Thinking Fellers Union Local 282

Last updated
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
A-138723-1669133036-5851.jpg
Background information
Origin San Francisco, California, United States
Genres
Years active
  • 1986–2001
  • 2004
  • 2011
Labels
  • Matador
  • Communion
  • Nuf Sed
  • Ajax
  • Scratch
  • Thwart Productions
  • Amarillo
  • Japan Overseas
  • Brinkman
  • Hemiola
  • Bulbous Monocle
Past membersMark Davies
Anne Eickelberg
Brian Hageman
Hugh Swarts
Jay Paget
Paul Bergmann
Gino Robair
Website tful282.com

Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 (often shorted to 'Thinking Fellers' or 'TFUL282') were an American indie rock band, which was formed in 1986 in San Francisco, California though half of its members are from Iowa. [1] [2] Their albums combine lo-fi noise rock and ambient sounds (referred to as "Feller filler") [3] with tightly constructed rock and pop songs. There is a small but fiercely devoted cult following for the band.

Contents

For the majority of the band's career, Thinking Fellers consisted of multi-instrumentalists Brian Hageman, Mark Davies, Anne Eickelberg, Hugh Swarts, and Jay Paget.

History

The band achieved their greatest critical and commercial success in the mid-1990s, when they signed with the indie rock label Matador Records. It was during this time that Thinking Fellers produced their most prominent albums, Lovelyville , and Strangers from the Universe . They toured the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and the UK in 1994 and made an appearance on the John Peel radio show on the BBC. In 1996 they toured briefly as an opening act for the alternative rock band Live but were not received well by the Live fanbase. Thinking Fellers has been largely dormant since 1996, having toured sporadically and released only one full album, Bob Dinners and Larry Noodles Present Tubby Turdner's Celebrity Avalanche , since.

Elf Power's 1999 album A Dream In Sound featured a cover of Thinking Fellers Union Local 282's song "Noble Experiment."

In 2001, author Jonathan Franzen referenced the band in his novel The Corrections . The character Brian, a snobbish fan of "west coast underground bands," listens to the albums of Thinking Fellers while writing the music software that will make him a young millionaire.

On January 7, 2011, the All Tomorrow's Parties festival announced a Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 performance at the ATP festival weekend May 13–15, 2011 curated by Animal Collective.

In 2017, Beverly Williams's book Survival Kit's Apocalypse quoted the lines "If the sadness of life makes you tired/And the failures of man make you sigh/You can look to the time soon arriving/When this noble experiment winds down and calls it a day" from the Fellers' song "Noble Experiment" from Strangers from the Universe . In 2019, The National interpolated those same lines in their song "Not in Kansas" on the album I Am Easy to Find .

Discography

Studio albums

Singles and EPs

Compilation and Live albums

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matador Records</span> American independent record label

Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Manning</span> American musician

Barbara Manning is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist whose albums blend elements of rock, folk, pop and proto-punk. She is also known for her cover versions of often obscure pop songs. In addition to an acclaimed solo career, Manning has been active in a number of bands, including 28th Day, World of Pooh, SF Seals, and The Go-Luckys!.

<i>A Dream in Sound</i> 1999 studio album by Elf Power

A Dream in Sound is an album by the indie rock band Elf Power. It was released in 1999 via Arena Rock Recording Company/Elephant 6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebbot Lundberg</span> Musical artist

Torbjörn "Ebbot" Lundberg is a Swedish artist, songwriter and music producer who lives in Gothenburg, Sweden. From 1995 to 2012, he was the lead singer of The Soundtrack of Our Lives‚ which he co-founded with Björn Olsson and Ian Person. Lundberg was one of the founding members of the rock band Union Carbide Productions that was active 1986–1993. He has also worked as a producer a large number of bands like The Loons, Nymphet Noodlers, Nicolai Dunger, Onkel Kånkel, and Zoobox. He has made appearances or collaborated with Jane Birkin, Turbonegro, Nina Persson, The Cardigans, Teddybears, Trummor & Orgel and Olle Ljungström. He has appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Later... with Jools Holland and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregg Turkington</span> American comedian

Gregg Turkington is an American entertainer, actor, musician and writer. He is known for his performances as Neil Hamburger, a stand-up comedian persona he developed in the 1990s. Alongside Tim Heidecker, Turkington also stars as a fictionalized version of himself on the comedic web series On Cinema (2011–). In addition, he formed one-half of the band Zip Code Rapists and has collaborated on numerous projects with musicians including Trey Spruance.

Paula A. Frazer is an American singer-songwriter. She grew up in Georgia and Arkansas and moved to San Francisco in 1981. Her music is frequently described as melancholic alternative country, but with an eclectic mix of folk, blues and pop, among other genres. She first came to notice by fronting the band Tarnation in the 1990s and has appeared on recordings and in concert with many bands and solo artists including Cornershop, Sean Lennon, Frightwig, Tindersticks, the Czars, and Handsome Boy Modeling School.

