Lokomotiv (band)

Lokomotiv was a Southern California-based rock band which counted among its line-up, the key members of some of the most successful hard rock bands in the Philippines during the 1990s – Wolfgang and Razorback.

History

In 2002, Basti Artadi and Wolf Gemora of Wolfgang decided to leave the Philippines as they became disillusioned with the future of hard rock in the country's music industry and settled in the United States.^[1]

Lokomotiv first came together in January 2003 in Orange County, California, with Gemora, California native Danny Gonzales and guitarist James MacDonnell forming the initial line-up. A year later, David Aguirre of Razorback was recruited into the band. A few months after, Artadi, who was then living in San Francisco, was offered the job of fronting the band; he accepted. At this point, MacDonnell opted to leave the band.

Debut album, new vocalist and break-up

In October 2005, the band recorded their debut album, entitled Rock N' Roll Death Toll. A music video was filmed for one of the album's tracks -- Five Alive. This music video saw heavy rotation in the Philippines through MYX Music Channel and MTV Asia. The debut album was released in the Philippines in September 2006.

Basti Artadi left the band on June 24, 2006,^[2] due to "musical and creative differences".^[3] In late August 2006 singer/songwriter Ryan Hudson, hailing from Norman, Oklahoma was recruited to front the band.

Lokomotiv returned to the Philippines late in 2006 to tour in support of their debut album. One of the venues they played was the MTV Music Summit 2006 for HIV/AIDS held December 2006 at the Bonifacio Global City Open Field, Taguig, Metro Manila.^[4] The quartet then went back to the United States to continue performing and recording new material for their second album, which was tentatively scheduled for release in the fall of 2007.^[5] But in a recent online interview,^[6] drummer Wolf Gemora announced that the band had broken up soon after the Philippine tour due to financial difficulty with keeping the band going. As of now, González, Gemora, and Aguirre are performing under the name 3 Headed Dog. Ryan Hudson is now fronting Los Angeles-based band, Love And A .38.

Influences

Lokomotiv counts Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, The Ramones, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Soundgarden, the Rollins Band, Audioslave and Velvet Revolver among its musical influences.

Trivia

• Danny Gonzales played bass for the experimental metal group B.K.S. from 1991 until 1996. He later was in the acoustic/electric duo, Face Down from 2001–2003.
• Before fronting for Lokomotiv, Basti Artadi was with a San Francisco-based band called Kitaan and a Manila-based heavy metal band Wolfgang.
• Ryan Hudson was singer/songwriter and guitarist for Norman, Oklahoma-based rock group Lazarus IV from 2001 until 2005.

See also

• Wolfgang
• Razorback

External links

• Official Lokomotiv website

References