Birmingham, AL-based Remy Zero dared to be moody and poetic when most American alternative rock had become overly aggressive and juvenile. Consisting of childhood friends Cinjun Tate (vocals, guitar), Cedric Lemoyne (bass), Jeffrey Cain (guitar), Shelby Tate (guitar, keyboards), and Gregory Slay (drums), Remy Zero was merely a group of schoolboys recording homemade tapes. In the mid-'90s, the band sent a demo to community radio station KCRW in Santa Monica, CA. It attracted the attention of Geffen Records, and the label eventually signed the group. In 1996, Remy Zero released its self-titled debut. The album was virtually unnoticed, but the band's 1998 follow-up, Villa Elaine, arrived with the Next Big Thing label as the group was thought of, mainly by its publicists, as a young U2 or Radiohead. The soaring "Prophecy" was a dead ringer for Radiohead, especially with its emotionally unrestrained vocals; however, many critics felt that the bandmembers were not able to reach the creative peaks of their idols on Villa Elaine. "Prophecy" landed on modern-rock radio just when the format was banishing melodic, '80s-influenced alternative pop from its airwaves in favor of rap-metal and mall-ready punk. Remy Zero simply didn't fit in. The group vanished from the scene until 2001, when it recorded The Golden Hum. First single "Save Me" -- recalling the toe-tapping anthems of the Alarm with a Radiohead makeover -- became the theme song of the TV drama Smallville later that year. ~ Michael Sutton, All Music Guide
Before Remy Zero had recorded any full length albums, Radiohead found their demo tape and invited them to be part of the US tour for The Bends. After that, the band moved from Alabama to Los Angeles to record their first album.
Remy Zero's first album, self-titled, drew from these experiences and received little recognition or sales. The subsequent album Villa Elaine caused them to be praised as "the next big thing". Villa Elaine was recorded when the band was living in an apartment of the same name in Hollywood. Remy Zero's third album The Golden Hum was also received well. A 50 second version of the song "Save Me" from The Golden Hum was used as the theme song for WB's Smallville, and continues to be used as the theme as the show continues on The CW network. Remy Zero's music has also been on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic radio show. Remy Zero's song "Shattered" was used in the films Crazy/Beautiful and Suicide Kings. "Fair" from Villa Elaine was used in the films Garden State and Fanboys, "Prophecy" was used in She's All That, The Last Kiss, "Gramarye" was used in the film Stigmata, and most recently, "Perfect Memory" was used in the film The Invisible.
Remy Zero broke up after making The Golden Hum and many of its members have joined new bands. Shelby and Cinjun Tate have created Spartan Fidelity, Jeffrey Cain joined Isidore and later created Dead Snares, Cedric Lemoyne toured with Alanis Morissette's band before joining O+S, and Gregory Slay has created Sleepwell.
Remy Zero appeared to toy with the idea of reforming in Summer 2006, announcing a possible reunion on their Myspace page - this has now been replaced with a more definite message saying that they have "found the spirit to make music together again". In October 2008, this message was removed, and now simply states that they broke up in 2003.
Cinjun Tate and Cedric Lemoyne (formerly Cedric Williams) met and attended middle school together at Gresham Middle School in Birmingham, Alabama, prior to dropping out to form Remy Zero.
Made a cameo appearance in episode 1.21 (entitled "Tempest") of WB's Smallville playing "Save Me", the show's theme song, and "Perfect Memory", from The Golden Hum.
Cinjun Tate was married to Alyssa Milano for a brief time in 1999.
Cedric Lemoyne has said that the band's name came from mishearing the repeated phrase "mammy's hero" on the Kate Bush song "Army Dreamers" (originally appearing on her 1980 album Never For Ever; the song is also included on her greatest hits collection, The Whole Story).[1]
On the Fumbling Towards Ecstasy live videocassette, Sarah McLachlan stated that part of the drum loop on the song "Possession" was recycled from an unnamed Remy Zero song. Producer Pierre Marchand worked with both artists during that time.
The song "Fair" was featured in the 2008 film Fanboys starring Christopher Marquette and Dan Folger. It also made an appearance in Zach Braff's 2004 movie Garden State.
