The Del Fuegos

The Del Fuegos
Background information
Origin	Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Genres	Roots rock, Garage rock, Alternative rock, Punk rock, Blues rock, Hard rock, Power pop, New wave
Years active	1980-1990, 2011-2012
Labels	Slash/Warner Bros. Records, RCA/BMG Records
Past members	Dan Zanes, Warren Zanes, Tom Lloyd, Steve Morrell, Brent "Woody" Giessmann, Adam Roth, Joe Donnelly

The Del Fuegos were a 1980s garage-style rock band.

History

Formed in 1980, the Boston-based band gained success in 1984 due to success of their songs "Don't Run Wild" and "I Still Want You" and appearing in a widely seen television commercial for a beer company. The band's fans included Tom Petty, who appeared on one of the band's songs and featured them as an opening act on one of his tours.

The relationship between brothers Warren Zanes and Dan Zanes, then and now, has been described as "fractious". Shortly after the band was dropped by Slash Records due to the commercial disappointment of their third album for the label, Warren left the band, as did Woody. After Dan and Tom recruited two replacement members, they released a fourth album with RCA Records. The band broke up within a year of the album's release. Dan later said of the group's demise, "The '80s were over, we were over."

On June 23 & 24, 2011, the band played together for the first time in 21 years at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, Massachusetts. These shows raised money for Right Turn, a rehab program run by Woody. Later, they embarked upon a reunion tour beginning in February 2012 and ending in Dan and Warren's home town of Concord, New Hampshire, at the Capital Center for the Arts on March 4, 2012.

The reunited band also recorded eight new songs in three days, releasing them on February 21, 2012, as an EP titled Silver Star.

In popular culture

The Del Fuegos were referenced in The Juliana Hatfield Three's biggest hit, 1993's "My Sister," as well as in the song "Boston, Mass" by The Ergs!

Gang Green dedicated a track from their album Another Wasted Night to them.

The Young Fresh Fellows wrote a song about selling out called "Beer Money" on their album "The Men Who Loved Music". The relevant part says "...Well I guess you can say we sold out/But that's just the way that it goes/Cause the beer is free/And we're on MTV/And we're opening up for the Del Fuegos".

Their music video for "Don't Run Wild" was featured on an episode of VH1's Pop-Up Video.

The biker gang on the 2007 Disney film Wild Hogs is supposedly named after them.

Their music video for "Don't Run Wild" was going to be featured on an episode of MTV's Beavis and Butt-head, but was later rejected.

Band members

Dan Zanes (Guitars/Vocals)

Dan released a solo album in 1995. Later, after distributing a cassette of original children's songs throughout his neighborhood, he began recording children's music with his band Dan Zanes and Friends. The band's music became very popular due to heavy airplay of the group's music videos on the Disney Channel. In 2007, his album Catch That Train! received a Grammy Award for Best Musical Album for Children.

Warren Zanes (Guitars)

Warren left the Del Fuegos after the band's third album. He went on to earn two Master's degrees and a Ph.D. in Visual and Cultural Arts. He is also the Vice President of Education at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He returned to music in 2002 with a solo album titled Memory Girls.

Tom Lloyd (Bass)

Tom left the Del Fuegos after the band's fourth album. He went back to college and earned a bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley before earning a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 1999.

Adam Roth (Guitars)

Adam later worked on musical endeavors with comedian Denis Leary and recorded with Jim Carroll, David Johansen and The Lemonheads frontman Evan Dando. He is currently involved in the bands The Enablers and The Liza Colby Sound.

Steve Morrell (Drums)

Steve quit the Del Fuegos before the band recorded their first album.

Woody Giessmann (Drums)

Woody founded Right Turn, a program offering assistance to artists in recovery from drug addiction and other mental health issues, in 2003.

Joe Donnelly (Drums)

Joe has worked in a number of music projects since the end of the Del Fuegos, including Wiki 3 and Chris Pahud.

Discography

• The Longest Day 1984 Slash Records

• Boston, Mass. 1985 Slash Records U.S. #134
• Spin Radio Concert (live) 1985 BBE Sound
• Stand Up 1987 Slash Records U.S. #167
• Smoking in the Fields 1989 RCA Records U.S. #139
• Best Of The Del Fuegos: The Slash Years 2001 Warner
• Silver Star 2012 February Records

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions			Album
		US Hot 100	US Modern Rock	US Mainstream Rock
1985	"Don’t Run Wild"	–	–	46	Boston, Mass
1986	"I Still Want You"	87	–	33
1987	"Name Names"	–	–	43	Stand Up
1989	"Move With Me Sister"	–	22	32	Smoking in the Fields

External links

• Dan Zanes' Official Web Site
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
• Right Turn
• Del Fuegos Beer Commercial