Morphine was an alternative rock group formed by Mark Sandman and Dana Colley in Cambridge , Massachusetts , USA , in 1989 .
Critically-acclaimed for their innovative music and unique instrumentation, Morphine combined blues and jazz elements with more traditional rock arrangements, giving the band a very unusual sound. Sandman's distinctive singing was described as a "deep, laid-back croon " [1] , and his songwriting featured a prominent beatnik influence.
When asked by reporters to describe their music, Sandman labeled it "Low Rock". One critical appraisal suggests that "Morphine immediately established a minimalist, low-end sound that could have easily become a gimmick: a ' power trio ' not built around the sound of an electric guitar . Instead, with sly intelligence, Morphine expanded its offbeat vocabulary on each album." [2]
Line-up
Morphine was formed in 1989 by bassist/vocalist Mark Sandman, who had previously played with the bluesy alternative rock band Treat Her Right , and saxophonist Dana Colley, a former member of the local Boston group Three Colors. Sandman and Colley asked drummer Jerome Deupree to join the group and complete the initial lineup.
Morphine's instrumentation was quite unusual: Sandman's primary instrument was a two-string bass guitar played with a slide (though on the group's records he added touches of guitar , piano , electronic organ and other instruments). Colley played primarily baritone saxophone , along with soprano or tenor saxes, and the rare bass saxophone , and he sometimes played two saxes at once, a la Roland Kirk ; he also played occasional percussion , and dobro on a B-side.
During the recording of their second album in 1993, Deupree was replaced by Billy Conway , who had previously played with Sandman in Treat Her Right. Colley has reported that Deupree had to be replaced because he was suffering from a serious illness. Before leaving the sessions and the band, Deupree continued drumming in the studio while fighting the illness, completing most of the percussion work heard on the album. Conway would stay on as a permanent member of Morphine while Deupree would later return to perform with the band, both in the studio and on the road. Morphine's final album, credits both men and includes a photo of both drummers playing with the group simultaneously.
Live performances
Sandman introduced the group at every live performance by declaring, "From Boston , Massachusetts , we are Morphine at your service." Over the years he developed a reputation for antagonizing certain audiences and even his own road personnel by inviting song requests and then ignoring them. The band would also force encores, even if they were premature, with Sandman declaring the audience had "received [its] money's worth" before exiting the stage. When one of the band members had a broken leg and had difficulty walking, the stage lights would be dimmed without the group leaving the stage; when the lights came back up, Sandman would welcome the audience to the encore.
A more popular feature of Morphine live performances became known as "Poetry Time" - a short beat -inspired spoken word session conducted by Sandman and accompanied by Colley on saxophone. During breaks between songs, audience members would sometimes tease Sandman by shouting, "Play something good!" - a reference to lyrics from the song "Buena".
Releases
Morphine recorded their debut album, Good , for the Boston-based Accurate/Distortion label in 1991 . The album received positive reviews and established a small but devoted audience. The band subsequently signed to Rykodisc , which re-released Good under its own imprint.
Cure for Pain , released in 1993 , increased the band's audience outside of New England , and singles like "Thursday" and "Buena" picked up some college radio play. "Sheila" and "In Spite of Me" were prominently featured on the soundtrack of the 1994 film Spanking the Monkey . The music video for "Buena" was featured in a 1999 episode (" Boca ") of the hit HBO television series The Sopranos , a first for the television series.
The band toured extensively in support of the album in the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia, bringing an international audience to their next Ryko release in 1995 , Yes . In 1996 , Morphine signed with Dreamworks Records , becoming the second act signed to the new label.
Dreamworks released their major label debut, Like Swimming , the following year. It was a critical success, but did not break the band into the domestic mainstream as had been hoped. Dreamworks released a music video for the single "Early to Bed". Directed by Jamie Caliri and released in March of 1997, the nightmarish yet humorous video became an instant favorite among fans and was later nominated for a Grammy award .
Although Morphine was critically lauded throughout their career, it is much more difficult to measure their level of commercial success. In the United States the band was embraced and promoted by the indie rock community, including college radio stations and MTV 's 120 Minutes (which the band once guest-hosted), but received little support from commercial rock radio and other music television programs. This limited their mainstream exposure and success in their home country, while internationally they enjoyed mainstream success and support, especially in France and Australia .
The band's final studio album, The Night , was completed before Sandman's death and was subsequently released in 2000 , becoming the band's most critically-acclaimed album to date. Since then, Bootleg Detroit , an "official live bootleg", and The Best of Morphine: 1992-1995 have also been released under the Morphine name.
In 2004 , the Mark Sandman box set Sandbox was released by Hi-n-Dry. It contains two CDs and a DVD of previously unreleased material spanning Sandman's musical career. The DVD features clips from early Sandman shows, interviews from the Morphine tours, and various videos from other Sandman solo and group projects, such as Treat Her Right.
