Red Temple Spirits were an American

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

band from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, formed in 1987.

History

Forming in 1987, the group's original lineup consisted of vocalist William Faircloth, guitarist Dallas Taylor, bass guitarist Dino Paredes and drummer Thomas Pierik. Faircloth, an immigrant from England, had previously sung for trio Ministry of Love, who released the ''Wide Awake and Dreaming'' EP in 1987 on the label Underworld. Paredes had previously played with Kelly Wheeler of

Psi Com Psi Com was an American post-punk band of the early 1980s, consisting of Perry Farrell (vocals), Aaron Sherer (drums and percussion), Vince Duran (guitar) and Kelly Wheeler (bass). Prominent in the underground Los Angeles music scene, the group ...

. Pierik and Taylor had earlier been members of the Web, along with bassist Johann Schumann (later of

Christian Death Christian Death is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles County, California, in 1979 by Rozz Williams. With major line-up changes over the years, Christian Death has retained "a relentlessly confrontational stand against organized reli ...

). Red Temple Spirits' name was inspired by the song "Two Headed Dog (Red Temple Prayer)" by

Roky Erickson Roger Kynard "Roky" Erickson (July 15, 1947 – May 31, 2019) was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was a founding member and the leader of the 13th Floor Elevators and a pioneer of the psychedelic rock genre. Biography Erickso ...

, whom they admired. Other influences ranged from

bands such as

the Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...

and

Savage Republic Savage Republic (originally named Africa Corps) is an American, Los Angeles-based post-punk band, formed in the early 1980s. The group reformed in 2002 and remains active with a different lineup. They are known for lengthy songs with an emphasis ...

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

artists like

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

(they covered "

The Nile Song "The Nile Song", written by Roger Waters and sung by David Gilmour, is the second song from Pink Floyd's 1969 album ''More (soundtrack), More'', the soundtrack to More (1969 film), the film of the same name. It was released as a single in 1969 (o ...

" and "

Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" is a song by the English rock band Pink Floyd, appearing on their second album, '' A Saucerful of Secrets'' (1968). It was written by Roger Waters, taking lyrics from a Chinese poetry book, and features ...

" on their releases), melded with Native American and Tibetan mysticism. Red Temple Spirits released two albums on the Nate Starkman & Son label, distributed by Fundamental Records: double-LP set ''

Dancing to Restore an Eclipsed Moon ''Dancing to Restore an Eclipsed Moon'' is the debut studio album of American post-punk band Red Temple Spirits. It was released in 1988 on the Nate Starkman & Son label, a subsidiary of Fundamental. Track listing Critical reception Per ...

'' (1988) and '' If Tomorrow I Were Leaving for Lhasa, I Wouldn't Stay a Minute More...'' (1989). Their sole single, an elaborately packaged release (a limited-edition, numbered edition of 1,200 copies) on Independent Project Records to benefit

Tibet House Tibet House is an international, loosely affiliated group of nonprofit, cultural preservation organizations founded at the request of the Dalai Lama, to preserve, present, and protect Tibet's ancient traditions of philosophy, mind science, art, ...

, featured

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

"New Land" (recorded in 1987 as part of the band's first demo) and B-side "Exodus from Lhasa" (recorded in 1989). Red Temple Spirits began to garner more attention in late 1989 after a promo video for "City of Millions" was shown on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''

120 Minutes ''120 Minutes'' is a television program in the United States dedicated to the alternative music genre, that originally aired on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then aired on MTV's associate channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003. After its cancellation, MTV ...

'' and they performed at the 1989

CMJ 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 ...

Music Marathon in New York City.https://www.facebook.com/pg/redtemplespirits/about/ With new drummer Scott McPherson, the band toured the United States in early 1990 to promote ''If Tomorrow I Were Leaving for Lhasa'', garnering significant press and a devoted cult fanbase, but lapsed into inactivity later that year following a serious van accident in California. They disbanded in 1992, with Faircloth and Taylor relocating to

Sedona Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031. It is within the Coconino National Fo ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. Paredes, who had worked as an art director for music labels Triple X, Priority and

Chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 202 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colors, bein ...

, later became vice president of A&R for

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...

's American Recordings, where he signed

System of a Down System of a Down (also known as SoaD or simply System) is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed in Glendale, California, in 1994. Since 1997, the band has consisted of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards); Daron Malakian (guitar, voc ...

and

Wesley Willis Wesley Lawrence Willis (May 31, 1963 – August 21, 2003) was an American musician and visual artist. Diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1989, Willis began a career as an underground singer-songwriter in the outsider music tradition. Will ...

among others. While in Sedona, Faircloth (a printer for Independent Project Press) and Taylor recorded a cassette-only album, ''The Alien Host'', under the name Invisible Opera Company of Tibet. It was released in 1996 by

Parasol Records Parasol Records is an American independent record label based in Urbana, Illinois. The label was founded by Geoff Merritt as an outgrowth of the catalog Parasol Mail Order (which was started in 1991). The Parasol Records banner also includes the ...

. The pair briefly revived the name Red Temple Spirits in 1998, but did not release any new material. Alex Koffler (great-nephew of

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...

and later the musician behind the projects the Beauty Above and Blackswan) played keyboards in this lineup. After nearly a decade of dormancy, Faircloth, Taylor and Pierik discussed a reformation in 2007, but plans to record a third album did not come to fruition and the band remained inactive. Independent Project Records remastered the first two albums and reissued them as a limited-edition two-disc box set in 2013, with three bonus tracks: both sides of the "New Land" 7" and a previously unreleased remake of "New Land". The first 300 copies in IPR's numbered edition also included a bonus third disc featuring four remastered tracks from the band's 1987 demo. Guitarist and founding member Dallas Taylor died Feb 10th, 2023.

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (1988, Nate Starkman & Son/Fundamental) *'' If Tomorrow I Were Leaving for Lhasa, I Wouldn't Stay a Minute More...'' (1989, Nate Starkman & Son/Fundamental)

Singles

*"New Land"/"Exodus from Lhasa" 7" (1989, Independent Project Records)

Compilation albums

*''Red Temple Spirits'' box set (2013, Independent Project Records)

Recording as Invisible Opera Company of Tibet

*''The Alien Host'' cassette (1996,

References

External links

* {{Authority control American post-punk music groups American art rock groups American experimental rock groups Musical groups disestablished in 1992 Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups reestablished in 2007 American musical quartets Psychedelic rock music groups from California