Particle is an American

jam band A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational " jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often ...

formed in

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 ...

in 2000.

History

The band formed in 2000 and the original members were Dave Simmons (guitar), Steve Molitz (keyboard), Eric Gould (bass), and Darren Pujalet (drums).Haymaker: Particle
, ''

Free Lance-Star Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procure ...

'', May 19, 2005, p. 17 (Weekender section). Retrieved October 6, 2013 Simmons died shortly after the formation of the band due to a sudden illness.Brown, Marisa
Particle Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

. Retrieved October 6, 2013 Guitarist Charlie Hitchcock joined shortly thereafter. Along with

The Disco Biscuits ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, Sound Tribe Sector 9, and Lotus the group was among the first to blend

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, funk, and electronica into the milieu of what has been dubbed

livetronica A jam band is a musical group whose concerts (and live albums) are characterized by lengthy improvisational " jams." These include extended musical improvisation over rhythmic grooves and chord patterns, and long sets of music which often cr ...

(a subgenre of the jam band movement where live bands blend the structures of DJ-produced sequenced electronic music into a more traditional live band setting). Prior to 2006, the band's repertoire consisted entirely of instrumental material. The group made a name for itself and built an enthusiastic fan base, known as Particle People, by performing energetic late-night sets at festivals such as

Bonnaroo The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in M ...

, where they played a set of over five hours to 20,000 people.Nelson, Chris (2004)
MediaTalk; The Unorthodox System: First Build a Fan Base, Then Record an Album
, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', March 8, 2004. Retrieved October 6, 2013Gilmore, Emily (2006)
Particle Brings Its Music to the People
, ''

The Free Lance-Star ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', October 5, 2006, p. 11. Retrieved October 6, 2013 They played up to 140 shows a year, often to large audiences. Reliance on word of mouth from fans, rather than advertising, allowed this group to sell out venues such as 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'' magaz ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

before they finally released their much anticipated first album, ''Launchpad'', in early 2004, on which they worked with producer

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.Booth, Philip (2004)
Particle ''Launchpad''
, ''

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'', Issue No. 122. Retrieved October 6, 2013Horowitz, Hal
Particle ''Launchpad'' Review
,

. Retrieved October 6, 2013 In April and May 2005 the group toured with former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart as Hydra;Pantsari, Mark R. (2006)
Particle Finds New Chemistry
, ''

The Post and Courier ''The Post and Courier'' is the main daily newspaper in Charleston, South Carolina. It traces its ancestry to three newspapers, the ''Charleston Courier'', founded in 1803, the ''Charleston Daily News'', founded 1865, and ''The Evening Post'', f ...

'', April 27, 2006, p. 5E. Retrieved October 6, 2013Hochman, Steve (2005) "Just a slight hint of Dead in Hydra", ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'', April 13, 2005, p. E4 the tour received mixed reviews from many

Deadheads A Deadhead or Dead Head is a fan of the American rock band the Grateful Dead. In the 1970s, a number of fans began travelling to see the band in as many shows or festival venues as they could. With large numbers of people thus attending strings ...

who were unaccustomed to Particle's electronic-based approach. Bassist Phil Lesh, also of the Grateful Dead, sat in with the band that summer. They followed ''Launchpad'' with the EP ''Launchpad Remixes'', featuring tracks from the album remixed by members of

Groove Armada Groove Armada are an English electronic music duo, composed of Andy Cato and Tom Findlay. They achieved chart success with their singles "At the River", " I See You Baby" and " Superstylin'". The duo have released nine studio albums, four of w ...

and Sugar Daddy.Pantsari, Mark R. (2004)
This Particle's Getting Remixed
, ''

'', October 21, 2004, p. 6F. Retrieved October 6, 2013 In 2005 the band toured Europe for the first time. Following their performance on the Xingolati Cruise in late 2005 the band dismissed Hitchcock from the group. This was a source of controversy in the months that followed, because the band's website stated that the departure was a mutual decision. Hitchcock, however, vehemently disagreed and went public by stating that he was summarily fired and was never able to overcome a "hired hand" stigma from the other bandmembers despite joining a mere six performances after the group's formation. Replacing Hitchcock were Ben Combe and

Scott Metzger Scott Metzger (born October 12, 1977) is an American guitarist. His work touches on many styles including psychedelic rock, soul, country, jazz, and surf rock. His collaborations with other artists include Phil Lesh, John Scofield, Joe Russo, J ...

on guitars and vocals. Their first two performance with the group in February 2006 was recorded, filmed, and released as ''Transformations: Live for the People'' that July.Greene, Jo-Ann
''Transformations Live For the People'' Review
,

. Retrieved October 6, 2013 Featuring guest appearances by experimental rap duo

Blackalicious Blackalicious was an American hip-hop duo from Sacramento, California, made up of rapper Gift of Gab and DJ/producer Chief Xcel. They are noted for Gift of Gab's often tongue-twisting, multisyllabic, complex rhymes and Chief Xcel's soulful p ...

