Little Joy
| Little Joy | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genres | Alternative rock, indie rock, indie pop, soft rock, samba, MPB, bossa nova |
| Years active | 2007–2009 (on hiatus) |
| Labels | Rough Trade Records |
| Associated acts | Los Hermanos, The Strokes, Devandra Banhart, Adam Green, The Moldy Peaches |
| Website | www.myspace.com/littlejoymusic |
| Members |
Rodrigo Amarante Fabrizio Moretti Binki Shapiro |
Little Joy is a Brazilian/American rock supergroup formed in 2007 by Los Hermanos singer/guitarist Rodrigo Amarante, the Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti, and Binki Shapiro.[1]
Foundation and beginnings
Amarante and Moretti met in 2006, at a festival in Lisbon where both their bands were performing, and the idea came up to start a new musical project unrelated to their respective bands. In 2007, with Los Hermanos on hiatus "for an undetermined amount of time",[2] Amarante travelled to Los Angeles to collaborate with Devendra Banhart on his Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon album. He and Moretti met during recording breaks and talked about "anything but music." Through mutual acquaintances, they met multi-instrumentalist Binki Shapiro, who encouraged the pair to work on a few songs Moretti had begun writing. The band then moved into a house in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles to write more original music and record some demos. The band was christened "Little Joy" after a cocktail lounge not far from their house.
Little Joy
Their eponymous debut album was recorded with the help of producer Noah Georgeson and engineer Beau Raymond, whom Amarante met during his sessions with Devendra Banhart. It was released by Rough Trade Records on November 4, 2008, and was hailed by Pitchfork Media as "one of the sweetest, most listenable, consistently enjoyable records of the season."[3] Their debut album was given four stars by Rolling Stone magazine and Nick Hornby[4] voted it his favourite album of 2008.
Appearances
On September 4, 2009, Beck announced his second Record Club covers album, Songs of Leonard Cohen. Binki Shapiro is listed as a contributor, alongside Devendra Banhart, MGMT and Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother.[5]
Shapiro also appeared as Beck's "muse" in many of the videos that went along with his record, The Information, released in October 2006.
Little Joy's song "The Next Time Around" is used in a TV commercial for the Volkswagen Passat.
Members
Little Joy
- Rodrigo Amarante - vocals, guitar, bass, piano, ukulele, organ, mellotron, percussion (2007–present)
- Binki Shapiro - guitar, vocals, bass, keyboards, glockenspiel, percussion (2007–present)
- Fabrizio Moretti - tenor guitar, piano, bass, drums, guitar, percussion, melodica, vocals (2007–present)
Live band
Little Joy
- Rodrigo Amarante - vocals, guitar, percussion (2007–present)
- Binki Shapiro - guitar, vocals, keyboards, percussion (2007–present)
- Fabrizio Moretti - tenor guitar, guitar, percussion, vocals, drums (2007–2009)
- Jack Dishel - tenor guitar, guitar, percussion, vocals (2009–2010)
Backing band
- Todd Dahlhoff - bass, vocals (2008-2010)
- Matt Romano - drums, percussion (2008-2010)
- Matt Borg - guitar, vocals (2008-2010)
- Michael Ian Cummings - guitar, vocals (2008-2010)
- Noah Georgeson - guitar, vocals (2008-2010)
Discography
- Little Joy (2008)
References
- ↑ Christopher, James (2008-10-30). "Little Joy". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
- ↑ Globo. "Los Hermanos anuncia hiato por tempo indeterminado" (in Portuguese). G1.globo.com. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
- ↑ "Little Joy: Little Joy | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. 2008-11-07. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
- ↑ "Little Joy". Nickhornby.campaignserver.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
- ↑ Lindsay, Andrew. "Beck, MGMT & Banhart cover Leonard Cohen". stereokill.net. Retrieved 2012-04-01.