Night Beats
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Night Beats are an American psychedelic/garage rock band, formed in 2009 in
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 on ...
. The band currently consists of lead singer and guitarist Danny "Lee Blackwell" Rajan Billingsley as the only permanent member. Founding member drummer James Traeger has only played intermittently with the band since 2016, original bassist Tarek Wegner left in 2014 and his replacement, Jakob Bowden, left the band sometime in early-mid 2018.


History

Danny "Lee Blackwell" Rajan Billingsley had previously fronted various bands in his hometown of Dallas, Texas including The Old Explosives, White Light Fever and Medicine God Box. With White Light Fever, who were initially called Japanese Auto Clinic, he released debut album Heavy Knife Blues in 2007 and the band were reportedly courted by Columbia Records. A second album Count All Your Father's Wealth was seemingly abandoned. He also worked with The Tempers, playing live with the band and contributing a guitar solo to one track on their debut album Vol. 1. Raised Catholic and Hindu, Billingsley moved to Seattle to study comparative religion at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
. Leaving Dallas, which he saw as "a wasteland of music", he founded Night Beats in 2009. Named after the
Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...
album 'Night Beat', the solo self-recorded Street (Atomic) EP was released that year via Holy Twist Records. After trying out a couple of different lineups, he asked high school friend and former B.B Mercy drummer James Traeger who was studying in Austin, Texas to move to Seattle to join Night Beats. After working together as a duo for a few months, they recruited bassist Tarek Wegner in January 2010 and played their first gig in March of that year at a house party in Seattle. Wegner, originally from
Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...
, had previously played with The Drug Purse and Paris Spleen. Night Beats toured extensively early on, completing multiple North American tours during 2010 and were signed within weeks of self-releasing the H-Bomb EP. Picked up by Chicago's Trouble in Mind Records ( Ty Segall, Fresh and Only's, Hex Dispensers, etc.). The re-release of the EP topped several college radio charts competing with other Artists' full-length efforts. (September 6, 2010) On June 28, 2011 the band released their self-titled debut album via Trouble In Mind. They also released a split EP with The UFO Club on the Austin label
The Reverberation Appreciation Society The Reverberation Appreciation Society is the creator, curator, and producer of annual psychedelic music festivals Levitation (festival), Levitation Austin, Levitation France, Levitation Chicago, and Levitation Vancouver. The Reverberation Apprec ...
. A split single with TRMRS was released in June 2012 via Volcom Vinyl Club. On September 24, 2013, the band released their second album "Sonic Bloom" via
The Reverberation Appreciation Society The Reverberation Appreciation Society is the creator, curator, and producer of annual psychedelic music festivals Levitation (festival), Levitation Austin, Levitation France, Levitation Chicago, and Levitation Vancouver. The Reverberation Apprec ...
. They toured North America, Europe, Israel, South Africa and Australia in support of the album. In late 2014, Tarek Wegner left the band. With no announcement regarding his departure, it only became apparent when new press shots were released with a different bassist. Shortly after he released an EP entitled "What Colors Last" via Burger Records featuring the now deceased musician Joshua Vega and the full length self released album "Soul Fuckers" in 2015 along with a west coast tour with Tomorrow's Tulips. In 2015, the band signed to London-based label
Heavenly Recordings Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne (band), Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves (band), Doves, and early singles by Manic Street P ...
and released their third album "Who Sold My Generation" in January 2016. The album featured Black Rebel Motorcycle Club member Robert Levon Been on bass, who also co-produced the album. The band recruited Jakob Bowden to tour the album. In September 2016, the band embarked on a UK/EU tour without drummer James Traeger. Throughout 2017, drummer Evan Snyder toured with the band. Through a US tour supporting Black Rebel Motorcycle Club 2018, Jonah Swilley played drums with the band. Traeger's absence from tours hasn't been commented on or acknowledged, but was rumored to be temporary. In May 2018, the band embarked on a tour of Spain and France, with Evan Snyder again replacing James Traeger on drums. Bassist Jakob Bowden was also not present. In July 2018, the band (Rajan Billingsley and drummer Jonah Swilley) performed as a duo at the Social in London, England. On January 28, 2019, the band released their fourth album ''Myth Of A Man''. The album was recorded by Billingsley with producer and Black Keys frontman
Dan Auerbach Daniel Quine Auerbach (; born May 14, 1979) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer, best known as the guitarist and vocalist of The Black Keys, a blues rock band from Akron, Ohio. As a member of the group, Auerbach has ...
. For the sessions, Billingsley was backed by a cast of old time session musicians who had worked with the likes of
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
and
Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...
. Perhaps explaining the absence of founding member James Trager or bass player Jakob Bowden, the official press release states that the album was "written during a particularly destructive period of the band" In late 2020, Blackwell signed Night Beats to Fuzz Club Records. ''Outlaw R&B'', the fifth Night Beats studio album was released on June 4, 2021. A live album, ''Levitation Sessions'', was released via The Reverberation Appreciation Society in August 2021.


Band members


Current

* Danny "Lee Blackwell" Rajan Billingsley - Vocals, lead guitar


Former

* Tarek Wegner - Bass * James Traeger - Drums * Jakob Bowden - Bass


Discography


Studio albums

* ''Night Beats'' - 2011 (Trouble In Mind Records) * ''Sonic Bloom'' - 2013 (
The Reverberation Appreciation Society The Reverberation Appreciation Society is the creator, curator, and producer of annual psychedelic music festivals Levitation (festival), Levitation Austin, Levitation France, Levitation Chicago, and Levitation Vancouver. The Reverberation Apprec ...
) * ''Who Sold My Generation'' - 2016 (
Heavenly Recordings Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne (band), Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves (band), Doves, and early singles by Manic Street P ...
) * '' Myth of a Man'' - 2019 (
Heavenly Recordings Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne (band), Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves (band), Doves, and early singles by Manic Street P ...
) * ''Outlaw R&B'' - 2021 ( Fuzz Club Records)


Singles/Splits/EPs

* ''H-Bomb 7"'' - 2010 (Self-Released) * ''H-Bomb 7"'' - 2010 (Trouble In Mind Records) * ''H-Bomb EP'' (
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
) - 2010 (Holy Twist) * ''Night Beats/UFO Club Split 10"'' - 2011 (
The Reverberation Appreciation Society The Reverberation Appreciation Society is the creator, curator, and producer of annual psychedelic music festivals Levitation (festival), Levitation Austin, Levitation France, Levitation Chicago, and Levitation Vancouver. The Reverberation Apprec ...
) * ''Night Beats/TRMRS Split 7"'' - 2012 (Volcom Entertainment/Resurrection Records) *''Night Beats/ Her Cold Cold Heart -'' 2018 (Heavenly Recordings /
IAS IAS may refer to: Science * Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, New Jersey, United States * Image Analysis & Stereology, the official journal of the International Society for Stereology & Image Analysis. * Iowa Archeological Society, Uni ...


Compilations

* ''Get Wyld! Vol. 1'' - 2010 (Holy Twist) * ''Portable Shrines Magic Sound Theatre Vol. 1'' - 2011 (Translinguistic Other/Light In The Attic) * ''Sailor Jerry Vol. 4'' - 2011 (Sailor Jerry Rum)


References


External links


Official Website
{{Authority control Musical groups from Seattle Garage rock groups from Washington (state) American psychedelic rock music groups American musical trios