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Mazzy Star
Hope Sandoval & David Roback of Mazzy Star
Background information
Origin	California(?)
Genre(s)	Dream Pop Psychedelic Folk Psychedelic Rock
Years active	1989-2000[1]
Label(s)	Rough Trade Records, Capitol
Associated acts	Opal Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions Rain Parade Dream Syndicate 1980s Paisley Underground bands
Members
Hope Sandoval (vocals) David Roback (guitar) Jill Emery (bass) Keith Mitchell (drums) Suki Ewers (keyboard) William Cooper (keyboards, violin)

Mazzy Star was an American 1990s dream pop/alternative band. They formed in 1989, from the band Opal, a collaboration of guitarist David Roback and bassist Kendra Smith. Smith's friend Hope Sandoval became vocalist when Smith left the band.

Mazzy Star is probably best known for the song "Fade Into You" which brought the band some success in the mid-1990s and was dream pop's biggest mainstream hit. Roback and Sandoval were the creative center of the band, with Sandoval writing most of the lyrics and Roback composing most of the music.

Though Mazzy Star have managed the neat trick of updating psychedelia for the 1990s without sounding dated, if you're looking for blissed-out music with a happy smile on its face, you might want to think twice before taking the plunge. When guitarist David Roback wraps his shards of feedback and drawn-out crescendos of reverb and distortion around Hope Sandoval's laconic vocal delivery, the results can indeed be trance-inducing. But their music is as much a disengagement from real life as an investigation of alternate realities, and the druggy states they evoke are comfortably numb rather than euphoric.

Mazzy Star's roots in the California Paisley Underground movement of the 1980s are deep. Roback, along with his brother Steve, was one of the main architects of leading LA psychedelic revival band, the Rain Parade. Leaving that band after their first LP, he founded the dreamier Opal in the mid-1980s with ex- Dream Syndicate bassist Kendra Smith. Opal's quasi-psychedelic ruminations, with their guitar drones and hints of blues and folk, weren't far off the map that Mazzy Star would follow, and indeed Roback met Sandoval through Smith, who was a friend of Hope's. Sandoval, still in high school at the time, was playing in a duo called Going Home with Sylvia Gomez; Kendra was impressed enough to make a tape of their music and pass it on to Roback, who produced a still-unreleased album by the pair.

When Smith left Opal under cloudy circumstances in the middle of an American tour with The Jesus & Mary Chain, Sandoval was tapped as her replacement. After that tour and a jaunt through Europe were completed, Opal disbanded, and Roback and Sandoval decided to continue collaborating in Mazzy Star. Though theoretically a full band, Mazzy Star is very much Roback and Sandoval's show. They write all of the material, and although other musicians (including ex-Clay Allison drummer Keith Mitchell) are given minimal credits (no instruments are listed) on their albums, their backing players remain virtually anonymous to the public.

Their 1990 debut on Rough Trade, She Hangs Brightly, was a post-punk take on the kind of dark, long-winded psychedelia practised by The Doors on "The End", as well as the hypnotic massive guitar drone woven by The Velvet Underground on "What Goes On". That's only about half of Mazzy Star's world, though; most of the rest of their material is devoted to dusty, haunting acoustic-flavoured ballads with heavy blues and folk elements, often giving Roback a chance to stretch his chops on slide guitar. Sandoval's detached, sing-speak vocals betray a bit of a country-folk twang, but are seemingly less concerned with piloting the songs than reflecting their fuzzy, sedate states of free association.

The American branch of Rough Trade folded in 1991, but Mazzy Star's contract was picked up by Capitol, who re-issued the first album and put out the follow-up, So Tonight That I Might See (1993). Similar to the debut, but a bit more forceful in construction and execution, the emphasis remains on mood and texture, rather than melodic variety or clever messages. That's both an attraction and a hindrance: the languorous laments and pulsating waves of guitars can be very seductive, but the lack of diversity can also become monotonous, and the stress of form over content can disguise a hollow emotional core. Roback and Sandoval might do better to devote more space to the melancholy of their acoustic laments, and less to driving around the cul-de-sac of slow-burning guitar drones.

A year after its release, So Tonight That I Might See yielded an unexpected hit single, the wispy "Fade Into You". The album, seemingly destined for the cut-out bin, began an unexpected ascent into the US Top 40, and Mazzy Star were suddenly stars in sales as well as name. Make that anti-stars: Roback and Sandoval are notoriously difficult interview subjects, responding to most questions with monosyllables or silence. Their subsequent release, Among My Swan (1996) confirmed them as out-and-out champions of the mournful – their brooding, enigmatic public personas seem less a cultivated pose than a complement to the shadowy, brooding mystery of their simultaneously frustrating and entrancing soundscapes.

