Sebastian Ciceri

Sebastian Ciceri (born September 7, 1974) is an American bassist, producer and a former member of TVT Records' recording band Portable.

Early years
Ciceri was born in Torrance, California and is brothers with Gus Ciceri (songwriter, Portable guitarist). He began playing the electric bass in 1990 and studied music by training his ear to recognize and understand notes and different playing styles. One of his early primary basses was a Fender Jazz 5-string. To date, Ciceri has played in more than forty bands during his career.

In 1994, Ciceri joined Los Angeles band Getting Red. They released their debut EP Otis that same year through the independent record label Bilawn Records. A strong fan base followed and Getting Red became headlining clubs favorites in Los Angeles and surrounding areas.

Portable (1999–2003)
In 1999, Ciceri accepted an invitation to join as permanent bassist with Los Angeles rock band Portable. The four piece signed on with New York based label TVT Records. Portable completed successful East and West Coast tours in support of the band's debut album Secret Life. They toured with bands Splender and Owsley.

After a small break in the summer of 2000, writing resumed in preparation for their full length follow-up. Only If You Look Up took nearly a year to complete. It was produced by Brad Wood (Liz Phair, Smashing Pumpkins) and mixed by Tim Palmer (U2). The album was released on April 9, 2002 and has earned excellent reviews. The single "Roll Over and Play Dead" was featured in the 2002 motion picture release and soundtrack for Swimfan.

Portable wrote, produced and recorded the Starsongs EP in the spring of 2003. Jay Ruston (The Polyphonic Spree, Steel Panther, Meat Loaf) engineered the record. It was released in that autumn, independent of TVT Records for legal reasons, and it would be the band's final album together. The band would go on permanent hiatus that winter. Ciceri played the Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay as his primary bass and had an endorsement deal with Aguilar Amplification.

Music licensing and solo releases (2004–2012)
Ciceri has become a versatile music producer, able to write a wide variety of genres and styles. He has licensed original music for media branding companies like Imaginary Forces, Verb! Media and Herman Miller.

In his solo career, Ciceri moved away from rock and focused on developing his own style in the IDM, electronica, and experimental techno genre. He teamed up with the INgrooves label in 2004 under the stage name RV to release the MuddCutter EP. Many of the songs here, including the title track, would later be re-released on the rare album Disco Enforcer (2009).

Ciceri's downtempo debut Moonlit Heavy was originally released in 2006. It was later reworked with additional music and re-released in 2007. His critical Black Country followed in 2009. As Woobaka, he released his eponymous debut EP (2012).

Selected discography

 * As bassist
 * Getting Red – Otis (1994)
 * Portable – Portable (EP) (song: "Restraint") (1999)
 * Portable – Only If You Look Up (2002)
 * Swimfan – Motion Picture Soundtrack (song: "Roll Over and Play Dead") (2002)
 * Portable – Starsongs (2003)
 * Pauly Shore Is Dead – Motion Picture Soundtrack (song: "Better Get The Daisies Out") (2003)
 * Chance – The First Five Demos (song: "My Oh My") (2004)
 * Auradrone (Jon Mack project) – White Britelite (song: "Last Nerve") (2009)


 * As solo artist/producer
 * RV – Mudcutter (EP) (2004)
 * Chance – Six Through Ten (song: "Closer's Not Good Enough" Moonlit Heavy remix) (2005)
 * Sebastian Ciceri – Moonlit Heavy (2006)
 * Sebastian Ciceri – Black Country (2009)
 * Sebastian Ciceri – Disco Enforcer (2009)
 * Woobaka – Woobaka (EP) (2012)
 * Sebastian Ciceri – Satan's Charm (2014)

External links and references

 * Allmusic Sebastian Ciceri credits
 * Allmusic Portable Only If You Look Up credits
 * Allmusic Portable Starsongs credits
 * Discogs Portable Only If You Look Up credits
 * Discogs Portable credits
 * Official website