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

Caroliner, a group formed in 1983 in San Francisco, is an industrial bluegrass–experimental–Noise conceptual art band that uses instruments from bluegrass and rock traditions, as well as homemade electronics and other modified instruments. In their live performances, band members play characters in an other-worldly pageantry, wearing elaborate homemade costumes and performing on a stage decorated with drawings and set pieces, all covered in day-glo paint. The band has toured Europe, Japan, and North America.

February is the second month of the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steel Pole Bath Tub</span> American rock band

Steel Pole Bath Tub was an American rock band, formed in 1986 in Bozeman, Montana, United States, by Mike Morasky (guitar/vocals) and Dale Flattum (bass/vocals).

Milk Cult was an American San Francisco-based electronic band. Founded as a studio-only project in 1990, the band's nucleus comprises musicians Dale Flattum, Eric Holland and Mike Morasky. Morasky and Flattum are also known for being founding members of the noise/industrial rock group Steel Pole Bath Tub, which the duo continued their involvement with concurrent to Milk Cult. Milk Cult is known for their found-sound experiments and dense sample-based compositions, as well as their collaborations with numerous musical acts, including Faith No More, Jawbreaker, Grotus, Neurosis, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 and The Geraldine Fibbers.

<i>Wormed by Leonard</i> 1988 studio album by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282

Wormed By Leonard is the debut studio-recorded cassette by the band Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, released in 1988 through Thwart Productions. It was reissued on LP and CD in 1995 with six live bonus tracks. The title derives from Roger Worm and Jerry Leonard, two high school classmates of Eickelberg and Davies from West Delaware Senior High School, in Manchester, Iowa.

<i>Lovelyville</i> 1991 studio album by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282

Lovelyville is the third album by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, released December 12, 1991, on LP and CD through Matador Records. The CD contains a set of bonus tracks titled "The Crowded Diaper".

<i>Mother of All Saints</i> 1992 studio album by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282

Mother of All Saints is an album by the American band Thinking Fellers Union Local 282. It was released in 1992 through Matador Records. The band supported the album by playing shows with Bailter Space.

<i>Strangers from the Universe</i> 1994 studio album by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282

Strangers from the Universe is an album by the American band Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, released in 1994 through Matador Records. The band supported the album by touring with Live. Strangers from the Universe was a moderate commercial success. Mark Davies used an Optigan keyboard on some of the tracks.

<i>I Hope It Lands</i> 1996 studio album by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282

I Hope It Lands is an album by the American band Thinking Fellers Union Local 282. It was released in 1996 through Communion Records.

<i>Bob Dinners and Larry Noodles Present Tubby Turdners Celebrity Avalanche</i> 2001 studio album by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282

Bob Dinners and Larry Noodles Present Tubby Turdner's Celebrity Avalanche is the final album by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, released in 2001 through Communion Records.

<i>Admonishing the Bishops</i> 1993 EP by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282

Admonishing the Bishops is an EP by the band Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, released as a CD and 10" vinyl record on October 26, 1993, through Matador Records. The EP's title refers to Alan and Rick Bishop of the Sun City Girls with whom the Thinking Fellers had toured with the previous year.

<i>The Funeral Pudding</i> 1994 EP by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282

The Funeral Pudding is an EP by the band Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, released in February 1994 through Ajax Records.

Run On were an American art rock band based in New York City, formed in 1993. The group originally consisted of Rick Brown, Sue Garner and Alan Licht. This line-up recorded the single Days Away and released it on Ajax in 1994. The EP On/Off was issued through Matador in 1995 and according to Licht a vast improvement over the band's previous effort. Newgarden was replaced by Katie Gentile after the release of Run On's debut album. No Way, released in 1997, found the band exploring acid rock and Indian music territories while remaining rooted in classic rock.

<i>I Am Easy to Find</i> (album) 2019 studio album by the National

I Am Easy to Find is the eighth studio album by American indie rock band The National, released on May 17, 2019, via 4AD. The follow-up to the band's 2017 album, Sleep Well Beast, it was supported by the lead single, "You Had Your Soul with You", and accompanied by a short film of the same name, directed by Mike Mills and starring Alicia Vikander. Vikander is also featured on the album cover. A trailer was released for the companion film along with the announcement of the album. A tour promoting the album began in June 2019.

References

  1. "Thinking Fellers Union Local 282". Tful282.com. 2013. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  2. Edgerton, Robin; Wolk, Douglas (2013). "Thinking Fellers Union Local 282". Trouser Press . Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  3. Clements, Paul (May 2001). "Thinking Fellers Union Local 282". Furious.com. Retrieved February 28, 2013.