Tarkio (band)

Last updated
Tarkio
Origin Missoula, Montana, United States
Genres Indie rock, alternative country, alternative rock [1]
Years active1996–1999
Labels Kill Rock Stars
Past members Colin Meloy
Gibson Hartwell
Louis Stein
Brian Collins

Tarkio was an indie rock band from Missoula, Montana which included Colin Meloy prior to his forming The Decemberists. Tarkio broke up in 1999, but found new popularity in a retrospective released by Kill Rock Stars in 2006. [2]

Contents

History

Tarkio formed in Missoula, Montana in 1996. Meloy, from Helena, had studied English at University of Oregon at Eugene for two years, then returned and enrolled in the creative writing program at the University of Montana in Missoula. [3] He recruited banjo player Gibson Hartwell, bassist Louis Stein, and drummer Brian Collins following a meeting at an open mic night at a local coffeehouse. [4] The band took its name from Tarkio, Montana, a small town in the western part of the state. [4] Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament helped out with some rehearsal space and the band built a following at bar-clubs in Missoula, Great Falls, Butte, and Whitefish, Montana. [3]

In 1997, the band self-released a number of demos. Limited to 500 copies, this self-titled EP was followed by an album, I Guess I Was Hoping For Something More, released on Barcelona Records. This album included musician Kevin Suggs on pedal steel.

In 1999, the band self-released Sea Songs for Landlocked Sailors. Limited to 200 copies, the EP included a song that would later be re-recorded by the Decemberists, "My Mother Was a Chinese Trapeze Artist."

Meloy finished school in 1998. [3] The band broke up shortly after this, when Meloy moved to Portland, Oregon.

A number of live recordings of the band's songs were released on a radio compilation in 2002.

As the Decemberists began to achieve more fame, fan demand for the hard-to-find Tarkio material grew, paving the way for Kill Rock Stars to release Omnibus. The two-disc compilation featured detailed liner notes and stories from members of the band, including Meloy, as well as all of the available recorded material by the band, including a live radio performance from 1998. [5]

The band's sound has been variously compared to The Waterboys, Uncle Tupelo, and Wilco. [2] [6] [7] [8]

Meloy said of the early days:

“We [Tarkio] had aspirations of being able to base ourselves as a band out of Missoula, Montana, like Low is from Duluth and Modest Mouse is from Issaquah [Washington], but I think we pretty quickly discovered that the reason why those bands succeeded was that they were within an hour’s drive from a major metropolitan area.” [9]

Band members

Discography

Albums

EPs

Related Research Articles

The Decemberists American indie rock band

The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon. The band consists of Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query (bass), and John Moen (drums).

<i>Castaways and Cutouts</i> 2002 studio album by The Decemberists

Castaways and Cutouts is the first full-length album by The Decemberists, originally released on May 21, 2002, on Hush Records and reissued on May 6, 2003, on Kill Rock Stars. The album's title is taken from a lyric of the song "California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade".

Montana is the 41st state to enter the United States, and has a culturally-diverse population representing a broad spectrum of music genre, style, and instrumentation.

The lyrics to the song The Mountains of Mourne were written by Irish musician Percy French (1854–1920), the music was composed by Houston Collisson (1865–1920). Another theory is that it is based on the traditional Irish folk tune "Carrigdonn" or "Carrigdhoun". The latter was the same tune used by Thomas Moore (1779–1852) for his song Bendemeer's Stream.

Colin Meloy American musician

Colin Patrick Henry Meloy is an American musician, singer-songwriter and author best known as the frontman of the Portland, Oregon, indie folk rock band The Decemberists. In addition to vocals, he performs with an acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bouzouki, harmonica and percussion instruments.

<i>5 Songs</i> (The Decemberists EP) 2001 EP by The Decemberists

5 Songs is a six-track EP by The Decemberists initially self-released in 2001. It is the first record the band released. The misleading title owes to the fact that the final track, "Apology Song", was written after the original self-produced CD was released. Meloy liked it so much that it was added to the album when it was re-released by Hush Records in 2003.

Chris Funk Musical artist

Christopher Funk is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist best known as a member of the Portland, Oregon, indie rock band The Decemberists. He plays guitar, pedal steel, piano, violin, dobro, hurdy-gurdy, mandolin, saxophone, the theremin and many other instruments. According to Colin Meloy, as stated at the Pilgrimage Festival in Franklin, TN on September 27, 2015, Funk was originally given the middle name "Ryman" but a clerical error on his birth certificate resulted in his middle name being recorded as "Lyman."

Carson Ellis American artist

Carson Friedman Ellis is a Canadian-born American children's book illustrator and artist. She received a Caldecott Honor for her children's book Du Iz Tak? (2016). Her work is inspired by folk art, art history, and mysticism.

<i>The Crane Wife</i> 2006 studio album by The Decemberists

The Crane Wife is the fourth album by The Decemberists, released in 2006. It was produced by Tucker Martine and Chris Walla, and is the band's first album on the Capitol Records label. The album was inspired by a Japanese folk tale, and centers on two song cycles, The Crane Wife and The Island, the latter inspired by William Shakespeare's The Tempest. National Public Radio listeners voted The Crane Wife the best album of 2006.

