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Artist Biographies (under construction)
The artists/bands
below are those receiving the most play in our current rotation.
Biographical information is pulled and edited from
allmusic.com.
Arctic Monkeys
Band Members: Alex Turner, Jamie Cook, Andy Nicholson, Matt Helders
Where They’re From: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
When They Formed: 2003
Discography: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006)
Description: Citing influences such as the Jam, the Clash, and
the Smiths, Arctic Monkeys create a vibrant punk-inspired sound well
suited for Britpop and alternative rock fans alike. Alex Turner
(vocals/guitar), Jamie Cook (guitar), Andy Nicholson (bass), and Matt
Helders (drums) formed Arctic Monkeys in Sheffield, England, in 2003. A
year prior, Turner and Cook received guitars for Christmas. From there,
these teenagers made practicing an obsession, memorizing hits by the
White Stripes and the Vines. A deal with Domino, the label home to Franz
Ferdinand and Clinic, followed in spring 2004. Rambunctious first single
"I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" debuted at number one on the
U.K. singles chart in October 2005. Their debut album, Whatever People
Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, was issued in January 2006; within a day
of its release, the album sold 118,501 copies in the U.K., setting a
record for more records sold than the rest of the Top 20 album chart
combined.
Belle and Sebastian
Band Members:
Chris Geddes, Sarah Martin, Isobel Campbell, Stevie Jackson, Stuart
Murdoch, Stuart David, Richard Colburn
Where They're From: Glasgow, Scotland
When They Formed: 1995
Discography: The Life Pursuit (2006)
Dear
Catastrophe Waitress (2005)
Storytelling (2002)
Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant
(2000)
...
Description: A band that takes its name from a French children's
television series about a boy and his dog would almost have to be
precious, and to be certain, Belle & Sebastian are precious. But
precious can be a damning word, and Belle & Sebastian don't have the
negative qualities that the word connotes -- they are private but not
insular, pretty but not wimpy; they make gorgeous, delicate melodies
sound full-bodied. Led by guitarist/vocalist Stuart Murdoch, the
seven-piece band has an intimate, majestic sound that is equal parts
folk-rock and '60s pop, but Murdoch's gift for not only whimsy and
surrealism, but also for odd, unsettling lyrical detail keeps the songs
grounded in a tangible reality.
Based in Glasgow, Scotland, Belle & Sebastian released their first two
albums in 1996 at the peak of the chamber pop movement. At first, some
critics in Britain's music weeklies tied the band into the subgenre, yet
the group was too pretty, too delicate, to bear that label. Through
their first two years of public existence, the band shielded their
personalities, submitting publicity photos featuring a girl that wasn't
in the band and reluctantly posing for photo shoots. Furthermore, they
performed in odd venues, playing not only the standard coffeehouses and
cafes, but also homes, church halls, and libraries.
The idiosyncratic approach to building their career isn't surprising
given Murdoch's approach toward beginning a band. A longtime fan of
Felt, Murdoch left Glasgow for London in the early '90s in hopes of
finding the group's leader, Lawrence Hayward, but he never found his
idol. Upon his return to Glasgow he enrolled in university and he began
writing songs and short stories. While at school, he took a music
business course where he decided to form a band and release a record for
his final project (he had tried to form a band before to no success).
For the project, he assembled the seven-piece Belle & Sebastian,
featuring himself on guitar and vocals, choosing and recruiting members
by instinct in a local all-night cafe in late 1995. He eventually found
Sarah Martin (violin), Stevie Jackson (guitar), Chris Geddes
(keyboards), Stuart David (bass), Richard Colburn (drums), and Isobel
Campbell (cello). All seven members were college students, and all
agreed that the idea behind the band was to stay on a small scale, to
keep it as a project and not let the band run their lives; they even
assumed they would release two albums and break up.
In May of 1996, Belle & Sebastian self-released their debut album,
Tigermilk, on Electric Honey Records. Only 1,000 copies of the album,
which was only pressed on vinyl, were released, but it unexpectedly
became a sensation, earning terrific word of mouth throughout England.
As a result, the band became slightly more than a school project -- it
became an actual band. If You're Feeling Sinister, released on the
independent Jeepster label, followed in November of 1996. By the time
the album was released in America on the EMI subsidiary The Enclave, it
had earned considerable critical acclaim in the U.K. -- not only from
music weeklies, but from newspapers like The Sunday Times and magazines
like The Face -- and a large cult following; by some accounts, Tigermilk
was being sold for as much as 75 pounds. Over the course of 1997, word
of mouth continued to grow in America, even as the band pulled out of an
American tour because The Enclave went bankrupt and closed.
As the band cult continued to build in 1997, Belle & Sebastian released
three EPs -- Dog on Wheels (May), Lazy Line Painter Jane (July), and 3..
6.. 9 Seconds of Light (October). Each subsequent EP placed higher on
the indie charts and received great critical acclaim. By the end of the
year, the group finalized an American deal with Matador Records, issuing
The Boy With the Arab Strap in September 1998. The following year saw
the eagerly anticipated wide re-release of Tigermilk, the album that
started it all. Following completion of 2000's Fold Your Hands Child,
You Walk Like a Peasant, Stuart David left Belle & Sebastian to focus
full-time on his solo project, Looper. In 2001, the group released two
EPs -- Jonathan David and I'm Waking Up to Us -- and recorded the
soundtrack for Todd Solondz's film Storytelling. Just before the
soundtrack's release in spring 2002, Belle & Sebastian embarked on a
comprehensive tour of the United States and Canada before returning to
Europe for the summer festival season. Midway through the tour, Isobel
Campbell left the band, citing the usual differences.
