Mother Falcon

Last updated
Mother Falcon
Origin Austin, Texas, United States
Genres
Years active2008 (2008)–present
Labels
  • Creme Fraiche
  • Punctum Records
  • We Are: The Guard
Website motherfalconmus.com

Mother Falcon is a symphonic rock band from Austin, Texas, known for their wide-ranging instrumentation and collaborative songwriting. Formed by bandleader Nick Gregg in 2008, the group grew to include a collective of more than twenty musicians playing strings, horns, guitars, and percussion. [1] The group was most active between 2010 and 2016, after which they scaled back and began new projects including theatrical scores and an annual music education camp. Since the release of their final album Good Luck Have Fun, released in 2015 by Universal, the band has continued to perform in the Austin area.

Contents

History

2008–2012: Formation and first releases

Nick Gregg formed Mother Falcon in 2008 with members of the Red Armada String Quartet, a high school ensemble that had studied with the noted Austin composers Graham Reynolds and Peter Stopschinski at the Austin Chamber Music Center. [2] The name derived from a scene in the censored version of the 1988 action film Die Hard, where main character John McClane's speech is altered to say "mother falcon" instead of the original "motherfucker". Additional members came from McCallum High School, Westlake High School, St. Edward's University, and the University of Texas at Austin, where Gregg graduated in architecture. [1]

As Mother Falcon grew in number, live performances could include as few as eleven and as many as twenty musicians. The core group of vocalists came to include Gregg, as well as guitarist Claire Puckett and accordionist-pianist Tamir Kalifa. The collective self-released their debut EP Still Life in 2010. In 2011, the collective released their first full-length album Alhambra. Their music was reviewed positively by the local press and placed twice on the cover of the Austin Chronicle. [1] At the 2010, 2011 and 2012 Austin Music Awards, Mother Falcon won the "Best None of The Above" award. In 2011, the group performed at the abandoned Seaholm Power Plant in Austin at the opening of the Fusebox Festival. In 2012, Mother Falcon headlined The Austin Chamber Music Festival. [3] Around this time, the band began to perform in all black clothing with red accents, which bandleader Nick Gregg says allows audiences to focus on the music but is also an homage to the band's classical roots. [4]

2013–2016: You Knew and acclaim

In May 2013, Mother Falcon released their sophomore album You Knew. The release coincided with many of the members' college graduations. [1] The band began to garner national attention, including press from NPR, [5] The Daily Beast , [4] The Washington Post , [6] The New York Times , [7] and Texas Monthly . [8]

After the release of You Knew, Mother Falcon began touring regularly. [9] In June 2013, the band relocated to New York City for the month where they had residencies at Joe's Pub in Manhattan and Littlefield in Brooklyn, followed by residences at The Echo in Los Angeles and Soda Bar in San Diego later in the year. [10] [1] While in New York, the band collaborated with other composers and performers including Jherek Bischoff, Amanda Palmer, Raul Midon, Tony Trischka, Ben Sollee, Kelli Scarr, and Gary Lucas. [11] They toured the West Coast in August 2013 and again in February 2014, and headlined the IdeaFestival in Louisville, Kentucky in September 2013. [12] The band returned to the Northeast in January 2014, playing as a part of the Winter Jazz Festival at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City.

During some of these shows, Mother Falcon would play two sets; the first set focused on the collective's original music and the second set would see them play Radiohead's OK Computer in its entirety. [10] In March 2014, the band released their reimagining of OK Computer as a digital album. [13]

In October 2015, Mother Falcon released a new studio album Good Luck Have Fun. [14] Originally slated to be released in August 2015, the record was picked up and released through Universal Music Group's Classics division in the Fall; [15] Good Luck Have Fun was Mother Falcon's major label debut, despite not being signed to the label at the time. [16] The first half of the record is a collection of symphonic pop songs while the second half is the contemporary classical Starnation Suite, a seven-song score written for the independent e-sports documentary ProGamer. [17] [18] In 2015, Mother Falcon co-headlined a major American tour with Ben Sollee called The Fall Migration. [19] The last show they played during this album cycle outside of their hometown was a show at Joe's Pub in New York City in July 2016. [20]

2017–present: New projects and transformation

The beginning of 2017 marked a new era for Mother Falcon. Around this time, the band faced crossroads as a whole and as individuals. Some members wanted to or had already moved cross country to pursue further degrees or focus more on their professional careers. Ultimately, the group had to redefine its goals and the scope of the collective. In December 2016, the group turned down a recording contract with Universal Music Classics which would have required the group to produce three more albums after Good Luck Have Fun. [16] That same month the band played a retrospective show in Austin to mark the end of this era. [16]

