THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Dead Meadow’s unique marriage of Black Sabbath riffs, dreamy layers of guitar-fuzz bliss, and singer Jason Simon’s melodic croon have won over psychedelic pop, rock, sludge and stoner fans alike. Although the band’s members met while attending all-ages shows in and around D.C.’s punk/indie scene, the trio draws more of its sound from such classic rock legends as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Sabbath. The trio formed in the fall of 1998 out of the ashes of local indie rock bands The Impossible 5 and Colour, with singer-guitarist Simon, bassist Steve Kille, and drummer Mark Laughlin. The three members set out to fuse their love of early-’70s hard rock and ’60s psychedelia into their distinct sound.
They released their eight-song debut album in 1999. The self-titled release was recorded live in Jason’s parents’ basement and released on Fugazi bassist Joe Lally’s Tolotta Records with a joint vinyl release on D.C. indie label Planaria Records. The now-classic cover was done by Kille. Within a relatively short period, the D.C. trio received offers to tour with everyone from local acts like The Make-Up and Fugazi to psychedelic rockers Brian Jonestown Massacre. The group was also invited to record live for longtime cutting-edge British radio personality John Peel for BBC Radio One. This session, actually recorded at Fugazi’s home studio, marks the first time a Peel Session was recorded outside the BBC studios. This remained unreleased for many years but is now available.
The much-acclaimed debut was quickly followed by 2001’s Howls From the Hills, recorded at friend (and future bandmember) Stephen McCarty’s grandparent’s farm house in rural Indiana and also released on Tolotta Records. Howls From the Hills incorporated a darker more Eastern-influenced sound. The band enjoyed renting a couple of goats for the cover photo shoot. A live record produced by Anton Newcombe and released on the iconic Bomp label entitled Got Live If You Want It! arrived in 2002; that year, Mark Laughlin left the band but they found a new drummer in Stephen McCarty.
The band signed with Matador Records in early 2003 and released Shivering King and Others. Along with the heavy feel and blues-influenced songs, as found on the previous two records, the band incorporated a more layered and dense sound, and continued in their psychedelic style. With the addition of long-time friend Cory Shane as second guitarist, the band released the much-acclaimed Feathers LP in 2005. This record incorporated the heavy sound of Dead Meadow with a somewhat more dreamlike feel and included a great deal of two-guitar interplay between Cory and Jason. Cory took lead vocal on his own composition Stacey’s Song.
2007 saw the band reverting back to a three piece and relocating from D.C. to L.A. Old Growth, their fifth studio album, was released in 2008. It was recorded by Kille on the same farm in rural Indiana as Howls From the Hills. Old Growth and mixed in L.A. at Sunset Studios by Dave Schiffman.
In 2010 Dead Meadow released the live film and soundtrack Three Kings. It spotlighted their live show and included psychedelic dream sequences and all sorts of trippy shit. The footage and audio were captured at the bombastic final show of the five-month Old Growth tour. The film premiered at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in L.A. and was released together with a live album on Kille’s Xemu Records.
The group spent a long, patient time self-producing and recording 2013’s epic double-album Warble Womb, also released on Xemu. It is the first Dead Meadow album made by the original lineup since 2001. Since then, the band have continued to tour, playing shows across the globe.
With the release of The Nothing they Need, Steve and Jason celebrated 20 years of Dead Meadow with eight songs that feature everyone that has been musically involved with the band over the years. The record features drummers Laughlin and McCarty, along with Juan Londono (the drummer at the time of recording). Cory Shane also joins on guitar for some Feathers-era dual guitar interplay.
Following that release, original drummer Laughlin once again joined the band and a string of tours followed, including a visit to Russia. The lockdown of 2020 gave the band some much needed rest from touring, though two live records were released. Live at Roadburn documented the band’s 2011 appearance at the iconic Dutch festival, while their Levitation Session appeared as a live-streamed video and vinyl.
In 2021, Dead Meadow began crafting Force Form Free, working up a disparate yet cohesive group of songs that placed new works alongside the culmination of ideas they’d been tinkering with since the band’s genesis.
The album is spacey and dreamy at times, grimly propulsive at others, and captures Dead Meadow continuing their effortless exploration of the transporting, astral-gazing form they’ve spent their entire existence pushing forward.”
