Tobey Torres

Tobey Torres-Doran[3] (born Tobey Kristine Torres; /ˈtɔːʊərˈʌrɛs/ TAW-res; April 6, 1972) is an American singer and musician. She is best known as the frontwoman of the industrial rock band Snake River Conspiracy (SRC) across three stints, from 1998 to 2004, in 2006, and again since 2022. Outside of Snake River Conspiracy, she also fronts the electronic rock band Mojave Phone Booth, which she founded with her husband/SRC guitarist Mitchell J. Doran.

Tobey Torres
Born
Tobey Kristine Torres[1]

(1972-04-06) April 6, 1972
Fremont, California, U.S.
Other names
  • Tobey Torres-Doran
  • The Tornado[2]
EducationCalifornia State University
Spouse
Mitchell J. Doran
​
(m. 2006)​
Musical career
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • synthesizers
Years active1998–present
Labels
Member of

Early life

Tobey Torres was born on April 6, 1972 in Fremont, California,[4][5][6] and spent her childhood growing up in Mammoth Lakes, California.[7] Growing up, Torres played volleyball and sung in a variety of cover bands, mainly doing the Stevie Nicks vocals of Fleetwood Mac songs.[7] She also participated in a variety of singing contests.[6]

In 1992, Torres attained a volleyball scholarship with California State University.[6][7] During her tenure at the university from 1992 to 1993, she achieved several team season records as a middle blocker.[8] While she considered turning professional, Torres ultimately dropped out of the university due to her disinterest with the more academic side of the sport. “I couldn’t put up with all the bullshit. My thing was the aggression of the game. I didn’t care about the rest of it.”[7]

Afterwards, she took up modelling, and after being suggested by photographers to try it out, Torres took up work as an go-go dancer at T's Club in San Jose, California, where she was paid $1,500 for three days' work per week over the course of two years.[6][9][10]

Career

Snake River Conspiracy (1998–2003)

In 1998, Torres met Snake River Conspiracy co-founder Jason Slater, who asked her if she could sing on a cover version of The Cure's "Lovesong". Torres agreed, and, impressed by her ability to scream, Slater and SRC's other co-founder Eric Valentine recruited Torres as the band's main singer.[6][11][12] Shortly thereafter, Snake River Conspiracy signed to Interscope Records, although the band would later move to Reprise Records in 1999.[12] While Torres did not make any major contributions to the overall compositions, she provided some uncredited lyrical contributions to some of the songs on Snake River Conspiracy's debut album, Sonic Jihad (2000), most notably with "Breed".[12][13][14]

Torres spent the next year or so touring with Snake River Conspiracy in support of Sonic Jihad. From April to June 2000, she toured alongside Filter and Veruca Salt.[15] Shortly after the tour's conclusion, Torres' mother, Angie, died on June 8, 2000 from liver failure brought on by alcoholism. This prompted Torres to become sober, which improved the quality of her live performances.[9][16] Afterwards, the band toured across the United States as part of the "Bush/Gore 2000: Industrial Not Political" tour with Rorscrach Test, Bile and Videodrone,[17] and thereafter travelled to Europe and the United Kingdom for a touring leg there from October to November 2000 as support for Monster Magnet and Queens of the Stone Age.[18] Snake River Conspiracy planned to do a second UK tour leg with My Ruin and SugarComa in December 2000, though this was cancelled after SRC drummer Neil Taylor broke his wrists from falling down a flight of stairs.[19][20][21] From January to March 2001, Snake River Conspiracy toured as support for A Perfect Circle.[18] Reprise pulled the band's touring support shortly thereafter, and the band ceased touring.[22]

While Sonic Jihad was not a commercial success, it was warmly received, especially in the British rock and heavy metal press.[23][24] Torres soon formed a relationship with Kerrang!, and became a semi-regular fixture in the magazine;[25][26] most notably, she was a co-presenter at the 2001 Kerrang! Awards.[27] Torres also gained favourability with the magazine's readers, who voted her into second and third place in the "She-Babe" category in the Kerrang! Readers' Polls of 2000 and 2001, respectively.[28][29]

In January 2001, Torres moved from the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles.[30] There, Snake River Conspiracy started working on a second album tentatively known as SRC2 in early 2001 at Henson Recording Studios,[30] but in early 2002 the band was dropped by Reprise Records.[31] Torres and the other members worked on the album for the next year or so afterward.[32]

Solo stint and return to Snake River Conspiracy (2004–2006)

On February 26, 2004, Tobey Torres quit Snake River Conspiracy, and was replaced by ex-Drain STH drummer/vocalist Martina Axén.[33][34][35] After leaving Snake River Conspiracy, Torres made a few guest appearances on releases by Deckard and Scum of the Earth,[36][37] and attempted to work on a solo album. During early 2006 she released three demo songs, "Enamored", "Bi-Polar" and "Disengaged", through her MySpace page.[38] The demos showed Torres moving in a more alternative rock direction. However, Torres soon lost interest in pursuing a solo career, and later stated that she wasn't connecting with the various producers she tried working with.[2]

