U-Melt

Infobox musical artist
Name = U-Melt

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Img_capt = U-Melt performs at NYC's Highline Ballroom on 1/1/2008.
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Background = group_or_band
Origin = New York City, New York, USA
Genre = Rock
Progressive rock
Jam band
Years_active = 2003 – present
Label = Unsigned
URL = [http://www.u-melt.com www.u-melt.com]
Current_members = Adam Bendy
George Miller
Rob Salzer
Zac Lasher

U-Melt is an American jamband from New York City, USA. Formed in 2003, this quartet's sound includes elements of a wide variety of musical genres, including progressive rock, rock, funk, electronic music, and jazz. After playing more than 500 shows [cite web|url=http://umelt.com/setlists.shtml | title= U-Melt Setlists - umelt.com | accessdate=] , U-Melt has gone from playing smaller bar gigs to larger venues, including several top-level summer music festivals, as well as recent supporting sets for bands such as Addison Groove Project, Tea Leaf Green [cite web|url=http://www.relix.com/Features/Show_Reviews/Tea_Leaf_Green_&_U-Melt_200704252251.html | title= Tea Leaf Green & U-Melt - Relix.com | accessdate=] , Lotus, Umphrey's McGee, and moecite web|url=http://www.earvolution.com/2005/12/black-friday-rocks-u-melt-and-moe.asp | title= Black Friday Rocks: U-Melt and moe. Continue A Worthy Thanksgiving Tradition - earvolution.com| accessdate=] . U-Melt was featured as Jambands.com's 2006 February "New Groove of The Month." [cite web|url=http://www.jambands.com/NewGroove/content_2006_02_17.00.phtml | title= U-Melt | accessdate=]

U-Melt consists of Adam Bendy (electric bass), George Miller (drums, vocals), Rob Salzer (electric guitar, vocals), and Zac Lasher (keys, synth, vocals).

U-Melt is an independent (unsigned) band. It has made available 2 self-released studio albums, 2004's "The Unbelievable Meltdown", and 2006's "The I's Mind". Both albums were recorded at Mind Ignition Studios in Ohio.

History

The band now known as U-Melt was formed in 2003 at Phish's IT music festival at Loring Air Force Base in Maine. Adam Bendy and Rob Salzer were touring as part of another band, Long Island, NY's a440. a440 was to play an electrified set in the campground, but due to unforeseen circumstances only Bendy and Salzer made it to the festival; the other band members and most of the equipment never showed up.

At this time Zac Lasher and George Miller were also actively gigging in a band in the New York City area, the fledgeling Head Monkey. A trio trying to be a quartet (the band played gigs while actively recruiting a bass player), Head Monkey played a handful of shows but were limited without a finalized roster.

Likewise, a440 was having its own troubles that summer. The drummer was on the verge of quitting, and other members were having problems of their own. Despite a busy upcoming touring schedule, the band was floundering.

The four musicians that would become U-Melt found themselves together at the IT festival, and an improvised acoustic jam became the seed of an idea that blossomed over the next week; that Lasher and Miller would join a440, taking the place of departing band members, and play the scheduled Fall tour dates up and down the east coast

Touring under the name a440 and playing a handful of tunes featuring music from both bands as well as a few covers, the new band wrote new music on the road and continued to tour together under the a440 name. It became quickly evident that this new band was not a440, and after and playing a handful of shows as "The Unbelievable Meltdown", the title of their first album, they settled finally on calling themselves U-Melt. [cite web|url=http://www.jambands.com/Features/content_2007_06_25.05.phtml| title= U-Melt's Path To Abbreviation - Jambands.com| accessdate=]

Music

U-Melt plays a wide array of original songs as well as several covers. Their music includes elements of traditional and progressive rock, jazz, salsa, and electronic dance music. [cite web|url=http://www.glidemagazine.com/hiddentrack/?p=616| title= Grousing the aisles - GlideMagazine.com| accessdate=] They describe their sound as "Progressive Groove." U-Melt's music has been played on Sirius Satellite Radio and commercial stations across the country. [cite web|url=http://www.daily-chronicle.com/articles/2007/09/27/neighbors/neighbors01.txt | title= U-Melt offers fans melded style - Dekalb Daily Chronicle | accessdate=]

U-Melt's musical repertoire, including all originals and covers, number of times played, shows played by state, and song debut dates are collected at the U-Melt fansite: [http://thecloudbox.com/ The Cloudbox ] .

Discography

2004 The Unbelievable Meltdown

2006 [http://www.umelt.com/theismind.shtml The I's Mind]

External links

* [http://www.umelt.com Official Site]
* [http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=%28collection%3AU-Melt%20OR%20mediatype%3AU-Melt%29%20AND%20-mediatype%3Acollection&sort=-date U-Melt on the Live Music Archive]

References