David Pajo

David Pajo

Performing with Slint at the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival
Background information
Birth name David Christian Pajo
Also known as Aerial M, Papa M, M, Pajo, Skullfisher
Born June 25, 1968
Texas
Origin Louisville, Kentucky
Genres Alternative rock,[1] indie rock,[1] post-rock, post-hardcore, math rock, slowcore[1]
Instruments Guitar, bass guitar
Associated acts Slint
Tortoise
Will Oldham
The For Carnation
Stereolab
Royal Trux
King Kong
Zwan
Dead Child
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Interpol
Website www.davidpajo.com

David Pajo (born June 25, 1968)[2][3] is an American alternative rock musician. He has played a wide variety of music, loosely fitting into several other genres such as hardcore punk, math rock, post-rock, electronica, folk rock and indie pop. Though a multi-instrumentalist (including guitar, bass, banjo and drums), he is best known for his guitar work.

Career

A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Pajo played with three Louisville hardcore and hardcore-inflected bands in his early career. The first band in which he played was called Obscene Routine,[4] after which he performed as guitarist in Maurice, but it was with Solution Unknown that he made his first recording. He rose to prominence, however, for his work with the influential post-rock band Slint. Since the breakup of Slint, Pajo has seldom held positions in other bands for very long, moving from one to the other quite often. As a result he has contributed to many line-ups, playing and recording with Will Oldham, The For Carnation, Tortoise, Stereolab, Royal Trux, King Kong, Bush League, Zwan, Peggy Honeywell, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and, most recently, Interpol.

He has also released music as a solo artist using various monikers, as Aerial M, M, and most notably, Papa M. Among his many 7" and splits with various bands, he has released (as Aerial M) 1997's Aerial M, and (as Papa M) 1999's Live from a Shark Cage, 2001's Whatever, Mortal, and 2003's Hole of Burning Alms.

In February and March 2005 he joined his old bandmates from Slint, Britt Walford and Brian McMahan, for a reunion tour, and in April released his first solo album not bearing a pseudonym, simply entitled Pajo. The follow-up to Pajo, entitled 1968, was released in August 2006.

Around the middle of 2005, he helped to form the band Dead Child, with Todd Cook (from Shipping News, Retsin, The For Carnation, and Aerial M—and who also played guitar on the 2005 Slint reunion tour), Michael McMahan (from The For Carnation, Starkiller, and Phantom Family Halo—and who also joined Slint on the reunion tour), and Tony Bailey (from Anomoanon, The Party Girls, Verktum, Lords, and Aerial M).

In 2009, Pajo joined the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on the tour for their third album, It's Blitz![5]

He was confirmed to perform as Papa M at the ATP New York 2010 music festival in Monticello, New York in September 2010. In June 2010 it was announced that he would be joining the band Interpol as a tour member.[6] He left the tour early on February 27, 2011.

On 12 February 2015, Pajo attempted suicide after posting a lengthy suicide note on his personal blog. He survived this attempt after EMS members were able to rescue him.[7]

Discography

As a part of a band

With Solution Unknown
With Bush League
With Slint
With King Kong
With The For Carnation
With Tortoise
With Royal Trux
With Zwan
With Peggy Honeywell

As a solo artist

Aerial M
Papa M
Pajo

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Papa M, Two Review; allmusic".
  2. ↑ "David Christian Pajo" last.fm
  3. ↑ Family Tree Legends
  4. ↑ Pajo, David (March 17, 2011). Twitter post.
  5. ↑ Goldberg, Michael Alan (July 29, 2009). "Interview: Yeah Yeah Yeahs Drummer Brian Chase". Philadelphia Weekly blogs. Retrieved 2009-09-14.
  6. ↑ Breihan, Tom (2010) "Interpol Set LP Title, Enlist Dave Pajo", Pitchfork Media, June 4, 2010, retrieved 2010-06-06
  7. ↑ Report: Slint's David Pajo survives suicide attempt

External links