On May 4, 2006, Snake River Conspiracy announced via an episode of their official podcast, titled "She's Back", that Torres had re-joined Snake River Conspiracy.[2][39][40] However, her return to the band was brief, as on September 4, 2006, Torres announced via her MySpace page that she had "once again chosen to disassociate myself from Snake River Conspiracy".[41] SRC guitarist Mitchell Doran announced his departure via the band's vBulletin forums two days later.[42] Following this, the band broke up.[43]

Mojave Phone Booth and Snake River Conspiracy revival (2012–present)

After an extended hiatus, Tobey and Mitchell Doran reappeared in 2012 with the electronic rock band Mojave Phone Booth, with Lynn Farmer of Meat Beat Manifesto joining on drums.[44] After releasing two singles, "Funeral Dress"[45] and "Video Creep",[46] Mojave Phone Booth signed to Fangoria Musick,[47] a short-lived record label of the horror film fan magazine Fangoria,[48] in October 2015.[47] However, the band would later leave the label, and their debut album, Mojave Phone Booth, was self-released on October 31, 2016.[49]

After another period of inactivity, Mojave Phone Booth began recording a new album, Hollow the Numbers, and worked on the album from June 2021 to June 2022.[50][51] In preparation for the album's release, the band released a limited edition EP, Kill the Messenger, on August 8, 2022; the EP contained two songs from Hollow the Numbers and two previously unreleased tracks.[52] Hollow the Numbers was released on October 28, 2022. Red Hot Chilli Peppers bassist Flea makes a guest appearance on one of the album's tracks.[53]

In July 2022, Snake River Conspiracy launched a new Instagram account, and announced that they would be releasing new Snake River Conspiracy music in 2023.[54]

Musical style and influences

Torres was musically influenced by a variety of new wave, electronica and alternative rock bands, such as Björk, Portishead, Eurythmics, PJ Harvey, Deftones, The Pretenders, Siouxse and the Banshees, Gang of Four, The Slits, The Motels, The Smiths and David Bowie.[10][38]

Personal life

Tobey Torres has been married to Snake River Conspiracy guitarist Mitchell J. Doran since 2006.[13][55] She was previously romantically involved with Red Hot Chilli Peppers bassist Flea.[56][57]

Discography

with Snake River Conspiracy

Main article: Snake River Conspiracy discography

with Mojave Phone Booth

  • Mojave Phone Booth (2016)
  • Hollow the Numbers (2022)

Solo discography

Title Year Album Ref.
"Bi-Polar" 2006 non-album single [38]
"Disengaged"
"Enamored"

Guest appearances

Year Band or artist Song or album Credit Ref.
2001 Queens of the Stone Age "Quick and To The Pointless" (Live) Live backing vocals at Reading Festival 2001 [58]
2002 Red Hot Chilli Peppers "The Zephyr Song" (music video) Guest appearence [57]
2004 Deckard Holy Rolling Extended Player Backing vocals on "The Truth Will Do" [37]
Mark Lanegan Bubblegum Backing vocals (uncredited) [3]
Scum of the Earth Blah...Blah...Blah...Love Songs for the New Millennium [36]

