Stephen Immerwahr

Last updated
Stephen Immerwahr
Genres Slowcore
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Bass guitar, vocals
Years active1988–present

Stephen Immerwahr is an American bass guitarist and vocalist best known as a founding member of the slowcore group Codeine. [1]

Contents

Biography

Stephen Immerwahr began his foray into music in 1988, originally serving as an assistant engineer to bands such as Soul Asylum and Living Colour. [2] In 1989, Immerwahr formed Codeine with drummer Chris Brokaw and guitarist John Engle. [3] [4] Codeine pioneered the slowcore and sadcore subgenres of indie rock, [3] [5] but with a more experimental attitude than other bands in the genre, such as Low, Idaho and Red House Painters. Codeine released their first album Frigid Stars LP on the German label Glitterhouse in August 1990. Codeine's final release was the full-length album The White Birch , released in May 1994. [4] Following his work in Codeine, Immerwahr would later exit a career in music to become a research scientist [6] [7]

In February 2012, Codeine announced they would perform on the request of Mogwai at All Tomorrow's Parties sister event, I'll Be Your Mirror, on 26 May 2012 at Alexandra Palace, along with other shows, to commemorate a comprehensive reissue of their recordings by The Numero Group in June 2012. [8] [9] Codeine's final reunion show was at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City on 15 July 2012. [10]

Related Research Articles

Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent record labels, by the 1990s it became more widely associated with the music such bands produced.

Slowcore, also known as sadcore, is a subgenre of indie rock characterised by subdued tempos with typically minimalist instrumentation alongside solemn and melancholic lyrical performances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blake Babies</span> American college rock band

Blake Babies were an American college rock band formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts. The three primary members were Freda Love, Juliana Hatfield and John Strohm. They recorded three albums before splitting up in 1991. They reformed to record a new album in 1999, and again in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Codeine (band)</span> American indie rock band

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The New Year (band)</span> American indie rock band

The New Year is an American indie rock band that formed in 1999. The band was started by former Bedhead members Matt and Bubba Kadane. They released their first album in 2001, Newness Ends, which like their following albums was recorded with Steve Albini. The End Is Near (2004) and The New Year (2008) followed, with both being received positively by music critics at Pitchfork Media and AllMusic. In February 2017, the band announced their first album in nine years, Snow, which was released on April 28, 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Football (band)</span> American midwest emo/indie rock band

American Football is an American midwest emo band from Urbana, Illinois, originally active from 1997 until 2000. They reformed in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Music Club</span> American indie rock band

American Music Club was an American, San Francisco-based indie rock band, led by singer-songwriter Mark Eitzel. Formed in 1982, the band released seven albums before splitting up in 1995. They reformed in 2003 and released two further albums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Gara</span> Canadian drummer

Jeremy Gara is a Canadian drummer from Ottawa, Ontario. He is most well known as the drummer of the band Arcade Fire. Gara is an active performer in a number of other projects, including work as a solo performer.

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

Gossip is an American indie rock band formed in Searcy, Arkansas. For most of their career, the band has consisted of singer Beth Ditto, multi-instrumentalist Nathan "Brace Paine" Howdeshell, and drummer Hannah Blilie. After releasing several recordings, the band broke through with their 2006 studio album, Standing in the Way of Control. A follow-up, Music for Men, was released in 2009. The band played a mix of post-punk revival, indie rock, and dance-rock. Their fifth album, A Joyful Noise, was released in May 2012. They disbanded in 2016 but reformed to embark on an anniversary tour for Music for Men in 2019 and released the album Real Power in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duster (band)</span> American indie rock band

Duster is an American indie rock band from San Jose, California that was formed in 1996. The group has consisted of multi-instrumentalists Clay Parton, Canaan Dove Amber, and Jason Albertini for most of its history; Albertini left the band in 2022. Duster were closely associated with the burgeoning slowcore and space rock revival movements during the 1990s.

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

Idaho is an American rock band formed in 1992 in Los Angeles, California. Idaho was a key band in the 1990s slowcore genre.

<i>I Could Live in Hope</i> 1994 studio album by Low

I Could Live in Hope is the debut studio album by American indie rock band Low. It was released on February 18, 1994, on Vernon Yard Recordings.

