Orgy Expands Sets on Tour, Debuts Songs
February 22, 2001 -- As the highly fashionable hard rock outfit Orgy began preparing for its tour to promote its second album, Vapor Transmission, the group's management sat down and explained to the quintet that a little more was expected of it since its excursions on the inaugural Family Values tour and other packages.
"For us, this will be more like real touring," guitarist Ryan Shuck says with a laugh. "We're known for only playing, like, a half hour. We're like ADD kids; we get bored watching bands. Our managers had a talk with us; they said, 'Listen, you guys, they want to see you longer.' We just couldn't believe it. But that's OK; playing longer allows us to play different stuff, do different things and experiment more and interact a bit more."
In fact, Shuck says Orgy has come up with some new material designed strictly for the live show, although he suspects some of it may eventually wind up on a future Orgy album.
"We're actually playing kind of a live drum-and-bass track — I mean hardcore drum and bass — which is normally reserved for electronica," says Shuck, 27. "I don't think that has ever been done. It's not possible with the technology other bands employ, but the technology we use on a daily basis allows us to play the music that we play that I think any other band would have to run a tape in order to get. That's the cool thing, to me. Being as new a band as we are, usually you just go out and play your songs, like on the record. We really get to expand on that a little bit."
Shuck says he and his band mates ultimately hope that this helps establish Orgy's musical reputation, which did take a second seat next to the focus of the band's glammy, futuristic fashions. That did serve the purpose of winning attention for the band, and Shuck — a former hairdresser who's founded a clothing line, Replicant, with Korn guitarist Brian "Head" Welch — certainly has nothing against fashion. But it's important that Orgy be heard as well as seen, he says.
"Before Orgy, we all played for 15 years in different configurations on the club circuit, so we're definitely not newcomers," Shuck explains. "The look and all of that … is just an extension of our art. [Vapor Transmission] was about truly defining what Orgy was, musically. It's definitely a product of being on the road for a year and half and touring and actually becoming a live entity, whereas before we were kind of an art project that turned out well."
The band launched its tour Tuesday night in Denver, and it will hit 38 more cities in North America on the two-month outing, first as a headliner and, after March 16, as part of the Raid the Nation tour with Papa Roach and Alien Ant Farm.
Orgy tour dates:
FebruaryFeb. 22 — Little Rita's, Wichita, Kan. Feb. 23 — Toad Holler, Des Moines, IowaFeb. 24 — Quest Club, Minneapolis, Minn.Feb. 26 — Egyptian Room, Indianapolis, Ind.Feb. 27 — Clutch Cargo's, Pontiac, Mich.
MarchMarch 1 — Guvernment, Toronto, OntarioMarch 2 — Northern Lights, Albany, N.Y.March 3 — Palladium, Worcester, Mass.March 4 — Vanderbilt, Plainview, N.Y.March 5 — Metropol, Pittsburgh, Pa.March 7 — Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OhioMarch 8 — House of Blues, Chicago, Ill.March 10 — Music Plus, Montreal, QuebecMarch 11 — Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, OhioMarch 12 — Jillian's, Louisville, Ky.March 14 — Sunset Station, San Antonio, TexasMarch 15 — The Club, South Padre Island, TexasMarch 16 — Concrete St. Amphitheatre, Corpus Christi, TexasMarch 17 — State Palace Theater, New Orleans, La.March 18 — Bayfront Auditorium, Pensacola, Fla.March 19 — Club LaVela, Panama City, Fla.March 21— Boutwell Auditorium, Birmingham, Ala.March 22 — Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tenn.March 23 — Tabernacle, Atlanta, Ga.March 25 — Classic Center, Athens, Ga.March 27 — Hard Rock Live, Orlando, Fla.March 28 — Veterans Memorial Stadium, Jacksonville, Fla.March 30 — Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Fla.March 31 — Entertainment Hall, Tampa, Fla.
AprilApril 1 — House of Blues, Myrtle Beach, S.C.April 3 — Ritz, Raleigh, N.C.April 4 — Salem Civic Center, Salem, N.C.April 5 — Grady Cole, Charlotte, N.C.April 7 — Bender Arena, Washington, D.C.April 8 — Boathouse, Norfolk, Va.April 9 — Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, N.Y.April 11 — Electric Factory, Philadelphia, Pa.April 12 — Convention Hall, Asbury Park, N.J.