References

Citations

  1. "United States Public Records, 1970-2009". FamilySearch.org.
  2. "srcpodcast4.mp3". snakeriverconspiracy.com ("She's Back" Podcast Episode). May 4, 2006. Archived from the original on July 7, 2006. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  3. "Mojave Phone Booth - Bio". mojavephoneboothmusic.com. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  4. "About Tobey". MySpace. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  5. "***TOBEYWEB***". tobeyweb.co.uk (Click "Stuff" then "About Tobey"). Archived from the original on October 27, 2002. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  6. Winwood 2000, p. 25
  7. "SRC.PDF" (PDF). publicitymaterials.wbr.com (Sonic Jihad press kit). April 2000. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 7, 2003. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  8. Helms, Chen (eds.) 2016, p. 14, 17
  9. Winwood 2000, p. 26
  10. Simpson, Dave (June 22, 2001). "Who the hell are...Snake River Conspiracy". The Guardian. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  11. Heller, Greg (July 9, 2000). "Conspiracy Theorist / On his new CD, Snake River's Jason Slater hasn't exactly turned a blind eye to his past". SFGATE. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  12. Slater, Jason (March 13, 2012). "The SRC Story Pt. 1". www.jason-slater.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014.
  13. "Truth". mojavephoneboothmusic.com. November 6, 2022. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  14. Young 2000, p. 26
  15. Wright, Christopher; Boltom, William (April 18, 2000). "Filter with Veruca Salt and Snake River Conspiracy". Modern Music Magazine. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  16. Bluhm, David (September 1, 2000). "Interview: Snake River Conspiracy | Kreuzzug der Musik". gaesteliste.de (in German). Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  17. Mancini, Rob (July 17, 2000). "Rorschach Test, Bile, Videodrone, More Line Up "Bush/Gore" Tour". MTV News. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  18. Syquia, John (February 8, 2001). "Band Interview: Snake River Conspiracy | The Daily Nexus". The Daily Nexus. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  19. Lawson 2000, p. 4
  20. Anon. (December 20, 2000). "Snake River Conspiracy forced to cancel tour". Rockol (in Italian). Retrieved February 26, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. Fedja (November 2, 2000). "My Ruin Interview - With Tairrie B and Mick Murphy". sbs666.tripod.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2004. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  22. Dave (January 20, 2003). "Heavy Metal Resource Interviews-Geoff Tyson". www.heavymetalresource.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2003. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  23. Jelbert 2000, p. 15
  24. Everly 2000, p. 62
  25. Young 2001, p. 22–23
  26. Sindell 2001, p. 12–16
  27. "Kerrang! Awards 2001". brianmay.com. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  28. Rees (ed.) 2001, p. 33
  29. Rees (ed.) 2002, p. 37
  30. Winwood 2001, p. 62
  31. Blabbermouth (October 14, 2002). "SNAKE RIVER CONSPIRACY Split With Label, Shop New Demo". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  32. Blabbermouth (August 7, 2003). "SNAKE RIVER CONSPIRACY Completing Work On Sophomore Album". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  33. Blabbermouth (June 4, 2004). "Vocalist TOBEY TORRES Leaves SNAKE RIVER CONSPIRACY". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  34. "SRC - KT PLEASE RESPOND!". forums.kidneythieves.net. May 14, 2004. Archived from the original on May 29, 2004. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  35. "SNAKE RIVER CONSPIRACY press release: May 5, 2004". Ibanez JEM Forum. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  36. Blabbermouth (July 16, 2004). "SCUM OF THE EARTH Set Release Date For Debut CD". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  37. Holy Rolling Extended Player (promo CD). Deckard. UK: (self-released). 2004. deckcd002.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  38. "Tobey Torres | Free Music, Tour Dates, Photos, Videos". MySpace. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  39. "Snake River Conspiracy". snakeriverconspiracy.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 2006. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  40. Blabbermouth (May 11, 2006). "SNAKE RIVER CONSPIRACYS SLATER, Ex-Singer AXEN Trade Barbs Over Reasons For Split". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  41. "Snake River Conspiracy | vBulletin". snakeriverconspiracy.com. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  42. "Snake River Conspiracy | vBulletin". snakeriverconspiracy.com. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  43. "Truth". mojavephoneboothmusic.com. November 6, 2022. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  44. "MOJAVE PHONE BOOTH on Instagram: "Lynn Farmer from Meat Beat Manifesto getting ready to record some drums for the Mojave Phone Booth album. #mojavephonebooth #lynnfarmer #meatbeatmanifesto #snakeriverconspiracy #mitchdoran #tobeytorresdoran"". Instagram. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  45. "MOJAVE PHONE BOOTH on Instagram: "mojave phone booth ##### funeral dress ## 2014"". Instagram. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  46. Mojave Phone Booth - "Video Creep", retrieved November 5, 2022
  47. bernard (October 26, 2015). "US electronic/industrial rock act Mojave Phone Booth signs with Fangoria Musick". SIDE-LINE MAGAZINE. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  48. "THE END OF FANGORIA MUSICK". KARDIAC MUSIC inc. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  49. Mojave Phone Booth by Mojave Phone Booth, October 31, 2016, retrieved November 5, 2022
  50. Doran, Mitchell (March 9, 2021). "studio update". mojavephoneboothmusic.com. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  51. Doran, Mitchell (June 28, 2022). "finished". mojavephoneboothmusic.com. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  52. "Tobey Torres and Mitchell Doran announce new album from Mojave Phone Booth, and new music from Snake River Conspiracy in 2023". ReGen Magazine. August 23, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  53. "Mojave Phone Booth on Twitter". Twitter. October 13, 2022. Archived from the original on October 5, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  54. "🖖🏼 (@snakeriverconspiracy) • Instagram photos and videos". www.instagram.com. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  55. "Tobey Torres-Doran". www.facebook.com. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  56. "Kerrang! - November 2nd 2002". John Frusciante fansite - Invisible Movement. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  57. Brannigan, Paul (July 15, 2014). "How Red Hot Chili Peppers Conquered The World With By The Way". loudersound. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  58. "Queens of the Stone Age Setlist at Reading Festival 2001". setlist.fm. Retrieved March 28, 2018.

Sources

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