Have a Nice Life

Last updated

Have a Nice Life
Have a Nice Life cropped.jpg
Macuga (left) and Barrett performing in 2019.
Background information
Origin Middletown, Connecticut, U.S.
Genres
Years active2000–present
Labels
Members Dan Barrett
Tim Macuga

Have a Nice Life is an American rock band founded in Middletown, Connecticut in 2000 by Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga.

Contents

The duo is best known for their 2008 debut album Deathconsciousness , which received little attention from professional music publications upon release but rose to "cult classic" status through its spread among online communities. Have a Nice Life began regularly performing with a full band in 2017, and their third album, Sea of Worry, was their first release to feature members of the live band.

History

Have a Nice Life was formed in 2000 by Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga of Connecticut. The band's earliest demos contained sounds similar to new wave music and the gothic rock band The Sisters of Mercy. At first, both Barrett and Macuga played the acoustic guitar, self-distributing their home recordings on Myspace. [3]

The band recorded their debut album Deathconsciousness on a budget of less than $1000, losing the original master files for the recordings in the process. [4] It initially did not receive much recognition upon its 2008 release but gained traction through discussions on online communities and word of mouth. [5] The band have since developed a cult audience as a result of Deathconsciousness' online popularity. [6]

The band followed up with the extended play Time of Land , released as a free download in 2010. [7]

On January 27, 2014, Have a Nice Life released their second studio album The Unnatural World . According to Metacritic, the album has received generally favorable reviews. [8] [9]

In 2017, Have a Nice Life performed alongside the Chameleons at the Strange Day Festival in Olympia, Washington. Barrett and Macuga recruited Myke Cameron, Ian Gustafson, and Rich Otero to join their live ensemble for the performance. The group performed multiple warm-up shows in advance of the festival and ended the year with a sold out performance at Brooklyn Bazaar in New York City. [10]

The band performed two sets at the 2019 edition of the Dutch festival Roadburn including a performance of Deathconsciousness in full. [11] On November 8, 2019, Have a Nice Life released their third studio album Sea of Worry , their first album to feature a full band. [12]

Have a Nice Life performed a surprise secret set at the 2023 edition of the Roadburn Festival on the day before the ensemble was scheduled to perform as Giles Corey. [13] Have a Nice Life also performed at Sick New World in Las Vegas on April 27, 2024. [14]

Have a Nice Life released a cover of Low's song "When I Go Deaf" in April 2024 in tribute of Mimi Parker. The song appeared on The Flenser's Low tribute album Your Voice Is Not Enough . [15] In October 2024, Have a Nice Life was featured on the song "Car Wreck" by the band Bear Hands. Barrett was bandmates with Bear Hands bassist Val Loper in the band In Pieces before Have a Nice Life. [16]

Outside of music, Barrett runs a real estate marketing agency and Macuga is a high school English/History teacher. [17]

Influences

Have a Nice Life have mentioned the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Joy Division, New Order, Earth, Sunn O))), Xasthur, Lurker of Chalice, Nine Inch Nails, Swans, Sisters of Mercy, Kraftwerk, and the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche as influences on their music. [18] Barrett said that the duo takes inspiration from Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and the 2000 novel House of Leaves . [3]

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation album

Extended play

Demos

Singles

Live album

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reel Big Fish</span> American ska punk band

Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album Turn the Radio Off. Soon after, the band lost mainstream recognition but gained an underground cult following. As of 2006, the band was no longer signed to a major record label and has since been independent. After numerous line-up changes, frontman Aaron Barrett is the last remaining founding member still performing in the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulver</span> Norwegian experimental/avant-garde band

Ulver is a Norwegian experimental electronica band founded in 1993, by vocalist Kristoffer Rygg. Their early works, such as debut album Bergtatt, were categorised as folklore-influenced black metal, but the band has since evolved a fluid and increasingly eclectic musical style, blending genres such as experimental rock, electronica, ambient, trip hop, symphonic and chamber traditions, noise, progressive and experimental music into their oeuvre. 1997 marked their international debut with the release of their third album Nattens madrigal through German label Century Media. However, following discord with the label, Rygg formed his own imprint, Jester Records, in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loop (band)</span>

