Human Drama
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Human Drama | |
|---|---|
 The World Inside promo photo
|
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | New Orleans, Louisiana, USA  |
| Genre(s) | Post-punk, Rock, Gothic rock,[1] Dark wave, Alternative rock |
| Years active | 1985–2005 |
| Label(s) | RCA Records Projekt Records Noise Kontrol Opcion Sonica (Mexico) Triple X |
| Associated acts | Johnny Indovina Sound Of The Blue Heart |
| Members | |
| Johnny Indovina Mark Balderas Michael Ciravolo Steve Fuxan Charles Bouis Michael Mallory Jamii Szmadzinski CJ Ericksson pt:Carlo Bartolini Curt Harding |
|
Human Drama was a gothic rock/dark wave band[1][2] led by singer/songwriter Johnny Indovina.[2][3] They are primarily known for playing a mixture of sad acoustic and gothic atmospheric melodies. Although they don't count themselves as being only a gothic band, they are often named so by music critics.
Contents |
[edit] Human Drama (1985 - 2005)
Human Drama began in New Orleans in 1980 as the Models, and fueled by a couple of self-produced singles and compilation album cuts, they soon climbed to the top of the local mountain. Human Drama's musical influences stem from artists such as Joy Division, Lou Reed, Tom Waits, David Bowie, and Leonard Cohen, among others. By 1985 they had relocated to Los Angeles where they changed their name to Human Drama and quickly became prominent in what was at the time the most celebrated and influential music scene in the world. The legendary "Scream Scene" developed around an underground LA club called Scream, and spawned dozens of major label acts, including Guns N' Roses and Jane's Addiction. It was here that Human Drama built a reputation and following through their intense, atmospheric performances.
Human Drama was signed to RCA Records in 1988 and released both an EP, "Hopes, Prayers, Dreams, Heart, Soul, Mind, Love, Life, Death", and an LP, "Feel", a year later. When RCA failed to provide adequate promotional support, Indovina asked for the band's release.
Human Drama signed next to Triple X Records, and released "The World Inside" in 1992, which added soft acoustic guitars, flute, and touches of classical violin and cello to their instrumental mix, radically altering the band's sonic presentation. While RCA had promised a video but did not deliver, Triple X did. A video for "This Tangled Web" was directed by long time friend, roadie and tour manager for the band, Dave Eddy. The album proved so popular that Triple X eventually released a companion six-video compilation which included detailed narration from Johnny Indovina.
"Pinups", a collection of cover songs which had influenced Indovina's artistic growth was released in 1993, followed by the simply titled "Human Drama" EP in 1994, and "Songs of Betrayal" in 1995 both on Projekt Records. The band performed before new audiences in Germany and Mexico in 1995, returning to Mexico again in 1996 and 1997, drawing overflowing crowds to their sold-out shows. In 1998 "14,384 Days Later", a live, career-spanning retrospective was released on both Hollow Hills/Triple X and the Mexican Opcion Sonica label. In 1997 Indovina asked Eddy to start putting together a book of Indovina's lyrics, fan thoughts and photos. When Eddy moved to the east coast another long-time friend who had maintained the band mailing list, Megan Ducker, finished the book, titled "My Bag of Secrets...the Words of Human Drama", and was published in 1998. The following year brought "Solemn Sun Setting", the band's seventh album, and in 2000, Triple X released "The Best of Human Drama...In a Perfect World".
Indovina then released "Momentos en el Tiempo", the first live document of his solo acoustic shows. Produced by long-time Human Drama guitarist Michael Ciravolo, the disc was culled from several performances recorded between 1995 and 2000, in such far-reaching venues as Café Bizarro in Mexico City and CBGB's in New York.
The final piece in the Human Drama puzzle was the album “Cause and Effect” , released in the US on Projekt Records, and in Latin America by Noise Kontrol. Human Drama came to an end in 2005.[4]
[edit] 2005-Present: Post-breakup
In late 2006, Johnny Indovina released Sound Of The Blue Heart,[5][6] Triple X Records. In an interview, Indovina announced he was working on songs for a second Sound Of The Blue Heart album.[7]
[edit] Clips
|
|
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Date of Release | Title | Label | Type |
| 2005 | Moments in Time | Triple X | Solo |
| 2002 | Cause and Effect | Projekt Records | LP |
| 2002 | Momento's En El Tiempo | Noise Kontrol | Solo |
| 2000 | The Best of Human Drama...In a Perfect World | Triple X | Best Of |
| 1999 | Solemn Sun Setting | Triple X | LP |
| 1999 | Songs of Betrayal Part Two | Triple X | LP |
| 1999 | Songs of Betrayal Part One | Triple X | LP |
| 1998 | Heroin / Never Never | Triple X | Single |
| 1996 | Fourteen Thousand Three Hundred Eighty Four Days Later | Triple X | Live |
| 1995 | Songs of Betrayal | Projekt Records | LP |
| 1994 | Human Drama | Projekt Records | EP |
| 1993 | Pinups | Triple X | LP |
| 1992 | The World Inside | Triple X | LP |
| 1991 | Fascination and Fear / Fading Away | Triple X | Single |
| 1990 | This Tangled Web / Times Square | Triple X | Single |
| 1989 | Feel | RCA Records | LP |
| 1988 | Hopes Prayers Dreams Heart Soul Mind Love Life Death | RCA Records | EP |
[edit] Compilation appearances
- Very Introspective Actually- A Pet Shop Boys Tribute - Human Drama "This Must Be The Place I've Waited Years To Leave"; Dancing Ferret Discs 2001.
- Orphee - Human Drama " A Single White Rose"; Projekt Records Compilation 2000.
- Songs from the Wasteland: A Tribute to The Mission - Human Drama " Kingdom Come"; Re-Constriction Records 1999.
- Death for Life A benefit compilation for AIDS research - Human Drama "Goodbye"; Mere Mortal Productions 1999.
- New Wave Goes To Hell - Human Drama "The Whole Of The Moon"; Cleopatra Records 1996.
- Scream The Compilation - Human Drama "Wave Of Darkness"; Geffen Records 1987.
[edit] Videos/DVD
- The World Inside Video Collection (video); Triple X
- The World Inside Video Collection - 2007 (dvd); Triple X
[edit] Books
The book My Bag of Secrets (The Words of Human Drama) contains lyrics, photos and commentary from Johnny Indovina and his fans. It was released in 1997.
[edit] References
[edit] See also[edit] External links
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