From 2017 through 2019, the group was involved a smaller but more diverse set of projects. These included members continuing to conduct the Mother Falcon Music Lab, composing and performing scores for live theater, and continuing to perform from time to time around Austin, particularly at the SXSW music festival. [1] [21] [22] [11]

Many of the members were involved in Lionheart Youth Theatre/Glass Half Full Theatre's original production Petra and the Wolf. Mother Falcon composed the score which is performed live by the band at the shows. Petra and the Wolf premiered in Austin in December 2015. [23] The following December, the production ran in Austin again. [24] Following this, the entire production began to tour nationally. [25] This included one-off shows for different organizations as well as a November 2017 East Coast Tour and a January-April 2018 Midwest/West Coast tour. [26] [21] Mother Falcon plans to release the score in late 2019. [11]

On Valentine's Day 2018, Mother Falcon released a new single, a reworking of their 2015 song "You Are" on the We Are: The Guard record label. [27] In March 2019, the group released their cover of "I Can't Stand the Rain" as a single and hinted at new music to come. [28] [29]

During the first half of August 2019, Mother Falcon performed original music for Trouble Puppet Theater Company's American Blood Song: A Puppet Operetta of The Donner Party. [30] Mother Falcon performed as a cello-guitar-saxophone trio. [31]

In March 2022, Mother Falcon performed as a 9-piece at the Parker Jazz Club in Austin, where they performed 3 new songs along with material from their past studio albums, indicating a return to the studio and a new album cycle.

Summer camp

Since 2011, Mother Falcon has hosted a summer camp, the Mother Falcon Music Lab, for middle and high-school aged musicians in Austin, Texas. [32] The band has played and curated a series of benefit shows over the years to support the camp's need-based scholarship program. [33]

In media

In 2012, Mother Falcon was featured in two episodes of the James Franco-produced documentary web series Undergrads: South. The show premiered at the 2012 SXSW Film Festival. [34] Later that year, they were the featured artist in an episode of Arts in Context, a series produced by Austin PBS station KLRU. [35]

The band wrote the original score of the independent esports documentary ProGamer, which premiered at the 2016 Austin Film Festival. [36]

Members

Former members

Discography

Studio albums

TitleAlbum details
Still Life EP
Alhambra
  • Released: February 26, 2011
  • Label: Creme Fraiche
  • Format: CD, digital
You Knew
  • Released: May 7, 2013
  • Label: Creme Fraiche
  • Format: CD, digital
Good Luck Have Fun

Other albums

Scores

Singles

As lead artist

Title
(A-side/B-side)		YearAlbumNotes
"Pennies"2012non-album single
"Dirty Summer" / "Alligator Teeth" (Alternative Version)2013You Knew
"Lose Yourself to Dance" (Daft Punk cover)
(featuring Ben Sollee)		non-album singles
"Dirty Summer" / "Alligator Teeth"2014 7" rerelease [37]
"You've Got Everything Now" (The Smiths cover)2015Tease Torment Tantalize The Smiths tribute compilation
"You Are" / "Scene 5"2018Petra and the Wolf SuiteOriginal theatrical score
"You Are"2019non-album singlesRerecorded version
"I Can't Stand the Rain" (Ann Peebles cover)

As featured artist

TitleYearAlbumNotes
"The Anthem Part 2"
(Tim Kubart feat. Mother Falcon)		2013Anthems for Adventure
"Sacramento & Polk"
(Alejandro Escovedo feat. Mother Falcon)		All AtxCompilation album

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Strokes</span> American rock band

The Strokes are an American rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti. They were a leading group of the early-2000s indie rock and garage rock revival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenny Lewis</span> American musician

Jennifer Diane Lewis is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She was the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and keyboardist for the indie rock band Rilo Kiley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Ridges</span> American folk rock band

The Ridges are an orchestral folk rock band from Athens, Ohio. The band is rooted in the collaboration of vocalist / guitarist Victor Rasgaitis and cellist / vocalist Talor Smith, who are frequently joined by a rotating cast of musicians.

