Original lineup (1984–1990) Diving For Pearls originated in
Boston,
Massachusetts, and was formed by Danny Malone (lead vocals, guitar) and Jack Moran (keyboards), both former members of local act The Trademarks. After slugging it out on the Boston scene for a couple of years, Malone and Moran moved to New York City where they were eventually joined by Yul Vazquez (guitar, vocals), formerly with
Urgent, and Peter Clemente (drums), who had played with the
Michael Monroe fronted New York act, Secret Chiefs, and appeared on Monroe's 1987 debut solo album,
Nights Are So Long. Vazquez and Clemente had also both been part of
Jean Beauvoir's Drums Along the Mohawk touring band. Los Angeles native David Weeks (bass) completed the Diving for Pearls line-up. The band's big breakthrough came when
Epic Records A&R man Michael Kaplan came out to a New York gig in 1988 and convinced Epic to sign the band to a $20,000 development deal. Not fully convinced yet, Epic head of A&R,
Don Grierson, allotted some extra money to record another half dozen songs under the guidance of Prater. which peaked at No. 84 on the
Billboard Hot 100. The record went on to sell over 250,000 copies in the U.S. alone and was named as one of
Kerrang! 's Top 20 for 1989. A second album was in the works but was never completed as the band was dropped by the label due to the changing musical climate.
Diving For Pearls was remastered and re-issued by English label Rock Candy in 2006, including five bonus tracks, a studio demo of
The Beatles' "Dear Prudence," and four live cuts recorded at the Toy Tiger club in
Louisville, Kentucky in 1990, including a cover of
The Cult's"
She Sells Sanctuary". Danny Malone moved on to join Band Of Angels, As of 2008, Malone was studying for his art major in his hometown of Boston.
Post-breakup activities Since the demise of Diving For Pearls in the early 1990s, guitarist
Yul Vazquez has gone on to a successful TV and movie acting career, starting in 1992 with a role in the movie
The Mambo Kings. Between 1995 and 1998, he appeared in several episodes of
Seinfeld as Bob, The Intimidating Gay Guy. Vazquez was nominated for a 2011
Tony Award for "
Best Featured Actor in a Play" for his role of Cousin Julio in
The Motherfucker With the Hat. In 2009, Vazquez played acoustic guitar with
Ian Astbury of
The Cult under the name The Soft Revolt, appearing at The Bowery Electric in New York City on the opening night of
John Patrick Shanley's play
Savage in Limbo, which Astbury was producing. They performed songs by The Cult and Astbury solo material as well as covers by the Rolling Stones and Radiohead, among others. Peter Clemente later became vice president and director of online entertainment practice at Internet customer relationship management firm Cyber Dialogue. Early in his career, he had been a member of The Mundanes, a new wave band based in
Providence, Rhode Island, whose 1982 demo was produced by
Mick Ronson. Former bassist David Weeks made the headlines in 2002, as a lawyer representing
Pamela Anderson and
Tommy Lee, in their infamous sex video lawsuit against Seattle-based Internet Entertainment Group. He is head of his own law firm based in
Westlake Village, California. ==Discography==