Another major change that soon took place was the band leaving Jeepster
and Matador to sign with Rough Trade, with their next record, late
2003's Dear Catastrophe Waitress, produced by the inimitable Trevor Horn
(who also produced Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Yes, and scores of
others). The record spawned the brilliant "Step into My Office" and "I'm
a Cuckoo" singles, the latter of which was the group's biggest U.K. hit,
reaching number 14 in early 2004. After a long worldwide tour that found
Belle & Sebastian reaching new levels of success, they retired to
Scotland and began preparing for the recording of their fifth album, The
Life Pursuit, released in 2006.
Cat Power
Band Members:
Chan Marshall
Where They're From: Southern United States
When They Formed: 1995
Discography: The Greatest (2006)
You Are Free
(2003)
The Covers Record (2000)
Moon Pix (1998)
...
Description: Cat Power was the alias of Chan Marshall, a
Southern-bred singer/songwriter whose father, Charlie, was an itinerant
pianist. After dropping out of high school, Marshall found herself in
New York; performing under the name Cat Power, she was booked as the
opening act for Liz Phair, where she met Sonic Youth drummer Steve
Shelley and Two Dollar Guitar's Tim Foljahn, who agreed to become her
backing band. Following the release of 1995's Dear Sir and 1996's Myra
Lee — both recorded on the same day — Cat Power signed to Matador for
1996's What Would the Community Think?, which won acclaim for Marshall's
unsettling, emotional songs and cathartic vocals.
The superb Moon Pix followed two years later, and in the spring of 2000
Cat Power resurfaced with The Covers Record. Released in 2003, You Are
Free featured a lusher, more polished sound as well as cameos by Dave
Grohl and Eddie Vedder; 2006's The Greatest was recorded in Memphis, TN,
with legendary soul players including guitarist/songwriter Mabon "Teenie"
Hodges, bassist Leroy "Flick" Hodges, and drummer Steve Potts
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Band Members:
Alec Ounsworth, Lee Sargent, Tyler Sargent, Sean Greenhalgh, Robbie
Guertin
Where They're From: Brooklyn, NY
When They Formed: 2004
Discography: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (2005)
Description: In the middle of
2005, the Brooklyn/Philadelphia-based Clap Your Hands Say Yeah were
being touted as the hottest unsigned band in the U.S. Their self-titled
debut was self-produced, self-released, self-promoted, and
self-distributed, with a great deal of help from the grassroots indie
blog machine. There was so much online interest in the band that NPR
even did a feature on the emerging phenomena of Internet band buzz
(using CYHSY as the prime example).
Alec Ounsworth, Lee Sargent, Robbie Guertin, Tyler Sargent, and Sean
Greenhalgh coalesced into a group after Ounsworth and Tyler Sargent laid
the initial groundwork in Massachusetts. After the group moved to
Brooklyn (with Ounsworth in nearby Philadelphia), songwriting work began
in earnest. A four-song demo was followed by their debut full-length in
2005 (and the subsequent Internet hoopla followed hot on its heels).
Rolling Stone championed the cause further by heralding the group as
"Hot New Band" for 2005. By the end of that year, CYHSY signed with
U.K.-based Wichita Recordings.
Clearlake
Band Members:
Jason Pegg, James Butcher, Tobias May, Sam Hewitt, David Woodward
Where They're From: England
When They Formed: January 2000
Discography: Amber (2006)
Cedars (2003)
Lido (2001)
Description: Formed in the English seaside town of Hove, Clearlake's
eccentric take on music has baffled, bewildered, and beguiled both the
press and public since they debuted with the "Winterlight" single in
January 2000 on the Domino offshoot label Dusty Company. Jason Pegg
(vocals/guitar/keyboards), who had moved to the town to attend art
college, played in oddball combos the Fish Brothers and Not a Bit of
Wood before forming Clearlake with college friend Sam Hewitt
(keyboards/samples). Bassist David Woodward and drummer James Butcher
rounded out the lineup and Clearlake began mixing an eclectic fusion of
influences, including Van Der Graaf Generator, Motown, and Talk Talk,
with a quintessentially English lyrical perspective. They followed "Winterlight"
with the much-acclaimed singles "Don't Let the Cold In" and "Something
to Look Forward To."
Their debut album, Lido, was released in April 2001 to mainly rave
reviews in the U.K. music press, with NME proclaiming that "in terms of
sheer charm and lustre, Clearlake leave their contemporaries out in the
cold." The single "Let Go" followed, with an affectionate cover of Neil
Young's "Cinnamon Girl" on its flip. In 2003, the band inked a deal with
Domino in the States and issued both the Almost the Same EP and the
studio full-length Cedars. Butcher left Clearlake at the end of their
U.K. tour; drummer Toby May stepped in as his replacement. A second EP,
Wonder If the Snow Will Settle, arrived two years later. Frontman Jason
Pegg produced Clearlake's third album, Amber (2006); founding member Sam
Hewitt left the band as the album was being completed. His replacement
was to be announced in February 2006, when Clearlake was scheduled to
play dates in their native U.K.