South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas, United States. It began in 1987 and has continued growing in both scope and size every year. In 2017, the conference lasted for 10 days with the interactive track lasting for five days, music for seven days, and film for nine days. There was no in-person event in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Austin, Texas; in both years there was a smaller online event instead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metronomy</span> English electronic music group

Metronomy are a British electronic music group formed in 1999. As the band consists of Joseph Mount, Oscar Cash, Anna Prior, Olugbenga Adelekan and Michael Lovett. Their music consists of vocal and instrumental electronic pop music. Mount also releases remixes under the name Metronomy, and has remixed many artists including Gorillaz, Sebastien Tellier, Roots Manuva, Franz Ferdinand, Klaxons, Goldfrapp, Young Knives, Zero 7, Ladytron, Kate Nash, Lady Gaga and Lykke Li.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Waco Brothers</span> American alternative country band

The Waco Brothers are an American alternative country, or country-punk rock, band based in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dev Hynes</span> British musician (born 1985)

Devonté Hynes, also known as Blood Orange and formerly Lightspeed Champion, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and director based in New York City. From 2004 to 2006, Hynes was a member of the band Test Icicles, playing guitar, synth, and occasionally performing vocals. They released one full-length album in 2005. Hynes went on to release two solo studio albums as Lightspeed Champion and subsequently five more as Blood Orange, between 2008 and 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sour Notes</span> Rock band from Texas

The Sour Notes are an American independent rock band from Austin, Texas, formed in 2008 by multi-instrumentalist Jared Boulanger—who writes and composes all of the band's material.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balmorhea (band)</span> American instrumental band

Balmorhea is a six-piece minimalist instrumental ensemble from Austin, Texas, that was formed in 2006 by Rob Lowe and Michael Muller. Balmorhea were influenced by William Ackerman, The Six Parts Seven, Tortoise, Rachel's, Gillian Welch, Max Richter, Arvo Pärt and John Cage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Low Anthem</span> American indie folk band

The Low Anthem is a band from Providence, Rhode Island, formed in 2006 by friends Ben Knox Miller and Jeff Prystowsky. The current lineup consists of Knox Miller, Prystowsky, Bryan Minto and Florence Grace Wallis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears</span>

Black Joe Lewis is an American blues, funk and soul artist influenced by Howlin' Wolf and James Brown. He formed Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears in Austin, Texas, in 2007. In March 2009, Esquire listed Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears as one of the "Ten Bands Set to Break Out at 2009's SXSW Festival."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beware of Darkness (band)</span> American rock band

Beware of Darkness is an American rock band that consisted of vocalist/guitarist Kyle Nicolaides, bassist Daniel Curcio, and drummer Lionel Forrester Jr. Their debut album, Orthodox was released May 7, 2013. Their second album Are You Real? was released on September 16, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Run River North</span> American indie folk-rock band

Run River North, formerly known as Monsters Calling Home, is a Korean-American indie folk-rock band from Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chvrches</span> Scottish synthpop group

Chvrches are a Scottish synth-pop band from Glasgow, formed in September 2011. The band consists of Lauren Mayberry, Iain Cook, Martin Doherty and, unofficially since 2018, Jonny Scott. Mostly deriving from the synth-pop genre, Chvrches also incorporate indietronica, indie pop, and electronic dance into their sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Barberettes</span>

The Barberettes (Korean: 바버렛츠) is a South Korean retro, doo-wop female group that debuted in 2014 as a trio, and is based in Seoul. With their covers and original music, they reproduce the sound of the 50s-60s music, and are referred to as a time slip girl group who travel back to the times of barbershop music and harmonizing girl groups. The group is composed of Shinae An Wheeler (Korean: 안신애) and Seon Lee Kyeong (Korean: 이경선). In 2019 The Barberettes and Sweet Sorrow form a harmony collab group SBSB (Korean: 스바스바).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Nightowls</span>

The Nightowls are an American musical group from Austin, Texas, whose debut album Good As Gold was named Top 10 of the 2014 Austin Music Awards Albums of the Year. Their sound combines R&B, Funk and soul music. Lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Harkrider formed The Nightowls in 2011. His song "Nobody Ever Wants to Leave" was commissioned in 2009 by The Austin Convention and Visitor's Bureau as Austin's official theme song. The Nightowls have released three full-length albums and two EP's. Two of which were recorded at the iconic Soul/R&B studios - FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idiotape</span> South Korean electronic music band

Idiotape is a South Korean electronic music band. They released their debut EP 0805 in July 2010 and their first album 11111101, a year later, which won "Best Dance & Electronic Album" at the 2012 Korean Music Awards. They have performed at multiple music festivals at home and around the world.

