Mute Math

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Background information
Origin Flag of United States New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Genre(s) Indie rock
Synth Rock
Years active 2003–present
Label(s) Teleprompt Records
Warner Bros. Records
Associated
acts		 Earthsuit
MACROSICK
Club Of The Sons
Website http://www.mutemath.com
Members
Paul Meany
Darren King
Greg Hill
Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas
Notable instrument(s)
Keytar
The Atari
Rhodes

Mute Math is an American rock band formed in 2003. They combine diverse elements like rock, industrial, reggae, jazz, new wave, electro, rave and psychedelia, with ambient vocals. The group from New Orleans consists of Paul Meany on Rhodes piano, bass, keytar, keyboards, samples, and vocals, Darren King on drums, samples, and programming, Greg Hill on guitars and vocals, and Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas on bass guitar, and bass drum.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Formation


Mute Math started in 2001 as a long distance collaboration between Paul Meany in New Orleans, LA and Darren King in Springfield, MO. Early on Paul intermittently received instrumental demo CDs from Darren King. Fairly impressed with his efforts, Paul contacted Darren and asked if he could mess with the demos a bit, adding some song ideas of his own. Darren obliged and the two would set in motion a sort of songwriting ping-pong match that would carry on for several months. A few rounds of this led to talks of a possible project, which soon grew to become Mute Math.

With the recruiting of guitarist Greg Hill and bass player Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas, Mute Math worked feverishly in their New Orleans home studio to demo a whole new collection of songs. Creatively ambitious, they dove head first into exploring a new definition for themselves on how a rock band should sound and perform. Finding inspiration in things often considered the antithesis of modern rock music they were determined to carve a unique niche in which to place their songs. The result was a captivating soundscape of experimental rock drenched in irresistible hooks. Paul immediately played the demo for longtime friend and producer Tedd T, who fell in love at first listen. They talked of creating a model indie label, Teleprompt Records, where Mute Math could freely operate and begin building a musical momentum.

[edit] Reset EP


Teleprompt Records released Mute Math's debut Reset EP on Warner Bros. imprint Word Records in September of 2004. The band began an internet blitz of music fan sites MySpace and PureVolume, video blogging their live performance of the single "Control". Within months, Mute Math developed enough of a base to venture out and hit America. The word of mouth continued to spread and the band was soon seeing its shows sell out in Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Houston, Dallas, and Phoenix. They chronicled their shows and updated their video blogs on a nightly basis. The band honed their chops with nightly improvisation and in turn gained many fans. The band now has over 100,000 MySpace friends and has sold 30,000 copies of Reset EP.

[edit] Mute Math


In January of 2006, the band set out on an exclusive headlining tour to support of their independently released self-titled debut album, after Warner Music Group refused to release the album on the Warner Bros. Records label. The special edition of the album was only available as a "tour only" release until it hit the Internet on Teleprompt's online store, selling more than 10,000 copies in the first month of its release. Mute Math continued to creep up upon the unsuspecting music scene, landing on the covers of Billboard and Pollstar[1] being featured in Alternative Press[2], Paste[3], and Spin[4] as well as on the MTV News program 'You Hear It First'[5]. The group has continued to tour vigorously, playing shows to crowds of thousands at festivals such as Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Van's Warped Tour, V Festival, CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, and Voodoo Music Experience in their hometown of New Orleans.

After months of legal woes with parent label Warner Bros. Records regarding marketing and representation, Teleprompt settled litigation out of court in August 2006 with a re-negotiated contract with Warner Music Group. For more information about the lawsuit, see Warner Bros. Dispute.

WBR re-released the band's debut album Mute Math on September 26, 2006. The fully remastered album features reworked tracks from their Reset EP[6] and a bonus limited-edition live EP. The album debuted at #17 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.[7] The album has sold 70,000 copies to date.[8]

[edit] Current Status


Mute Math returned to the road in early 2007 with opening dates for The Fray and a brief to headlining tour in Europe. Flesh And Bones Electric Fun, an exclusive live DVD was released on March 20, 2007 with an accompanying 43 city North American tour that runs through the first of May 2007.