<i>Omnibus</i> (album) 2006 compilation album by Tarkio

Omnibus is a 2006 compilation of songs from the Montana band Tarkio.

<i>Colin Meloy Sings Live!</i> 2008 live album by Colin Meloy

Colin Meloy Sings Live! is the first live album released by Portland musician Colin Meloy, frontman for the Decemberists. The album was released in April 2008, and is a collection of live recordings from various nights on the artist's solo tour in early 2006. It includes stripped down versions of songs by the Decemberists, a song that dates back to Meloy's college band Tarkio, live banter and covers of The Smiths, R.E.M., Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, and Shirley Collins. It includes two previously unreleased songs, "Dracula's Daughter" and "Wonder", the latter of which makes reference to Meloy's first—and recently at the time—born son.

<i>Her Majesty the Decemberists</i> 2003 studio album by The Decemberists

Her Majesty the Decemberists is the second full-length album by The Decemberists, released on September 9, 2003, by Kill Rock Stars. The song "Song for Myla Goldberg" was written years earlier, after Colin Meloy had been a media escort for the novelist Myla Goldberg during a tour following the publication of her first book, Bee Season.

<i>The Hazards of Love</i> 2009 studio album by The Decemberists

The Hazards of Love is the fifth album by the American indie rock band The Decemberists, released through Capitol Records and Rough Trade in 2009. The album was inspired by an Anne Briggs EP titled The Hazards of Love. According to the band, frontman Colin Meloy had set out to write a song with the album's title, which eventually developed into an entire album. Becky Stark, Shara Nova, and Jim James provide guest vocals throughout the album, while Robyn Hitchcock makes a cameo guitar appearance on "An Interlude".

I Guess I Was Hoping for Something More is an album by Montana band Tarkio, released under the Barcelona Records label. Every track on the album was re-released by Kill Rock Stars as a part of the 2006 Tarkio collection Omnibus.

<i>The King Is Dead</i> (album) 2011 studio album by The Decemberists

The King Is Dead is the sixth studio album by The Decemberists, released on Capitol Records on January 14, 2011. Described as the "most pastoral, rustic record they've ever made" by Douglas Wolk of Rolling Stone, the album reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart for the week ending February 5, 2011. The song "This Is Why We Fight" reached number 19 on the U.S Alternative Songs Chart, while the song "Down by the Water" also charted in the United States. In November 2011, the band released an EP of album out-takes, entitled Long Live the King.

The Decemberists: A Practical Handbook is a 2007 film featuring indie rock band The Decemberists. The film includes music videos, a live concert, and documentary footage.

<i>Long Live the King</i> (EP) 2011 EP by The Decemberists

Long Live the King is an EP by the American indie rock band The Decemberists, released on November 1, 2011, on Capitol. The release is composed of out-takes from their sixth studio album, The King Is Dead. The titles of both combine to create the traditional proclamation, "The king is dead, long live the king!"

The Crane Wives American folk band

The Crane Wives is a four-piece Americana/folk band founded in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States in 2010. They refer to themselves as a "home grown indie-folk outfit from Grand Rapids, Michigan that defies musical stereotypes." They utilize three-part vocal harmonies and eclectic instrumentation.

<i>Florasongs</i> 2015 EP by The Decemberists

Florasongs is an EP by the American indie rock band The Decemberists, released on October 9, 2015, on Capitol Records. The release is composed of five out-takes from their seventh studio album, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World.

<i>Ill Be Your Girl</i> 2018 studio album by The Decemberists

I'll Be Your Girl is the eighth studio album by the American indie rock band The Decemberists, released on March 16, 2018 on Capitol and Rough Trade. Produced by John Congleton, the band experimented with new instrumentation during the album's recording sessions, including several synth-based compositions inspired by New Order and Depeche Mode. The album was preceded by the singles, "Severed" and "Once in My Life".

References

  1. ↑ "Omnibus - Tarkio | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic .
  2. 1 2 Emery, Matt (2006) "The 'Omnibus' has left the station", The Michigan Daily , 8 February 2006
  3. 1 2 3 Schweber, Nate, "The Making of Meloy", The Montanan, Winter, 2009. Retrieved 2011-04-08.
  4. 1 2 Deusner, Stephen M. (2006) "Tarkio Omnibus", Pitchfork Media, 26 January 2006
  5. ↑ Kelly, Jennifer (2006) "Tarkio Omnibus", PopMatters , 15 February 2006
  6. ↑ Monger, James Christopher "Omnibus Review", Allmusic , Macrovision Corporation
  7. ↑ Shapiro, Shain (2006) "TARKIO: OMNIBUS", Jambase, 22 January 2006
  8. ↑ Sisario, Ben (2006) "Chimney Sweep's World, With No Mary Poppins", New York Times , 25 January 2006
  9. 1 2 "Meloy before December", Each Note Secure website, c. 2005. Retrieved 2011-04-08.
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.