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Low
Low playing in downtown Duluth, December 2004.
Low playing in downtown Duluth, December 2004.
Background information
Origin Duluth, Minnesota, United States
Genre(s) Indie rock, Slowcore
Years active 1993 - present
Label(s) Vernon Yard, Kranky, Bluesanct Musak, P-Vine, Sub Pop
Website www.chairkickers.com
Members
Alan Sparhawk
Mimi Parker
Steve Garrington
Former members
John Nichols
Zak Sally
Matt Livingston

Low is an American indie rock group from Duluth, Minnesota. Duluth is a Port City in the US state of Minnesota and the County seat of St The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Indie rock is genre of Alternative rock that primarily exists in the independent Underground music scene The term slowcore refers to a subgenre of alternative and Indie rock. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music KRANKY is the working moniker for Laurence Shanet, (born 1 October 1966) an award-winning director of commercials films and stage plays P-Vine Records is a record label started by Blues Interactions Inc Sub Pop is an Independent record label (though funded and sharing distribution outlets with Warner Music founded by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman Alan Sparhawk is the Guitarist and vocalist for American band Low. Zak Sally is a bassist and a comic artist He was formerly the bassist for the bands Low and Enemymine (with Mike Kunka of GodheadSilo) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Indie rock is genre of Alternative rock that primarily exists in the independent Underground music scene Duluth is a Port City in the US state of Minnesota and the County seat of St The group was formed in 1993, by Alan Sparhawk (guitar and vocals), Mimi Parker (drums and vocals) and original bassist John Nichols (bass guitar). Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Alan Sparhawk is the Guitarist and vocalist for American band Low. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the Zak Sally replaced Nichols after Low's first album and tour. Zak Sally is a bassist and a comic artist He was formerly the bassist for the bands Low and Enemymine (with Mike Kunka of GodheadSilo) In 2005, Sally quit the band; Matt Livingston replaced him shortly thereafter. Livingston has since left the band and has been replaced by Steve Garrington, creating the current lineup of Sparhawk, Parker and Garrington. [1]

Their music is commonly described as "slowcore," a subgenre characterised by slow tempos and minimalist arrangements. The term slowcore refers to a subgenre of alternative and Indie rock. 2266-Tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl or TEMPO is the Chemical compound with the formula (CH23(CMe22NO Minimalist music is an originally American genre of experimental or Downtown music named in the 1960s based mostly in consonant harmony, steady They are one of the earlier bands to adopt and popularize the style, making them considerable contributors to the slowcore movement. (It is worth noting that the band dislike this tag. In an interview Alan Sparhawk says of descriptions of their music: "What's the cheesiest? Slow-core. I hate that word. The most appropriate is anything that uses the word minimal in it, but I don't think anybody's made one up for that. " In another interview, Sparhawk claimed that a friend of his coined the term: "this friend of ours in a record store was always joking around. . . and he said, 'I got it! You should call it "slowcore"!'. . . It was a total joke, and I think I mentioned it at one of our interviews. "[2] ) Parker and Sparhawk's striking vocal harmonies represent perhaps the group's most distinctive element; critic Denise Sullivan writes that their shared vocals are "as chilling as anything Gram and Emmylou ever conspired on -- though that's not to say it's country-tinged, just straight from the heart. Close harmony is an arrangement of the notes of chords within a narrow range Gram Parsons ( November 5, 1946  – September 19, 1973) was an American Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist Emmylou Harris (born April 2 1947) is an American country, folk, alternative rock, and Alternative country Country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. "[3]

Contents

History

The band formed in the spring of 1993. Sparhawk had been playing in the Superior, Wisconsin band Zen Identity, the core of which was formed by drummer Robb Berry and vocalist Bill Walton. The city of Superior sits at the junction of US Highway 2 and U That band needed a new bassist, and Nichols was recruited. At that time, Nichols was a senior at Superior Senior High School, and bassist in the band Lorenzo's Tractor. Superior High School (SHS is one of the High schools located in Superior Wisconsin (The other one being Maranatha Academy a private school Sparhawk was called upon to teach Zen Identity songs to Nichols. During practices, the two started improvising with some very modest, quiet themes. As a joke, they wondered what would happen if they played such quiet music in front of Duluth crowds, which at that point focused around the loud, grunge, "post-punk" sound. Soon, the joke became a serious thought. Sparhawk left Zen Identity, who continued to perform and record without him, and he and Nichols recruited Sparhawk's wife Mimi Parker to play a very modest drum kit composed of a single cymbal and a single floor tom. A floor tom is a double-headed tom-tom Drum which usually stands on the floor on three legs She was to use brushes almost exclusively rather than drum sticks.

