Biography
5HT originally formed in 1989 with its current members David Lyon, Jim Natale and Steve Wood. The band was originally called The Shade, which was later shortened to Shade and then eventually renamed altogether because there was at least one other band out there that we knew of called Shade. In the early 90s we were all in college and trying to figure out who we were. Two psychology majors and a social ecology major was a combination that generated a lot of songs about typical early adulthood angst. Esoteric and oftentimes absurd, the music had an appeal to the darker and more melancholy side of the human psyche. As the band's creative ability grew, the music became less dark and more mainstream. The covers of The Cure and Bauhaus were short lived and were quickly replaced with covers from more upbeat bands such as The Police and U2. Original material transformed along the same lines. By the mid 90s the band had developed it’s own unique sound and was playing at local college parties and the occasional bar gig. It would seem though that the party was over for 5HT. David Lyon, a motivated and ambitious student was accepted to Vanderbilt University where he continued his studies of neuroscience. The band lay dormant for nearly a decade in the absence of its guitarist and vocalist. Steve Wood had tried unsuccessfully, during this time to start various projects with other musicians but the musical chemistry was never right and the distraction of a new career in the booming software industry of the dot com era did not leave much time for playing drums. David would eventually return to California with his new wife and daughter. In 2005, 5HT reformed with a new outlook and a new direction. Faster tempos, more intensity and … well, the lyrics still dwell on angst and confusion.
David
Guitar, Vocals
Influences:
Radiohead, PJ Harvey (the harder edged albums like Dry and
Stories From The City,…), Pavement, Sonic Youth, The Doors , Pearl Jam,
Jon Hassel, Brian Eno, and yes Tori Amos. More recent influences include Interpol,
Bloc Party, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Kooks, Modest Mouse, and Feist.
Jim
Bass
Influences:
XTC, Les Claypool, Cake, ice packs, and the smaller sized
sandwich bags. More recent influences are Modest Mouse, Franz Ferdinand.
Steve
Drums
Influences:
Stewart Copeland, Larry Mullen, Chad Smith, Dave Weckl, Danny
Carey, Tony Williams, David Garibaldi, Neil Peart, Steve Gadd, Mitch Mitchell,
Joe Morello, Gene Krupa and of course Evan
Stone