Kevin Dotson (born March 4, 1973), better known by his stage name Linus of Hollywood, is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer.[1] The stage name comes from his early days in Los Angeles, where he would frequently wear striped shirts similar to the Peanuts character Linus van Pelt. He is currently a member of Nerf Herder, comedy duo Jarinus and electronic rock duo Able Machines.
Linus of Hollywood | |
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| Birth name | Kevin Dotson |
| Born | March 4, 1973 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels | Crappy Records, Franklin Castle Recordings, Oglio |
| Spinoffs | |
| Website | linusofhollywood |
Career
editEarly life
editDotson was born in Omaha, Nebraska, but spent his formative years in Florida. At age five, he learned to play guitar. He would later learn to play drums, bass, and piano as well. At age 21, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music. In 1995 Dotson started his professional career as the leader of punk/pop band Size 14, named after his shoe size. The band broke up in 1998 and Dotson began playing and producing on other people's recordings.
Solo career
editIn 1999, Dotson released his first solo album Your Favorite Record on his own label called Franklin Castle Recordings. He performed nearly everything on the album, both instrumentally and vocally. He has since released four more albums: Let Yourself Be Happy (2001), Triangle (2006), Attractive Singles (2008), and Reheat & Serve (2008). The single for "A Girl That I Like" was released in 2011.
Dotson released his fourth solo album in 2014 titled Something Good[2] and fifth solo album Cabin Life in 2018.
As a touring musician
editIn the mid 2000s, Dotson played bass guitar for Paul Gilbert on the Burning Organ tour (2002), Acoustic Samurai tour (2003), and the Space Ship One tour (2005). He also played bass for Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. on both of his tours.[citation needed]
Work with other artists
editArtists Dotson has worked with: Allstar Weekend, 5 Seconds of Summer, Mr. Big, Bowling for Soup, Cheap Trick, The Charlatans, The Dollyrots, Gabriel Mann (of The Rescues), Gush, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Kaela Kimura, Kiera Chaplin, Kool Keith, Kylee, Laura Dawn, Lil' Kim, The Leftovers, Margo Guryan, MC Lars, Mis-Teeq, Nerf Herder, Ol' Dirty Bastard, OPM, Parry Gripp, Paul Gilbert, People on Vacation, Probyn Gregory (of The Wondermints), Puffy AmiYumi, Roger Joseph Manning, Jr., Rx Bandits, Puff Daddy, The Smashing Pumpkins, Tim Burgess, and Wisely.
In 2010 he formed the band Palmdale with former Letters to Cleo vocalist/songwriter Kay Hanley[3] and released two EPs, Get Wasted and How To Be Mean.
Currently
editLinus is currently active in the Los Angeles duo Able Machines. Able Machines features Los Angeles singer/hit songwriter Tay Côlieé and Linus as songwriter,producer and all instruments.
Able Machines so far have self released two studio albums, in 2022 Pathological and in 2023 Digital Precision, the later of which featured a cover of The Pixies track Where Is My Mind.
Television
editDotson co-wrote the theme song for Nickelodeon's School of Rock and writes music for the show as well. He composed for Mattel's "Team Hot Wheels", "Battleclaw," and "Barbie Spy Squad." His solo music has been included in the TV shows Weeds, Californication, and The New Normal. He also appeared as an actor in the season finale episode of The New Normal and performed in an episode of TNT's Rizzoli & Isles.[citation needed]
Dotson is the co-owner of pop/punk label Crappy Records with Bowling for Soup frontman Jaret Reddick.[citation needed]
Bands
edit| Band | Position | Years Active |
|---|---|---|
| Size 14 | Lead vocals, guitar | 1995–1998 |
| Nerf Herder | Guitar, keyboards | 2008–present |
| Jarinus | Guitar, keyboards, vocals, percussion | 2009–present |
| Palmdale[3] | Guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals | 2009–2010 |
| People on Vacation | Keyboards,[4][5] guitar[4][5] | 2010[6] – 2016 |
Discography
edit
Size 14edit
Solo albumsedit
Jarinusedit
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Palmdaleedit
Other appearancesedit
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References
edit- ^ Swihart, Stanton. "Linus of Hollywood Biography". Yahoo Music. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
- ^ "Linus Of Hollywood 'Something Good'".
- ^ a b Borack, John. "Let's Palmdale – a chat with Kay Hanley and Linus of Hollywood". Goldminemag.com. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
- ^ a b "People On Vacation – Punk Rock World". YouTube. 29 January 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
- ^ a b "People on Vacation with audioADD". YouTube. 1 February 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
- ^ "Introducing...People On Vacation". YouTube. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
- ^ "Linus of Hollywood 29 December 2010 Twitter post". 29 December 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2010.