Travoltas

Summary

Biography

Band that plays a mix of '70s and '80s punk pop combined with the sound of the Beach Boys.
Full biography

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Members

Michel Meeuwissen   gitaar
Jochem Weemaes   toetsinstrumenten
Perry Leenhouts   drums, zang
Wouter Verhulst   drums
Erik Van Vugt   basgitaar, zang

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Former members

Robert van Lieshout   drums
Vincent Koreman   gitaar
Daan van Hooff   basgitaar
Jasper Van Den Dobbelsteen   gitaar, zang
Martijn Smits   drums
Robin van Laarhoven   gitaar
Stephan La Haye   gitaar
Full list... Summarized list

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Biography

Band that plays a mix of '70s and '80s punk pop combined with the sound of the Beach Boys.

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1988

Punk rock band Kriezus and metal band Stillborn are the forerunners of the Travoltas.

Kriezus Stillborn (1)

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1989

Both Kriezus and Stillborn disband.

Kriezus Stillborn (1)

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1990

Stephan La Haye, Vincent Koreman and Perry Leenhouts form The Travoltas.

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1991

They record a demo called Saturday Night Beaver.

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1992

Danny La Haye, brother of Stephan, takes over as bassist and Koreman picks up the guitar.

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1993

The La Haye brothers both play for the national hockeyteam, which is difficult to combine with playing in a band. Because of that they decides to call it quits.

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1994

Perry and Vincent re-form the band.

Kriezus The Wonder Years

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1995

The band's second demo Virgins From Planet Sex attracts the attention of several record companies.

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1996

The mini-CD Kill! Kill! Kill! Sex! Sex! Sex! is released. The album gets good reviews and a fair amount of airplay. The sound is a crossover between the Beach Boys and the Ramones, with a '90s touch.

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1997

In February Baja California is released through GAP Recordings. The Travoltas perform at Dynamo Open Air festival and in August the band goes on an extensive tour through Europe. In Germany, Belgium, Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, Denmark and Sweden they are supporting act for Marky Ramone & The Intruders. Marky Ramone produces their next album Modern World.

RA-X

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1998

Modern World means the international breakthrough for Travoltas. In November they perform at the CMJ Music Fest in New York and back home they support The Offspring.

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1999

The Travoltas perform at the prestigious South By Southwest music conference (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. In May the tour Italy and can be seen at various festivals around the country. They sign an American deal with Coldfront Records.

Mr Potatohead Speedboat F.C.

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2000

Teenbeat is released on CNR. The band goes on an extensive tour and plays the Scandinavian Storsjöran Festival replacing British band Reef, and at home at Lowlands. They also share the bill with acts such as All Saints and Motörhead. At the end of the year From The Secret Vaults Of Johnny Weissmuller is released. It consists of b-sides and previously unreleased material.

Speedboat F.C.

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2001

Teenbeat is released in America by Coldfront Records and in Japan and Canada by Roadrunner. Coldfront also releases 7" single 40 Girls In 40 Days and the compilation Not So Quiet On The Coldfront, which contains two songs from the Travoltas. Other Travolta songs can be found on the compilation CD Poppin' The Punk Pinata' (Crankshaft Records) and on a CD by Stardumb Records, which contains the song Nail You, which was originally recorded for the band's new album Club Nouveau.

Speedboat F.C.

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2002

The album Step on the Gas (& Don't Look Back) is released in the US. Also, they contribute with one track to the Pop-Punk Fever sampler. Under the name of The House Of Destructo Vincent Koreman and Erik van Vugt release the album Destructo Are Go! The new Travoltas album Endless Summer, musically along the same lines as its predecessor, is released in the US before the Netherlands. The band tours the US for seven weeks, followed by a three-month European tour.

The House Of Destructo The Riplets

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2003

In mid January Endless Summer is listed in the Top 10 Albums of 2002 of authoritative punk rock site www.punkmusic.com. After January 31 the band takes a sabbatical year. Despite this time off they have planned more activities than any other band would have in 10 years. In April the Travoltas embark on a short Italian tour. In the same month the release of their acoustic live album is scheduled. Also, they are preparing a new studio album for 2004. RA-X, the electro/techno alias of Travoltas guitarist Vincent Koreman, secures a new recording deal with the German electro label Kommando 6 Records which releases his six-track EP Leben Und Tod ('Life And Death'). Bassist Daan quits the band to concentrate on his studies. His replacement Eric van Vugt actually rejoins the band after some years. Perry Leenhouts and Vincent Koreman are asked to produce the debut album of Norwegian band Goldenboy. After guitarist Barry Black has left the Spades Vincent Koreman (Travoltas) joins the band for their summer tour. Shortly after the Travoltas 13th anniversary in Tilburg's 013 club, a special show that features all previous line-ups plus friends, Koreman leaves the band for artistic reasons. His replacement is Michel Meeuwissen (ex-Crustacean).

RA-X The Spades

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2004

After having experienced a writer's block, Perry Leenhouts starts writing new songs for the upcoming Travoltas album The Highschool Reunion. He is inspired by bands like the Cars and Blondie. On September 7 The Highschool Reunion is released in the US and Canada. Late August the first single of the album comes out: (All We Really Want Is) Rock 'n Roll. On 23 September The Highschool Reunion is also released in the Netherlands. The album contains 11 tracks and is co-produced by singer Perry Leenhouts and ex-Travoltas guitarist Vincent Koreman. In October the Travoltas kick off their European tour. Koreman releases another remix album with RA-X plus an album with House Of Destructo. Then he stops making music definitively, as he wants to do something completely different. In December the Travoltas sign a deal with In 'n Out Records for a Japanese release of their new album The Highschool Reunion. The release, including three bonus tracks on February 16 marks their third album out on the Japanese market.

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2005

Due to good sales of The Highschool Reunion in Japan, in November the Travoltas play a few shows in Osaka, Fujisawa Tokyo (two times). In September the local In N Out Records label releases two albums out of their catalogue, Endless Summer (2002) and Party! (2003).

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2006

Along with 19 international bands, the Travoltas contribute to The Punkrock Don't Stop, a tribute album to fellow punk rockers The Apers. The same track (All You Need To Know) is also featured on Do The Aper!, the domestic (Benelux) Apers tribute album. In September the band announces it is going to quit the scene. The band members have too many activities on the side, while the motivation for the band is decreasing. The last Travoltas show takes place at Madrid's Gruta 77.

The Apers

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2007

With RA-X Vincent Koreman plays a few shows. German mute film Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920) is used as backdrop. With The! Die! Die! Die! he produces very loud noise.

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2008

Vincent Koreman and Fokke Müller release a 12” under the name Virgin Fang. They also start their own label under this name.

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Discography

In the discography you will find all recordings that have been released listed chronologically. We restrict ourselves to the title, the type of audio, year of publication or recording, label, list of guest musicians, plus any comments on the issue.

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