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Deuce (musician)

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Deuce

Aron Erlichman (born March 2, 1982), better known by his stage name Deuce, is an American music producer, singer-songwriter, and rapper. Brought to fame as one of the co-founders of rap rock band Hollywood Undead, Deuce has since branched into solo work through the management firm 10th Street Entertainment. He is also involved in a movement with fellow rapper The Truth (William Aslanian Jr.) called "Nine Lives" (often stylized as '9LIVES'). Deuce has announced that his debut solo album will go by the same name and will be released on April 24, 2012.

History

Musical beginnings (2001-2005)

Deuce began creating rock-based music under his birth-name Aron Erlichman, early in 2001. In 2005, he released four tracks, "Franny", "Surface Air", "Breaking Through", and "Sometimes" on Broadjam, internet sharing site for opinions and ratings, where he gained little recognition. He later co-founded Hollywood Undead with Jorel Decker, Matthew St. Claire, and Jeff Phillips, and sang clean vocals for the band, until his departure in early 2010. In early February 2012, three more pre-Hollywood Undead tracks; "Far Away", "Fallen Stone", and "Dreams" surfaced.

Hollywood Undead and departure (2005-2010)

Further information: Hollywood Undead

Deuce co-founded the band Hollywood Undead as a vocalist and producer with close friend Jorel Decker (J-Dog), The band began their musical career with the creation of the rap-rock song "The Kids" which was greatly promoted by Jeffree Star. Deuce initially adopted and recorded songs with the band under the pseudonym "Tha Producer" due to his role in production but shortened this pseudonym to "Deuce" shortly after.[1][2] At the time of Deuce's departure, Hollywood Undead had gained success with Swan Songs, which peaked at number 22 on the Billboard 200 in its first week.[3] A few EPs were released, the Swan Songs B-Sides EP and the Swan Songs Rarities EP in 2009 and 2010, respectively. In 2009, Hollywood Undead released their first live album, Desperate Measures, which peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200.[4]

In late 2009, the band fired Deuce for causing the band several problems. Hollywood Undead member Charlie Scene (Jordon Terrel) explained in an interview with World Famous Rock that Deuce did not show up on tour after the band refused to continue paying over $800 a week to bring along his personal assistant, Jimmy Yuma, whom they paid for for nearly 4 months. The band also explained that it was a struggle having Deuce in the group. In an interview with Bryan Stars, Da Kurlzz (Matthew St. Claire) stated, "It was so bad, that I don't think there would've been another record if he was still with us. We bent over backwards to accommodate Deuce". However, Deuce disliked touring and felt the band should continue writing songs rather than tour. He also maintains that Johnny Three Tears claims credit for writing Swan Songs. Deuce also stated publicly that Jimmy Yuma was not his assistant and that he wasn't being paid to be on tour, just living expenses.

Solo career and Nine Lives (2010-present)

Since his departure from Hollywood Undead, Deuce formed a solo project eponymous band which also focuses on rap-rock music. The band is fronted by him and has live and studio members, including: Jimmy Yuma (who assisted in writing the song "This Love, This Hate" on Swan Songs), his sister Arina Chloe, and fellow rapper b.Lay. Frequent featured artists include "Truth", one of Deuce's best friends and fellow musicians, and transgender musician/model Jeffree Star, who is also closely involved with Deuce and is featured on many of his songs, with his earliest work with Deuce being the demo song "Turn Off the Lights" with Hollywood Undead in 2005.

From 2010 to 2011, Deuce was unable to release independent albums due to contract issues with A&M/Octone Records which he signed while with Hollywood Undead, and Deuce could not own the rights to his solo-music until he was free of his contract.[1][5] However, Deuce was able to produce and release remixes, so long as they did not incur a profit. As a result, Deuce independently created songs using instrumentals from various artists, including: 50 Cent, Eminem, Tupac, and Jay-Z. Many of these "remixes" or "mixtape" style songs made it on to his 2011 re-release mixtape Call Me Big Deuce, which was released to promote his debut solo album. Deuce commented on the legal situation, noting, "It just made me tougher and stronger. Having to write, record and make a whole album during a period of time when your music’s being taken down could be hard and a lot of people could lose duration or hope. But I have my skills, because I’ve written so much with my old band that it just didn’t affect me too much."[1]

In September 2010, Deuce made his first official live performance as a solo artist at California's Epicenter music festival, opening for Eminem, Blink-182, Kiss, Bush, Rise Against, and others.[6][7] After he won a lawsuit and was free of his contract from A&M/Octone Records,[1] Deuce began producing a full-length debut album, "Nine Lives", which was completed in late 2011 and will be released on April 24, 2012. The album will be released under 10th Street Entertainment and Five Seven Music[8] and will contain collaborations with Travie McCoy, Ronnie Radke, and Skee-Lo, amongst others. The album's lead single, "Let's Get It Crackin'", was released November 28, 2011 with an accompanying music video and features Jeffree Star.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). The album's second single, "America", was initially set to be released on January 17, 2012, but was released a week early on January 10 due to a leak of the full music video in December 2011. Deuce commented on the album, saying, "This album has that signature Deuce sound and is similar in flavour to what I created on Swan Songs, but completely unrestricted and rated NC-17. I took some of the shit I couldn’t get away with on Swan Songs and brought it to another level for Nine Lives. If you liked what I did before, you will love this..."[9][10][11]

