The Dandy Warhols Write-up

The Dandy Warhols are a rock band formed in Portland, Oregon by Courtney Taylor-Taylor (vocals, guitar), Zia McCabe (keyboard), Peter Holmström (guitar), and Eric Hedford (drums). When Hedford left in 1998, Taylor-Taylor's cousin Brent De Boer replaced him as drummer. The band's name is a play on the name of pop artist Andy Warhol.

The Dandy Warhols are strongly influenced by The Velvet Underground, Beach Boys, Simon and Garfunkel, The Beatles, The Shadows and The Rolling Stones as well as including implicit musical references to My Bloody Valentine in some songs. Front man Courtney Taylor-Taylor describes the band beginning as a group of friends who "needed music to drink to." The band performed live shows in bars throughout Portland and released their first album, Dandys Rule, OK? on Tim Kerr Records in 1995. This album was influential in Capitol Records' decision to sign the band.

The band first achieved success in Europe after the release of their second record ...The Dandy Warhols Come Down in 1997; the lead single "Not If You Were The Last Junkie on Earth" proved popular in many countries across the continent. The band, popular both visually and sonically, gained a reputation throughout Europe and Australia for selling out their live shows.

Following the release of Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia in 2000, the band gained a firm fan base in the college radio scene before garnering critical acclaim and mainstream recognition. The album reached platinum status in the UK along with Greece and various other European countries. It also went platinum in Australia where they tour extensively. Judd Apatow's tv series Undeclared used the song "Solid" as it's theme song. The song "Bohemian Like You" was featured in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and was used in a Vodafone advertising campaign through out Europe and Australia in 2001. The advertisement money was used to buy a quarter city block in Portland, Oregon (the band's hometown) for use as film and recording studios, as well as being a clubhouse for the band to throw parties and host catered dinners. The band's music has been frequently used in advertising ever since.

Welcome to the Monkey House, released in 2003, was co-produced by Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran and engineered by Brian Coates of The Great Northwest. The album takes its title from Kurt Vonnegut's collection of short stories of the same name. The recording features an eighties synth-rock sound that alienated some devotees of the band's earlier harder-edged guitar sound. It also won critical plaudits for its polish, panache, and the band's capacity to reinvent itself. One of the album's singles, "We Used to Be Friends", was used as the theme song for the Australian reality series My Restaurant Rules, and later on the American cult drama Veronica Mars. It also was used on an episode of The O.C. (Season 1 Episode 12)as well as on an episode of Wonderfalls (Season 1, Episode 4). "I Am a Scientist" is featured on most episodes of the British television program Brainiac: Science Abuse (it plays in the background of the "I Can Do Science Me" segment).

Odditorium or Warlords of Mars, partially named after and recorded in the band's Portland studio, The Odditorium, was released on September 13, 2005. "Smoke It" was the first track released for radio play. The album has been described as a return to form for the band, moving away from the synth-heavy sound of Welcome to the Monkey House and back toward the largely guitar-oriented, diverse arrangements of Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia.

Along with The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Dandy Warhols were the subjects of the 2004 documentary DiG! This film captured a love/hate relationship between both bands, highlighting the interaction of BJM frontman Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor. It was recorded over the course of seven years by Ondi Timoner.

In December of 2006, the song "Me and My Friends" was featured in the downloadable song-pack for the Xbox video game Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 4.

The Dandy Warhols' songs were featured prominently in the first and third season of the FOX drama "The O.C." along with numerous major motion pictures. They were also featured in the movie 9 Songs.

The Dandy Warhols are currently working on their sixth record, which on their myspace and official site they have named "Earth To The Dandy Warhols". It is currently slated for a May 5, 2008 release.

The Dandy Warhols in pop culture

• Courtney Taylor-Taylor guest-starred as himself in an episode of The Loop, a FOX comedy series. The episode also guest-starred Adam Brody of The O.C. as a gay man going to a party attended by Courtney.
• The Dandy Warhols were reportedly featured in the movie Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen but (supposedly) the scene was edited out of the final cut. Courtney Taylor-Taylor can be seen walking by the camera wearing a Dandy Warhols t-shirt. He is billed as Courtney Alan Taylor.

Uses of the songs

• "We Used to Be Friends" from Welcome to the Monkey House features as the title theme of the series Veronica Mars. Season 3 featured a remix, the Dandy Warhols suggested the remix studio that was used. The song is referenced in the season one episode Lord of the Bling when Veronica says, "We used to be friends...a long time ago." A sticker on her locker in the first season bears a strong resemblance to the cover of the album which features a banana against a black background. Courtney Taylor-Taylor made a guest star appearance in the season two episode Cheatty Cheatty Bang Bang performing the song Love Hurts. In addition, several of the group's songs have been featured in the series.
• The Channel 4 Television Comedy-Drama Teachers, features many of the band's recordings throughout the four series. Tracks featured include "Get Off", "Cool Scene", "Boys Better", "Cool As Kim Deal", "Solid", "Every Day Should Be A Holiday", "Godless", "Bohemian Like You", "The Dandy Warhols Love Almost Everyone", "I Am Sound", "You Were The Last High", "Plan A", "We Used to Be Friends" and "Little Drummer Boy".
• The songs "Nietzsche" and "Godless" were in the 2001 film Antitrust.
• The songs "Solid" and "Mohammed" were in the 2001 independent film The Fluffer.
• The songs "Bohemian Like You" and "Boys Better" were in the 2002 film Igby goes down.
• "Everyday Should be a Holiday" plays in "There's Something about Mary", and the song is included in the movie's soundtrack
• The Songs "Cool as Kim Deal" and "Everyday Should Be a Holiday" are used in different episodes of Sex and the City, Season 1

• "Bohemian Like You" is heard:
• • on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Radio Sunnydale - Music from the TV Series soundtrack
  • as a background track during a scene in the movie Flushed Away.
  • in the movie The Replacements, twice.
  • in an episode of Six Feet Under, and on the show's soundtrack album.
  • The song "Bohemian Like You" also appeared in the opening of the episode "Longshot" from the television show Numb3rs in 2007.
  • The song "Bohemian Like You" was the theme song for the Infogrames game "Le Mans 24 Hours".
  • The song was also used in a Holden commercial in 2002.
  • in various VH1 shows, including The Fabulous Life.
  • in a party scene in the movie Igby Goes Down

• "Boys Better" is heard:
• • in Good Will Hunting, and in the parody of that movie in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
  • in the Daria episode "Through A Lens Darkly".

• "You Were The Last High" is heard:
• • as one of the 9 Songs of the film of the same name.
  • in Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, when Lara calls her helper who is repairing a helicopter.

• "Sleep" was featured at the end of the second episode of the first season of the show Queer as Folk, as well as at the beginning of the series finale.
• "Godless" is used by comedian Bill Bailey in the end credits of his show Part Troll.

• "Get Off" is heard:
• • in the Counter-Strike movie Chicks Dig X-Pec.
  • in the snowboarding video Saturation by Absinthe Films.