Loop are an English rock band, formed in 1986 by Robert Hampson in Croydon. The group topped the UK independent charts with their albums Fade Out (1989) and A Gilded Eternity (1990). Their dissonant "trance-rock" sound drew on the work of artists like the Stooges and Can, and helped to resurrect the concept of space rock in the late 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yob (band)</span> American doom metal band

Yob is an American doom metal band from Eugene, Oregon, composed of singer/guitarist Michael Scheidt, bassist Aaron Rieseberg and drummer Dave French. Their most recent studio album Our Raw Heart was released in June 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baroness (band)</span> American heavy metal band

Baroness is an American heavy metal band from Savannah, Georgia that has been active since 2003. Its early members grew up together in Lexington, Virginia. The band has undergone numerous lineup changes, with frontman John Baizley serving as the sole constant throughout. Baizley creates the artwork for all of the group's albums and has done artwork for other bands.

Moss was a three-piece English doom metal band that formed in 2001. Influenced by H. P. Lovecraft and the occult, songs usually average the 2.0 minute mark and incorporate dense and otherworldly atmospheres. Despite the use of extreme bass frequencies, Moss features no bass guitarist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roadburn Festival</span> Dutch experimental music festival

The Roadburn Festival is an annual music festival held each April in Tilburg, Netherlands. It was founded by Walter Hoeijmakers and Jurgen van den Brand in 1999, who ran a stoner rock blog of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deaf Havana</span> English alternative rock band

Deaf Havana are an English alternative rock band from Hunstanton and King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. The band was formed in 2005 at the King's Lynn campus of The College of West Anglia.

<i>The Best in Town</i> 2009 studio album by The Blackout

The Best in Town is the second album to by Welsh rock band The Blackout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shrinebuilder</span> American stoner/doom metal band

Shrinebuilder was an American stoner/doom metal supergroup consisting of various established musicians, particularly of the doom metal subgenre. Their first and only album, Shrinebuilder, was released in October 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pharaoh Overlord</span> Finnish experimental rock music band

Pharaoh Overlord is an experimental rock music band, initially featuring three members of the Finnish group Circle, Jussi Lehtisalo, Janne Westerlund and Tomi Leppänen. Originally begun as a vehicle to indulge their love of stoner rock, Pharaoh Overlord's output has become more varied, mirroring the development of their sister group. Their 2007 album Live In Suomi Finland features contributions from krautrock pioneer Hans Joachim Irmler. Julius Jääskeläinen and Pekka Jääskeläinen also appear on that recording, and have played regularly with the band since both in performance and in the studio. Since the 2019 release 5, the band has been a duo consisting of Lehtisalo and Leppänen. The 2020 album 6 also features vocals by Aaron Turner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skrillex</span> American music producer and DJ (born 1988)

Sonny John Moore, known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and record producer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as its lead vocalist in 2004, and recorded two studio albums with the band—Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has a Bodycount (2004) and Heroine in (2006)—before leaving to pursue a solo career in 2007. He began his first tour as a solo artist in late 2007. After recruiting a new band lineup, Moore joined the Alternative Press Tour to support bands such as All Time Low and the Rocket Summer, and appeared on the cover of Alternative Press's annual "100 Bands You Need to Know" issue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Blackout (band)</span> British post-hardcore band

The Blackout are a Welsh post-hardcore band from Merthyr Tydfil, formed in 2003. In 2007, the band released their debut album, We Are the Dynamite. Their second record, The Best in Town, was released in 2009. The band's third album, Hope, was released in 2011 and charted at number 27 in the UK album chart. Their fourth studio album, Start the Party, was released in 2013. The Blackout's final release was a five-track EP entitled Wolves, with their farewell tour held in early 2015, finishing in their hometown of Merthyr Tydfil in March 2015.

<i>Deathconsciousness</i> 2008 studio album by Have a Nice Life

Deathconsciousness is the debut studio album by American rock duo Have a Nice Life, released on January 24, 2008 on Enemies List Home Recordings. Recorded independently by the band members on a budget of less than $1,000, Deathconsciousness was released as a double album; the first disc is entitled "The Plow That Broke the Plains" and the second is entitled "The Future". The original cover art features a darkened version of the painting The Death of Marat, painted by Jacques-Louis David during the French Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Flenser</span> Experimental music record label

The Flenser is an American record label founded by Jonathan Tuite in 2010 from San Francisco, California. It describes itself as a "dark music" label and a "dark experimental record label".