The album artwork for Nine Lives was released in February by Loudwire, the same day Deuce announced that he will be joining artists such as Blood on the Dance Floor, BrokeNCYDE, The Bunny The Bear, William Control, New Years Day, Polkadot Cadaver, and Haley Rose on the "Fight To Unite Tour". Deuce has also announced the album's third single, "Help Me" will be released as soon as the editing for it is complete, which should be late February or early March.[12]

In an interview by Gibson guitars, Deuce talked about the inspiration of his is America which reached top 1 on charts and selling many copies on digital downloads I was just going through a weird time, and I was really down. Then I said, “I don’t care how bad my life is, I’m just going to accept it and use it to my advantage,”.[13]

Band members

Deuce, although a solo artist, has a seven-piece band for the purpose of touring with some members helping in production and promotion.

  • b.LaY - vocals; backup singer/rapper; appears as b.LaY Appeared in the "Let's Get It Crackin" and "America" video clip.
  • Truth - vocals; appears as "featuring artist".
  • Jimmy Yuma - Co-production, lead guitar for live performances. Appeared in the "Let's Get It Crackin" and "America" video clip
  • Jim Lowery - Bass guitar for live performances
  • Arina Chloe - Keyboards, backing vocals Appeared in the "Let's Get It Crackin" and "America" video clip
  • Tye - drums & percussion for live performances. Provides drums for When We Ride (remixed and mastered version of Hollywood Undead's "Dead in Ditches") Appeared in the "Let's Get It Crackin" and "America" video clip.
  • Chase - percussion, provided additional percussion at Epicenter

Nine Lives

A common misconception is that "Nine Lives" is the name of Deuce's band. Deuce, however, describes "Nine Lives" as a "gang" of musicians and friends who get together to create, share and enjoy music, the movement has since expanded and has gained a large online-following (mainly through social networking sites; Twitter and Facebook), with many people all over the world claiming to represent and support Nine Lives. Truth is generally considered the founder of the Nine Lives movement and has given the term a similar description as Deuce, adding that "Nine Lives" is also a a clothing line/brand and an Indie record label. A T-shirt bearing a large Nine Lives logo on the front was worn at the beginning of YG's "Toot it & Boot it (Remix) Ft. 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg & TY$" music video.

Deuce has also announced that his first debut studio album will go by the same name (Release date: April 24, 2012) and official "Blame it on Deuce 2012" T-Shirts will bear an alternative American flag style "Nine Lives" logo on the back.

Deuce filed a lawsuit against the A&M/Octone label claiming a breach of contract. The suit alleges that the label refused to release his solo music because the vulgarity and gang references in the lyrics made the music not commercial enough.[5]

Discography

with Hollywood Undead (2005-2010)

Main articles: Hollywood Undead discography and List of Hollywood Undead songs

Solo (2005, 2008-present)

  • 2005: Aron
  • 2008: The Two Thousand Eight EP
  • 2011: The Call Me Big Deuce EP
  • 2012: Nine Lives

References

  1. ^ a b c d Jamie Bertolini (February 9, 2012). "An Interview with Deuce". Lithium Magazoine. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  2. ^ Ziyah Karmali (July 2, 2009). "Interview With Hollywood Undead". Shave Magazine. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  3. ^ "Swan Songs — Hollywood Undead". Billboard. September 20, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  4. ^ "Desperate Measures — Hollywood Undead". Billboard. November 28, 2009. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Claire Atkinson (February 19, 2011). "Fink prefers coach". The New York Post. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  6. ^ Spencer Matulaitis (July 28, 2010). "Deuce of HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD Announces Epicenter 2010 Solo Performance". Pure Grain Audio. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  7. ^ Rick Florino (July 27, 2010). "Former Hollywood Undead frontman Deuce Added to Epicenter Twenty Ten". Artist Direct. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  8. ^ Kristyn (November 17, 2011). "Deuce Lives on Five Seven Music". Pop Culture Music. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  9. ^ James Zahn (November 17, 2011). "Ex-HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD frontman DEUCE to rise again with NINE LIVES..." KikAxe Music. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
  10. ^ David Burger (November 17, 2011). "Deuce from Hollywood Undead is Undead again". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  11. ^ Ian Sandwell (February 8, 2012). "Deuce announces debut solo album Nine Lives". The Digital Fix Music. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  12. ^ Liz Ramanand (February 4, 2012). "Deuce Unveils 'Nine Lives' Album Cover, New Release Date and Tour Plans". Loudwire Magazine. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  13. ^ http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/deuce-interview-0223-2012/

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