Low's debut album, I Could Live in Hope, was released on Virgin Records' Vernon Yard imprint in 1994. Virgin Records is a British Record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell It featured Nichols on bass, though he was replaced by Sally, who joined for the recording of the band's next album Long Division. Both I Could Live in Hope and Long Division were produced and recorded by Kramer. Mark Kramer, known professionally as Kramer, is a musician composer performer Record producer and founder of the NY record label Shimmy-Disc. Long Division and its similar follow-up, 1996's The Curtain Hits the Cast, established the band as critical darlings; extensive touring helped them to develop a highly devoted fan base. "Over the Ocean," a single drawn from The Curtain Hits the Cast, also became something of a hit on college radio. Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of Radio station that is run by the students of a college

Low experienced considerable difficulties during their tenure with Vernon Yard, and by the time of their next full-length (1999's Secret Name) they had moved to the influential independent label Kranky. KRANKY is the working moniker for Laurence Shanet, (born 1 October 1966) an award-winning director of commercials films and stage plays In between, they released several singles and EPs. An extended play ( EP) is a Vinyl record, CD, or Music download which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify In 1999, Low joined forces with Dirty Three to record an In The Fishtank session for Konkurrent records. Dirty Three are an instrumental trio consisting of Warren Ellis (violin Mick Turner (electric guitar and Jim White (drums originating from Melbourne In The Fishtank 7 features Low and Dirty Three. Track listing "I Hear… Good Night" "Down By The River" All Music Guide called the six-song disc "some of the best material either unit has produced. " Of particular note is the disc's lengthy cover of Neil Young's "Down by the River. Neil Percival Young OM (born November 12, 1945, Toronto Ontario) is a Canadian Singer-songwriter, Musician " 2001 saw the release of Things We Lost in the Fire.

The following year saw the release of the band's final full-length on Kranky, Trust. All three of the band's full-length releases on Kranky featured superstar producers: Secret Name and Things We Lost in the Fire feature the work of "recordist" Steve Albini (best known for producing abrasive noise rock and punk groups), who proved surprisingly sympathetic to capturing the band's strengths; while Trust was recorded with Duluth engineer Eric Swanson and mixed by Tchad Blake. In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing Steven Frank Albini (born July 22, 1962) is an American Audio engineer, singer songwriter Guitarist, and music journalist Tchad Blake (born in 1955 is an American Record producer, engineer mixer and musician

In April 2003, Peter S. Scholtes of the Twin Cities weekly paper City Pages posted in his weblog that Sally had left Low. A blog (a contraction of the term " Web log " is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary descriptions of The following month, the band posted an update to the news on their website: "We have all had to work through some personal things recently . . . After sorting it out, the good news is that Zak is remaining in the band . . . " In July 2003, they toured Europe with Radiohead, Sally in tow. Radiohead Following a successful tour in early 2004 that vividly demonstrated the band's commitment to their fans (Parker was visibly pregnant throughout), the band signaled their intent to continue making music by signing with powerhouse indie label Sub Pop. Sub Pop is an Independent record label (though funded and sharing distribution outlets with Warner Music founded by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman To tie up the loose ends of the era, Low released a three-disc rarities compilation on its own Chairkickers label in 2004.

Beginning with Secret Name, the band have diversified their sound. The band use subtle electronic music touches to augment their sound, reflective of their tenure with Kranky and their exposure to the Midwest's post-rock scene. Electronic music is music that employs Electronic musical instruments and Electronic Music technology in its production KRANKY is the working moniker for Laurence Shanet, (born 1 October 1966) an award-winning director of commercials films and stage plays Post-rock is a genre of Alternative rock characterized by the use of Musical instruments commonly associated with Rock music, but using Rhythms Adding a more overt rock element to their aesthetic, the band has used fuzz bass from Things We Lost on the Fire onward, and began using distorted lead guitar on Trust. The band's 2005 album, The Great Destroyer, nods even further in the direction of rock. Recorded with producer Dave Fridmann and released by Sub Pop in January 2005, The Great Destroyer has received mostly positive reviews; the Village Voice described the record's "comparatively thunderous verve."

