A decade ago, bassist/singer Jeremy Haffner founded popular Downtown LA art gallery/event space Hangar 1018; where he created a thriving crossover scene between modern art and live music. This led to relationships between Oedipus and such acclaimed and high profile artists as Bob Dob, Seamus Conley, and Tim Peterson, who respectively provided original cover artwork for the band’s two independent releases, 2006’s Humbility, 2008’s Covetous and a self-titled 2010 European release on MyMusic Records.
Together with guitarist Stephen Cohen, who formed the band with Haffner as teens; and Midwest transplant drummer Keith Larsen, who joined in 2004, they managed to accomplish an impressive list of feats for an unsigned band, recording 3 self-released full length albums and two EPs; self-booking and promoting several U.S. tours, and played in support of major artists including Hurt, The Apex Theory, Rafael Moreira, and most recently rocked shows with Warner Bros./Sire Records artist Foxy Shazam.
For over a decade Oedipus has been one of LA’s best kept secrets, from their roots as an underground progressive Rock favorite, to achieving status as an international Rock Powerhouse with massive success in Europe in 2010, when Polish radio giant ESKA ROCK added their single “Tres Las”, which went on to top the Polish Rock charts, and became the genesis of FIVE #1 Polish Rock Singles, followed by repeated visits to Europe, their last trip including a performance at the Ursynalia Festival, where the band performed at Poland’s biggest open-air festival, alongside Korn, Guano Apes, Alter Bridge, Simple Plan and more. They will return to Ursynalia in 2012 alongside Slayer, Billy Talent, Mastodon, Limp Bizkit and others.
Further cementing their position in the forefront of the international Rock World, both “Tres Las” and “Jack and Ginger” were included on the inaugural Polish editions of the hit International compilation “Now: That’s What I Call Music!” in league with artists including Ke$ha, Snoop Dogg, and Katy Perry.
In 2011 the band signed a worldwide recording deal with THC Music / Rocket Science / Sony RED which released Oedipus’ Vicious Little Smile on March 13th, 2012. Produced by Darian Cowgill (Sleeping Giant, Middle Class Rut), Vicious Little Smile formally releases several of the LA trio’s international hits including “Tres Las”, “Burn It Down”, “Gimme a Chance”, and “Kiss on the Fist”, which have already received airplay in over 30 countries including Poland, Germany, South Africa, Russia, Croatia, and the US. earning the band a place in the hearts of devoted fans the World over, one of those fans being Def Leppard/Manraze guitarist Phil Collen, who makes a guest appearance, contributing lead and rhythm guitars to the track “FINAL MACHINE”.
“We had built up a mutual admiration through our label, who also releases Phil’s MANRAZE project, and the idea came up for him to play on a track, and miraculously, it ended up happening. It turned out amazing, we couldn’t be happier or more honored. Phil is such a legendary and spectacular talent, and we were all just blown away with how cool and naturally it came together.” Says Oedipus bassist/vocalist Jeremy Haffner, a sentiment echoed by Collen. “I loved the track as soon as I heard it. These guys have got phenomenal energy. Playing on it was a blast, and I look forward to hearing the rest of the album.”
Oedipus will return to Europe twice more in 2012, and follow up with a US run in April with Zero 1, the hard rock project featuring actor/comedian Hal Sparks.