The band also recieved some unexpected publicity this year on the Fox's American Idol when contestant Chris Sligh sang "Typical" on the show's Top 24 episode. Mute Math's first music video, for "Typical", premiered on YouTube on March 21, 2007. The concept video features the band performing the song backwards. It was shot in one take with no edits; the band simply rehearsed and memorized the performance in reverse. The video made it on the New York Post Hot List[9] and registered more than 100,000 views in less than four days[10].

Despite the band's increasing popularity in the US, Warner Bros. Records has yet to issue the single to radio and is not currently listed as an artist on the WBR website.

The quartet is currently touring and writing material for a 2008 sophomore release.

[edit] Discography

Reset EP

Teleprompt/WMG

2004
Mute Math

Teleprompt/WBR

2006
Live at the El Rey

Teleprompt/WBR

2006
Untitled Sophomore LP

Teleprompt/WBR

Spring 2008

[edit] Filmography

Flesh And Bones Electric Fun

Teleprompt/WBR

2007

[edit] Videography

"Typical"
2007

[edit] Tours

[edit] Television Appearances

[edit] Trivia

  • The band is a favorite of many big name acts including The Smashing Pumpkins, The Fray, Switchfoot, and Eisley.
  • Mute Math's song 'Chaos' was used by US cable network The N in previews for their 2007 show line up. [12]
  • Paul Meany and Roy Mitchell-Cárdenas are former members of the now-dissolved band Earthsuit. Darren King was also Earthsuit's drummer in the band's final months.
  • During the early stages of the band, it was simply called "Math". The name was changed because of conflicts with another group already using the "Math" moniker. Prior to this the production team that would become "Math" was referred to as "The Digitals" and included former Earthsuit guitarist Dave Rumsey.[13]
  • In 2005 Paul Meany, Darren King, and Adam LaClave won a Dove Award for "Modern Rock Recorded Song of the Year" for "Control" from Reset EP. [14]
  • At the beginning of most shows, drummer Darren King performs a traditional ritual of taping his headphones around his head with gaffer tape.[15]
  • Drummer Darren King is featured on three tracks of Grammy winner Rebecca St. James' 2006 studio album If I Had One Chance To Tell You Something and backed up one of her live shows in San Antonio in August of 2005.
  • According to Mute Math's management, their debut LP Mute Math sold nearly 10,000 copies in the first month of its release, selling almost 100 copies per day via their website.[16]
  • Mute Math was also released as a limited edition double-vinyl.
  • The first 25,000 copies of the Warner Bros. Records release of Mute Math included a limited edition EP Live At The El Rey[17]
  • "Plan B" was featured as the Free Download of the Week on iTunes starting October 10, 2006. [18]
  • During Mute Math's performance of "Typical" on Jimmy Kimmel Live in November of 2006, Paul Meany snapped the neck of his signature red keytar while smashing fluorescent lights with it. [19] [20]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Pollstar HotStar: Mute Math. Pollstar (August 7, 2006).
  2. ^ 100 Bands to Watch in 2007. Alternative Press (April 2007).
  3. ^ 4 To Watch For. Paste Magazine (2006).
  4. ^ Mute Math: Artist Of The Day. Spin Magazine (September 28, 2006).
  5. ^ You Hear It First: Mute Math. MTV Networks (September 2006).
  6. ^ See Differences in new Mute Math album for details.
  7. ^ Mute Math Chart History. Billboard.
  8. ^ Mute Math Bio. 2:30 Publicity.
  9. ^ "HOT LIST". New York Post (April 1, 2007).
  10. ^ "Typical". YouTube.
  11. ^ Review of Mute Math show. Birmingham Weekly (October 26, 2006).
  12. ^ The N 2007 Preview. MTV Networks.
  13. ^ Earthsuit. Jesus Freak Hideout (January 13, 2003).
  14. ^ Dove Award Recipients of 2005. Gospel Music Association.
  15. ^ Appiah-Kubi, Salima (November 6, 2006). Mute Math at the 9:30 Club.
  16. ^ Hartse, Joel (September 21, 2006). Cross to bear. Sacramento News & Review.
  17. ^ Mute Math Product Description. Amazon.com.
  18. ^ Mute Math + iTunes = Free Download. Tony Morgan Live (October 9, 2006).
  19. ^ It Takes A Secure Man To Destroy A Stage With A Keytar. Rock Insider (December 6, 2006).
  20. ^ Mute Math performs "Typical" on Jimmy Kimmel Live. ABC (December 1, 2006).

[edit] External links

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