Elk City | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New York City, New York, United States |
| Genres | Art pop |
| Years active | 1997-present |
| Labels | Earworm Records, Friendly Fire Recordings, Talitres, Hidden Agenda Records, Starrysky, Warm Records, Bar/None Records |
| Associated acts | Melting Hopefuls, Flowers of America |
| Website | elkcity |
| Members | Renee LoBue Ray Ketchem Sean Eden Richard Baluyut Chris Robertson |
| Past members | Peter Langland-Hassan Barbara Endes Carl Baggaley Martin Olson |
Elk City is an American art-pop band from New York City, New York, formed in 1997 as a spin-off of Melting Hopefuls. The original lineup consisted of Renee LoBue, Ray Ketchem and Peter Langland-Hassan.
The band released two albums, Status and Hold Tight the Ropes, in 2000 and 2002, respectively. After the second album, Langland-Hassan left the band, which led to the inclusion of Sean Eden and Barbara Endes.
They released New Believers in 2007 under the new lineup, and it was followed by House of Tongues in 2010. [1]
In 2018 Elk City signed with Bar/None Records and released "Everybody's Insecure" and the adjoining EP, Souls in Space, before shuffling their line-up again for 2020.
The band was formed after Langland-Hassan auditioned for Melting Hopefuls, a band that Ketchem and LoBue had been part of since 1990. The trio decided to have a fresh start with a new name for the band, rather than pretend that they were still the old one. [2]
The name refers to Elk City, an unincorporated community in Barbour County, West Virginia. Ketchem, a West Virginia native, drove past the town's sign one day, and he thought it would make a good name. [3] LoBue later commented that they liked that the name combined a rural element (an elk) with an urban element (a city). [4]
When they started, the band's only instruments were an electric guitar and drums, played by Langland-Hassan and Ketchem, respectively, while LoBue and Langland-Hassan shared the lead vocals, but shortly after LoBue started playing bass on a Novation Bass Station analog synthesizer. They spent the next three years playing on small venues, working on developing their sound as they traveled together. [2]
In 1999, the band released an extended play, Dreams of Steam, with Starrysky Records.
In early 2000, they changed the Bass Station for a Fender Rhodes Piano Bass, [2] and later that year the band released their first full-length album, Status. It was released by Hidden Agenda Records (now Parasol Records) in the United States, and by Talitres in Europe in 2001. [5] [6]
In November of that same year, London-based label Earworm Records released "Freeze Two Over Eight", one of the songs from Status, as a 7" single. [7] The single featured the song "Judori" as a B-side, which is not included in any of their studio albums. The band had performed "Judori" at the late-1999 wedding of two of Langland-Hassan's friends, Jude and Midori. [2]
In 2000, Parasol Records included the band in volumes 1 and 2 of their Parasol's Sweet Sixteen series, with the songs "Dream of Steam" and "Love's Like a Bomb", respectively, [8] [9] as well as in Parasol Presents Christmas Singles with the song "Deer Crossing". [10]
In 2001, soon after the release of Status in Europe, the band played on Black Sessions , a French radio show hosted by Bernard Lenoir, and that was followed by a two-week tour in Europe. [2] [11] Also that year, one of their songs, "Three Ears", was included in This Is Next Year: A Brooklyn-Based Compilation , released by Arena Rock, while "Love's Like a Bomb", from Status, was included in Journey to End of Twilight: US Pop Life Vol. 9 – North East, a compilation album released by Japanese label Contact Records. [12]
After their return to the U.S., the band signed a deal with Warm Records to release their next two recordings: an EP, The Sea Is Fierce, released on October 23, 2001, [13] and their second studio album, Hold Tight the Ropes, released on May 7, 2002, by Warm Records in the U.S., and by Talitres Records in Europe that same month. [6] [14]
During 2002, the band kept touring in the U.S., and near the end of the year they went on a tour in Europe that included shows in France, Greece, Italy and Spain. While on the tour they opened for American dream-pop/indie-pop band Luna on their presentations in Barcelona and Madrid, Spain, as part of their own European tour. [15] [16]
In February 2003, "Summer Song" was included in Flak Magazine's compilation album Got No Songs on the Radio: The Best Music of 2002. The album takes its name from a lyric in Elk City's song. [17]
Langland-Hassan left the band after the release of the second album. LoBue and Ketchem continued playing as Elk City, with LoBue taking charge of performing all the vocals.
In 2005, Sean Eden, ex-guitarist of Luna, and Barbara Endes, ex-bassist of The Lovelies, joined the band.
On April 17, 2007, their third album, New Believers, was released by Friendly Fire Recordings, and that was followed by House of Tongues, released on June 1, 2010, by the same label; House of Tongues features Carl Baggaley on keyboards as part of the band. [18]
The band has participated on several tribute albums released by American Laundromat Records. They have covered:
On November 15, 2011, the band added a cover of Helix's "Heavy Metal Love" to a compilation album released by Engine Room Recordings entitled Guilt by Association Vol. 3 . [23]
Los Lobos are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños. The band rose to international stardom in 1987, when their version of Ritchie Valens' "La Bamba" topped the charts in the U.S., the UK, and several other countries. Songs by Los Lobos have been recorded by Elvis Costello, Waylon Jennings, Frankie Yankovic, and Robert Plant. In 2015, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2018, they were inducted into Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. They are also known for performing the theme song for Handy Manny.
