The Gentlemen was an American rock band from
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, formed in 1998. Formed by
Duff McKagan
Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964), sometimes credited as Duff "Rose" McKagan, is an American musician. He played bass for twelve years in the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late ...
, formerly of
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 ...
, the band's first lineup consisted of guitarists
Michael Barragan, formerly of
Plexi
Plexi was an American gothic noise rock band consisting of Michael Angelos (vocals, songwriting, bass), Michael Barragan (guitar, Echoplex, Moog) and Norm Block (drums, percussion). Formed in 1993, their original name was Godseed. Their sound ...
, and
Dez Cadena
Dez Cadena (born June 2, 1961) is an American punk rock singer and guitarist. He was the third vocalist and later rhythm guitarist for hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1980 to 1983. Cadena played guitar with Misfits from 2001 to 2015, initi ...
, formerly of
Black Flag, as well as drummer
Taz Bentley
Patrick Bentley, better known as Taz or The Taz, is an American rock and roll drummer. He got his start as a founding member of the local Dallas punk band, The Assassins, and is probably best known for his work with The Reverend Horton Heat, ...
, formerly of
The Reverend Horton Heat
The Reverend Horton Heat is the stage name of American musician James C. Heath (born 1959) as well as the name of his Dallas, Texas-based psychobilly trio. Heath is a singer, songwriter and guitarist. A ''Prick'' magazine reviewer called Heath ...
. The same year, they adopted the
Loaded moniker before disbanding.
McKagan reformed the band with
Dave Dederer
David Dederer (born October 5, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer. He was a member of the alternative rock band The Presidents of the United States of America. An alumnus of Seattle, Washington's The Bush School and Brown University ...
and
Jason Finn, both of
The Presidents of the United States of America. However, McKagan also reformed Loaded, with Dederer becoming the band's bassist, and by 2001, The Gentlemen disbanded.
History
Formation and first lineup (1997–1999)
After leaving
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 ...
in 1997,
Duff McKagan
Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964), sometimes credited as Duff "Rose" McKagan, is an American musician. He played bass for twelve years in the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late ...
moved back to Seattle, Washington.
He reformed previous group
10 Minute Warning, releasing one self-titled album,
before recording his second studio album entitled ''Beautiful Disease'' in 1998.
McKagan formed The Gentlemen, to be his band on the album's supporting tour, with guitarists
Michael Barragan, formerly of
Plexi
Plexi was an American gothic noise rock band consisting of Michael Angelos (vocals, songwriting, bass), Michael Barragan (guitar, Echoplex, Moog) and Norm Block (drums, percussion). Formed in 1993, their original name was Godseed. Their sound ...
, and
Dez Cadena
Dez Cadena (born June 2, 1961) is an American punk rock singer and guitarist. He was the third vocalist and later rhythm guitarist for hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1980 to 1983. Cadena played guitar with Misfits from 2001 to 2015, initi ...
, formerly of
Black Flag, as well as drummer
Taz Bentley
Patrick Bentley, better known as Taz or The Taz, is an American rock and roll drummer. He got his start as a founding member of the local Dallas punk band, The Assassins, and is probably best known for his work with The Reverend Horton Heat, ...
, formerly of
The Reverend Horton Heat
The Reverend Horton Heat is the stage name of American musician James C. Heath (born 1959) as well as the name of his Dallas, Texas-based psychobilly trio. Heath is a singer, songwriter and guitarist. A ''Prick'' magazine reviewer called Heath ...
,
Following the merger between Geffen and
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...
,
he was dropped from the label
with his album shelved. The Gentlemen continued to tour, playing in the US.
However, by 1999, they adopted the name
Loaded,
releasing the live album ''
Episode 1999: Live''
and disbanding the same year.
Reformation and disbanding (2000–2001)
McKagan reformed The Gentlemen, in 2000, with
Dave Dederer
David Dederer (born October 5, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer. He was a member of the alternative rock band The Presidents of the United States of America. An alumnus of Seattle, Washington's The Bush School and Brown University ...
and, initially,
Jason Finn, both then former of
The Presidents of the United States of America.
The lineup would soon only consist of McKagan, on electric guitar, and Dederer, on acoustic guitar,
with the duo performing live shows in suits.
They made their official live debut at the Orange showcase,
before playing shows locally,
including NXNW,
performing original songs, as well as covers,
with their music described as "straightforward, goofy pop songs."
They also played at the
SXSW
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...
with hopes of getting a record deal.
Although they did not record any songs, an album was expected to be released in future.
The same year, The Presidents of the United States of America reunited,
while McKagan also began working on a new project that later became the second lineup of Loaded.
McKagan performed with The Presidents on ''
The Late Late Show'' while Dederer contributed to the Loaded album ''
Dark Days''
before joining the band briefly as bassist.
By 2001, The Gentlemen disbanded.
Band members
*
Duff McKagan
Michael Andrew "Duff" McKagan (born February 5, 1964), sometimes credited as Duff "Rose" McKagan, is an American musician. He played bass for twelve years in the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late ...
– vocals, bass, guitar
(1998–1999, 2000–2001)
*
Michael Barragan – guitar
(1999)
*
Taz Bentley
Patrick Bentley, better known as Taz or The Taz, is an American rock and roll drummer. He got his start as a founding member of the local Dallas punk band, The Assassins, and is probably best known for his work with The Reverend Horton Heat, ...
– drums
(1999)
*
Dez Cadena
Dez Cadena (born June 2, 1961) is an American punk rock singer and guitarist. He was the third vocalist and later rhythm guitarist for hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1980 to 1983. Cadena played guitar with Misfits from 2001 to 2015, initi ...
– guitar
(1999)
*
Dave Dederer
David Dederer (born October 5, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer. He was a member of the alternative rock band The Presidents of the United States of America. An alumnus of Seattle, Washington's The Bush School and Brown University ...
– acoustic guitar
(2000–2001)
*
Jason Finn – drums
(2000)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gentlemen
Rock music groups from Washington (state)
Musical groups established in 1998
Musical groups disestablished in 1999
Musical groups established in 2000
Musical groups disestablished in 2001
Musical groups from Seattle
The Presidents of the United States of America (band)