can be detected in their sound as well. Formed in Portland, Oregon in 1994,
(drums), who signed on with the independent label Tim/Kerr shortly after their formation. In 1995 came the release of the quartet's debut release,
, and while other rock bands may be a bit hesitant to spell out their influences,
decided to openly advertise it, as the album contained such song titles as "Lou Weed" and "Ride."
Capitol Records signed the group the same year, but
the Dandys' new label rejected a second album they submitted (claiming it didn't have any "hits"). Disappointed but undeterred, the group reunited once more with the producer of their debut album,
Tony Lash, and came up with
Dandy Warhols Come Down, issued in 1997. While the album didn't exactly establish the group as a household name, it did prove to be an underground fave (especially in Europe, where the group became the toast of the critics and enjoyed more substantial commercial success), while the single "Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth" received some attention, for which a promo video was filmed by renowned celebrity photographer
David LaChapelle. At the height of the band's popularity,
Hedford left the band to take up DJing in Portland, and
Taylor's cousin
Brent DeBoer stepped in to play drums. In 2000, the band issued its third full-length overall,
Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia. "Bohemian Like You" was a hit at college radio. Two summers later, founding member
Peter Holmstrom married his longtime girlfriend and took her maiden name of
Loew.
Taylor also got a name change when he opted to go by
Courtney Taylor-Taylor after an interviewer misinterpreted the pronunciation.
Within months,
Taylor-Taylor,
Loew,
McCabe, and
DeBoer were back in the studio for a fourth album.
Welcome to the Monkey House (2003), a tribute to
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.'s book of short stories, featured collaborations with
Nile Rodgers,
Duran Duran's
Nick Rhodes, and
Evan Dando.
The Dandy Warhols were also personally asked by
David Bowie to be the opening act for his fall 2003 A Reality tour. Though the band was relatively quiet during 2004, it remained prominent thanks to the fascinating documentary Dig!, which chronicled the love-hate relationship between
the Dandy Warhols and
the Brian Jonestown Massacre. The group returned with new music in 2005, when
Odditorium or Warlords of Mars arrived that fall. In 2008,
the Dandy Warhols released their sixth album,
...Earth to the Dandy Warhols..., in both digital and physical formats on their own Beat the World label; the album also featured collaborations with
Mark Knopfler and
the Heartbreakers'
Mike Campbell. The Dandy's followed up with their ninth album, This Machine, in 2012.
–
Greg Prato, Rovi