Burning Brides

In the spring of 1999 Burning Brides came together in Philadelphia. Dimitri Coats, who handled vocals and guitar, and his longtime girlfriend and musical partner Melanie Campbell on bass had left Juilliard—where he studied acting and she studied dance—and spent the next two years together “traversing the country in search of an environment responsive to their rock needs.” Their path took them through San Francisco, Portland, OR, and Boston, the city where Coats had grown up, before they finally settled in south Philadelphia. There they added drummer Mike Ambs and formed a heavy rock trio whose aggressive stage presence quickly drew large local crowds. After attracting interest from several other labels, the band signed with the Philadelphia imprint File 13 and began touring the United States alongside J Mascis, Zen Guerilla, and the Greenhornes, steadily expanding their audience. Their first album, Fall of the Plastic Empire, was tracked in 2000; when it appeared the following year it earned praise from major music magazines that described the group as a garage rock band “on the verge.” V2 later acquired the record, and near-constant touring helped spread word of the band. Two years afterward the label released the follow-up, Leave No Ashes, which included contributions from Mike Watt and George Drakoulias. Although the album received an enthusiastic response from listeners and reviewers alike, insufficient promotional support from V2 left the band in disarray. Following their sole headlining tour, Ambs departed; Coats and Campbell relocated to Los Angeles, married, and set about rebuilding. They brought in new drummer Pete Beeman, formerly of Guzzard, and negotiated an exit from their V2 contract that provided the funds needed to make the next Burning Brides album. Hang Love was completed in a single month and issued independently in June 2007.