End of Fashion
Band Members:
_
Where They're From: _
When They Formed: _
Discography: _
Description: _
Fiery Furnaces
Band Members:
Matthew Friedberger, Eleanor
Friedberger
Where They're From: Oak Park, IL
When They Formed: 2000s
Discography: Bitter Tea (2006)
Blueberry Boat
(2005)
Rehearsing My Choir (2004)
Gallowsbird's Bark (2003)
Description: Restless sonic chameleons the Fiery Furnaces revolve
around the brother and sister duo of Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger,
whose prickly childhood relationship and musical family set the stage
for their playful, unpredictable music. The Friedbergers' grandmother
was a musician and choir director at a Greek Orthodox church near the
family's home in Oak Park, IL; their mother, who had a penchant for
Gilbert & Sullivan, played piano and guitar and sang; and throughout
school, Matthew played standup bass. While the Friedbergers weren't the
closest of siblings growing up, after college and separate trips abroad
they returned to Oak Park and began working on music together. The pair
mixed simple, poppy melodies with a dizzying array of wordplay, sounds,
and influences, including the Who, Captain Beefheart, Os Mutantes;
dashes of folk, blues, and garage rock; and Eleanor's adventures in
Europe. In 2000, they moved to Brooklyn, took day jobs, and began
playing as the Fiery Furnaces late in the year.
The Furnaces played their initial gigs at a small club called Enid's and
branched out from there, going through several lineups of supporting
musicians as they played gigs with the French Kicks, Sleater-Kinney, and
Spoon. In 2002, they began working on their first album. By the time
they signed to Rough Trade on the basis of their demo, their debut,
Gallowsbird's Bark, was completed and the Fiery Furnaces were already at
work on the follow-up. Gallowsbird's Bark arrived in fall 2003 and won
critical acclaim for its charming kitchen-sink feel, but the band gained
more momentum the following year, when praise for the debut album
dovetailed with the release of the group's even more diverse and
challenging sophomore album, Blueberry Boat, that summer. The Fiery
Furnaces spent much of 2004 touring with Ted Leo & the Pharmacists,
Franz Ferdinand, and the Shins, but were already working on their third
and fourth albums. Early in 2005, the group released the simply-titled
EP, a mini-album gathering most of their B-sides along with a few new
songs. That fall, the band returned with Rehearsing My Choir, a
challenging, stream-of-consciousness album featuring the Friedbergers'
grandmother, Olga Sarantos; they moved to Fat Possum for Bitter Tea, a
collection of poppier songs that arrived in spring 2006.
Gnarls Barkley
Band Members:
Cee-Lo, Danger Mouse
Where They're From: _
When They Formed: 2000s
Discography: St. Elsewhere (2006)
Description: _
Hard-Fi
Band Members:
Richard Archer, Ross Phillips, Kai Stephens, Steve Kemp
Where They're From: Middlesex, England
When They Formed: 2002
Discography: Stars of CCTV (2006)
Description: Staines, England's Hard-Fi feature Richard Archer
(vocals), Ross Philips (guitar), Kai Stephens (bass), and Steve Kemp
(drums). The punk-inspired indie rock quintet formed in 2002; they
feature a brash mix of Dexy's Midnight Runners melodies, Franz Ferdinand
hooks, and the theatrics of the Dead 60s. Hard-Fi self-released Stars of
CCTV in October 2004, and all 500 copies quickly sold out. The U.K.
indie imprint Necessary reissued the nine-song nugget the following
June. Once again, Hard-Fi got the attention of the fickle British press
and an eager British public. Singles such as "Cash Machine," "Tied Up
Too Tight," and "Hard to Beat" were all chart hits, and U.K. show dates
with the likes of the Bravery, the Kaiser Chiefs, and the Ordinary Boys
were equally successful. Before the year's end, Hard-Fi earned a Mercury
Music Prize nomination for Stars of CCTV. They had also won over
audiences at Glastonbury and at the annual SXSW Festival in Austin, TX.
Two Brit Award nominations followed in early 2006 -- one for Best
British Group and another for Best British Rock Act. Stars of CCTV went
on to earn a number one spot on the U.K. album chart in January 2006; it
was released in the U.S. in March.
Hawthorne Heights
Band Members:
J.T. Woodruff, Casey Calvert, Matt Ridenour, Micah Carli, Eron
Bucciarelli
Where They're From: Dayton, OH
When They Formed: June 2001
Discography: If Only You Were Lonely (2006)
The
Silence in Black and White (2004)
Description: Post-hardcore/emo-pop quintet Hawthorne Heights came to
life in the summer of 2001. Originally called A Day in the Life, the
Dayton, OH, collective saw numerous lineup changes and shifting music
styles before settling on its current formation. Composed of drummer
Eron Bucciarelli, bassist Matt Ridenour, vocalist/guitar player J.T.
Woodruff, and guitarists Casey Calvert and Micah Carli, Hawthorne
Heights built their fan base on a solid demo and a series of self-booked
national tours that saw them sharing the stage with the likes of From
Autumn to Ashes and the Descendents. In 2003 they signed with Chicago
label Victory Records, resulting in the 2004 release of their powerful
full-length debut, The Silence in Black and White. As the guys
relentlessly toured behind it, the album became Victory's
highest-selling debut, while their lead single, "Ohio Is for Lovers"
slowly invaded rock radio, MTV, and teenage hearts across the country.
Their follow-up, If Only You Were Lonely, as well as the DVD his Is Who
We Are arrived in 2006.
Islands
Band Members:
Nicholas "Niel" Diamonds, Jaime T'ambour
Where They're From: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
When They Formed: 2005
Discography: Return to the Sea (2005)
Description: _
Junior Senior
Band Members:
Jesper "Junior" Mortensen, Jeppe "Senior" Laursen
Where They're From: 1998
When They Formed: Jutland, Denmark
Discography: Hey Hey My My Yo Yo (2005)
D-D-Don't
Stop the Beat (2003)
Description: The rock, hip-hop, and dance duo Junior Senior may be a
U.K. darling, but the pair's hearts remain in Jutland -- their homeland
in the western peninsula of Denmark. The group emerged in 1995 after
Ludo-X members Jesper "Junior" Mortensen and Jeppe "Senior" Laursen left
the Copenhagen indie band. In 1998 Junior Senior was formed and the band
inked a deal with Danish label Crunchy Frog. The two went on to record
the infectious single "Move Your Feet," which became the most played
song in Denmark and eventually took over European radio. In 2003 the
band released the critically lauded full-length D-D-D-Don't Stop the
Beat.
