Tsar is an American

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

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 ...

, United States, with Jeff Whalen on lead vocals and guitar, Daniel Kern on vocals and guitar, Jeff Solomon on bass, and Steve Coulter on drums. They have released two major-label studio albums, two EPs, and a self-released demos collection. Citing their primary influences as

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

and

the Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...

, Tsar's music is a hybrid of

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

, punk rock,

arena rock Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of po ...

, and

bubblegum music Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States ...

Career

Tsar formed in 1998. After a monthlong residency at

Silver Lake Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

Spaceland Spaceland was an alternative rock/indie rock nightclub in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, that existed between 1995 and 2011. The club was formerly a popular disco to young locals called Dreams of LA. Spaceland's owner an ...

club, they released their self-titled debut on

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Records l ...

(2000), produced by

Rob Cavallo Robert Siers Cavallo (born March 21, 1963) is an American record producer, musician, and record industry executive. He is among the biggest-selling producers in history, and has produced or had creative involvement in albums that have sold over ...

(

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik, bassist/vocalist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska. After starting off as a cover band and then developing a punk sound, ...

) and mixed by

Chris Lord-Alge Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic compression for molding mixes that play wel ...

( U2,

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

). The album garnered critical acclaim but was commercially disappointing.

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 ...

describes the album and its fate thus: "''Tsar'' is a bit of a glam pop/hard rock hidden treasure that still sounds fresh and thrilling years later. Loaded with hooks, humor, and innocent charm, and coming across like the starry-eyed child of

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...

and

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones ...

. . . e album was an exciting, hook-filled modern power pop record that nobody bought, despite (or perhaps because of) the band's subsequent opening slot on a

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

tour." Director

James Gunn James Francis Gunn Jr. (born August 5, 1966) is an American filmmaker and executive. He began his career as a screenwriter in the mid-1990s, starting at Troma Entertainment with ''Tromeo and Juliet'' (1997). He then began working as a director ...

used the album's opening track, "Calling All Destroyers," to score the animated opening sequence of his 2010 action film ''Super''. The band won "Local Album of the Year" and "Local Band of the Year" at the L.A. New Times Music Awards. Rock critic Bob Mehr wrote, "Every song glistens and glimmers with gargantuan hooks and stadium-size riffs . . . With this irresistibly catchy debut—and an onstage presence to match—Tsar is my nominee as the band best equipped to save rock 'n' roll from its postmillennial doldrums." The band performed on the ''Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn'', ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'', and ''Pajama Party''. The band's music has also appeared in the TV shows

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen noir mystery drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional town of Neptune, California, and stars Kristen Bell as the eponymous character. The series prem ...

Freakylinks ''FreakyLinks'' is an American science fiction series that combined elements of horror, mystery, and comedy. It aired on Fox from October 2000 until June 2001, for a total run of 13 episodes. The feel of the show closely modeled that of ''The X ...

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

Party Down ''Party Down'' is an American sitcom created and primarily written by John Enbom, Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge and Paul Rudd that aired on the Starz network in the United States in 2009 and 2010. The series follows a group of c ...

, and the feature film

In the Land of Women ''In the Land of Women'' is a 2007 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and written by Jon Kasdan. The film premiered in the United States on April 20, 2007. Plot Carter Webb is a young, soft-core writer living in Los Angeles whose young ...

. The songs "Ordinary Gurl" and "The Girl Who Wouldn't Die" were also featured prominently in the movie ''

American Psycho 2 ''American Psycho 2'' (also known as ''American Psycho II: All American Girl'') is a 2002 American black comedy slasher film directed by Morgan J. Freeman from a screenplay by Alex Sanger and Karen Craig. Starring Mila Kunis and William Shatner, ...

''. Tsar has toured with

the New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial succe ...

Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...

Eve 6 Eve 6 is an American rock band formed in 1995 in Southern California, best known for their hit singles " Inside Out," "Leech," " Here's to the Night," and "Promise." They disbanded in 2004, returned for numerous tours in 2007 with a new lineup ...