Sandoval made her solo debut in 2001 with Bavarian Fruit Bread ostensibly backed by the Warm Inventions, though really this is a pairing with Colm O'Ciosoig (once of My Bloody Valentine) with folk legend Bert Jansch popping up with his six string on the beautiful "Butterfly Mornings" and "Charlotte". Largely written by Sandoval, this plunges further into a languidly erotic, narcoleptic haze than even Mazzy Star could manage, the latter's spacey guitar rejected as possibly too energetic for the collection's country/folk saturated sleepiness. Adorable.

After 1996

Although the band never officially broke up (it is dormant), Sandoval would go on to found the band Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions, and appear on recordings by Bert Jansch, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Chemical Brothers, Air and Death in Vegas.

Roback wrote songs that were performed by actress Maggie Cheung in the 2004 film Clean, about a former drug-addict who wants to become a singer.

Contents 1 Songs in film and TV 2 Members 3 Discography 4 Albums 5 Singles 5.1 References 6 External links

• The Mazzy Star song "Into Dust" appears in episodes of The O.C. (Episodes 1x01 "Pilot" and 1x07 "The Escape"), House (Episode 3x03 "Informed Consent") and Charmed (Episode 4x06 "A Knight to Remember"), as well as the New Zealand-made film In My Father's Den (which also featured the track "Take Everything"). It also appeared in the most popular scene of the Angelina Jolie film "Foxfire" (based on the Joyce Carol Oates novel of the same title). It was also covered by Ashtar Command for the Music from the OC: Mix 6 compilation, for the fourth season of The O.C. and the episode 4x07 "The Christmukk-uh".
• "Fade into You" was featured in Alias (Episode 4x05 "Ice"), Gilmore Girls (Episode 1x09 "Rory's Dance"), Without a Trace, Angus and Lord of War, as well as appearing prominently (perhaps also incongruously) in the film Starship Troopers. A cover version of this track also appears in the movie Dreamland which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006.
• "Flowers in December" was featured in the movie Wicker Park.
• "Rhymes of an Hour" was featured in the 1996 movie Stealing Beauty, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci.
• "Flowers in December," "Look on Down from the Bridge," and "All Your Sisters" are used in the 2005 film, Down in the Valley.
• "Look on Down From the Bridge" closes "Meadowlands", an episode of The Sopranos.

Hope Sandoval

Besides vocals Hope plays harmonica, percussions and xylophone. Sometimes she even plays guitar. Hope writes nearly all the Mazzy Star lyrics, mostly alone but sometimes together with David Roback.

Hope Sandoval was born in 1966 and grow up in east L.A. with her Mexican-American family. Hope started her career together with her high-school friend Sylvia Gomez (Gomez later played on She Hangs Brightly) in a band called "Going Home", a folk duo formed in 1986. Hope and Sylvia admired Kendra Smith as a teen-age Dream Syndicate fan. Sylvia Gomez handed Kendra Smith a demo tape which was comprised of Hope Sandoval on vocals and Sylvia on guitar. David offered to produce some recordings for them and they went into the studio and recorded an album that to this day is yet to be released. That obviously helped solidify Hope and David's relationship. Hope and Sylvia played gigs in California throughout the mid '80s, and stayed friends with both Kendra and David.

During the Opal tour in Decemeber '87 Kendra left the band and disappeared. David called Hope to see if she would be interested to take Kendra's place in Opal. They found Kendra and had some discussions. They did two more shows together but then Kendra flew home. Keith Mitchell flew home as well and the next day he got back with Hope. After that tour Opal became Mazzy Star and Hope has been a very popular bandmember ever since.

Hope seems to be a very shy and private person, and doesn´t seem to enjoy the popularity or the journalist and music business mentality very much. Many writers use the adjective "waifish" to describe Hope, but she's much tougher than that word suggests. Even if she isn't very fond of performing live.

"For me recording is better", says Sandoval. "Live, I just get really nervous. Once you're onstage, you're expected to perform. I don't do that. I always feel awkward about just standing there and not speaking to the audience. It's difficult for me."