<i>The White Birch</i> (album) 1994 studio album by Codeine

The White Birch is the second and final album by the New York City band Codeine. Released in April 1994, the album is considered by many to be the band's best album and a clear influence on Low, among other bands.

<i>Not Exotic</i> 2003 studio album by Dolorean

Not Exotic is the debut full-length album by Dolorean, released in 2003 on Yep Roc Records. The songs grew out of frontman Al James's home recordings. It met with a largely positive reception in the music press.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Cohen (musician)</span> American singer

Samuel Benjamin Cohen is an American rock vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, artist, and producer based in Brooklyn, New York. A founding member of the psychedelic rock and pop band Apollo Sunshine, he released several albums with the group in the early 2000s. In 2009 he formed the solo project Yellowbirds, releasing the debut album The Color in 2011. This release was followed by Songs from the Vanished Frontier in 2013. The first Sam Cohen record, Cool It, was released on April 28, 2015, on Easy Sound Records, and primary featured Cohen playing all of the instruments. It was then re-released on Danger Mouse's imprint of Columbia Records, 30th Century Records, on June 3, 2016. Cohen is also known for his original collages on the Yellowbirds album covers, and his collage animation videos.

<i>Frigid Stars LP</i> 1990 studio album by Codeine

Frigid Stars LP is the debut album by American indie rock band Codeine. It was released in August 1990 on Glitterhouse in Europe and in Spring 1991 on Sub Pop in the United States. The album was released to generally positive reviews and is regarded as being one of the pioneering albums in the slowcore and sadcore genres. It was chosen by Pitchfork in 2008 as one of the 20 best Sub Pop albums.

<i>Barely Real</i> 1992 EP by Codeine

Barely Real is the 1992 extended play (EP) by the American indie rock band Codeine. After releasing their previous album Frigid Stars LP in 1990, the group accepted an invitation from the quartet Bastro to tour in Europe in 1991. Following the tour, the group was invited to record a single for Sub Pop Singles Club and attempted to record their follow-up album The White Birch in 1992. The recording sessions proved to be disastrous for the group since they found themselves often with unusable tracks over several different studios. As Codeine could not record enough material for a full-length album, they decided to release what tracks they had as an EP.

<i>Stratosphere</i> (Duster album) 1998 studio album by Duster

Stratosphere is the debut studio album by American slowcore band Duster. The album was released February 24, 1998, on the Up Records label in the United States.

Douglas Arthur Scharin is an American drummer and percussionist. He has served as a member of a multitude of bands, including Codeine, Rex, HiM, Enablers, June of 44, Loftus and Mice Parade. He currently resides in San Diego, California.

<i>It Came from N.Y.C.</i> 2016 box set by White Zombie

It Came from N.Y.C. is a three-disc or five-LP anthology by American rock band White Zombie, released on June 3, 2016, by The Numero Group. It collects all the material the group officially released between 1985 and 1989, including previously unreleased tracks from the Pig Heaven/Slaughter the Grey sessions. The audio was remastered by guitarist Jay Yuenger and the box set includes a one-hundred and eight page book comprising unpublished photos, anecdotes by the band and a twenty-thousand-word essay written by Pitchfork contributor Grayson Currin.

References

  1. Sprague, David (2007). "Codeine". Trouser Press . Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  2. "Stephen Immerwahr > Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Mason, Stewart "Codeine Biography", Allmusic, Retrieved 26 June 2011
  4. 1 2 Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN   1-84195-335-0, p. 679-680
  5. Pareles, Jon (April 15, 2016). "Grunge's Estranged, Desolate Cousins: Codeine, with Stephen Brodsky, at Bell House". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved April 15, 2016
  6. Sha, Mandy; Immerwahr, Stephen (2018-02-19). "Survey Translation: Why and How Should Researchers and Managers be Engaged?". Survey Practice. 11 (2). doi: 10.29115/SP-2018-0016 .
  7. Stosuy, Brandon (June 28, 2012). "Codeine Review". Pitchork Media . Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  8. "The Numero Group" . Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  9. "Pitchfork.com". Pitchfork . 21 February 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  10. "BrooklynVegan.com". 18 July 2012. Retrieved April 15, 2016.