Jim O'Rourke is an American musician, instrumentalist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his numerous solo and collaborative music projects, many of which are instrumental, and has been acclaimed for his music that spans varied genres, including avant-garde styles such as ambient, noise and minimalism, and styles of rock like indie rock and post-rock. He has been associated with the Chicago experimental and improv scene, as well as with New York City when he relocated to it in 2000 for his tenure as a member of American indie rock band Sonic Youth. He subsequently moved to Japan and has since been a Japanese resident.
Codeine is an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in New York City. They released two full-length albums—Frigid Stars LP in 1990 and The White Birch in 1994. Although the group broke up in 1994 shortly after the release of The White Birch, their subdued and melancholic style helped pioneer the then-nascent slowcore subgenre of indie rock. Codeine has since reunited on two occasions: the first for a handful of shows in 2012, and a second time for a series of shows in New York City and Los Angeles in 2023.
David Grubbs is an American composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. He was a founding member of Squirrel Bait, Bastro, and Gastr del Sol. He has also played in Codeine, The Red Krayola, Bitch Magnet and The Wingdale Community Singers.
John McEntire is an American recording engineer, producer, drummer and multi-instrumentalist, based in Chicago, Illinois. He is a member of both Tortoise and the Sea and Cake.
Mayo Thompson is an American musician and visual artist best known as the leader of the experimental rock band Red Krayola.
Teen Beat is an American independent record label, originally based in Arlington, Virginia, now based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was founded by Mark Robinson in 1984 at Wakefield High School, along with Phil Krauth, Andrew Beaujon, Tim Moran, and Ian Zack.
Brise-Glace was a 1990s instrumental avant-rock "supergroup" composed of Jim O'Rourke, Darin Gray, Dylan Posa (guitar), and Thymme Jones (drums).
Upgrade & Afterlife is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band Gastr del Sol, released on June 17, 1996 by Drag City.
Camoufleur is the fifth and final studio album by American indie rock band Gastr del Sol, released on February 23, 1998 on Drag City.
Crookt, Crackt, or Fly is the second studio album by American indie rock band Gastr del Sol, released on April 18, 1994 by Drag City. The album was written and performed by David Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke, with John McEntire (percussion), Steve Butters (percussion) and Gene Coleman also contributing. It was recorded by Brian Paulson in October 1993 at Kingsize in Chicago.
The Serpentine Similar is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Gastr del Sol, released on June 1, 1993 by TeenBeat Records. The album was re-released by Drag City on June 16, 1997.
Squirrel Bait was an American punk rock band from Louisville, Kentucky active from 1983 to 1987. Squirrel Bait's dense, moody, melodic hardcore sound, featuring pronounced tempo shifts, foreshadowed the grunge sound of the late 1980s as well as math rock. Squirrel Bait, along with Hüsker Dü, are often noted as precursors to the emocore sound that arose from the D.C. hardcore punk scene with bands like Rites of Spring, Beefeater and Fugazi.
Squirrel Bait signaled the second coming of American punk – bands of little brothers and sisters who got to grow up on Black Flag and Hüsker Dü without a preparatory course in Supertramp. ... Like a hundred other little Düs across the country, Squirrel Bait managed to make a couple of records before spintering off to form five more bands. Unlike most of that punk rock loam, the members of Squirrel Bait chewed up their legacy and shat out something curious and consequential.
Table of the Elements is an American avant-garde record label created and owned by Jeff Hunt. Begun in 1993, the label’s 150-plus releases form a significant contemporary chronicle of American experimental music.
Bastro was an American post-hardcore band which was active in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's main line-up consisted of David Grubbs on guitar, Clark Johnson on bass guitar, and John McEntire on drums. The band also experimented with use of piano, organ and musique concrète compositions, foreshadowing McEntire's and Grubbs' subsequent musical projects.
Bundy Kenneth Brown, also known as Ken Brown or Bundy K. Brown, is an American musician and recording engineer. He is best known for being a founding member of Tortoise and for his production, engineering and remixes in the Chicago post rock scene.
Mirror Repair is a 1994 EP by Gastr del Sol released on Drag City. The album was written and performed by David Grubbs and Jim O'Rourke.
Fingerpointing is a remix album by the experimental rock band Red Krayola, released on July 22, 2008, by Drag City. It is a remix of the album Fingerpainting, with Jim O'Rourke responsible for the new mix.
Pullman is an American, studio-only, folk and predominantly acoustic rock supergroup, formed in Chicago by Ken Brown, Curtis Harvey, Chris Brokaw, and Doug McCombs in the late 1990s.
Boxhead Ensemble is a musical collective founded by composer Michael Krassner. The project began in 1991 to record music for the independent film The Original Pantry Café. The group features an ever rotating line-up, which as included Edith Frost, David Grubbs, Glenn Kotche, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Jim O'Rourke, Doug McCombs, Scott Tuma, Mick Turner, Ken Vandermark, Jim White. Krassner is the only consistent member and Lonberg-Holm has contributed the most frequently to the project.
Jeb Bishop is primarily known as an improvisational jazz trombonist. However he occasionally plays other instruments on both jazz and rock recordings as noted.