In 2000 Hope Sandoval joined with Colm O'Ciosoig (formerly of My Bloody Valentine) to form Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions. The project retained the laid-back, slowcore sound of Mazzy Star, and much like Mazzy Star, featured Sandoval's sensuous, hypnotic voice. In 2001 Sandoval issued her first EP with the Warm Inventions, "At the Doorway Again", and followed it up with her debut full-length, "Bavarian Fruit Bread", a year later. She has also contributed on several songs by other artists for example the Jesus & Mary Chain, Chemical Brothers, Death In Vegas and Bert Jansch.

David Roback

In Mazzy Star David plays guitar and occasionally keyboard and piano. David writes almost all the music to Mazzy Star and he has also produced all their recordings.

David grew up in Hollywood California. He started a band called Rain Parade with his brother Steven. They first hit the scene in 1982 as part of a loose aggregate of psychedelic '60s-influenced guitar bands in Los Angeles, and they were in the forefront of that movement which lasted a couple years. After Rain Parade's first album and tours, David left the band. He now got involved, both musically and emotionally with ex-Dream Syndicate bassist Kendra Smith and formed a new band named Clay Allison in 1983. The recordings from the summer this year remained unreleased until the 1989 release of Opal Early Recordings.

After Clay Allison's '84 tour, the band decided to go with a name change, and went from Clay Allison to Opal whose sound was defined by Roback's spare, distorted guitar work and Smith's lyrical voice. They released the Northern Line EP in 1985. SST Records signed Opal and released their masterpiece album Happy Nightmare Baby on December 14 1987. During the Opal tour in Decemeber '87, Kendra Smith left the band. She was replaced by Kendra's friend, Hope Sandoval, and they toured Europe through early 1988. Hope and David had an intimate relationship at this time and after Opal was disbanded, David and Hope took the remaining members of Opal and changed their name to Mazzy Star.

In 1999 David worked with Beth Orton. He produced and mixed some songs on her album Central Reservation. And back in 1990 he worked as producer for the band Sacred Miracle Cave. Roback have been spending most of his time in Norway the last five or six years. Different sources says that he's been working on material to a new Mazzy Star album. David have also played a smaller part in the french movie "Clean" (2004) in which he played himself. Roback also produced all of Mazzy Star's recordings.

• Jill Emery - bass
• Keith Mitchell - drums
• Suki Ewers - keyboards
• William Cooper, real name Will Glenn (1957-2001) - keyboards, violin
• Kurt Elzner - touring guitarist

Year	Title	Label
1990	She Hangs Brightly	Capitol
1993	So Tonight That I Might See	Capitol
1996	Among My Swan	Capitol

She Hangs Brightly

The first Mazzy Star album, She Hangs Brightly was released in 1990. This album was, perhaps, more guitar-centric than later efforts. However, the characteristic echo-effect on the vocals, the limited instrumentation, and the stripped down sound, which would become their trademark, was already present on this album. The track "Be My Angel" appears to be the musical inspiration for "Fade Into You", and the rock roots of the band are evident on "Blue Flower". While not a commercial success, this album did establish Mazzy Star as a unique band with a unique sound.

So Tonight That I Might See

Their second release, So Tonight That I Might See, represents a limited change in the sound from the first album; the tracks are a bit more processed and a little less gritty. "Fade into You" became a staple of mid-1990s teen dramas, movies, and represented the kind of gentle ennui that was missing from the more aggressive angst of grunge (it was later sampled by Richard X for his song "Into You" featuring Jarvis Cocker). Continuing with the general theme of quiet, contemplative songs, this album became a staple on college radio stations.

Among My Swan

The third Mazzy Star album, Among My Swan, relied less on the echo effect that was nearly ubiquitous in all tracks on the previous two albums. Hope Sandoval's voice is paired with simple acoustic instrumentation that marks most of the tracks. The guitar and harmonica accompaniment on "I've Been Let Down" is a prime example of this. These tracks are not markedly different in sound or feel from the preceding two albums.

Year	Title	Chart positions				Album
		US Hot 100	US Modern Rock	US Mainstream Rock	UK Singles
1989	"Halah"	-	-	-	-	She Hangs Brightly
1990	"Blue Flower"	-	#29	-	-	She Hangs Brightly
1994	"Fade Into You"	#44	-	-	#48	So Tonight That I Might See
1995	"She's My Baby"	-	-	-	-	So Tonight That I Might See
1996	"Flowers In December"	-	-	-	#40	Among My Swan
1996	"I've Been Let Down"	-	-	-	-	Among My Swan

1. ^ Mazzy Star tourdates; their last concerts were in Sweden in June 2000.

• Mazzy Star Boulevard
• Everything Mazzy, an informational website on Mazzy Star
• Mazzy Star on the All Music Guide