Stimulator is an
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band based in
Los Angeles, California
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' ...
. The band was founded in 2002 by singer/songwriter
Susan Hyatt (formerly of Pillbox) and guitarist
Geoff Tyson
Geoff Tyson (also referred to as Jeff Tyson) played guitar for T-Ride, whose debut album shared the same title. He was a student of Joe Satriani, and one of two students Satriani has said 'Graduated' from his lessons (the other being Steve Vai). S ...
(formerly of
T-Ride
T-Ride was an American, San Francisco-based heavy metal band, which was noted for its complex instrument and vocal arrangements. Their eponymous debut album was released in 1992. The band was compared to Queen and Van Halen, and the album rece ...
and
Snake River Conspiracy
Snake River Conspiracy (SRC) is an American industrial rock band. It was formed in 1996 in the San Francisco Bay Area by Eric Valentine and Jason Slater. The band's vocalist, Tobey Torres, was recruited in 1998.
After signing with Reprise Recor ...
). The band’s songs have been featured in the
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
film
''Ella Enchanted'',
MTV's ''
The Real World
Real World or The Real World may also refer to:
* Real life, a phrase to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds
Television
* ''The Real World'' (TV series), 1992–2017
* "The Real World" (''Stargate Atla ...
'' and episodes of the
E! Network's ''50 Hottest Hollywood Hookups''. Stimulator has toured the United States supporting
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 ...
,
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, Belind ...
, and were featured performers on the
Van's Warped Tour
The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...
.
[Stimulator - Punk Globe]
/ref>
From 2010 to 2011, the band’s cover of Olivia Newton-John’s "Magic" was featured in Macy’s
Macy's (originally R. H. Macy & Co.) is an American chain of high-end department stores founded in 1858 by Rowland Hussey Macy. It became a division of the Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores in 1994, through which it is affiliated wi ...
nationwide television and radio "Find Your Magic" commercials.[Macy’s Magic Song - Spin Rides, Reality Shows…& Other Stuff]
/ref>
History
In 2002, Hyatt and Tyson founded the band in Los Angeles. Joined by drummer Chad Stewart
Faster Pussycat is an American hard rock/glam metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985 by vocalist Taime Downe, guitarists Brent Muscat and Greg Steele and bassist Kelly Nickels. The group has since gone through numerous lineup changes lea ...
(Faster Pussycat
Faster Pussycat is an American hard rock/glam metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985 by vocalist Taime Downe, guitarists Brent Muscat and Greg Steele and bassist Kelly Nickels. The group has since gone through numerous lineup changes lea ...
, Gilby Clarke
Gilbert J. "Gilby" Clarke (born August 17, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He had a 3-year tenure as the rhythm guitarist of Guns N' Roses, replacing Izzy Stradlin in 1991 during the Use Your Illusion Tour ...
, Motochrist, LA Guns) and bassist Sean Tichenor (formerly of King Black Acid and James Angell), Stimulator’s early electronic sound, with its emphasis on 1980s-style new wave keyboards, was reminiscent of the band Garbage
Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produc ...
.[Interview: Stimulator – Melodic Net]
/ref>
Stimulator's debut album was licensed to the LAB/Universal Records
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
in 2005. The cover art was designed by Duran Duran's John Taylor and designer Patty Palazzo.
In 2004, music promoter Kevin Lyman
Kevin Lyman is the founder and operator of thKevin Lyman Group formerly known as 4Fini, Inc., a live event production company and brand strategy firm. His most notable live production is the live music festival series Vans Warped Tour, which attrac ...
handpicked the band to play the Warped Tour after hearing that their song "On Top of the World" had won Best Rock Song in the 2004 John Lennon Songwriting Contest
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
.Missing Persons
A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown.
A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, de ...
and, in 2005, in support of Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
.
In 2005, Stimulator was the opening act on Duran Duran’s ''Astronaut'' tour.
In 2006, Stimulator toured as the opening act on The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboards, Belind ...
celebrated reunion tour.disco
Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
, easy listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
California melodies, and Europop
Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...
. This
was the sound for Stimulator’s second album, ''Stimulator 2''.
In 2010, Tyson and Stimulator reunited when Stimulator's cover of "Magic"
became the theme song for Macy's national television and radio commercials. The commercial ran for almost two years.dark wave
Dark wave (also typeset as darkwave) is a music genre that emerged from the new wave and post-punk movement of the late 1970s. Dark wave compositions are largely based on minor key tonality and introspective lyrics and have been perceived as be ...
musical direction. For this album, Michael Birnholz (formerly of Phantasm) replaced Tichenor on bass.
The band’s songs have been licensed to television shows such as NBC’s ''Las Vegas'', MTV's ''The Real World'', ABC's ''Body of Proof
''Body of Proof'' is an American medical/crime comedy-drama television series that ran on ABC from March 29, 2011, to May 28, 2013, and starred Dana Delany as medical examiner Dr. Megan Hunt. The series was created by Christopher Murphey and p ...
'', and The Walt Disney Company Film ''Ella Enchanted''. Stimulator’s song "Let’s Hook Up" was the theme song for E! Entertainment’s ''101 Juiciest Hollywood Hook-ups''. The band’s songs have also been used in trailers for the television show ''90210''.
The band has covered songs such as Rush’s "Tom Sawyer" for Canadian release and Olivia Newton-John’s "Magic" for special Australian release. Stimulator’s animated
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...
/live action
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
video for "Magic" featured a cameo by singer Cherie Currie
Cherie Ann Currie (born November 30, 1959) is an American singer, musician, actress and artist. Currie was the lead vocalist of The Runaways, a rock band from Los Angeles, in the mid-to-late 1970s. After The Runaways, she became a solo artist. ...
from the classic all girl rock group The Runaways
The Runaways were an all-female American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. The band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are "Cherry Bomb", " Hollywood", "Queens of N ...
.
Discography
Studio albums
*''Stimulator'' - (2003) The Orchard Records
*''Stimulator Official Debut'' - (2006) The Orchard Records
*''Stimulator 2'' - (2009) Dead Famous/MGM Records
*''Lovelier in Black'' - (2010) The Orchard Records
EPs
*''78 Stimulator'' - (2003) Org Singles Club, Org Records
Compilations
*''Teenacide Pajama Party'' - (2004) Teenacide Records
*''Rockgirl: Discoveries 2005/Cool Women, Cool Times'' - (2005)
Soundtracks
*''Ella Enchanted'' - (2004) Hollywood Records
Singles
*"Magic" - (2004) Lincoln Road/MGM Records
*"78 Stimulator" - (2005) The Lab/Universal Records
*"Mad World" - (2011) with Syndicate 17, Stimulator Records
References
External links
www.stimulatortheband.com
{{Authority control
Musical groups from Los Angeles
Alternative rock groups from California
Indie rock musical groups from California