"If the Psychedelic Furs kicked-ass, they'd sound like you guys." - Leila "Hornet Girl" Coppala (of The Vibrolas), April 2008
Having sharpened their teeth in New York City’s best venues, including the Knitting Factory’s Main Stage, CBGBs, Continental, Piano’s, Trash, Crash Mansion, & Southpaw (w/ Easy Action), Undersea Explosion (NYC), or USX for short, released it’s first self-titled EP in 2004, made their international debut at Toronto’s NXNE Festival in June 2006, rocked Harrisburg, PA in Feb. @ MMC11 & 6th Street in Austin during SXSW 2007 and 2008, completed a successful 10- date Midwest tour in May/June 2007, followed by the release of their first LP This is Undersea Explosion!!! in July of that year. In 2008, the band signed with Transistor66 Records out of Winnipeg, CA which released a split 7†vinyl record with labelmates The Vibrolas. The two bands hit the road together for a handful of powerful shows in the south and midwest last year and will join forces again on the road in 2009. The band will head to Denver this summer to begin recording new material with Kurt Ottaway of The Overcasters behind the boards.
Best described as “avant garage†or “garage noirâ€, USX is a rock and roll experiment which originated in Brooklyn, NY in the year 2003. At its core are drummer Myq Gaffey, bass player Jerold H. Lovecraft and guitarist/singer James Paul. The songs are based on imagery and transcendence. The music is visual. The show is a journey. Combustion stretched over the better part of an hour. More specifically, USX is a huge sounding 3 peice. The sound is vintage Detroit (ala The Stooges), with a psychedelic-surf-rockabilly undertow. Throw in some Bauhaus and Spacemen 3 and there you start getting the picture.
A Brief History: Originally from Detroit, Jim joined friends and indie-pop sensations The Christines, who had recently played with Oasis on their first US tour, as they were moving to San Francisco in ’97. The Christines jumped into the scene with Subarachnoid Space and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Jim continued to play with the Christines but also established FunHouse: A Stooges Revue featuring New Bomb Turks drummer Bill Randt, before coming to New York in ‘02. Jerold had been the guitarist for Abstract Fresco as well as a DJ in Indiana before moving to NYC three weeks after 9/11. The two collaborated & played a few cabaret shows before recruiting Boston transplant Myq Gaffey on drums to stoke the nuclear furnace that would become USX. David Mendez, formerly of ’69 Nova & a Spanish Harlem native, replaced Myq from Sept. ’04-Dec. ’06.
Discography:
Debut LP "This is Undersea Explosion!!!" released July 2007
Self-Titled EP, released Nov. 2004
Breathe Deep, Dive In, and Descend with Us...
