The Chelsea Smiles are a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

band formed in 2004 featuring

Karl Rosqvist Karl Rosqvist, also known as Karl Rockfist is a Swedish drummer.He played in the Swedish metal band Sorg in the early to mid 1990s. In 2001 he joined the California-based band Steel Prophet who are considered pioneers in the American power met ...

of Danzig, Steel Prophet, Skye Vaughan-Jayne of

Bullets and Octane Bullets and Octane is a hard rock band originally from St. Louis, Missouri and later based in Southern California (as referenced in the song "Cancer California"). They originate from the band Ultrafink (which released one album titled ''Carbot ...

, Johnny Martin and RJ Ronquillo.

History

The band was formed by guitarist

Todd Youth Todd Schofield (May 15, 1971 – October 27, 2018), known as Todd Youth, was an American guitarist, best known for his work with Warzone, Murphy's Law and Danzig. Biography Schofield was born and raised in Passaic County, New Jersey, and ...

in the aftermath of his Danzig exit, just before forming the Chelsea Smiles, Youth had played some shows with

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

filling in on guitar for Phil Campbell. Youth was joined in the formation of the Chelsea Smiles by drummer,

("Rockfist") (formerly of Steel Prophet), Danzig, bassist Johnny Martin and

Christian Martucci Christian Martucci (born June 5, 1977) is an Italian American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He is a dual citizen of Italy and the United States. As of 2013, he is the lead guitar player for the American hard rock band Stone Sour and from J ...

who previously played with

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's band. Together they released a four song EP named "''Nowhere Ride''" in 2005 on

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, the following year, vocalist Martucci left the band to form Black President. He was replaced by Skye Vaughan-Jayne, former

Bullets And Octane Bullets and Octane is a hard rock band originally from St. Louis, Missouri and later based in Southern California (as referenced in the song "Cancer California"). They originate from the band Ultrafink (which released one album titled ''Carbot ...

guitarist/songwriter. The band toured with several notable bands such as

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 ...

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and the reformed

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 ...

.Acetate.com - Chelsea Smiles
A debut full-length album titled; "''

Thirty Six Hours Later ''Thirty Six Hours Later'' is the debut full-length release by hard rock band The Chelsea Smiles. It was released on November 7, 2006 via Acetate Records in the United States and released by ''People Like You... Records'' in Europe. Most of the ...

''" followed with a US release date on November 7, 2006. Vocal duties on the album were shared by both Todd and Skye. The record was released in Europe in early December 2006, the Chelsea Smiles toured the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with Swedish rockers

Backyard Babies Backyard Babies are a Swedish rock band originally from Nässjö and currently based in Stockholm. The band was formed in 1989 and over the years they have released seven studio albums and won two Swedish Grammy Awards. They are largely at ...

, etc. in support of the record as well as many headlining tours in Europe and the US. Detroit native and LA studio musician RJ Ronquillo joined The Chelsea Smiles in January 2009. RJ, who is an in-demand studio player, met Todd Youth through the various studio work they both do in the Los Angeles area. RJ has played on albums from

Ricky Martin Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

2pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

and DMX, to name a few. In March 2009 The Chelsea Smiles signed a worldwide licensing deal with DR2/

Demolition Records Demolition Records was a British record label based in Jarrow, England, specialising in heavy metal and rock, with many international artists. It was founded in 2000 by brothers Ged and Eric Cook. There were also distribution offices in Frankfurt ...

to release the group's new record which came out in March 2009, and the band toured in support of the record in the United Kingdom and in the US. Youth died on October 27, 2018 at the age of 47.

Members

;Current *Skye Vaughan-Jayne - lead vocals * RJ Ronquillo - vocals, guitar * Johnny Martin - bass, vocals *

("Rockfist") - drums * Ty Smith - drums ;Former *

- guitar/vocals *

- vocals, guitar (Died 2018)

Discography

Album

*''

'' - (2006) Acetate Records/People Like You Records. *''The Chelsea Smiles'' - (2009)

/ DR2 Records.

EP

*''Nowhere Ride'' - (2005) Capitol Records/ EMI Records

Soundtrack

* ''

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

'' Soundtrack - (2006) Touchstone Pictures/ Disney * ''

Flatout 2 ''FlatOut 2'' is an action racing video game developed by Bugbear Entertainment and published by Empire Interactive in Europe and Vivendi Universal Games in North America. It is the sequel to the 2004 game ''FlatOut''. This game is themed mor ...

'' In-Game Soundtrack (2006) * ''

Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

'' Soundtrack (2007) * Close To Home (2006 TV-series) Warner Brothers

References

External links

The Chelsea Smiles

Interview links

Interview with Todd Youth on Trilogy Rock (Spain)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chelsea Smiles Hard rock musical groups from California Musical groups established in 2004