The Veldt
Identical twins Daniel and Danny Chavis originally hail from Raleigh/ Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Programmer Hayato Nakao, originally from Japan, hooked up with the Chavis brothers while living in New York. Along with Drummer Dale Miller, Micah Gaugh Keyboardist/Saxophone, Bassist Alex Cox and guitarist Martin Newman make up the current line up
Lifting their band’s name from a Ray Bradbury science fiction story, their
own life stories have also been quite fantastic. After signing to Capitol
Records in 1989, The Veldt were soon in the studio with dream-gaze
guru Robin Guthrie working on their initial recordings, playing American
concert halls with Cocteau Twins and The Jesus and Mary Chain, and
recording ‘Marigolds’ with Lincoln Fong (Moose). Not long after, they
would record their classic ‘Afrodisiac’ (1994), produced by Ray Shulman
(The Sundays, Bjork, Sugarcubes) and released via Mercury Records.
They have also collaborated with TV On The Radio, Mos Def and Lady
Miss Kier (Deee-Lite), and shared the stage with The Pixies, Throwing
Muses, Echo & The Bunnymen, Cocteau Twins, Manic Street
Preachers, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Oasis, Chuck D, Living Colour,
and Schooly D.
This past year has also been pretty monumental, with highlights including
sold-out tours with Phantogram and The Brian Jonestown Massacre,
a European tour, two separate Canadian tours, appearance at some of
North America’s and Europe’s hottest psych fests, a spotlight feature
on Time Warner Cable TV and being named as east coast support for
Modern English.
Performing since they were children, the Chavis brothers’ musical roots
lead back to the church and southern juke-joints, and listening to music
that included gospel, Motown and Pink Floyd. The Veldt formed in the
late 80’s in Raleigh amongst the royalty of the legendary North Carolina
music scene, including bands such as Superchunk, Archers of Loaf,
The Connells, Dillon Fence, The dBs, Squirrel Nut Zippers, and Ryan
Adams. Pitchfork recently included their album ‘Afrodisiac’ in the top
50 shoegaze albums ever released. Their sound also inspired future
generations of alternative artists, including TV On the Radio.