Deadboy & the Elephantmen

Deadboy & The Elephantmen
Background information
Origin	Houma, Louisiana
Genre(s)	Alternative/Indie/Swamp Rock
Years active	2000 - 2007
Label(s)	Fat Possum Records (current)
Associated acts	Acid Bath Agents of Oblivion
Website	Official site Official MySpace page
Members
Dax Riggs: Vocals, Guitar Alex Bergeron: Bass Adam Clement: Drums Sean Keating: Keyboards
Former members
Jason Dupre:Guitar Chris Gautreaux: Bass Jeff Lecompte: Drums Tessie Brunet: Drums

Deadboy & The Elephantmen (sometimes abbreviated as DBATEM) was a Houma, Louisiana based band fronted by Dax Riggs (formerly of Acid Bath and Agents of Oblivion).

The band signed a three-record deal with Fat Possum Records and for the latter part of 2005 and most of 2006 toured in support of their major label debut, We Are Night Sky, playing from bars and smaller venues to Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits and Bonnaroo. In early 2006, Riggs tapped his former Agents of Oblivion bandmate, Alex Bergeron, to play bass on tour.

The line-up of Riggs and Brunet was often compared to the White Stripes in reviews and their music is sometimes referred to as "swamp rock."

New York City-based Nasty Little Man handled the band's promotions.

Background

Deadboy & The Elephantmen first appeared in late 2000, following in the wake of the break-up of Agents of Oblivion. The earliest incarnations of DBATEM were little more than Dax Riggs playing solo shows under the moniker when not using his own name or the rarely used T-Daks & His White Plastic Soul. He would play early versions of DBATEM songs along with covers of songs by Leonard Cohen, Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds among others.

As time went on, Riggs began expanding the band and by mid-2001 had a full line-up.

Deadboy's first album, If This Is Hell, Then I'm Lucky was released in 2002. The album was discontinued and for a time was extremely hard to find. However, it has recently been re-released by Fat Possum Records.

Following the first album Dax Riggs sought new musicians after a couple of the band members quit. The original line-up consisted of Jason Dupre on the guitar, Christopher Gautreaux on the bass, and Jeff LeCompte on the drums. Niki Rhodes Jr. then rejoined the project again, after leaving it the first time, and Christopher(Sax and keys) began working with him on futuristic techno rock. Other musicians where then brought in after Christopher and Niki left the group. It was during this time that Brunet was recruited and the two began recording.

An EP, Song Mechanism, was released in late 2004. It was distributed by Riggs through Deadboy's website and various local Louisiana music stores. It too has been discontinued though all four tracks from the EP later appeared on We Are Night Sky.

We Are Night Sky was made available for purchase online in late 2005, but its official release date was February 7, 2006. While it is technically the second full-length album for Deadboy & The Elephantmen, it is the first featuring the simpler two-person lineup and is better distributed than previous efforts and as such is often referred to as their 'debut' album.

Upon discovering We Are Night Sky, Henry Rollins began championing the band on his radio show Harmony in My Head and his TV show The Henry Rollins Show. He has since had the band on the latter to perform "Stop, I'm Already Dead."

In late 2006, Brunet left the band, but it has yet to be stated as to why and under what terms. On April 16, 2007 it was announced that the band was no more, and further records will be released under 'Dax Riggs.'

Discography

• If This Is Hell, Then I'm Lucky, 2002
• Song Mechanism EP, 2004 (Self-released/distributed)
• We Are Night Sky, 2005/2006 (Fat Possum Records)

Covers

Songs known to have been covered by Deadboy & The Elephantmen.

• Leonard Cohen - I'm Your Man
• The Pixies - Wave of Mutilation
• Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - As I Sat Sadly By Her Side
• Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Grand Dark Feeling of Emptiness
• The Rolling Stones - Dead Flowers
• Nick Drake - Been Smokin' Too Long
• Bob Dylan - Death Is Not The End
• The Beatles - Yesterday
• Richard Thompson - Wall of Death

External links

• Official Website
• Official MySpace page
• Skeletal Circus - The Definitive Dax Riggs/Deadboy Fansite/Web Community
• DeathsGarden - DaxRiggs Myspace FanPage

• Deadboy & the Elephantmen collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
• Tinymixtapes live review

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