Chirkutt is a Bangladeshi rock band from Dhaka, formed in 2002 by Sharmin Sultana Sumi.

Fragile Rock is an American musical collective of musicians and puppeteers, described as an "emo puppet band." The band formed in Austin, Texas in 2014 as the brainchild of musician and writer Brently Heilbron.

Aisha Burns is an American singer-songwriter and violinist. She is a member of the instrumental ensemble Balmorhea, and has toured and recorded with Adam Torres and Thor & Friends, among others. She has released two solo albums on Texas-based label Western Vinyl.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Mother Falcon | SXSW 2016 Event Schedule". SXSW Schedule 2016. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  2. ↑ "Mother Falcon saxophonist Andrew Fontenot speaks on pushing boundaries and writing as a unit". Red River Noise. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  3. ↑ "Mother Falcon". joespub.publictheater.org. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  4. 1 2 Haglage, Abby (2013-06-02). "Mother Falcon the 18-Piece Indie Symphonic Rock Band Taking Texas By Storm". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  5. ↑ Thompson, Stephen (2013-08-17). "Mother Falcon: Tiny Desk Concert". NPR. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  6. ↑ "Mother Falcon album review: 'You Knew'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  7. ↑ "Texas Monthly : GTT ★". The New York Times . Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  8. ↑ Hoinski, Michael (2013-12-27). "Six Must-Attend Events: Dec. 27-Jan. 5". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  9. ↑ "Red Ryder Entertainment :: Chicago Illinois :: Upcoming Shows". Rryder.com. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  10. 1 2 Monica (2013-08-17). "Mother Falcon plays the Echo (Exclusive Photos)". Life Is Awesome. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  11. 1 2 3 "Mother Falcon". SXSW 2019 Schedule. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  12. ↑ MoDuet (2013-07-20). "Austin cult group (soon to be stars) Mother Falcon coming to IdeaFestival". Insider Louisville. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  13. ↑ "MF Computer, by Mother Falcon". Mother Falcon. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  14. ↑ "Good Luck Have Fun". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  15. ↑ "Mother Falcon". www.wearetheguard.com. 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  16. 1 2 3 Curtin, Kevin (December 9, 2016). "Playback: Mother Falcon's Major Label Deal That Wasn't". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  17. ↑ Freeman, Doug (October 23, 2015). "Mother Falcon: Good Luck Have Fun Album Review". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  18. ↑ ProGamer , retrieved 2019-08-19
  19. ↑ "Mother Falcon - #TheFallMigration". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-03-22.
  20. ↑ "Mother Falcon on Instagram: "@joespub tonight! This will be our last performance outside of Austin for a while so we hope y'all can join us! Doors at 9pm, show at…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  21. 1 2 "Mother Falcon". SXSW 2019 Schedule. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  22. ↑ "Mother Falcon". SXSW 2019 Schedule. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  23. ↑ "Peter and the Wolf". ctxlivetheatre.com. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  24. ↑ "Petra & the Wolf". ctxlivetheatre.com. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  25. ↑ "Petra and the Wolf". holdenarts. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  26. ↑ "Upcoming Shows". Lionheart Live Arts & Youth Theatre. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  27. ↑ "You Are, by Mother Falcon". Mother Falcon. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  28. ↑ I Can't Stand the Rain - Single by Mother Falcon on iTunes , retrieved 2019-08-19
  29. ↑ "Mother Falcon - I Can't Stand the Rain". www.wearetheguard.com. 2019-04-08. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  30. ↑ "31_American Blood Song". Vortex. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  31. ↑ "Trouble Puppet's 'American Blood Song' is an epic, painfully honest look at one of the darkest parts of American history". Austin Arts Watch. 2019-08-11. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  32. ↑ "Mother Falcon'S Music Lab". Motherfalconmusiclab.brownpapertickets.com. 2014-02-07. Retrieved 2014-05-19.
  33. ↑ "Mother Falcon Music Lab". Mother Falcon Music Lab. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  34. ↑ "James Franco executive produces Undergrads: South documentary web series starring UT students". CultureMap Austin. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  35. ↑ Arts in Context | Mother Falcon | Season 3 | Episode 12 , retrieved 2021-01-30
  36. ↑ "StackPath". austinot.com. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  37. ↑ "Mother Falcon to Release First-Ever Vinyl Through Punctum Records". Pop Press International. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.