Matt Costa
Band Members:
Matt Costa
Where They're From: Huntington Beach, CA
When They Formed: 2000s
Discography: Songs We Sing (2006)
Description: _
Men, Women, & Children
Band Members:
Todd Weinstock, TJ Penzone, Rick Penzone, Jason Giummule, David
Sullivan-Kaplan, Nick Conceller
Where They're From: New York, NY
When They Formed: March 2004
Discography: Men, Women, & Children (2006)
Description: Spearheaded by former Glassjaw guitarist Todd Weinstock,
New York-based Men, Women & Children came together in March of 2004.
Serving up an exuberant dance mix of post-punk, funk, disco, and electro
beats, the group cites influences that range from Kraftwerk and Talking
Heads to Prince and Giorgio Moroder. The band originally started out as
a semi-joke between Weinstock and friend Nick Conceller (a bedroom DJ
from St. Louis), who wanted to get away from the serious side of rock to
instead make music that was fun to listen to and a spectacle to watch.
Weinstock began working on some tracks with drummer David
Sullivan-Kaplan, sending the unfinished pieces to Conceller in Missouri
to add in keyboards and programming. Six months after starting the
process, Conceller moved to New York as the band was actually becoming a
reality. Weinstock's childhood friend TJ Penzone soon joined on as
vocalist, recruiting his multi-instrumentalist brother Rick for bass
duties. Men, Women & Children completed some touring -- including
nationwide dates with Gang of Four -- and the group was later solidified
with the permanent addition of touring guitarist Jay Giummule. Work on
their full-length took over a year, since three versions of each song
were written and three different producers had a hand in the project.
Their dynamic self-titled debut finally appeared in March 2006 on
Reprise. A string of tour dates followed, including shows with Metric,
Motion City Soundtrack, and the Format.
Saint Etienne
Band Members:
Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs
Where They're From: Surrey, England
When They Formed: 1988
Discography: Tales from Turnpike House (2006)
Finisterre
(2002)
Sound
of Water (2000)
The
Misadventures of Saint Etienne
(1999)
Description: Like most bands formed by former music journalists,
Saint Etienne were a highly conceptual group. The trio's concept was to
fuse the British pop sounds of '60s London with the club/dance rhythms
and productions that defined the post-acid house England of the early
'90s. Led by songwriters Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, and fronted by
vocalist Sarah Cracknell, the group managed to carry out their concept,
and, in the process, Saint Etienne helped make indie dance a viable
genre within the U.K. Throughout the early '90s, Saint Etienne racked up
a string of indie hit singles that were driven by deep club beats --
encompassing anything from house and techno to hip-hop and disco -- and
layered with light melodies, detailed productions, clever lyrics, and
Cracknell's breathy vocals. They revived the sounds of swinging London,
as well as the concept of the three-minute pop single being a catchy,
ephemeral piece of ear candy, in post-acid house Britain, thereby
setting the stage for Brit-pop. Though most Brit-pop bands rejected the
dance inclinations of Saint Etienne, they nevertheless adopted the
trio's aesthetic, which celebrated the sound and style of classic '60s
pop.
The origins of Saint Etienne date back to the early '80s, when childhood
friends Bob Stanley (b. December 25, 1964) and Pete Wiggs (b. May 15,
1966) began making party tapes together in their hometown of Croydon,
Surrey, England. After completing school, the pair began worked various
jobs -- most notably, Stanley was a music journalist -- before deciding
to concentrate on a musical career in 1988. Adopting the name Saint
Etienne from the French football team of the same name, the duo moved to
Camden, where they began recording. By the beginning of 1990, the group
had signed a record contract with the indie label Heavenly. In the
spring of 1990, Saint Etienne released their first single, a
house-tinged cover of Neil Young's "Only Love Can Break Your Heart,"
which featured lead vocals from Moira Lambert of the indie pop band
Faith Over Reason.
"Only Love Can Break Your Heart" became an underground hit, receiving a
fair amount of airplay within nightclubs across England. Later in the
year, Saint Etienne released their second single, a cover of the indie
pop group Field Mice's "Let's Kiss and Make Up," which was sung by Donna
Savage of the New Zealand band Dead Famous People. Like its predecessor,
"Kiss and Make Up" was an underground hit, helping set the stage for
"Nothing Can Stop Us." Released in the spring of 1991, "Nothing Can Stop
Us" was the first Saint Etienne single sung by Sarah Cracknell (b. April
12, 1967), whose girlish vocals became a signature of the group's sound.
Cracknell was the main vocalist on the band's debut, Fox Base Alpha,
which was released in the fall of 1991. Following the release of Fox
Base Alpha, Cracknell officially became a member of Saint Etienne; she
had previously sung in Prime Time. "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" was
re-released in conjunction with Fox Base Alpha and cracked the lower end
of the British pop charts. Saint Etienne was beginning to gain momentum,
as the British press generally gave them positive reviews and their
records were gaining a strong fan base not only in England, but
throughout Europe. During 1992, the group released a series of singles
-- "Join Our Club," "People Get Real," and "Avenue" -- which maintained
their popularity. In addition to writing and recording music for Saint
Etienne, Stanley and Wiggs became active producers, songwriters,
remixers, and label heads as well. In 1989, Stanley had founded Caff
Records, which issued limited-edition 7" singles of bands as diverse as
Pulp and the Manic Street Preachers, as well as a number of other
lesser-known bands like World of Twist. In 1992, Stanley and Wiggs
founded Ice Rink, which intended to put out records by pop groups, not
rock groups. The label released singles from several artists --
including Oval, Sensurround, Elizabeth City Slate, and Golden, which
featured Stanley's girlfriend, Celina -- none of which gained much
attention.
