Ringo Deathstarr is an American

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...

band from

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

, formed by singer/songwriter Elliott Frazier in 2005. The name of the band is a combination of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

drummer

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

and the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

Death Star The Death Star is a fictional space station and Weapon of mass destruction, superweapon featured in the ''Star Wars'' Space opera, space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire (Star Wars), Galactic Empire, the Death Star ...

History

Ringo Deathstarr was started by Frazier in 2005 in his Texas hometown,

Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * ...

. After he moved to the busier city of

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, a band lineup stabilized consisting of Frazier, bassist Alex Gehring, guitarist Renan McFarland and drummer Dustin Gaudet. The band's debut five-song EP, ''Ringo Deathstarr'', was initially released by SVC Records in the UK in early 2007, and then self released later the same year in the US (and later reissued in 2009 by

Fan Death Records Fan Death Records is an independent record label based in Baltimore, Maryland, and Montreal, Quebec. The label is operated by Sean Gray, Chris Berry, and Tracy Soo-Ming. Fan Death is affiliated with DNA Test Fest, a noise rock and experimental m ...

). The EP was followed by a string of 7" singles, including "You Don't Listen" (released September 2009 on Custom Made Music), "In Love" (released on September 14, 2009 on SVC Records), "Tambourine Girl" (the

B-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 compan ...

to a split single with the Depreciation Guild, released in 2009 by UK label Club AC30) and "So High" (released on January 31, 2011 by Club AC30). On November 4, 2009, Japanese label Vinyl Junkie Recordings issued a compilation album, ''Sparkler'', collecting the debut EP, the two tracks from the "In Love" single, and two additional tracks. The band's debut full-length album, '' Colour Trip'', was first released by Club AC30 on February 14, 2011 in the UK, then licensed to

Sonic Unyon Sonic Unyon Recording Company is an independent record label based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Their former retail store was located on Wilson Street near James Street North. The label has put out releases by bands including Tristan Psioni ...

for release in North America, and Vinyl Junkie Recordings for release in Japan. By this time, McFarland and Gaudet had departed, and Daniel Coborn had joined on drums. Another EP, ''Shadow'', followed on November 2. They toured with

the Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...

in the winter of 2011–2012. Ringo Deathstarr's second studio album, ''

Mauve Mauve (, ; , ) is a pale purple color named after the mallow flower (French: ''mauve''). The first use of the word ''mauve'' as a color was in 1796–98 according to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', but its use seems to have been rare befo ...

'', was released on September 19, 2012 by Club AC30, Sonic Unyon and Vinyl Junkie Recordings. It was previewed by the release of the first track, "Rip", as a CD single on September 5 by Vinyl Junkie and a 7" single on September 14 by Club AC30. The mini-album ''God's Dream'' was issued on December 18, 2013. The band's next album, '' Pure Mood'', was released on November 20, 2015, with The Reverberation Appreciation Society taking over as North American distributor. On March 27th 2020, Ringo Deathstarr was released as a self titled album on Club AC30. The single "God Help the Ones You Love" was released earlier that year to promote the album. A west coast tour was planned for mid 2020, but it was ultimately postponed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Style

Ringo Deathstarr has been compared to earlier shoegaze bands such as My Bloody Valentine,

Ride Ride may refer to: People * MC Ride, a member of Death Grips * Sally Ride (1951–2012), American astronaut * William Ride (19262011), Australian zoologist Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Ride'' (1998 film), a 1998 comedy by Millicen ...

the Jesus & Mary Chain The Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid. After signing to independent label Creation Records, they rele ...

and

Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

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 databas ...

described them as "shoegaze revivalists from Texas who play it pretty straight, but aren't afraid to add extra noise to the mix".

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Colour Trip'' (2011, Club AC30/

/Vinyl Junkie Recordings) *''

'' (2012, Club AC30/Sonic Unyon/Vinyl Junkie Recordings) *''God's Dream'' (2013, Neon Sigh/Noyes Records/Vinyl Junkie Recordings) *'' Pure Mood'' (2015, Club AC30/The Reverberation Appreciation Society/Vinyl Junkie Recordings) *''Ringo Deathstarr'' (2020, Club AC30/Vinyl Junkie Recordings)

EPs

*''Ringo Deathstarr'' CD (2007, self-released/SVC Records) *''Shadow'' CD/10" (2011, Club AC30/Vinyl Junkie Recordings)

Singles

*"You Don't Listen" 7" (2009, Custom Made Music) *"In Love" 7" (2009, SVC Records) *"Dream About Me"/"Tambourine Girl" 7" split with the Depreciation Guild (2009, Club AC30) *"So High" 7" (2011, Club AC30) *"Rip" CD/7" (2012, Club AC30/Vinyl Junkie Recordings)

Compilation albums

* ''Sparkler'' (2009, Vinyl Junkie Recordings)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Musical groups established in 2005 American dream pop musical groups American shoegaze musical groups Indie pop groups from Texas Musical groups from Austin, Texas Noise pop musical groups 2005 establishments in Texas Sonic Unyon artists