Low cancelled the second leg of their extensive tour in support of The Great Destroyer in late spring of 2005. Dave Fridmann is an American Musician and Record producer. He played the Bass guitar for Mercury Rev and has produced many Indie This article is about a New York newspaper For the Ottawa Hills Ohio magazine see The Village Voice of Ottawa Hills. Sparhawk's informal statement, published on the band's web forum and addressed directly to fans, detailed the personal reasons behind the cancellation. In August 2005, however, Sparhawk announced his return to performance, embarking on a United States tour with fellow slowcore pioneer, former Red House Painters frontman Mark Kozelek. Red House Painters were an Alternative rock group formed in 1989 in San Francisco by singer/songwriter Mark Kozelek. Mark Kozelek (born January 24, 1967 in Massillon Ohio) is an American Singer/songwriter and frontman of Sun Kil Moon In October 2005, Sally announced his resignation and has spent the last few years running La Mano, a comics art press based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Replacing him was Matt Livingston, a longtime bassist and saxophonist in Duluth's musical scene. In addition to playing the bass guitar, Livingston also plays an antique Navy chaplain's pump organ.

After appearing on 2007's Drums and Guns, Matt Livingston left the band in 2008, to be replaced by Steve Garrington.

Performance

Low are known for their impressive live performances. Rock club audiences often watch the band while seated on the floor. During their early career, the band often faced unsympathetic and inattentive audiences in bars and clubs, to which they responded by bucking rock protocol and turning their volume down. The huge dynamic range of Low's early music made it susceptible to background noise and chatter, since many of their songs were very quiet. A performance in 1996 at the South by Southwest festival was overpowered when a Scandinavian hardcore band was booked downstairs. South by Southwest ( SXSW) is a set of interactive, Film, and Music festivals and conferences that take place The Trust album, marked a turning point, and Low's music has developed a more emphatic sound.

Their shows often feature drastically reinterpreted cover versions of famous songs by the likes of Joy Division and The Smiths, in addition to their own original material. In Popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition ( Performance or Recording) of a previously recorded commercially released Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982 Live, Low shows a sense of humor not necessarily found on their recordings; a tour in early 2004 featured a cover of OutKast's hit song "Hey Ya. Outkast (typeset as OutKast) is a Grammy Award -winning American hip hop duo based out of East Point Georgia, a city " Hey Ya! " is a hip hop song written and produced by André 3000 for his 2003 album The Love Below, part of OutKast 's Double " At a gig in Los Angeles on Halloween 1998, the band took the stage as a Misfits tribute act, complete with corpse paint and black clothing. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West Halloween, or Hallowe’en, is a Holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. The Misfits are an American Corpse paint (sometimes spelled corpsepaint) is a style of black-and-white or just white Makeup used extensively by Black metal bands during live

Commercial success

The band's mainstream exposure has been limited: their best-known song is arguably a hymnal version of "The Little Drummer Boy," which was featured in a Gap television ad that depicted a snowball fight in slow-motion to match the song's glacial tempo. A hymn is a type of Song, usually religious specifically written for the purpose of praise adoration or Prayer, and typically addressed to a deity/deities " The Little Drummer Boy " is a popular Christmas song, with words and music by Katherine K The Gap Incorporated ( is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco California, and founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher Advertising is a form of Communication that typically attempts to persuade potential Customers to Purchase or to consume more of a particular Brand A remix of their "Halflight" was featured in the Mothman Prophecies motion picture. The Mothman Prophecies is a 2002 film directed by Mark Pellington, adapted from the 1976 book of the same name by parapsychologist and Fortean The band made their network television debut in 2005 by performing the single "California" on an episode of Last Call with Carson Daly. This article is about the album For the machinima character see List of characters in Red vs Last Call with Carson Daly is an American late night Talk show that is broadcast on NBC.

However, because of their minimal overhead expenses (the band makes very little use of professional recording facilities), Low have managed to develop a reasonably comfortable career.

On June 11, 2007, Scott Bateman, a web animator, announced that his video for Low's song Hatchet (Optimimi version) would be one of the preloads on the new Zune. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Scott Bateman (born January 30, 1964) is a left-leaning cartoonist currently residing in New York City (he moved there from Portland Oregon Zune is a brand of digital media players and services sold by Microsoft. [4]

On March 24, 2008, their song "Point of Disgust" was featured in the extremely popular show Skins in the UK, prompting a rush of download sales from iTunes. Events 1401 - Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus. 1603 - James VI of Scotland 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Skins is a BAFTA -winning British comedic Teen drama from Company Pictures which premièred on E4 on 25 January 2007 iTunes is a proprietary digital media player application introduced by Apple Inc Another of their songs, "Sunflower" was featured in the following episode (episode 9).

