| The Gufs | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Origin: | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Genre: | pop/rock |
| Years Active: | 1988-present |
| Label: | Red Submarine Records, Atlantic Records |
| Current Members: | Goran Kralj Dejan Kralj Morgan Dawley Scott Schwebel |
| Past Members: | Tony Luna Brian Pettit |
The Gufs are an American pop and rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The band's latest album A Different Sea was released on October 17, 2006. Their first single from the album was "Beautiful Disaster",[1] which was the #2 unsigned artist download in October 2006 at the website www.purevolume.com.[2]
The Gufs are best known for their songs "Smile" and "Crash (into Me)".[3] [4]
To celebrate their twentieth anniversary in 2008, The Gufs played a series of four free concerts with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in June.[5]
The Gufs began as an eastside Milwaukee band in 1988,[6] with University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee students Goran Kralj and Scott Schwebel. Kralj and Schwebel, roommates and teammates on UWM's soccer team, recruited Kralj's younger brother, Dejan Kralj (still in high school in Northwestern Indiana), and high school friend Tony Luna, to round-off the quartet on bass and lead guitar. The band took their name from a place where a baby's soul comes from before the child is born, a phrase used in the Demi Moore film The Seventh Sign. After a few years of playing local eastside Milwaukee bars, the band lineup changed, as Luna left in 1990 to pursue a career in sound engineering, opening the way for Marquette University student and Milwaukee native Morgan Dawley to fill the vacancy.[7] The band soon gained momentum, performing more frequently throughout Milwaukee. The band also featured percussionist Brian Pettit on all of their albums up to their Atlantic Records Release of "The Gufs." After the album release and tour, Brian left the band to pursue other interests.
The band took second place at a battle of the bands at Marquette University in 1991.[8]
The band released several independent label records and gained increasing exposure nationwide on college radio before being signed by Atlantic Records. The Gufs' tour with Matchbox Twenty resulted in Rob Thomas singing backup on the song "Give Back Yourself" on their Holiday from You album.[9] The band broke up in 1999 after being disillusioned with the music industry and after feeling like Atlantic wasn't promoting the album properly.[10]
The Gufs got back together in 2006 and released the album A Different Sea. They released the song "A Beautiful Disaster" and went on a national tour. The Gufs have often played Summerfest throughout their career.[11]
| Year | Title | Label | Other information |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Staring Into The Sun | Red Submarine Records | |
| 1992 | Songs of Life | Red Submarine Records | |
| 1993 | Circa '89 | Red Submarine Records | |
| 1995 | Collide | Red Submarine Records | |
| 1996 | The Gufs | Atlantic Records | This album is composed mainly of material first released on Collide.[12] |
| 1997 | Collide Sessions | Red Submarine Records/Don't Records | |
| 1999 | Holiday From You | Atlantic Records | The album peaked at #33 on the Billboard magazine Top Heatseekers chart.[13] Holiday From You was re-released on Red Submarine Records, with some alternate tracks and revamped artwork, in 2006. |
| 2006 | A Different Sea | Red Submarine Records | The album features string arrangements from the Milwaukee Symphony.[14] Review [15] |
"Smile" was included on the compilation CDs Sounds of the Leisure Class Records: Midwest Collection,[16] and WIIL Rock 95.1 Live.[17] "Smile" was also remixed into a techno trance song at one point in the late 1990s, and recorded acoustic "Give Back Yourself" was included on the compilation CD Aware Compilation, Vol. 7.[18]