Members:

Jason Simon

Steve Kille

Mark Laughlin











The Spiel:

Warble Womb, where it's warm a shelter from the storm. Three years since the last Dead Meadow release the band has had line-up changes, continued their rigorous touring schedule and worked with legendary artists like Dave Davies (of the Kinks) ... Members of the band have made solo records and Jason Simon has continued his country-Dylan-inspired Old Testament into new ground and new recordings. Steve Kille has continued recording artists like Kim Deal and ex-GBV alumni Jim Greer along with running a label and playing bass in a recent incarnation of fellow tripper Steve McBean version of Pink Mountaintops. Finally and most importantly we have seen a return of original drummer Mark Laughlin who in 1998 co-founded Dead Meadow and on this 75 minute album we hear him again on a studio record the first time in eleven years.

Dead Meadow has long made these journeys into fantasy and mystic rock pop. They have grown up and even became kings and with this new release they have come back to their roots. The three original players self-producing on their own time and on their own dime they give us the soundtrack of their lives and classic tunes that will remind us what made them unique so many years ago.

Influenced by reggae and dub along with the classic rock riffs they wear proudly on their sleeves we have a perfect representation of what stew of a vision has always been heavy psych pop that can make the listener groove and dance. But beyond the sound the band has done something even more timely and important here and that is to add a soundtrack to this new record enthusiast times. "We love everything inspired and here in our comfort space our womb this is our ode to what inspires us."..No matter what dark negative forces there are in the outside world in here in this shelter we can be safe and inspired as the young of heart of this generation

The Bio:

Dead Meadow formed in 1998 with Jason Simon on vocals and guitar, Steve Kille on bass, and Mark Laughlin on drums. The threesome initially met in the DC indie music scene in highschool and a few years later began to combine 70s hard rock and 60s psychedelic rock with themes from authors such as Lord Dunsany and H. P. Lovecraft. The first album, Dead Meadow (self-titled), with the cover art made by Steve Kille was released in 2000 on Tolotta Records, a basement label run by Fugazi bassist Joe Lally. The LP version was released by Planaria Records. The self-titled album was quickly followed by 2001's Howls from the Hills recorded at friend Stephen McCarty's (who would later join Dead Meadow) grandparent's farm house in rural Indiana, also released on Tolotta Records. At the completion of "Howls from the Hills" John Peel asked Dead Meadow to record a Peel Session which was recorded in Fugazi's home studio, the first time a Peel Session was recorded outside the BBC studios.The Peel Sessions remained unreleased until 2012.

In Spring 2002, Laughlin parted ways with the band in order to pursue a career as a lawyer. He was replaced by Stephen McCarty. A live album, Got Live If You Want It, was released in 2002, which documented one of the last shows with drummer Mark and was produced by Anton Newcombe of Brian Jonestown Massacre. In early 2003 the band signed with Matador Records and released Shivering King and Others. Along with the heavy sound and blues-influenced songs as on the previous two records, the band continued in their psychedelic style, with acoustic elements and ballads. With the addition of second guitarist Cory Shane, Feathers was released in 2005. Shane also wrote the song "Stacy's Song" on the album.

In 2007 the band reverted back to a three piece, made an appearance at the fifth annual Green Man Festival in Crickhowell, Wales and relocated from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles, California.

Old Growth, the fifth studio album was released in 2008 on Matador Records. It was recorded at the same farm where 2001's Howls from the Hills was recorded in Indiana and was mixed at Sunset Sound studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles.This release as well as the three previous albums was produced by bassist Steve Kille.

Later that year a brief session with Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother led to the reinterpretation of the Dead Meadow song "Everything's Going On" (Howls from the Hills) as a new song "Pilgrim" landing on the second release for Wolfmother, "Cosmic Egg".

In March 2010 Dead Meadow released a feature length live film and soundtrack, "Three Kings", that spotlights their stage show along with psychedelic dream scenarios. The live footage and audio was captured at the bombastic final show of the five month "Old Growth" tour. The film premiered at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, California and was released together with the live album on Xemu Records, co-run by Kille.

In August 2010, Stephen Mccarty decided to quit and original drummer Mark Laughlin came back in the band and made his first appearance at Clean Air Clean Stars Festival in Joshua Tree, California followed by an Australian tour in October 2010 and a string of U.S. reunion shows and a European tour in 2011.

Jason Simon released his first solo "self-titled" acoustic album on TeePee Records in September 2010. Simonís guitar virtuosity influenced by the droning modal character of Eastern music and classic rock riffs expanded to country influenced roots flavor for his solo efforts.

Jason, as the nephew of The Wire creator David Simon connected the band to new reach in TV. Dead Meadow's music was used briefly in the episode "React Quotes" in season five of The Wire. The song "Sleepy Silver Door" (self-titled) and "Greensky Greenlake" (also self-titled) were featured in the skate video "Emerica, Stay Gold."

In 2012 Cory Shane released a limited number of the before unreleased Peel Sessions on his Prune Pendant Records label and Dead Meadow started working on a new album. The first studio album for Mark Laughlin since he left the group in 2002.

Two of Dead Meadow's previous albums released on other labels were later on re-released by Xemu.