Comets on Fire
is a psychedelic rock band from Santa Cruz, California. The band was formed in 1999 by guitarist and vocalist Ethan Miller and longtime friend bassist Ben Flashman, who were seeking to create rhythmically and sonically intense music that paid no attention to categorizations.
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COMETS ON FIRE TICKETS
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History
The band started in 1999 and released their debut record on
Alternative Tentacles (
Jello Biafra's label). This album shows the influence of the
Butthole Surfers,
Hawkwind and the
MC5. The next album
Field Recordings from the Sun
for Ba Da Bing label showed more growth on the record with new drummer Utrillo Kushner, as well as
saxophones being added to their noise rock jams. Before the next record the band officially added
Ben Chasny of
Six Organs of Admittance to their lineup in 2003. He had previously performed and recorded with them. With this line-up they got a deal on
Sub Pop Records and released their critically acclaimed
Blue Cathedral
. The record exposed them to a whole new fan base and the record found favor with enough people for Comets on Fire to tour as the opening act for
Sonic Youth,
Dinosaur Jr and
Mudhoney. In 2006, they released their fourth album
Avatar
which showed the band turning away from their psychedelic noise jams for a more subdued sound that ventures close to
classic rock at times.
They are notable for their heavy use of the
Echoplex, used primarily on vocals but on other instruments as well. This often renders the lyrics unintelligible; Miller claims to not remember the lyrics after putting an album together.
Band members
- Ethan Miller - vocals, guitar
- Noel von Harmonson - electronics
- Ben Flashman - bass
- Utrillo Kushner - drums
- Ben Chasny - guitar
Discography
Albums
- Graverobbers
(Self Released, Limited 30 copies) (1999)
- Comets on Fire
(Self Released, Limited 500 copies) (2000) (Re-issue in 2002)
- Field Recordings from the Sun
(2002)
- Live in Europa
(Split LP with Major Stars, Limited 500 copies) (2003)
- Bong Voyage
(Limited 800 copies) (2003)
- Cardboard Sub Pop Promo Jams
(Limited 1000 copies) (2004)
- Blue Cathedral
(2004)
- Euro Tour 5 CDR Boxset
(Self Released, limited 10 copies) (2005)
- Collaboration LP
(with Burning Star Core, Limited 1000 copies) (2005)
- Avatar
(2006)
Related Projects
- Howlin' Rain
- Six Organs of Admittance
- Colossal Yes - side project of Utrillo Kushner