Personal lives

Sparhawk and Parker are married, have two children, and are practicing members of the Mormon faith. Mormonism is a term used to describe the religious, ideological and cultural elements of certain branches of the Latter Day Saint movement (Sparhawk was born into an LDS family in Seattle, and for some time lived in Utah before moving to Minnesota at age nine; he also and briefly attended Brigham Young University. Mormonism is a term used to describe the religious, ideological and cultural elements of certain branches of the Latter Day Saint movement Parker is a convert. ) In 2006, Sparhawk was involved in raising funds for the construction of a school in Namuncha, Kenya, which he visited in August of that year. Namuncha is a community is located in the Northern Kajiado District of Kenya's Rift Valley Province located an hour north of Nairobi. On Low's website he is quoted as saying, "My visit to Namuncha, Kenya in August was one of the most impressive experiences of my life so far. Namuncha is a community is located in the Northern Kajiado District of Kenya's Rift Valley Province located an hour north of Nairobi. "

Side projects

Low owns a record label, Chairkickers' Union, which releases material by other musicians such as Rivulets and Haley Bonar, as well as some of their own material. In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music Haley Bonar is an alt-country Singer/songwriter who hails from South Dakota, but currently lives in St Sparhawk is notably active in Duluth's small but vibrant independent music scene; he operates a recording studio in the town, in a deconsecrated church that naturally provides the lush reverb characteristic of Low's sound. The Chairkickers label offers another outlet for Duluth musicians, as most groups on the label are from that city, or at least from Minnesota and surrounding areas.

Sally has toured as a bassist with Dirty Three, and Sparhawk has devoted considerable time and energy to his Black Eyed Snakes project, a blues-rock revival band quite far removed from the Low aesthetic. Blues-rock is a hybrid musical genre combining Bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended Boogie jams with Rock Recently Sparhawk has also been seen with a new side project called The Retribution Gospel Choir. Matt Livingston, who became Low's new bassist in late 2005, also plays in The Retribution Gospel Choir. On Retribution's first tour (fall 2005), they played the Low song "From Your Place on Sunset. " (Similarly, Low and the Black-Eyed Snakes have played some overlapping songs, such as "Lordy". )

Sparhawk and Sally also made several recordings in a more synthesizer-driven style, reminiscent of the band Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, under the name The Hospital People. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (often abbreviated to OMD) are a Synthpop group whose founding members are originally from the Wirral Peninsula The most widely distributed of these was "Crash / We'll Be Philosophers", released as a 7-inch on clear vinyl by Duck Suit Records. Sparhawk and Sally have also played live as The Tooth Fairies, with Sally performing on drums and Sean Erspamer on bass; Tooth Fairies sets have typically consisted of cover songs by the Stooges, MC5, and similar bands. The Stooges are an American rock band that was active from 1967 to 1974 then reformed in 2003 The MC5 ( Motor City Five) was an American Hard rock band formed in Lincoln Park Michigan in 1964 and active until Sally has generated several works that fall in the 'graphic novel' genre, and also created the original artwork for David Bazan's (formerly of Pedro the Lion) first solo effort, the EP Fewer Moving Parts, which was recently re-released by Barsuk. David Bazan (born January 1976 is an Indie rock singer/songwriter from Edmonds Washington. Pedro the Lion was an Indie rock band from Seattle Washington, and for over a decade the main creative outlet of singer/songwriter David Bazan. Fewer Moving Parts is David Bazan 's debut EP released in limited quantities on June 13 2006 Barsuk Records (bɑrˈsuːk bar-SOOK is an Independent record label based in Seattle Washington, started and still managed by the members of the At one time, Mimi Parker was rumored to have started a punk band called Rubbersnake [5], but this was an inside joke on the part of the band.

Discography

Full-Length Albums

EPs

Singles

Live albums

Miscellaneous

Compilations

References

  1. ^ Interview with Alan Sparhawk, Duluth News Tribune, March 6, 2008. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
  2. ^ Interview with Low, Chord magazine, April 2007, p. 44.
  3. ^ Low : Secret Name (Japan) - Listen, Review and Buy at ARTISTdirect
  4. ^ Bateman, Scott. Remember the animated video I did for Low's "Hatchet (Optimimi Version)?".
  5. ^ Low interview.

External links

Articles


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