Oranger was a

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band.

Band history

Mike Drake, Matt Harris and Jim Lindsay knew each other from playing together in previous bands Overwhelming Colorfast and Stick Figures. They formed Oranger in 1997 with Chad Dyer of American Sensei on bass, Mike Drake providing vocals and guitar, Jim Lindsay on drums and Matt Harris performing lead guitar. The four first performed at the San Francisco

Noise Pop Festival Noise Pop Festival is an annual week-long music and arts festival that takes place throughout the San Francisco Bay Area produced by Noise Pop. From 1993 to 2020, and then resuming in 2022, Noise Pop Festival has provided exposure to some emer ...

. Dyer soon left the band and Oranger established itself as a trio. After the success at the Noise Pop Festival, they recorded their first album '' Doorway to Norway''. The album was recorded on a Tascam 8-track cassette and released in 1998 on their own Pray for Mojo record label. In early 1999,

Scott Kannberg Christopher Scott Kannberg (born August 30, 1966), known professionally as Scott Kannberg and Spiral Stairs, is an American musician best known for being a founding member of the indie-rock band Pavement serving as guitarist and occasional lea ...

of Pavement and Drake founded San Francisco indie label Amazing Grease Records and reissued ''Doorway to Norway'' as the label's first release. In 1999, Patrick Main was added to the lineup and the band began recording their second album, '' The Quiet Vibrationland,'' taking its name from a lyric from

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

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". It was tracked on an

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MM1000 tape machine previously owned by

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

. ''Vibrationland'' was released in 2000. In 2003, Oranger released the double album '' Shutdown the Sun/From the Ashes of Electric Elves'' on San Francisco indie label

Jackpine Social Club Jack pine (''Pinus banksiana'') is an eastern North American pine. Its native range in Canada is east of the Rocky Mountains from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, and the north-central and no ...

. Lindsay left the group in 2004 and currently plays drums for

The High Water Marks The High Water Marks is an indie rock band associated with the Elephant 6 collective. The band has two lead creative members, Hilarie Sidney and Per Ole Bratset, who co-write the band's music. Band history Hilarie Sidney, drummer for The Apple ...

. Oranger's last album, ''

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'', was released in 2005 on

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indie Eenie Meenie Records. Also in 2005, the band's

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of the 1954 hit song " Mr. Sandman" was featured in the

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video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

'' Stubbs the Zombie in "Rebel Without a Pulse"'' and in the television show "Vampire Diaries". In 2020, Oranger planned a reunion concert for April 12, 2020 at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco. It was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Band members

Current members

*Mike Drake - vocals, guitar *Bob Reed - guitar *Patrick Main - keyboards

Former members

*Chad Dyer - bass *Jim Lindsay - drums *John Hofer - drums *Matt Harris - bass, vocals (died 2021)

Discography

*''Doorway to Norway'' (1998) *''The Quiet Vibration Land'' (2000) *''Shutdown the Sun/From the Ashes of Electric Elves'' (2003) *''New Comes and Goes'' (2005) *''Please Leave Our Mind - Covers Under Lockdown'' (2021) *''Vege-tables'' (2021) *''Everyone Says You're Lots of Fun'' (2023)

Soundtracks

*'' Stubbs the Zombie: The Soundtrack'' (2005) song: " Mr. Sandman" (cover of

The Chordettes The Chordettes were an American female vocal quartet, specializing in traditional pop music. They are best known for their 1950s hit songs " Mr. Sandman" and "Lollipop". Career The group organized in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in 1946. The origin ...

)

References

External links

Oranger
at MySpace.com {{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from California Musical groups established in 1997 Musical groups disestablished in 2006 Musical groups reestablished in 2020 Musical groups from San Francisco