Drake Tungsten

Drake Tungsten was the pseudonym that singer/songwriter Britt Daniel performed under from 1994 to 1996 as a solo artist.

Britt Daniel is an indie rock singer/songwriter that is responsible for founding numerous bands in the early 1990s. In college at the University of Texas, Daniel founded and played in the band Skellington. After that disbanded in 1992, Daniel played in the rockabilly trio group The Alien Beats, where he met drummer Jim Eno. When that disbanded in 1993, he decided to focus his music career on solo material that he had written over the previous years - songs that were more experimental and unfit for the styles of bands that he had previously played. Rather than releasing them under his proper name, Daniel decided to release them under the pseudonym Drake Tungsten. His first album, Clocking Out Is For Suckers, was released in 1994 on cassette, and was distributed around his home town of Austin, Texas. Two years later, Tungsten released the five-song EP Six Pence for the Sauces on local label Peek-A-Boo Records. Also in 1996, Daniel began working again with drummer Jim Eno (previously from The Alien Beats) and began writing music under the moniker Spoon. Five tracks that were released by Tungsten were later re-recorded and re-release by Spoon: "I Could Be Underground" on the 30 Gallon Tank EP; "Chicago At Night" on the Girls Can Tell LP; and "All the Negatives Have Been Destroyed", "Dismember", and "I Wanted To Be Your Friend" on Telephono.

Britt Daniel stopped using this pseudonym in 1996, and has not recorded a solo album since self-releasing of Six Pence for the Sauces. However, he has begun setting aside songs for a possible solo album, including "New York Kiss" and "Telephone My Heart," which he has been performing at solo shows since at least early 2006 (see [1]).

The pseudonym "Drake Tungsten" appears to be an homage to Episode 410 (first airing in 1992) of the comic television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. "Drake Tungsten" was one of several "tough guy names" proposed by the characters to fit the model of a monosyllabic first name followed by a metal or hard surface as a last name. Others included "Nick Pigiron" and "Russ Tilefloor."

• Clocking Out Is For Suckers LP (1994, self released)
• Six Pence for the Sauces EP (1996, Peek-A-Boo Records)
• Dozy Vs. Drake - Upon Further Consideration Single (1998, Revival Records)

Notable appearances

• Bicycle Rodeo Compilation (1995, Peek-A-Boo Records)

A song entitled "This is a Whipping" appeared on the Peek-A-Boo Records 1995 Compilation Bicycle Rodeo.

• Artist Bio: "Drake Tungsten", Peek-A-Boo Records, retrieved March 7, 2008.