Trashcan Sinatras are a Scottish band that was formed in Irvine, Scotland in 1986. The band's music makes frequent use of pop harmonies and the lyrics make frequent use of wordplay.
Masters of Reality is an American rock band formed in 1981 by frontman Chris Goss and guitarist Tim Harrington in Syracuse, New York, United States. They took the name for the band from a misprinted label of the third Black Sabbath album. Goss has remained the only constant band member.
The Dambuilders was an indie rock band that began in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, in 1989 and later relocated to Boston. They released seven LPs and a number of EPs before breaking up in 1998. Members have gone on with other musical projects, including the band's violinist/vocalist, Joan Wasser, as Joan as Police Woman. Kevin March also became well known in indie circles as the drummer of the band Guided by Voices, which he joined in 2002. Dave Derby is the leader and main songwriter of the New York City based collective of artists known as Gramercy Arms which has included collaborations from both Wasser and March.
Shout Out Louds is an indie pop band from Stockholm, Sweden.
The Apartments are an Australian indie band formed in 1978 in Brisbane, Queensland. The band split up in 1979 but reformed in 1984 and continued until 1997, with a new version of the band forming in 2007. Based in Sydney, New South Wales, the band has continued to perform and record, with the ninth album and most recent release, In and Out of the Light released in September 2020. Peter Milton Walsh is the band's only constant member.
The Brunettes were an indie pop or twee pop group from New Zealand formed in 1998 to 2009. The band consists of core members Jonathan Bree and Heather Mansfield, with additional contributions from part-time members such as Ryan McPhun and Princess Chelsea. The group had released several well-received albums such as Holding Hands, Feeding Ducks (2002), which received 4.5/5 stars from AllMusic. Signed to Lil' Chief Records, they had opened for bands such as Rilo Kiley and Beirut.
Los Amigos Invisibles is a Venezuelan band which plays a blend of disco, acid jazz and funk mixed with Latin rhythms. In addition to releasing eleven critically acclaimed albums, the band have been lauded internationally for their explosive, live shows, spanning nearly 60 countries. They are considered the Venezuelan band with the greatest international recognition.
The Rosebuds were an American indie rock band from Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, that recorded and performed from 2001 to 2014. Its current members are Ivan Howard (vocals/guitar/drums/bass/keyboards/programming) and Kelly Crisp (vocals/keyboard/drums/guitar/accordion). Billy Alphin had played drums on the album The Rosebuds Make Out, Wes Phillips played drums on the E.P."Unwind", Lee Waters played drums on the record Birds Make Good Neighbors, and Matt McCaughan played the drums on Night of the Furies, Life Like and Loud Planes Fly Low. Rob Lackey was behind the drum kit during the taping of The Rosebuds Live at the Cats Cradle, a charity only recording sold at cytunes.org to help fight for the prevention of cancer, as well as on the track "Second Birds of Paradise" on "Loud Planes Fly Low."
Joy Zipper is an American indie pop duo from Long Island, New York, made up of Tabitha Tindale and Vincent Cafiso, who are also a married couple. The duo has been playing dream pop since the late 1990s. The band is named for Tindale's mother.
Jed Davis is an American musician based in New York City. He sings and plays keyboards as a solo artist and with The Hanslick Rebellion, Collider, and Skyscape.
Swell was an indie rock band formed in San Francisco in 1989 when David Freel (vocals/guitar) and Sean Kirkpatrick (drums) decided to record an album.
American Laundromat Records is an independent record label founded in 2004 by Joe Spadaro. The label also manages the Caulfield Sisters and Tele Novella.
Arne "Papa" Bue Jensen, known as Papa Bue, was a Danish trombonist and bandleader, chiefly associated with the Dixieland jazz revival style of which he was considered an important proponent. He founded and led the Viking Jazz Band, which was active from 1956.
Emily Jane White is an American singer and songwriter from Oakland, California who has released six solo albums and toured internationally.
Telekinesis is an American indie rock project based in Seattle. Its moniker is a pseudonym for sole member Michael Benjamin Lerner, who single-handedly writes and performs the majority of the outfit's material. Telekinesis is signed to Merge Records.
Electric Sound of Joy were a rock band formed in Chesterfield in 1994. They released an eponymous album in 1999 and also recorded a Peel Session.
This is the discography of American pop rock band Sixpence None the Richer. To date, the group has released six studio albums, three compilation albums, five extended plays, and fourteen singles. They gained mainstream popularity in 1997 with their self-titled album, producing the hit single "Kiss Me", which was an international hit. The song topped the Australian charts, and reached the top five in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the band's native United States.
Witch Hats are a rock band based in Melbourne, Australia.
Talitres, formerly known as Talitres Records, is a French independent record label based in Bordeaux, founded in 2000 and specializing in indie pop and folk music. It began as a way to release music from indie rock bands that were not distributed in France and Europe, and has expanded to include various artists from all around the world. The label has released notable records by The National, Motorama, Destroyer, François & the Atlas Mountains, Emily Jane White, and many others.
| General | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