Preceded by the single "You're in a Bad Way," Saint Etienne's second
album, So Tough, appeared in the spring of 1993 to generally positive
reviews and increased sales. Over the course of 1993, the group released
three more singles -- "Who Do You Think You Are," "Hobart Paving," and
"I Was Born on Christmas Day" -- which all charted well. In 1994, the
trio began to lose momentum, as their third album, Tiger Bay, was
greeted with decidedly mixed reviews, even as singles like "Like a
Motorway" continued to chart well. After completing a new track, "He's
on the Phone," for their 1995 singles compilation, Too Young to Die, as
well as the French-only single "Reserection," Saint Etienne took an
extended break during 1996.
Sarah Cracknell pursued a solo project, releasing a single titled
"Anymore" in the fall of the year. Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs began a
record label for EMI Records, which had the intention of releasing music
from young, developing bands. In the fall of 1996, Saint Etienne
released a remix album, Casino Classics; a new studio effort, Good
Humour, followed two years later, and the trio returned in 1999 with an
EP, Places to Visit. The full-length Sound of Water appeared in
mid-2000, featuring guest appearances by Sean O'Hagan (of the High
Llamas) and To Rococo Rot. After a successful U.S. tour in support of
Sound of Water the group issued Interlude, a collection of new tracks,
instrumentals, and B-sides, in early 2001. A year later, the trio
followed up with Finisterre, and Tales from Turnpike House arrived in
2005.
Say Anything
Band Members:
Max Bemis, Coby Linder, Alex Kent
Where They're From: Los Angeles, CA
When They Formed: 2000s
Discography: ...Is A Real Boy (2004)
Description: Say Anything is the pop-punk brainchild of
singer/songwriter Max Bemis. The band first started up while its members
were still in high school and has had a rotating cast of characters
throughout its existence, with the most recent lineup featuring Bemis
(guitar/vocals), Coby Linder (drums), and Alex Kent (bass). The group
first appeared with two self-released and self-produced EPs, Junior
Varsity! and Menorah/Majora, the latter being released online, and a
full-length album, Baseball. These releases saw the band leaning more
toward the emo rock/pop-punk formula made popular by bands like
blink-182 and Saves the Day.
Unsatisfied with these now out of print releases, Bemis refuses to
re-release the albums and rarely if ever plays the songs live. Thus, it
is fitting to assume that the Say Anything of today did not really
appear until 2004 with their multifaceted and highly personal debut on
Doghouse Records, ...Is a Real Boy. The album, a self-described punk
rock musical, was produced by Tim O'Heir (Dinosaur Jr., the All-American
Rejects) and Stephen Trask (Hedwig and the Angry Inch). Both during and
after the album's recording, Bemis, who suffers from bipolar disorder,
struggled with stress that eventually caused Say Anything to drop off
two tours in 2005, including an opening slot with their idols, Saves the
Day.
Despite the setback, the guys signed with J Records that same year, and
reissued their album in February 2006. The re-release boasted two discs
-- the original, untouched record along with a bonus EP. The EP
contained songs from the recording sessions of a never-released AIDS
benefit record alongside original demos and re-recordings of previous
songs. A North American headlining tour followed the reissue.
The Flaming Lips
Band Members:
Jonathan Donahue, Ronald Jones, Richard English, Michael Ivins, Wayne
Coyne, Steven Drozd, Nathan Roberts
Where They're From: Oklahoma City, OK
When They Formed: 1983
Discography: At War with the Mystics (2006)
Yoshimi
Battles the Pink Robots (2002)
The Soft
Bulletin
(1999)
Zaireeka
(1997)
...
Description: Even within the eclectic world of alternative rock, few
bands were so brave, so frequently brilliant, and so deliciously weird
as the Flaming Lips. From their beginnings as Oklahoma weirdos to their
pop culture breakthrough in the mid-'90s to their status as one of the
most respected groups of the 2000s, the Lips have ridden one of the more
surreal and haphazard career trajectories in pop music. An
acid-bubblegum band with as much affinity for sweet melodies as
blistering noise assaults, their off-kilter sound, uncommon emotional
depth, and bizarre history (packed with tales of self-immolating fans
and the like) firmly established them as true originals.
The Flaming Lips formed in Oklahoma City in 1983, when founder and
guitarist Wayne Coyne allegedly stole a collection of musical
instruments from an area church hall and enlisted his vocalist brother
Mark and bassist Michael Ivins to start a band. Giving themselves the
nonsensical name the Flaming Lips (its origin variously attributed to a
porn film, an obscure drug reference, or a dream in which a fiery Virgin
Mary plants a kiss on Wayne in the backseat of his car), the band made
its live debut at a local transvestite club. After progressing through
an endless string of drummers, they recruited percussionist Richard
English prior to recording their self-titled debut, issued on green
vinyl on their own Lovely Sorts of Death label in 1985.