, the Marvelous 3,

Juliette and the Licks Juliette and the Licks is an American rock band led by actress and singer Juliette Lewis. Other band members have included guitarist Craig Fairbaugh and guitarist Emilio Cueto, bassist Jason Womack and drummer Ed Davis. Their popular songs include ...

, and Nerfherder. Tsar recorded their followup, ''Band-Girls-Money,'' in 2003 with producer David Katznelson (founder of Birdman Records). After leaving Hollywood Records, Tsar released the album on

TVT Records TVT Records (Tee-Vee Tunes) was an American record label founded by Steve Gottlieb. Over the course of its 24-year history, the label released 25 Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum releases. Its roster included Nine Inch Nails, Ja Rule, Lil Jon, ...

in 2005. The title song was included in the soundtrack for the racing games ''

Burnout Revenge ''Burnout Revenge'' is a racing video game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Xbox 360. Similar to its predecessor '' Burnout 3: Takedown'', ''Revenge'' focuses on a mixture of racing in th ...

'' and its PSP and DS spin-off ''

Burnout Legends ''Burnout Legends'' is a racing video game developed by Criterion Games and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation Portable. The game features many of the tracks and gameplay modes from the first three ''Burnout'' but repackaged for the ha ...

''. The band's lineup shifted, with Chuck Byler replacing Steve Coulter on drums and Derrick Forget replacing Jeff Solomon on bass. The band performed in a TV ad for Nestle Crunch Bar and Napster and filmed two videos: "The Love Explosion" and "Band-Girls-Money." The band also appeared on the cover of ''

L.A. Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

''. In late January 2010, Tsar's original lineup (Whalen/Kern/Solomon/Coulter) reunited. They released ''The Dark Stuff EP'' on Aderra Records (US) and LoJinx Records (UK/Europe) and shot a video for "Police Station." In 2011 Tsar self-released ''The Drugboy Tapes'', a collection of early demos and live performances from 1998. A split 7-inch featuring the Olsen Twins song "Pool Party" was released by Aderra Records in March 2012.

Albums

''Tsar'' - 2000

# Calling All Destroyers # I Don't Wanna Break-Up # Silver Shifter # Kathy Fong Is The Bomb # The Teen Wizards # MONoSTEReo # Afradio, Pt. One & Pt. Two # Ordinary Gurl # Disappear # The Girl Who Wouldn't Die

''King of the School EP'' - 2001

# King of the School (demo) # Larger Than Life # Silver Shifter (remix) # You and Jim Will Hit It Off # Songwriter! (live) # Afraidio Pt. Two, Pt. Three, and Pt. Four (demo) # Smart Boys (demo)

''Band-Girls-Money'' - 2005

# Band-Girls-Money # Wanna Get Dead # The Love Explosion # Superdeformed # Straight # Wrong # Everybody's Fault But Mine # Conqueror Worm # Startime # You Can't Always Want What You Get

''The Drugboy Tapes (Demos 98)'' - 2011

# Afradio # The Girl Who Wouldn't Die # Ordinary Gurl # Kathy Fong Is The Bomb # Sun Of Light # The Glower # I Don't Wanna Break-Up # Silver Shifter # Calling All Destroyers (Live on KXLU) # Monostereo (Live on KXLU)

''Split 7-Inch'' - 2012

# Janitor by Suburban Lawns (Killola) # Pool Party by The Olsen Twins (TSAR)

''The Dark Stuff - EP'' - 2012

# Punctual Alcoholic # Police Station # Little Women # White Lipstick # Something Bad Happened to Me

References

External links

''Phoenix New Times'', Tsar Power
(2000)
MTV

''Los Angeles Times'', Tsar, with a Hint of Glam
(2000)
''L.A. Weekly'', Tsar, Reborn

Powerpopaholic, Jeff Whalen Interview

Classic Albums Revisited, The Jeff Whalen Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsar Pop punk groups from California Lojinx artists Musical groups from Los Angeles TVT Records artists