<i>The Unnatural World</i> 2014 studio album by Have a Nice Life

The Unnatural World is the second studio album by American rock duo Have a Nice Life. It was released on February 4, 2014, via The Flenser and the band's own record label Enemies List Home Recordings. It is a follow-up to 2008's Deathconsciousness and 2010's Time of Land EP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Peter Hayden</span> Finnish band

Mr. Peter Hayden is a Finnish alternative metal band often filed under post-metal, space rock or psychedelic doom. The band was formed in Kankaanpää, Finland in 2000. On their fourth album, Eternal Hayden, the band began to refer to themselves just by their logo, the PH-monogram, leading to confusion what the band should be called. Since then all variations from Mr. Peter Hayden to PH have been used, including ENPHIN after release of their sixth album End Cut in 2022. The group is also part of the Wastement collective.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brutus (Belgian band)</span> Belgian post-hardcore band

Brutus is a Belgian rock band from Leuven, formed in 2013. The trio consists of vocalist and drummer Stefanie Mannaerts, guitarist Stijn Vanhoegaerden and bassist Peter Mulders.

<i>Sea of Worry</i> 2019 studio album by Have a Nice Life

Sea of Worry is the third studio album by American band Have a Nice Life, released on November 8, 2019, on the Flenser. It is their first album to feature a full band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Barrett</span> Musical artist, member of the band Have a Nice Life

Dan Barrett is an American musician from Glastonbury, Connecticut. He is a member of the rock duo Have a Nice Life. Outside of this, he has released solo work primarily under the names Giles Corey and Black Wing, and has been involved in various short-lived bands. In 2003, he founded the record label Enemies List Home Recordings.

References

  1. Heller, Jason. "Have a Nice Life: The Unnatural World". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  2. "Have a Nice Life". AllMusic .
  3. 1 2 "Sonemic Interview: Have a Nice Life - RYM/Sonemic". Rate Your Music. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  4. Hill, John (November 24, 2014). "Have a Nice Life's Deathconsciousness is the Next Greatest Album of All Time". Vice. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  5. "Have a Nice Life's 'Deathconsciousness' Is the Next Greatest Album of All Time". Vice.com. November 24, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  6. Rosean, Samuel (January 31, 2020). "The Beginner's Guide To: Slowcore". Drowned In Sound . Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  7. "About Time of Land by Have a Nice Life". Enemies List Home Recordings. Archived from the original on June 26, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  8. "The Unnatural World". Metacritic. Retrieved April 19, 2015.
  9. "Have A Nice Life and Woods of Desolation streaming new LPs". January 24, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  10. HAVE A NICE LIFE Live in Brooklyn , retrieved February 16, 2024
  11. Sacher, Andrew (August 16, 2018). "Roadburn 2019 adds Sleep, Have A Nice Life, curator Tomas Lindberg, more". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  12. "Have a Nice Life On Their Anxiety-Driven Third Album, "Sea of Worry"". Bandcamp Daily. November 11, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  13. Longhurst, Jake (April 28, 2023). "Roadburn Festival Review". The Mic. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  14. "Diversity rocks: Five acts to catch at the Sick New World fest - Las Vegas Weekly". lasvegasweekly.com. April 25, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  15. Breihan, Tom (April 24, 2024). "Have A Nice Life Release a Cover of Low's "When I Go Deaf"". Stereogum . Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  16. "Bear Hands & Have A Nice Life Share "Car Wreck": Listen". Stereogum. October 16, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  17. "'Deathconsciousness' to Doge Memes: Have a Nice Life Revisit Cult-Classic Album". Revolver. August 10, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  18. "Have A Nice Life - Middletown, US - Gothic / Industrial / Shoegaze". May 30, 2008. Archived from the original on May 30, 2008. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  19. "Have A Nice Life Aren't Joking". Kerrang! . March 22, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  20. "Deathconsciousness by Have a Nice Life". Myspace.com. January 1, 2006. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  21. "Enemies List - Bloodhail". September 16, 2014. Archived from the original on September 16, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  22. "Enemies List - I Don't Love". September 16, 2014. Archived from the original on September 16, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2020.