Tangled Magazine

Actors: The Rock Stars By Night

By Jamie Evangelista

You’re a famous actor/actress in Hollywood, starring in some major films, which have won you the adoration that you’ve always wanted. What are you going to do next? Be in a band of course! Crossing over to music has always been infectious with actors to see what other possibilities their career can bring or simply they have a killer voice or instrumental talent that needs to be unleashed. Please, Dogstar or Billy Bob Thorton are not allowed here. These are the cool kids of today.

Dead Man’s Bones

A band that popped out of nowhere, Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson, Lars and the Real Girl) and Zach Shields, both on vocals and guitar, they announced their project through their MySpace and word quickly spread. Fans eagerly waited for the band’s title song with ironic lyrics “Dig a hole” and “six feet deep”. With Ryan’s acting career on high, the band is currently on hold leaving a cryptic message, “Someday we’ll make a record.”  

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=154853068

Mook

Fronted by Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine, There Will Be Blood) on vocals and guitar, Robert Bruce, Chris ‘Gus’ Johnson and Dan Kreiger, they recorded their first EP, “The Eggs”, in Paul’s parents’ attic and was released in 2006. “Statues” and “Broken Bee” could easily be long lost soundtracks to Wes Anderson films. The name ‘Mook’ is a slang term for an insignificant person but a guy dressed up as a cow has frequented onstage during gigs.

http://www.myspace.com/mookband

Pagoda

Led by Michael Pitt (Last Days, Funny Games) on vocals and guitar, with Reese Carr, Will Paredes, and Chris Hoffman, Pagoda (a name that “didn’t suck fucking shit as much as the others” according to Michael) released a demo with five songs in 2005. It also helped that their songs appeared on the soundtrack for Michael’s films, Last Days, The Dreamers, The Heart is Deceitful of all Things. After three years in the making, they finally released their self-titled album in February 2007 under Ecstatic Peace, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore’s label, and some songs from the demo made it onto the record.

http://www.myspace.com/pagodamusic  

The Filthy Youth

Fronted by Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl), with Jimmy Wright, Benjamin Lewis, Tom Bastiani and John Vooght, they formed in 2006 and have played around London and also the United States. “Orange” and “Come Flash All You Ladies”, which was co-written by Ed and Jimmy, was has been featured in an episode of Gossip Girl giving more exposure to this indie rock band.

http://www.myspace.com/thefilthyyouth

Boomkat

Fronted by Taryn Manning (8 Mile, Hustle and Flow) with brother Kellin, the duo received exposure with their song “Wasting My Time” appearing on the soundtrack for 8 Mile. Their debut album, “Boomkatalog One” was released in 2003 spunning two hit singles, “The Wreckoning” and “What U Do 2 Me”.  Taryn is now focusing on recording her solo album and there are currently no plans for an upcoming Boomkat album.

Juliette Lewis and the Licks

Led by Juliette Lewis (Cape Fear, Catch and Release) with Todd Morse, Ed Davis and Jason Womack, they released their first EP, “Like a Bolt of Lighting” which followed the released of their debut album, “You’re Speaking My Language” in 2004. Their second album, “Four on the Floor” was released in 2006 and toured in the US and Europe to coincide with the release.

http://www.myspace.com/julietteandthelicks  

30 Seconds to Mars 

Fronted by Jared Leto (Requiem for a Dream, Chapter 27), with brother Shannon and Tomo Milicevic formed in 1998 getting the band name from a thesis they found online written by a former Harvard professor. They released their self-titled album in 2002 with a minor achievement. However, things began to take off when they reached huge mainstream success with the release of their second album, A Beautiful Lie. The album has gone platinum with the band’s popular hit singles, ‘The Kill (Bury Me)’, ‘From Yesterday’ and  ‘A Beautiful Lie’.

http://www.myspace.com/thirtysecondstomars

Frodad

Led by Brad Renfro (The Client, Bully), the band formed in 2002 when Brad met Richard Reckley, Melvin Robinson (now replaced by Tal Hazen) and Ben Thomas while on location for his movie, The Job. All the members gathered at a studio where they drew a crowd from a window outside and realized this was meant to be. Frodad began performing around the Los Angeles area and got their song ‘Feel This Way’ in Brad’s movie The Jacket in 2005. Unfortunately, Brad passed away in January 2008 and it is unknown what the future holds for the band. An album that was recorded some years ago, Thriving to Flourish, will be released soon.

http://www.myspace.com/frodad

Jonny Was

Fronted by Shane West (A Walk To Remember, E.R.), began in 1998 as a 3 piece band then transformed into a 5 piece band with Brett Klorer, Casey McGuire, Matt Jefferson and Weir in 2005. They first gained exposure with the song “What Does It All Mean” appearing in A Walk To Remember and also making it on the soundtrack. Regular fixtures of rock and roll venues in Los Angeles, their songs are heavily reminiscent of punk bands Green Day, The Ramones and The Clash. The band is currently on break pursuing other projects.

http://www.myspace.com/jonnywas

The Honey Brothers

With Adrian Grenier on drums (Entourage, The Devil Wears Prada), Ari Gold (not that one, this is another one), Andrew Vladeck, Daniel Posner and Ethan Gold, they have release two limited-released EPs, “Honey 4 U,” and “Little Boy” and have played in venues in Los Angeles and New York, and also played during the Sundance Film Festival in 2007.

http://www.myspace.com/thehoneybrothers

Big Japan

Consisting of Adam Brody (The O.C.) on drums, Bret Harrison (Reaper) on guitar, Nathaniel Castro and Brad Babinksi, Big Japan released their first album digitally, Music For Dummies on August 23, 2005 (later renamed ‘Untitled’). The band only has time to perform when Adam and Bret are free from their everchanging actor schedules.

http://www.myspace.com/bigjapan