Dead Guitars

Dead Guitars
Origin	Scotland, Germany, Netherlands, Russia,
Genres	Indie rock, alternative rock, new wave
Years active	2003-present
Labels	Echozone / silverbird music
Members	Carlo van Putten Ralf Aussem Pete Brough Sven-Olaf Dirks Patrick Schmitz
Website	www.deadguitars.com http://www.myspace.com/deadguitars

Dead Guitars is a German pop band. The band first formed in 2003, when guitarist Peter Brough of 12 Drummers Drumming joined forces with Carlo van Putten of The Convent and White Rose Transmission, and were later joined by guitarist Ralf Aussem.

History

In 2003 Pete Brough, one of the founder-members of German band Twelve Drummers Drumming, and Ralf Aussem, guitarist from the original 12DD cast, founder and mastermind behind Sun (German band), joined forces with vocalist Carlo van Putten and collectively gave life to Dead Guitars.

• In 2003-2007 with Kurt Schmidt (Sun/12DD) on bass and Peter Körfer (Sun) on drums.
• In 2007 they were joined by Patrick Schmitz as drummer and Sven-Olaf Dirks on bass.
• In 2011 with Peter Körfer on bass and Swiss drummer Hermann Eugster (12DD)

In addition to being a principal writer and lead vocalist with German band The Convent, Carlo van Putten also had a flourishing partnership with the late Adrian Borland, mastermind behind the British cult band The Sound, working together under the name White Rose Transmission. He has worked with various others over the course of the years, including Marty Willson-Piper of The Church (band) and Mark Burgess of The Chameleons.

The music of Dead Guitars is described as an amalgamation of exhilarating downbeats, saturated electro-acoustic guitar work, and vocals that reflect an incisiveness and emotional intelligence.

Dead Guitars do pop, not pap. Their music is crafted, not production-line, original, not synthetic, a healthy alternative to the nursery rhymes that currently mob the singles charts. It is emotionally charged and vibrant. Songs like “Name Of The Sea” or “Crash” are, unpretentiously post-modern: honest, grounded, rising above the fleeting trends and toe-curling embarrassment that haunts the current “pop idol” generation.

— Mark Burgess

The characteristic sound of the band is furthermore described as authentic pop, melancholic ballads, the renaissance of the “wall of sound”, those filigree, towering guitar riffs that make Ralf Aussem such an exceptional guitarist, and the surreal way his licks blend with clear song structures, shattering the listening habits of the pop genre.

• Release of debut-album "Airplanes" June 2007 (echozone).
• UK-release of "Flags"-album in January 2009, in Germany in March/April 2009 (echozone).

Dead Guitars were invited by "The Mission-UK" in 2008 to play as special guests on their “European Tour”. Their 2nd album “Flags” featured guest appearances from Wayne Hussey (The Mission), Rich Vernon (The Mission) and Mark Gemini Thwaite (Tricky, The Mission, Peter Murphy).

Their 2011-long player “Stranger” (silverbird-music) features artists such as Michael Dempsey of "The Cure", Axel Ruhland of "M. Walking On The Water", Colin Drummond (12 DD), I. V. Webb (Adrian Borland), Thomas Kessler (Dissidenten), Crystin Fawn (Hearhear), Suzana Bradaric (Dharma Bums), Georg Sehrbrock (Belgium) and H. G. Haas (Teletunes).

Dead Guitars also played a number of 2011-dates with The Mission in the Netherlands and Germany. In 2012 Dead Guitars supported the "ChameleonsVox" feat. Mark Burgess on several shows in Germany.

Current band members

• Carlo van Putten: Vocals
• Ralf Aussem: Guitars
• Peter Brough: Acoustic Guitars
• Kurt Schmidt: Bass
• Hermann Eugster: Drums

Former band members

• Sven-Olaf Dirks: Bass
• Patrick Schmitz: Drums
• Peter Körfer: Bass

Albums

• 2007 - Airplanes (debut album)
• 2008 - Feels alright (EP)
• 2009 - Flags (album)
• 2011 - Mesmerized (EP)
• 2011 - Stranger (album)
• 2015 - Shelter (album)

External links

• Dead Guitars official homepage