When Mark Coyne soon departed to get married, Wayne assumed full control
of the group; in addition to remaining its lead guitarist, he also
became the primary singer and songwriter. Continuing on as a trio, the
Lips released 1986's Hear It Is, followed a year later by Oh My Gawd!!!...The
Flaming Lips. While touring in support of the Butthole Surfers, they
played Buffalo, NY, where they were befriended by concert promoter
Jonathan Donahue; after a jam session with Donahue's nascent band
Mercury Rev, he and Coyne became close friends, and Donahue eventually
signed on as the group's sound technician.
After recording 1988's difficult Telepathic Surgery, English exited,
reducing the Lips to the core duo of Coyne and Ivins; after adding
drummer Nathan Roberts, Donahue adopted the name Dingus and became a
full-time member in time to cut 1990's stellar In a Priest Driven
Ambulance while simultaneously recording the brilliant Mercury Rev
debut, Yerself Is Steam. Following a series of hopeful phone calls to
Warner Bros., the company signed the band in 1991, and in 1992 their
oft-delayed major-label debut, Hit to Death in the Future Head, appeared
to little commercial notice; Donahue soon exited to focus his full
energies on Mercury Rev, followed by the departure of Roberts.
With new guitarist Ronald Jones and drummer Steven Drozd, they cut
1993's sublime Transmissions from the Satellite Heart, which they
supported by playing the second stage at Lollapalooza and touring the
nation in a Ryder truck. Initially, the album stiffed; however, nearly a
year after its initial release, the single "She Don't Use Jelly" became
a grassroots hit, and against all odds the Flaming Lips found themselves
on the Top 40 charts. They took full advantage of their requisite 15
minutes of fame, appearing everywhere from MTV's annual Spring Break
broadcast to an arena tour in support of Candlebox to a memorably
surreal lip-synched performance on the teen soap opera Beverly Hills
90210, where supporting character Steve Sanders (portrayed by actor Ian
Ziering) uttered the immortal words, "You know, I've never been a big
fan of alternative music, but these guys rocked the house!"
After the 1994 release of a limited-edition sampler of odds-and-ends
titled Providing Needles for Your Balloons, the Lips returned in 1995
with Clouds Taste Metallic, a strikingly mature and diverse collection
highlighted by the singles "Bad Days" (also heard in the film Batman
Forever), "This Here Giraffe," and "Brainville." Despite the inclusion
of the remarkably melodic "Psychiatric Explorations of the Fetus with
Needles," "Christmas at the Zoo" (rumored to be under consideration for
inclusion on an upcoming John Tesh holiday record), and the epic "Guy
Who Got a Headache and Accidentally Saves the World," the album
nonetheless failed to live up to the commercial success of
Transmissions, and the band was once again relegated to cult status.
In 1996, the Lips' world went haywire; first, Jones disappeared to
undertake a spiritual odyssey from which he did not return, then Drozd's
hand was almost needlessly amputated after he was bitten by a spider. At
about the same time, Ivins was the victim of a bizarre hit-and-run
accident after a wheel came off of another vehicle and slammed into his
car, trapping him inside. Ironically, Coyne was having car problems of
his own when rumors of his latest sonic foray -- conducting an orchestra
of 40 automobiles, all with their tape decks playing specially composed
music at the same time -- prompted fan discussion of his possible
psychological collapse. "I would try to tell people what I was doing and
found that I couldn't explain it very well," Coyne later remarked about
the project, dubbed the Parking Lot Experiment. "Plus, I had a sore on
the side of my tongue for a week and it made me talk kind of weird. I'm
sure they thought I was retarded."
By the following year, the Flaming Lips (who continued as a trio, opting
not to attempt to replace Jones) were back in the studio, recording an
album that, according to Coyne, would be "so different and exciting it
will either make us millionaires or break us" -- in short, 1997's
Zaireeka, a breathtaking and wildly experimental set of four discs
designed to be played simultaneously. A previously unreleased track,
"Hot Day," also appeared earlier that year on the soundtrack to Richard
Linklater's film SubUrbia. A Collection of Songs Representing an
Enthusiasm for Recording...by Amateurs, a retrospective of their
Restless label material, followed in 1998, and a year later the Lips
returned with a breathtaking new studio effort, The Soft Bulletin. After
a three-year absence from the shelves, 2002 brought several new
releases, including the new record Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and a
two-volume retrospective of the Restless years. Yoshimi won the group
even more popular and critical acclaim than The Soft Bulletin, which the
group maximized by spending half of 2002 appearing with Beck on his Sea
Change tour as both his opening act and backing band. The Lips kept busy
over the next two years by touring in support of Yoshimi Battles the
Pink Robots and working on their movie Christmas on Mars. They returned
to the studio in 2004 and spent much of 2005 recording; that year, the
Flaming Lips documentary The Fearless Freaks and VOID video collection
were both released, whetting fans' appetites for the band's 2006 album
At War with the Mystics.
The New Amsterdams
Band Members:
Eric McCann, Bill Belzer, Matthew Pryor, Dustin Kinsey
Where They're From: Lawrence, KS
When They Formed: 2000
Discography: Story Like a Scar (2006)
Worse
for the Wear (2003)
Para
Toda Vida (2002)
Never
You Mind (2000)
Description: Indie rock outfit the New Amsterdams were pioneered by
Get Up Kids vocalist/guitarist Matthew Pryor as a side project, and his
personal emotion continued to be redefined and molded upon a musical
cast of energetic pop. Joining Pryor are drummer Jake Cardwell,
guitarist Alex Brahl, and Get Up Kids bassist Robert Pope. Since forming
the Get Up Kids in 1996, Pryor needed another outlet for his stripped
melodies to sheer off the typical emo associations found with his other
band. So with grainy acoustics and lyrical dynamics, the New Amsterdams
issued their debut, Never You Mind, in fall 2000.
