Red House Painters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Red House Painters | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Origin | San Francisco, USA | |
| Genre(s) | Slowcore, Indie rock, Dream pop, Singer/songwriter | |
| Label(s) | 4AD Sub pop Polygram |
|
| Associated acts |
Sun Kil Moon | |
| Former members | ||
| Mark Kozelek Anthony Koutsos Gorden Mack Jerry Vessel Phil Carney |
||
Red House Painters is an alternative rock group formed in 1989 in San Francisco by singer/songwriter Mark Kozelek. They are described, along with American Music Club, as one of the lynchpins of the slowcore movement in alternative rock. Kozelek used this group primarily as a vehicle for his very personal and emotional songs of despair, pain and suffering.
Contents |
[edit] History
While in Atlanta, Kozelek became friends with Anthony Koutsos, a drummer. He then moved to San Francisco, adding guitarist Gorden Mack and bassist Jerry Vessel to complete the line-up for Red House Painters.
They signed up with 4AD Records in England in 1992. 4AD issued the group's first demos as an album entitled Down Colorful Hill. It was a compilation of haunting melodies complemented by Kozelek's eerie yet rich and emotional vocals. In 1993, the group came out with two self-titled records (now commonly referred to as Rollercoaster and Bridge based on their cover artwork), solidifying Kozelek's reputation as a talented songwriter with their harrowing autobiographical tales of his troubled life and errant living with no punches being pulled. The music, which ran the gamut from beautiful acoustic folk-rock to intense, dissonant, lengthy soundscapes, effectively conveyed the sadness of the lyrics.
In 1994, they released an EP entitled Shock Me and in 1995, the introspective Ocean Beach, which saw Kozelek's songs becoming more acoustic-based and folk influenced, and featured far less of the lengthy, dreamlike epics of the group's first two albums. His lyrics also showed a considerable shift in tone, as he increasingly began to write about the power of memory and the significance of geography, a subject that would become an obsession in his subsequent recordings.
While Kozelek was beginning work on a solo project, he parted ways with 4AD Records after a somewhat tumultuous relationship. Entitled Songs for a Blue Guitar, it was released on Polygram in 1996. It was more of a guitar-driven rock album that they released under the Red House Painters name to give the album more publicity. A year later, they came up with Old Ramon, arguably their most accessible, optimistic recording to date. However, major label mergers during the late 90's would leave them without a record label, and it wasn't until 2001 that they were able to release the album on Sub Pop.
Prior to the release of Old Ramon, Kozelek released a solo six-song EP entitled Rock 'N' Roll Singer in 2000. The record was comprised of three original acoustic compositions with minor full-band arrangements and three covers: two AC/DC covers from the Bon Scott era and one John Denver cover. Following the release of the first solo EP, Kozelek released his first solo album six months later. The record, entitled What's Next to the Moon, was released in January of 2001, but would greatly surprise fans.
What's Next to the Moon was comprised entirely of shimmering, melancholy acoustic covers from the Bon Scott era AC/DC. The record was also greatly uncharacteristic of Kozelek (though he was prone to enjoy covering songs by his favorite artists) in that it is the shortest full length to date clocking in at just over thirty minutes. Even the first Red House Painters album with only six tracks was over forty-five minutes in length. Both solo albums were released by Badman Records.
4AD Records would release the best-of package, Retrospective in 1999. Kozelek subsequently organized and appeared on a John Denver tribute album, played a part in Cameron Crowe's film Almost Famous and also appeared as a rock musician in the Steve Martin vehicle "Shop Girl". He contributed to both a benefit album for AIDS and an album of classic rock covers.
In 2003 Kozelek and Koutsos, along with Geoff Stanfield and Tim Mooney, reformed as Sun Kil Moon, releasing the acclaimed album Ghosts of the Great Highway on Jetset Records.
[edit] Red House Painters Discography
[edit] Albums
- Down Colorful Hill (September 15, 1992)
- Red House Painters aka Rollercoaster (May 25, 1993)
- Red House Painters aka Bridge (October 19, 1993)
- Ocean Beach (March 28, 1995)
- Songs for a Blue Guitar (July 23, 1996)
- Old Ramon (April 10, 2001)
[edit] Singles and EPs
- Shock Me EP (February 28, 1994)
[edit] Compilations
[edit] Soundtracks / Songs from Films
- Have You Forgotten (on Vanilla Sky)
- Japanese to English (on Amateur)
- All Mixed Up (on Excess Baggage)
- Song for a Blue Guitar and The Arrival (from The Girl Next Door)
- Carry Me Ohio and Lily And Parrots (from Shopgirl)
[edit] Mark Kozelek Solo Discography
- Rock 'N' Roll Singer EP (June 13, 2000)
- What's Next To The Moon (January 10, 2001)
- If You Want Blood [Rock 'N' Roll Singer EP + If You Want Blood] (December 3, 2001)
- White Christmas - Live (December 17, 2001)
- Little Drummer Boy Live (November 28, 2006)
