Cielo Drive

Cielo Drive is an Alternative Rock band from Edinburgh, Scotland formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Sean Porteous in 2005.
The band
Cielo Drive were formed in 2003 by songwriter Sean Porteous and drummer Franko Morgan. At their first practice together they brough along bass player Chris Buckley and became to play songs Porteous had written during his off time with band Seneka.
In early 2007 Franko Morgan left the band due to personal reasons and the band hired old friend of Porteous and former Seneka drummer Paul Bannon. They recorded with him in London months later.
After some mysterious circumstances Paul Bannon left the band and Franko Morgan came back to sit on the drum stool after spending 4 months in a Rehabilitation Center in Los Angeles to fight an alcohol addiction.
The Band signed to the Island Def Jam label in June 2006 and are set to do a full tour of USA starting January 2008.
They have released their debut album 'Goodbye To Yesterday' through Island Def Music in UK and is set for worldwide release sometime in 2008.
Cielo Drive have become well known for their energetic live performances and crowd interaction. At a show in Manchester they invited a fan to come onstage to play Xbox soccer game Pro Evolution Soccer against drummer Franko Morgan, which was shown on big screens throughout the venue.
The band name
The band's name Cielo Drive, (pronounced See-ell-oh) is a reference to where the killings of Sharon Tate and her houseguests by Charles Manson and his 'Family' took place, at 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles, California.
The band were formerly known as Near Death Experiment, which was the title of Sean Porteous' first solo album. A name based upon Porteous close call with death in 2002 and how it changes his life for the better. However, they soon felt they needed to change it after venues refused to let them play because of their "dark and gothic sounding name."
Porteous says they changed it to Cielo Drive because
Earlier years
Sean Porteous began his music career in One Way alongside former drummer Paul Bannon, and played venues across Scotland such as Liquid Rooms, The Ross Band Stand and also King Tuts. He later joined Seneka who Paul was also playing in, and it 2 years later he left to form Cielo Drive. Before forming Cielo Drive he played a series of solo gigs supporting rock bands in which he performed on acoustic guitar many future Cielo Drive songs. After a conversation over the Internet with drummer Francis Morgan, they both decided on forming a band and became friends.
Porteous had a brief opportunity to become the guitarist for nu-metal icons Limp Bizkit after Wes Borland departed the band for the 2nd time, but in the end it fell through. Porteous' has never commented on why it never happened, even though his involvement with the band was well documented.
At the time, Franko Morgan was playing in Heavy Metal band Massacre On The Fjords, and he continued to play with Massacre for 2 years until quitting to focus solely on Cielo Drive.
Bass player, Chris Buckley was recruited by Francis Morgan on the day of their first jam with Porteous. Buckley had previously played alongside Morgan in Screamo band 'A Vanishing Art'.
Late 2006, Buckley was offered a chance to play in Glasgow punk band Girlsplayboys, which featured Jimmy Nerve from Glasgow band Nerve, who were recording an album in Los Angeles with former Guns N' Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke, so Cielo Drive went on Hiatus. But just before they were set to fly out, Buckley decided to pull out and record with Cielo Drive.
Band members
Current
*Sean Porteous - Vocals & Guitar
*Chris Buckley - Bass
*Franko Morgan - Drums
Former
*Paul Bannon - Drums
Non-musical album appearances
* Michael McMahon - Interlude on Goodbye To Yesterday
Discography
Albums
*2007 - Goodbye To Yesterday
*(In Progress) - Currently Untitled follow up to Goodbye To Yesterday
Singles
*2007 - Remember You
*2007 - Cold Tomorrow
*2007 - Until You're Mine
Equipment
*Sean Porteous uses PRS Guitars, Marshall cabs and Shure Mic's
*Chris Buckley plays Fender bass and Peavey Bass cabs
*Franko Morgan plays with a Tama drum kit and custom made drum sticks

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