Tuatara is an American, Seattle-based

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

music group, featuring members of

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

The Minus 5 The Minus 5 is an American pop rock band headed by musician Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows, often in partnership with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck. Band history McCaughey formed the band in 1993 as a side project with Buck, Jon Auer ...

Critters Buggin Critters Buggin is a Seattle, Washington-based instrumental group which performs in a jazz, rock and African-influenced, eclectic style. The band is composed of Matt Chamberlain (drums, percussion, piano, programming, synths, loops, samples and d ...

The Chills The Chills are a New Zealand rock band that formed in Dunedin in 1980. The band is essentially the continuing project of singer/songwriter Martin Phillipps, who is the group's sole constant member. For a time in the 1990s, the act was billed a ...

and the

Screaming Trees Screaming Trees was an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington, in 1984 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bass player Van Conner, and drummer Mark Pickerel. Pickerel had been replaced by Barrett Martin by the tim ...

History

The band was formed in 1996 by R.E.M.'s

Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M. He also plays the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his car ...

(guitar),

Barrett Martin Barrett Martin (born April 14, 1967) is an American record producer, percussionist, writer, and ethnomusicologist from Washington. As a producer he has won one Latin Grammy and has been nominated in two other categories. As an ethnomusicologist ...

of the

(drums and percussion),

Justin Harwood Justin Harwood is a New Zealand bass guitarist, notable for his work with several indie rock bands of the 1980s and 1990s, The Chills, Luna, and Tuatara. He worked alongside New Zealand's Martin Phillipps (The Chills), Dean Wareham (Galaxie 5 ...

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Roma ...

and

(bass guitar, double bass), and

Skerik Skerik is an American saxophonist from Seattle, Washington. Performing on the tenor and baritone saxophone, often with electronics and loops, he is a pioneer in a playing style that has been called saxophonics. He is a founding member of Critt ...

(saxophones). The band was named, at Harwood's suggestion, after a

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

from his native New Zealand. Originally a project to get musician friends some soundtrack work, the project evolved into an active band, doing occasional live shows, and recording their first album ''Breaking the Ethers'', encompassing a sound influenced by various styles of music, from Lebanese and Asian music to more traditional Western

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

. The band expanded in 1998, adding guitarist

Scott McCaughey Scott Lewis McCaughey is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter and the leader of the Seattle and Portland-based bands The Young Fresh Fellows and The Minus 5. He was also an auxiliary member of the American rock band R.E.M. from 199 ...

on guitar,

Steve Berlin Steven M. Berlin (born September 14, 1955, Philadelphia) is an American saxophonist, keyboardist and record producer, best known as a member of the rock group Los Lobos and, before that, Top Jimmy & the Rhythm Pigs, the Blasters, and the Flesh ...

on saxophone and flute, Craig Flory on clarinets and saxophones, Elizabeth Pupo-Walker on

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

s and other percussion, and Mike Stone on

drum kit A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player ( drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsti ...

; with Stone now on drums, Barrett Martin focused more on vibes and marimba. This expanded line-up released ''Trading With the Enemy'', which added more exotic instrumentation while sticking to the familiar formula of borrowing from a variety of styles. The band had eleven members at the time of 2001's ''Cinemathique'', which was intended to fulfill the original desire of creating music for soundtracks. A remix album, ''The Loading Program'', was released in 2003. McCaughey and Buck are also permanent members of

, and Martin has contributed to their performances and recordings as well. Tuatara released a new double album on August 15, 2014, called ''Underworld'' which featured

Mike McCready Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician who serves as the lead guitarist for the rock band Pearl Jam. Along with Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Eddie Vedder, he is one of the founding members of the band. McCready wa ...

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...

Discography

*''

Breaking the Ethers ''Breaking the Ethers'' is the debut album from collaborative group Tuatara. Released on Epic Records, it was an attempt by members of Luna, the Screaming Trees and R.E.M. to try their hand at experimental, multi-ethnic music. It was produced by B ...

'' –

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

– April 1997 *''

Trading with the Enemy Trading with the enemy is a legal term of English origin that is used with a number of related meanings. It refers to: #An offence at common law and under statute #A ground for condemnation of ships in prize proceedings #A ground for illegality a ...

'' – Epic Records – June 1998 *''

Cinemathique ''Cinemathique'' is the third album by collaborative band Tuatara. The band expanded to eleven members on this album, and it was their first album for Barrett Martin's record label, Fast Horse Recordings. Track listing Musicians *Peter Buck - ...

'' – Fast Horse Recordings – April 2001 *''

The Loading Program ''The Loading Program'' is the fourth release by collaborative group Tuatara Tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') are reptiles endemic to New Zealand. Despite their close resemblance to lizards, they are part of a distinct lineage, the order Rh ...

'' – Fast Horse Recordings – September 2003 *'' East of the Sun'' – Fast Horse Recordings – June 2007 *''

West of the Moon West of the Moon is a studio album by the alternative rock band Tuatara. It was released in 2007, after '' East of the Sun''. Track listing # Bird's Eye View # Los Angeles # Wrong Turn # Are You Feeling Me # When The Love Is Gone # The Old Carvi ...

'' – Fast Horse Recordings – October 2007 *''The Here and the Gone'' with

Coleman Barks Coleman Barks (born April 23, 1937) is an American poet, and former literature faculty at the University of Georgia. Although he neither speaks nor reads Persian, he is a popular interpreter of Rumi, rewriting the poems based on other English ...

– Fast Horse Recordings – November 2008 *''Underworld'' - Sunyata Records - August 2014 *''Shamanic Nights: Live in the City'' - Sunyata Records - July 2016

References

External links

Official site.
with

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

's ''Daily Bruin''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tuatara American instrumental musical groups American world music groups Supergroups (music) R.E.M. Musical groups established in 1996 Musical collectives Musical groups from Seattle Epic Records artists