Bio:

In 1987, when a couple of acne-faced 16-year-old nerds got together for a jam session in the Hernandez garage in Hawthorne, California, few would have predicted that this intense musical relationship would build into one of the most enduring songwriting teams and bands of the 20^th century. Lewis Renke and Chuck Hernandez, friends from suburban L.A. who took a shot at a heavy metal dream, started writing songs just after high school. They held auditions in the Valley to find a drummer, and then the trio was off and running.

They spent three years on the road, building their reputation all over the country, before adding rhythm guitarist Lance Armitage (formerly of Deathsmell) to their musical arsenal. The quartet combo sang songs that were as melodic as they were heavy, as poetic as they were bawdy, and their career was solidified when, in 1995, Girth McDürchstein asked them personally to be one of the groups to help him launch a new label called Kelleystein Recordings. The band agreed immediately.

After their self-titled debut suffered from mixed reviews and poor commercial reception, the band refocused their energy. Where their first album had been a series of ponderous but hypnotic cycle of despair and suffering, Hernandez realized the most crowd-pleasing songs were their more upbeat numbers, often tinged with both obscure and obvious references to their drug of choice, marijuana. Their sophomore album, aptly named Cross-Country Canna-bus, was loaded with puzzling lyrics and was greeted by fans and critics with resounding praise. Fans gobbled up the poetic imagery, trying desperately to interpret esoteric lines like "Where the road meets / A unicorn falls down" and "How could I have known / In the Eiffel shone," while critics enjoyed the driving beats and stronger emphasis on melody.

Since then, Fenton has released eight additional albums that possess the same intoxicating blend of aesthetic beauty and driving intensity.

They're currently in the studio preparing their eleventh studio album, tentatively titled Laissez-Faire, scheduled for release in fall of 2006. They also perform frequently in clubs throughout the Los Angeles area.

Fenton's current line-up includes:
Lewis Renke — vocals, lead guitar
Chuck Hernandez — vocals, bass
Lance Armitage — rhythm guitar
Bob Keith — drums