''Irma Vep'' is a 1996 French comedy-drama film written and directed by Olivier Assayas. Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung plays a fictionalised version of herself, as disasters result when an unstable French film director (played by Jean-Pierre ...

'' (1996) *''

I Shot Andy Warhol ''I Shot Andy Warhol'' is a 1996 biographical drama film about the life of Valerie Solanas and her relationship with the artist Andy Warhol. The film marked the feature film directorial debut of Canadian director Mary Harron. The film stars Lil ...

'' (1996) *''

Mr. Jealousy ''Mr. Jealousy'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Noah Baumbach and starring Eric Stoltz and Annabella Sciorra. Plot Aspiring writer Lester Grimm starts going out with Ramona Ray after being introduced by Lester's f ...

'' (1997) *''

Thursday Thursday is the Names of the days of the week, day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fi ...

'' (1998) *''

Kill Me Later ''Kill Me Later'' is a 2001 film directed by Dana Lustig and starring Selma Blair and Max Beesley; it also features Brendan Fehr and Keegan Connor Tracy. Synopsis Blair plays Shawn, a loan officer at a bank who is having an affair with the bank ...

'' (2001) *''

Sideways ''Sideways'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama road film directed by Alexander Payne and written by Jim Taylor and Payne. A film adaptation of Rex Pickett's 2004 novel of the same name, ''Sideways'' follows two men in their forties, Miles Raymo ...

'' (2004)

References

External links

Official Luna web site

Comprehensive fan site
*

Luna on Allmusic Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Romania ...

Arena Rock Recording Co.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luna Arena Rock Recording Company artists Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups from New York City Musical groups established in 1991 1991 establishments in New York City