However, the box set does not contain any Sandman material found in the Morphine catalogue, Morphine videos, or promotional material produced by Rykodisc or Dreamworks Records. Many believe this is the result of a less-than-cooperative relationship between the surviving members of the band and their former record labels, although both Colley and Conway contributed to the release of The Best of Morphine, released by Rykodisc in 2003 .
Sandman's death and subsequent careers
On July 3 , 1999 , Sandman collapsed on stage at the Giardini del Principe in Palestrina , Italy (near Rome ). He was soon pronounced dead of a heart attack and Morphine immediately disbanded.
Within a year of Sandman's death, Colley and Conway created Orchestra Morphine , a group of Sandman's friends and colleagues who toured to celebrate the music of the band and to raise funds for the Mark Sandman Music Education Fund. Orchestra Morphine mostly performed music from The Night, but also included some Hypnosonics material as well.
Later, singer and guitarist Laurie Sargent, a member of Orchestra Morphine, would join Colley and Conway in their first post-Morphine musical endeavour, Twinemen . Conway and Colley also officially formed the Hi-n-Dry independent record label and studio, converting Sandman's workspace into a commercial enterprise. The label now includes a number of their friends, colleagues and other Boston-area musicians. Orchestra Morphine still reunites on occasion but no longer tours.
Jerome Deupree continues to record with various jazz musicians and later became a member of the group Bourbon Princess .
Band members
- Mark Sandman - 2 string slide bass, vocals, organ, tritar, guitar, pianoDana Colley - baritone sax, tenor sax, double sax, triangleBilly Conway - various percussion (1993-1999)Jerome Deupree - various percussion (1989-1993; 1998-1999)
Discography
Studio albums
- Good - 1992 Cure for Pain - 1993 Yes - 1995 Like Swimming - 1997 The Night - 2000
Live Albums and Compilations
- B-Sides and Otherwise - 1997 Bootleg Detroit - 2000 The Best of Morphine: 1992-1995 - 2003 Sandbox: The Mark Sandman Box Set - 2004
A.K.A.C.O.D. has created a darkly psychedelic sound that is sensual, cinematic, and otherworldly. The band features Morphine / Twinemen saxophonist Dana Colley , Bourbon Princess vocalist/bassist Monique Ortiz , and drummer Larry Dersch of Binary System/Concussion Ensemble. Ortiz met Colley in May of 1996 at the Trocadero in Philadelphia, when he was touring with Morphine. She was so taken by the band's sound that she went backstage and introduced herself to their frontman Mark Sandman . After a brief but fateful conversation with him she decided to pack her bags and move to Morphine's home base of Cambridge, MA, in search of a better creative environment. Within a few months of moving to Cambridge she began performing solo, and within a year she and drummer Dave Millar formed the duo Bourbon Princess. At this time Morphine was touring extensively and Monique wasn't in contact with any of the members other than being the fan up front at every local show. On July 3rd, 1999 Mark Sandman collapsed on stage from a heart attack while Morphine were performing at a festival in Palestrina, Italy. "Although I never really knew him, I was absolutely devastated. He saved me. He changed my life and motivated me to go after a sound no one else was doing", Monique said in an interview. In 2003 David Champagne (Mark Sandman's former bandmate in the blues rock outfit Treat Her Right ) recruited Monique to play bass in his new band Lucky Bastard, along with drummers Jerome Deupree , Billy Conway, and producer/engineer Paul Kolderie). The band was short-lived but put Monique back in touch with Dana Colley, who was playing sax in various bands around town. Dana agreed to record and co-produce the second Bourbon Princess LP Black Feather Wings , and performed on several of the tracks. At this time original Morphine drummer Jerome Deupree had signed on to play with Bourbon Princess for the long haul. Monique met Larry Dersch through the "Morphine circle" as well (Larry plays on the fourth Morphine LP Like Swimming. She knew Larry from his other bands Binary System (a duo with Mission Of Burma's Roger Miller), and the Bad Art Ensemble. Larry would sit-in on drums with Bourbon Princess from time to time. While Monique was working on the third Bourbon princess LP Dark Of Days , Dana was playing with Twinemen, with Morphine drummer Billy Conway, vocalist/guitarist Laurie Sargent, and bassist Jeremy Curtis. Eventually Monique and Dana's paths crossed more frequently and it became clear that another collaboration was inevitable. Last fall Monique and Dana began writing and recording material together and invited Larry Dersch to complete the line-up of what is Also Known As Colley, Ortiz, Dersch. The trio have been packing rooms and garnering rave reviews despite the fact that they have yet to release any material. They are currently at Hi-N-Dry (the loft/home studio of Mark Sandman) wrapping-up recording of their first LP and plan to be touring this fall. We will post more live recordings. So spread the word and drop us a line. Official website coming soon.