Two years later, Pryor took a break from his bandmates to record a
follow-up completed entirely by him. Para Toda Vida captured a more
intimate Pryor with production work by Alex Brahl. Released in 2003,
Worse for the Wear found brothers Robert and Ryan Pope joining in on
bass and percussion, and Pryor then started planning his next album that
fall, before leaving on tour with the Get Up Kids. Feeling alone and
upset on tour, many of the songs written reflected this uncertain and
bleak period of his life. After touring commitments were finished, and
with the record still incomplete, he started writing with Bill Belzer
and Eric McCann in September 2004. It was a much more positive
environment than Pryor had been writing in, and the songs showed it.
The album, Killed or Cured, was finished, but a farewell tour with the
Kids pushed its release into the next year. A lot changed in that time
-- the New Amsterdams started writing new songs, Dustin Kinsey was
added, and the guys decided they wanted to see through what they were
working on. Killed or Cured wound up eventually getting shelved with no
plans for a future release, aside from songs available for download on
their website. April 2006 saw the band finally issue a new album, Story
Like a Scar, and they played spots on the year's South by Southwest and
Coachella festivals.
The Sounds
Band Members:
Felix Rodriguez, Johan Bengtsson, Maja Ivarsson, Jesper Anderberg,
Fredrik Nilsson
Where They're From: Helsingborg, Sweden
When They Formed: late 1990s
Discography: Dying to Say This to You (2006)
Living in America (2003)
Description: The Sounds are a Swedish rock group including vocalist
Maja Ivarsson, keyboardist Jesper Anderberg, bassist Johan Bengtsson,
drummer Fredrik Nilsson, and guitarist Felix Rodriguez. The new wave
throwbacks -- with unapologetic debts to Blondie and Missing Persons --
formed in the late '90s and recorded Living in America in Stockholm and
Nilsson's Helsingborg apartment. The album hit number four the week
after its Swedish release, and was picked up for U.S. release in May of
2003 through New Line. Dying to Say This to You followed three years
later.
The Strokes
Band Members:
Fabrizio Moretti, Nikolai Fraiture, Albert Hammond, Jr., Julian
Casablancas, Nick Valensi
Where They're From: New York, NY
When They Formed: 1998
Discography: First Impressions of Earth (2006)
Room on Fire (2003)
Is This It (2001)
Description: Equally inspired by classic tunesmiths like Buddy Holly
and John Lennon as well as the attitude and angular riffs of fellow New
Yorkers Television and the Velvet Underground, the Strokes were also
equally blessed and cursed with an enormous amount of hype --
particularly from the U.K. music press, whose adulation for the group
rivaled their fervor for Oasis in the early '90s. Barely in their
twenties by the time their debut album, Is This It, arrived in 2001,
singer/songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert
Hammond, Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti's
success wasn't quite of the overnight variety, but it still arrived
pretty swiftly.
Casablancas (the son of Elite modeling agency kingpin John Casablancas),
Moretti (who began playing drums at age five), and Valensi started
playing together in 1998 while they attended the Dwight School, a
private prep school in Manhattan. Soon thereafter they met Fraiture, who
attended the Upper East Side's Lycee Français, and added him to their
ranks. Hammond (the son of singer/songwriter Albert Hammond, whose songs
include "It Never Rains in Southern California," "When I Need You," and
"To All the Girls I've Loved Before") came from Los Angeles to attend
film school at NYU and was invited into the band by Casablancas; the two
met at L'Institut le Rosey in Switzerland when they were kids.
Casablancas officially christened the quintet the Strokes in 1999, and
the group spent most of that year writing and rehearsing material in New
York City's Music Building. They made their live debut that fall at the
Spiral, and word of mouth about the Strokes' incendiary live show
propelled them to gigs at venues like Under the Acme, Lower East Side
clubs such as Arlene Grocery, Baby Jupiter, and Luna. The Strokes'
December 2000 dates at the Mercury Lounge and the Bowery Ballroom not
only gained them a manager (Ryan Gentles, who booked them at those
clubs), but also helped Strokes mania reach critical mass in New York.
Rough Trade released the group's three-song demo as The Modern Age EP in
January 2001, which sparked a bidding war from which RCA emerged as the
victors.
Meanwhile, the Strokes' acclaim reached the U.K. and grew to massive
proportions over the course of the year. NME quickly became their
champions, profiling them several times that spring and summer as the
Strokes' live act and singles like Hard to Explain (which debuted at
number 16 in the U.K. charts) won them a rabid British following. That
spring, the band also completed its first U.S. tour as the opening act
for the Doves and proceeded to play dates with Guided by Voices and
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead in the U.S. and the U.K.
The group's popularity continued to snowball in the U.K., with a
side-stage slot at the NME Carling Weekender changed to a main-stage
performance for fear of people trampling each other to see the band.
In late summer of that year, Rough Trade released Is This It with an
album cover featuring a sexy, Helmut Newton-esque photo of a woman's
nude behind and hip with a leather-gloved hand resting on it; the U.K.
chains Woolworth's and HMV objected to its controversial nature. The
U.S. version of Is This It was released in October and featured a few
changes from the U.K. edition. The Strokes opted for an abstract pattern
on the cover and removed the song "New York City Cops," feeling the song
was inappropriate in the wake of the terrorist attacks that struck New
York prior to the album's release; the planned B-side, "When It
Started," took its place. The group closed out the fall with an extended
tour of the U.S., culminating with a Halloween gig at New York's
Hammerstein Ballroom.
The remainder of 2001 and 2002 saw the group's profile continue to rise.