Robby Krieger Robert Alan Krieger (born January 8, 1946) is an American guitarist and founding member of the rock band the Doors. Krieger wrote or co-wrote many of the Doors' songs, including the hits " Light My Fire", " Love Me Two Times", " Touch Me", 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 ...

, guitarist

Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". '' AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his ...

, and

DJ Logic DJ Logic (born 1972 as Jason Kibler) is an American turntablist active primarily in nu-jazz/ acid jazz and with jam bands. Kibler was born and raised in The Bronx, NY. Because of an early interest in hip hop, Kibler started using the turnta ...

, the album showcased the band exploring vocal-based music as well as incorporating more overt rock and hip hop influences. In late July 2006 Scott Metzger had to leave Particle due to a family emergency that required his long-term attention. In October 2007 Ben Combe announced his departure from Particle and pursued a Biotech degree until April 2012. A July 2008 side project, PUJA, brought together Combe and Darren Pujalet of Particle, as well as Melvin Seals of The Jerry Garcia Band and Cristian Basso of Leo Nocentelli and Little Hercules. In 2008 Molitz also played in the supergroup Agents of Mayhem. Particle shows since 2008 have featured Josh Clark of

Tea Leaf Green Tea Leaf Green is an American four-piece jam band from the San Francisco Bay Area, composed of Josh Clark (guitar and vocals), Trevor Garrod ( keyboards, vocals, guitar, and harmonica), Scott Rager ( drums), and Eric DiBerardino (bass). Histo ...

, Michael Kang of

The String Cheese Incident The String Cheese Incident (SCI) is an American jam band from Crested Butte and Telluride, Colorado, formed in 1993. The band is composed of Michael Kang (acoustic/electric mandolin, electric guitar, and violin), Michael Travis (drums and percus ...

, Dan Lebowitz of

Animal Liberation Orchestra Animal Liberation Orchestra (also known casually as ALO) is a California rock band currently signed to Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records label. They have released four full-length albums for Brushfire, as well as a number of prior independent ...

, Lucas Bingham of Free Band Radio, Pete Wall (sax) of The Motet as well as former Particle members Ben Combe and Charlie Hitchcock.

Musical style

The band is regarded as a jam-band with

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

roots. They have described their music as "space porn funk", a term coined by one of their early fans, and " funktronic".Harley, Andrew (2006)
Particles in Motion: The Power to Move You
, '' Summit Daily'', June 29, 2006. Retrieved October 6, 2013

writer Hal Horowitz, reviewing ''Launchpad'' described their music as having "a loose '70s feel that mixes elements of Pink Floyd's prog rock and Return to Forever-styled jazz fusion with insistent dance beats that shift from funk to near disco". Philip Booth, reviewing ''Launchpad'' for ''

'' described their music as "fusion in the non-jazz sense", commenting on the "trance, house, and drum 'n' bass rhythms heard throughout", and calling the album an "unstoppable blast of gritty electronic jam". A review by Nicole Keiper in ''

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

'' described the band's sound as " jam-rock standards that make smart use of dance music's lush textures and well-placed, good-and-solid dancefloor thumps".Keiper, Nicole (2007) "Particle Blends Jam-Rock and Electronic for Funky Compositions", ''

'', April 24, 2007, p. D2 Chris Nelson of ''

'' described them as "disco-flavored, instrumental jam music".

Discography

Albums

*''

Launchpad A launch pad is an above-ground platform from which rocket- missiles or space launch vehicles take off vertically. Launch pad may also refer to: Computing * Launchpad (macOS), an application launcher introduced in Mac OS X Lion * Launch Pad (s ...

'' (2004), Or Music *'' Transformations Live For The People'' (2006), Shout! Factory *''Live at Wanee Festival 2012'' (2012), MunckMix *'' Accelerator'' (2018), Particle Records

Videos

* Transformations Live For The People (2006) (DVD-V), Shout! Factory

Singles

*"The Track Inside" (February 3, 2004 United States) *''Launchpad Remixes'' (November 9, 2004 United States)

References

External links

*
Particle collection
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

's live music archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Particle Rock music groups from California Electronic music groups from California Jam bands Musical groups from Los Angeles Livetronica music groups Musical groups established in 2000 2000 establishments in California