# Dieselhed > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dieselhed > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dieselhed.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieselhed > Source revision: 1324696349 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Dieselhed** was a [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco)–based band, originally from [Arcata, California](/source/Arcata,_California).[1] ## Early career Dieselhed formed in 1989 in Arcata, California later moving to San Francisco, California, playing a blend of country, punk, and pseudo-classic rock.[2] Drummer Heifetz spread his time between Dieselhed and the genre-bending experimentalists [Mr. Bungle](/source/Mr._Bungle). Singer-songwriter [Virgil Shaw](/source/Virgil_Shaw) previously played in Arcata outfit [Brent's T.V.](/source/Brent's_T.V.) Bassist Ellis had been a founding member of the local disbanded [funk rock](/source/Funk_rock) band [Psychefunkapus](/source/Psychefunkapus), and [Jonathan Segel](/source/Jonathan_Segel) was a former member of local indie-faves [Camper Van Beethoven](/source/Camper_Van_Beethoven). The band signed a recording contract with independent label [Amarillo Records](/source/Amarillo_Records) in the early 1990s.[2] Dieselhed released three full-length albums for Amarillo while maintaining a national touring schedule throughout the 1990s, often accompanied by road manager John Tynan.[citation needed] Dieselhed's self-titled 1993 debut was received well, leading to a modest spurt of college radio airplay. The band wound up selling out Amarillo's first two pressings of the album. Their second album, *Tales of a Brown Dragon*, came out in 1995 and helped to expand their growing fan base. Dieselhed became regulars at the [SXSW](/source/SXSW) music festival held each year in [Austin, Texas](/source/Austin,_Texas).[3] Their third album, 1997's *Shallow Water Blackout*, was produced by [Dwight Yoakam](/source/Dwight_Yoakam) engineer [Dusty Wakeman](/source/Dusty_Wakeman).[1] Dieselhed followed their 1997 release with two U.S. tours opening for [Link Wray](/source/Link_Wray).[4] For these dates Ellis and Heifitz would return to the stage after their opening set each night to back Wray.[5][6] The two would go on to become Wray's regular backing band[7] from 1997 to 2003. ## Later years In 1998 Dieselhed signed a new contract with [Bong Load Records](/source/Bong_Load_Records), a label still riding the success of their recording and release of [Beck](/source/Beck)'s critically acclaimed gold record *[Mellow Gold](/source/Mellow_Gold)*. Dieselhed issued *Elephant Rest Home* in 1998 (a collection of previously unreleased songs) and their final album, the rarely seen *Chico and the Flute* in 2000 on Bong Load before disbanding later in 2000. Lead songwriter [Virgil Shaw](/source/Virgil_Shaw) went on to release two critically acclaimed solo albums, *Quad Cities* and *Still Falling*, for San Francisco's independent label [Future Farmer Records](/source/Future_Farmer_Records). Co-songwriter Zac Holtzman now plays in the [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles)–based band [Dengue Fever](/source/Dengue_Fever_(band)).[8] [Danny Heifetz](/source/Danny_Heifetz), now raising a family in [Australia](/source/Australia), stays busy with local studio session work and drum lessons. [Atom Ellis](/source/Atom_Ellis) resides between San Francisco and Los Angeles and performs as bassist with [Neil Hamburger](/source/Neil_Hamburger), [The New Cars](/source/The_New_Cars) and [The Tubes](/source/The_Tubes). Guitarist Shon McAllin is currently a licensed contractor residing in the deep woods of Northern California. ## Band members - [Virgil Shaw](/source/Virgil_Shaw) – Guitar and Vocals - [Zac Holtzman](/source/Zac_Holtzman) – Guitar and Vocals - [Atom Ellis](/source/Atom_Ellis) – Bass and Vocals - [Danny Heifetz](/source/Danny_Heifetz) – Drums, Percussion, and Horns - Shon McAlinn – Lead Guitar ## Auxiliary members - [Jonathan Segel](/source/Jonathan_Segel) – Violin (until 1994) - [Ralph Carney](/source/Ralph_Carney) – Various Reed and Brass Wind Instruments - Jeff Palmer – Saw, drums on "Bright Lights" - Josh Roberts – Guitar, Vocals, Drums ## Discography - *Dieselhed* (Amarillo 1994) - *Tales of a Brown Dragon* (Amarillo 1995) - *Shallow Water Blackout* (Amarillo 1997) - *Elephant Rest Home* (Bong Load 1999) - *Chico and the Flute* (Bong Load 2000) ## References 1. Prato, Greg. "[ Dieselhed: Biography]", [Allmusic](/source/Allmusic). Retrieved May 22, 2010. 1. Beal, Jim Jr. (September 23, 1994). "Night Lights: Alternative", *[San Antonio Express-News](/source/San_Antonio_Express-News)*, p. E22. 1. (March 14, 1996). "SXSW: Saturday", *[Austin American-Statesman](/source/Austin_American-Statesman)*, p. 37. 1. Vaughan, Robin (October 24, 1997). "Crowds take novel approach and band together", *[Boston Herald](/source/Boston_Herald)*, p. S25. 1. Sullivan, James (July 7, 1997). "Wray's a Link to the Future: 68-year-old guitarist gains young admirers in blast across country", *[San Francisco Chronicle](/source/San_Francisco_Chronicle)*, p. E1. 1. Writer, JAMES SULLIVAN, Chronicle Staff. ["Wray's a Link to the Future / 68-year-old guitarist gains young admirers in blast across country"](https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/wray-s-a-link-to-the-future-68-year-old-2833431.php). *SFGATE*. Retrieved 2024-03-28. 1. Roos, John (March 7, 1998). "Wray Has Ax to Grind, and Grind: Veteran rocker can bring on the noise, but the times that should be a little quieter vex him", *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*, p. 2. 1. ["Biographies"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110716085625/http://sleepwalkingthroughthemekong.com/bios.htm). *Sleepwalking Through the Mekong*. Archived from [the original](http://sleepwalkingthroughthemekong.com/bios.htm) on July 16, 2011. Retrieved August 5, 2011. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dieselhed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieselhed) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dieselhed?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.