One Day as a Lion | |
|---|---|
.jpg) One Day as a Lion in 2011. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Genres | Rap rock,alternative rock,alternative hip hop,political hip hop |
| Years active | 2008–2011 |
| Labels | Anti- |
| Spinoff of | |
| Past members | Zack de la Rocha Jon Theodore Joey Karam |
One Day as a Lion was arap rocksupergroup that was started in 2007 byZack de la Rocha, the vocalist ofRage Against the Machine, andJon Theodore, former drummer ofThe Mars Volta and then-current drummer ofQueens of the Stone Age.[1] The duo blended elements ofrock andhip hop.[2] One Day as a Lion released theireponymous debut EP in July 2008 on theAnti- label.The band's name comes from a quote byBenito Mussolini: "It is better to live one day as a lion than 100 years as a sheep."[3]
Zack de la Rocha had known Jon Theodore for several years before the band was formed and was very impressed with his skills as a drummer, comparing him toJohn Bonham andElvin Jones.[4] The duo first started playing together at a mutual friend's rehearsal room with Theodore on drums and de la Rocha playing an oldRhodes Mark 1 keyboard through adelay pedal and an oldmetal amplifier.[4] The band had soon written a number of songs and signed withBad Religion guitarist and co-founderBrett Gurewitz's record label ANTI-.[4]
On July 16, 2008, the song "Wild International" was made available to stream on the band'sMySpace profile and was given its Australian radio premiere byTriple J and American radio premiere byKROQ. The band'seponymous debut EP was released on July 18, 2008, on the Anti- label in Australia and four days later in the US, and was also released oniTunes. The vinyl version was released on October 7, 2008.[5] The EP placed as the 28 album of the week,[6] selling 17,000 copies in its first week.[6][7]
On August 11, 2008, de la Rocha spoke to theLos Angeles Times about the new project, his first interview in over eight years. He revealed that a full-length album was scheduled for an autumn 2008 release,[8] and stated that they "want to play shows and be a band and go out and start some noise".[4] He also mentioned adding members to the group, revealing "We're still in the process of forming as a band—we need a keyboard player, I'm not good enough to do it all myself—so that will be rectified soon".[9] The full-length album, however, was never released.
On June 1, 2010, One Day as a Lion announced that they would play their first festival show at theFuji Rock Festival in July via MySpace.[10] On July 17 and 18, the band performed live for the first time inPomona,California, with Joey Karam ofThe Locust on keys.
During their Australian tour in January 2011, One Day as a Lion dedicated 100% of theirMelbourne show's proceeds to theQueensland flood relief.[11] In an interview that same month, drummer Jon Theodore confirmed the official addition of Joey Karam to the band, and that a second release was in the works.[12] Following a performance atCoachella[13] that April, however, the band came to an end. No public announcement or reason was ever given by de la Rocha, Theodore or Karam regarding the split.
Later in 2011, de la Rocha reunited with Rage Against the Machine for a performance at that year's L.A. Rising festival.[14] He would later reunite with them again in 2019, while also sporadically contributing to tracks byRun the Jewels as a guest vocalist.[15] Theodore, meanwhile, joinedQueens of the Stone Age on tour for their 2013 album...Like Clockwork, and has remained with the band ever since.[16] In 2022, Theodore sat in on a tour withBright Eyes as their touring drummer.[17] Karam resumed performing with The Locust until their split in 2022.[18]
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| Title | EP details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [19] | US Ind. [19] | AUS [20] | ||
| One Day as a Lion | 28 | 3 | 56 | |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Alt [21] | NOR [22] | ||||||||
| "Wild International" | 2008 | 20 | 6 | One Day as a Lion | |||||
| "One Day as a Lion" | — | — | |||||||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | |||||||||
One Day as a Lion, the collaboration between Rage Against the Machine's Zach de la Rocha and ex-Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore, bows at No. 28 with its self-titled EP, selling 17,000.
The EP will precede a full length LP due this autumn.
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
