Jim Fairchild | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Kirby James Fairchild |
Born | Fresno, California |
Genres | Indie rock |
Occupation(s) |
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Instruments |
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Years active | 1992–present |
Labels |
Kirby James Fairchild is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter. He is best known as a guitarist of the indie rock bands Grandaddy and Modest Mouse. Fairchild has released solo material under the pseudonym All Smiles.
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Born in Fresno, California, Fairchild moved to Modesto at the age of two, [1] and began to play guitar at the age of 14. He has lived in Los Angeles, Chicago, Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, and New York City. Since 2014 he has lived in Los Angeles.
Fairchild joined Grandaddy as guitarist in 1995, and remained with the band until they broke up in 2006. [2] He is featured on the Giant Sand release, Cover Magazine . In 2001, he was the touring guitarist with Giant Sand, who were the opening act for PJ Harvey.
In 2005, Fairchild began touring as a guitarist in Modest Mouse before Johnny Marr joined the band. He released his first solo album, Ten Readings of a Warning , which he arranged to be carbon neutral, [3] in 2007, as well as a single, "Moth in a Cloud of Smoke". Musicians on the album include Solon Bixler, Joe Plummer, Danny Seim, and Janet Weiss. The album art was created by Natasha Wheat.
Fairchild rejoined Modest Mouse in February 2009, and has continued to tour with them both nationally and internationally. Fairchild released his second album, Oh for the Getting and Not Letting Go , on June 30, 2009. Band members on the album were Solon Bixler, Mike Cresswell, Nik Freitas, and Joe Plummer. After recording in Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Modesto, and Portland, All Smiles released the EP Fall Never Fell on November 17, 2009. The EP was recorded with musicians Bixler, Cresswell, Freitas, Plummer, Chico Jones, Dave Osborne, Danny Seim, Rachel Stolte and Alance Ward. He resumed his position in Modest Mouse in 2009. He participated in the writing and recording of their 2015 album, Strangers to Ourselves .
In 2010, Fairchild was selected to lead a project at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, [4] and was credited on Admiral Radley's first album, I Heart California.
On March 1, 2011, Fairchild released All Smiles third full-length album, Staylow and Mighty, on his own Small Aisles label. This album included contributions from Joe Plummer, Danny Seim, and Gary Jarman.
Between Modest Mouse tours, he and Koley O'Brien began periodically writing and recording for a new project in 2017. Following O'Brien's death in a car accident in April 2019, Fairchild released the four songs they had completed on his Between A and B imprint.
In March 2020, Fairchild launched a new project, Grace Meridian, in collaboration with Plummer, Cresswell, and Temme Scott, also on the Between A and B imprint. He became Director of A&R for Dangerbird Records in March 2020. He announced his departure from Modest Mouse in June 2021 via Instagram.
Fairchild's wife is artist Natasha Wheat. [5]
Albums released as All Smiles:
With Grandaddy:
With Modest Mouse:
Other releases:
Modest Mouse is an American rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members were lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green and bassist Eric Judy. They achieved critical acclaim for their albums The Lonesome Crowded West (1997) and The Moon & Antarctica (2000) and found mainstream success with the release of Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004) and its singles "Float On" and "Ocean Breathes Salty".
The Moon & Antarctica is the third studio album by American rock band Modest Mouse, released on June 13, 2000, by Epic Records. The album's title is taken from the opening scene of the 1982 film Blade Runner, where the main character reads a newspaper headlined "Farming the Oceans, the Moon and Antarctica".
Isaac Kristofer Brock is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, principal songwriter, guitarist and only constant member of the indie rock band Modest Mouse, as well as his side project band, Ugly Casanova.
Grandaddy is an American indie rock band from Modesto, California. The group was formed in 1992, and featured Jason Lytle, Aaron Burtch, Jim Fairchild, Kevin Garcia and Tim Dryden, until Garcia's death in 2017 following a stroke.
The Sophtware Slump is the second studio album by American indie rock band Grandaddy. It was released in May 2000 by record label V2. It is seen by some as a concept album about problems concerning modern technology in society. The album was released to critical acclaim.
Sumday is the third studio album by American indie rock band Grandaddy, released on May 13, 2003 by record label V2.
A Pretty Mess by This One Band is an EP by American indie rock band Grandaddy, released in April 1996 through record label Will. It includes several songs taken from the band's earlier cassette-only release Complex Party Come Along Theories.
Excerpts from the Diary of Todd Zilla is an EP by American indie rock band Grandaddy, released on September 27, 2005 through record label V2.
Earlimart is an American indie rock band formed in 1998 in Los Angeles, California, United States, and named after the town of Earlimart, California. The main members are Aaron Espinoza and Ariana Murray. Their early sound has been described as "post-punk", and compared to that of [Pavement],Pixies, Sonic Youth and Sparklehorse; later music has been compared to that of Grandaddy and Elliott Smith. In 2009, Espinoza and Murray joined with Jason Lytle and Aaron Burtch of Grandaddy to record an album entitled I Heart California, which was released in 2010 under the name Admiral Radley.
Solon Ben Bixler is an American indie rock musician. He was Guitarist for the bands Thirty Seconds to Mars (2001-2003) and Earlimart. He is currently the lead male vocal and guitar player in the band Great Northern.
Granddance is the second album by Australian band Dappled Cities Fly, released in 2006. The album was recorded at Sunset Sound, Sanora Recorders and New Monkey Studios in Los Angeles in July 2006 and produced by Jim Fairchild (Grandaddy) and Peter Walker. Guests on the album include Mark Bradshaw on keyboards and Bjorn Baillie, Peter Walker, and Jim Fairchild on vocals.
Gary John Jarman is a British musician, best known as the bassist and one of the singers of the indie rock band The Cribs. Formed in 2002, The Cribs have released eight albums to date, and numerous singles and EPs. As of 2016 their latest three records have charted in the UK top 10, alongside 7 top 40 singles. He has lived in Portland, Oregon, since 2006.
Joseph E. Plummer is an American drummer from Portland, Oregon. From 2004 to 2012, Plummer was a percussionist and drummer for the indie rock band Modest Mouse and performed on their album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.
Lackthereof is the solo project of Danny Seim, a founding member of the Portland, Oregon-based band Menomena.
Jason Lytle is an American musician best known for his work in the indie rock group Grandaddy. The group split in 2005, and Lytle continued to release music as a solo artist and in collaboration with other musicians. Grandaddy reformed in 2012 and stopped recording and touring again in 2017 following the death of long term member Kevin Garcia.
Oh for the Getting and Not Letting Go is the self-released second album by All Smiles. It was released on June 30, 2009.
Last Place is the fifth studio album by the American indie rock band Grandaddy, released on March 3, 2017, on 30th Century Records. Self-produced and recorded by the band's frontman and primary recording artist Jason Lytle, the album is the first by Grandaddy since Just Like the Fambly Cat (2006) and the band's prior break-up.
The Arm of Roger is a fake band created by Jason Lytle and other members of American Rock band Grandaddy. The group released one album, 2002's The Ham and Its Lily on Grandaddy's Sweat of the Alps record label.
The Golden Casket is the seventh studio album by the American alternative rock band Modest Mouse, released on June 25, 2021, on Epic Records. Produced by Dave Sardy and Jacknife Lee, the album was preceded by the singles, "We Are Between", "Leave a Light On" and "The Sun Hasn't Left".
The Ham and Its Lily is the debut album by Arm of Roger, an indie rock/comedy alias for the group Grandaddy.