Is This It and the Strokes were lauded in many ways, ranging from This
Isn't It, an EP of instrumental versions of some of the album's songs
performed by a mystery band called the Diff'rent Strokes (Pulp's Jarvis
Cocker was rumored to be a member) to 2001 NME Carling Awards for Best
New Act, Band of the Year, and Album of the Year. The band toured
extensively throughout 2002, including a series of dates that summer in
New York and Detroit with the White Stripes, summer festivals at Reading
and Leeds, and a string of gigs supporting Weezer, some of which were
canceled due to a leg injury Casablancas suffered. During these shows,
their fall tour, and their dates opening for the Rolling Stones, the
Strokes debuted some new songs, including "Meet Me in the Bathroom,"
"You Talk Way Too Much," and "The Way It Is."
By March 2003, the band was ready to start recording its new album, but
instead of working with Is This It producer Gordon Raphael as previously
reported, the Strokes began recording with Nigel Godrich of Radiohead
and Beck fame. That May, however, the Strokes' sessions with Godrich
came to an end, and they returned to Raphael to finish the album, Room
on Fire. The single 12:51 introduced the more meticulous, new
wave-inspired sound of Room on Fire, which arrived in fall 2003. Just
before the album's release, the Strokes hit the road once again, taking
Kings of Leon with them. Early in 2006, they returned with the even more
polished and poppy First Impressions of Earth.
We Are Scientists
Band Members: Chris Cain, Keith Murray, Michael Tapper
Where They're From: New York, NY
When They Formed: 2000
Discography: With Love and Squalor (2006)
Description: Brooklyn-based indie rock trio We Are Scientists formed
in 2000 around the talents of guitarist/lead vocalist Keith Murray, bass
player Chris Cain, and drummer Michael Tapper. After building a small
but devoted following through their epic live shows and a series of
three self-released EPs, the group signed with Virgin Records. Their
major-label debut, With Love and Squalor, was released in early 2006.
Wolf Parade
Band Members: Spencer Krug, Arlen Thompson, Hadji Bakara, Dan
Boeckner
Where They're From: Montréal, Quebec, Canada
When They Formed: March 2003
Discography: Apologies to the Queen Mary (2005)
Description: Canadian indie pop combo Wolf Parade formed in 2003
in Montreal, where their first show was opening for the Arcade Fire.
From there Dan Boeckner, Spencer Krug, Hadji Bakara, and Arlen Thompson
recorded and self-released a four-song EP, and followed that with a
six-song recording in 2004. They eventually gained the attention of
Isaac Brock, and the Modest Mouse impresario then brought Wolf Parade to
Sub Pop. (Brock's band was also a stylistic touchstone.) In July 2005
the quartet issued a self-titled EP on the label by way of introduction;
their debut full-length, Apologies to the Queen Mary, followed in
September. It was one of that autumn's more anticipated releases,
recorded as it was with Brock's help and released amid a critical flurry
for Canadian bands like Broken Social Scene, the Most Serene Republic,
and Stars.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Band Members:
Nicolas Zinner, Karen O, Brian Chase
Where They're From: Ohio
When They Formed: 2000
Discography: Show Your Bones (2006)
Fever to Tell (2003)
Description: Discovered in the wake of the Strokes' popularity and
the subsequent garage rock revival, New York's art-punk trio Yeah Yeah
Yeahs are comprised of singer Karen O, guitarist Nicolas Zinner, and
drummer Brian Chase. O met Chase at Ohio's Oberlin College and met
Zinner through friends after she transferred to NYU. Zinner and O formed
the band in 2000; originally, they were a folky duo called Unitard, but
they went electric after being inspired by Ohio's legendary avant punk
scene. After the drummer they recruited initially bowed out, Chase
joined the lineup.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs wrote a slew of songs at their first rehearsal and soon
wound up supporting the Strokes and the White Stripes, earning a
significant buzz for their arty yet sexy take on garage punk. In late
2001, Yeah Yeah Yeahs released their self-titled debut EP, which they
recorded with Boss Hog's Jerry Teel, on their own Shifty label. Early
the next year the band stepped into the international spotlight,
appearing at South by Southwest, touring the U.S. with Girls Against
Boys and Europe with Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, and headlining their
own U.K. tour. Wichita Recordings distributed the group's EP in the U.K.
and Touch and Go reissued it in the States.
In between tours, the group spent 2002 putting the finishing touches on
its full-length debut and playing American dates with Sleater-Kinney,
Liars, and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Late that year, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
released the Machine EP to tide fans over before their first
full-length. Yeah Yeah Yeahs moved to Interscope for their debut album,
2003's Fever to Tell. Boasting a cleaner sound and more eclectic
songwriting than their EPs, the album continued their critical acclaim
and also won them a fair amount of commercial success: the gorgeous
ballad "Maps" became a hit in 2004 and pushed Fever to Tell to gold
status that year. Karen O also moved to Los Angeles in 2004, making Yeah
Yeah Yeahs a bicoastal band.
The group took some time to pursue individual projects in 2005. O loaned
her vocals to "Hello Tomorrow," a collaboration with producer Squeak E.
Clean that provided the soundtrack to a Nike shoe commercial directed by
Spike Jonze, while Zinner recorded with the side project Head Wound City
and also had a book of photographs, I Hope You Are All Happy Now,
published. Yeah Yeah Yeahs reconvened in the studio that year to record
their second album with Clean as producer; jokingly, Clean said that the
album was about O's cat and would be called Coco Beware, but the album's
real title, Show Your Bones, was revealed soon after. Released in spring
2006, the album was the band's most mature, polished work yet.
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