Oranger

Emerging toward the end of the 1990s, Oranger advanced inventive, multicolored concepts through guitar lines shaped by leading indie pop tendencies and thereby joined the broader revival of psychedelic rock acts. The ensemble came together in San Francisco in 1997, consisting of Mike Drake on vocals and guitar, Jim Lindsay on drums, and Matt Harris on bass and vocals. Each member arrived with prior group experience: Drake and Harris had played in Overwhelming Colorfast, while Lindsay had performed with the Stick Figures. Chad Dyer initially occupied the bass chair until Harris became a permanent member. The following year the band registered its first significant impression by appearing at the San Francisco Noise Pop Festival; Dyer then exited, leaving Oranger as a trio. From their Bay Area base the musicians completed their earliest recordings, issuing the debut album Doorway to Norway on the Pray for Mojo label in 1998. Amazing Grease reissued the album in 1999. Keyboardist Patrick Main joined the lineup around that time, and the group began work on new material that resulted in The Quitevibrationland, released in 2000. A change of label preceded the next project, as Shutdown the Sun/From the Ashes of Electric Elves appeared on Jackpine Social Club in 2003. The band refined its approach for 2005’s New Comes and Goes on Eenie Meenie, yielding its most focused and melodic release to that point.