deadboy & the Elephantmen (2000 - 2007)
deadboy & the Elephantmen first appeared in late 2000, following in the wake of the break-up of Agents of Oblivion. The earliest incarnations of deadboy was little more than Dax playing solo shows under the moniker when not using his own name or T-daks & His White Plastic Soul. He would play early versions of deadboy songs along with covers of songs by Leonard Cohen, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and many others. As time went on, Dax began expanding the band and by mid-2001 had a full line-up.
deadboy's first album, "If This Is Hell, Then I'm Lucky" was released in 2002. The album was discontinued and for a time was extremely hard to find. However, it has recently been re-released by Fat Possum Records.
Following the first album Dax Riggs sought new musicians after a couple of the band members quit. The original line-up consisted of Jason Dupre on guitar, Chris Gautreaux on bass, and Jeff LeCompte on drums. Niki Rhodes Jr. then rejoined the project, after leaving it the first time, and Chris (Sax and keys) began working with him on futuristic techno rock. Other musicians where then brought in after Chris and Niki left the group. It was during this time that Tess Brunet was recruited and the two began recording.
An EP, Song Mechanism, was released in late 2004. It was distributed by Dax through deadboy's website and various local Louisiana music stores. It, too, has been discontinued, though all four tracks from the EP later appeared on We Are Night Sky.
We Are Night Sky was made available for purchase online in late 2005, but its official release date was February 7, 2006. While it is technically the second full-length album for deadboy & the Elephantmen, it is the first featuring the simpler two-person lineup and is better distributed than previous efforts and, as such, is often referred to as their "debut" album.
In late 2006, Brunet left the band, but it has yet to be stated as to why and under what terms. On April 16, 2007 it was announced that the band was no more, and further records will be released under "Dax Riggs".
