Poster Children

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Biography

Poster Children are an indie rock band formed at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1987.. They have issued eleven studio albums. Known for their strong DIY ethic, the band members continue to drive their own tour bus, create their own artwork and T-shirt designs, and operate their own record label. Poster Children were also pioneers in several forms of electronic technology relating to performance art, including enhanced CD s, webcasts , and blogs .

History

Rick Valentin and Rose Marshack met in the mid-eighties at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign|University of Illinois and formed several early bands in rapid succession. When the two met drummer Shannon Drew in 1987, their like-minded enthusiasm sparked the beginning of a new band, dubbed Poster Children. As Valentin explained in 1991:

They began selling their demo tape on cassette and playing clubs all over the Midwest. The following year, the band recorded songs with producer Iain Burgess , followed by five more songs produced with Steve Albini : Trouser Press Record Guide (4th Ed.) ; Ira Robbins, ed.; 1991, Collier Books, NY). the resulting album Flower Plower was released in 1989 on the Limited Potential label. It was also at this time that Poster Children picked up a second guitarist in to complete their four-piece configuration.

A major label record deal was signed with Warner Bros. Records subsidiary Reprise Records . Over the next few albums, Poster Children would be shuffled from imprint to imprint within the Warner organization. Tracks for Daisychain Reaction were recorded by Steve Albini at the Chicago Recording Company in 1990, but due to financial difficulties at the label, the album was not released until the following year. The album included Hum (band)|Hum bass guitar|bassist Jeff Dimpsey on guitar .

In 1991 Rick's brother, Jim, replaced the guitarist of the time and remains to this day. Tool of the Man was recorded in 1992 at Dreamland Studio in New York with John Herndon (celebrated Tortoise (band)|Tortoise percussionist) on drums. Tool of the Man was also released in the UK on the Creation Records label. The track Clock Street was picked as their only UK single to date. Just Like You (EP) and Junior Citizen followed, with modest but consistent sales. Matt Friscia auditioned for the band in 1993 as a high school student willing to drop out to go on tour, but the band didn't want to contribute to his delinquency, and hired Howie Kantoff instead. Amazingly, Matt was available again in 2001 when the band was searching for its seventh (and current) drummer.

The band was on the second stage for Lollapalooza in 1995. Rick Valentin and Rose Marshack are currently married and host of one of the world's longest running podcasts, Radio Zero .

Music

Poster Children usually write their music collectively, leaving Rick to create lyrics after the fact. During the band's formative years, they wrote and recorded with a different drummer for each album. This resulted in a fluctuating style that touched on punk pop , post hardcore, what the band refers to as "post wave", and new wave music|new wave revival. Their music is made up of angular, overdriven guitar parts, strong basslines, and powerful yet intricate drums. The typical Poster Children song is high-energy and hard, yet melodic, and they often use unusual time signatures. Rick Valentin's lyrics are by turns witty and introspective, often obliquely related to political issues.

Poster Children have not had much commercial success or industry recognition, but critics consistently describe the band as catchy, impressive, and underrated. Despite their longevity, "the Poster Children don't have it in them to make a bad album", The Austin Chronicle (Austin, TX), March 17, 2000.: "their unique brand of smart pop-punk". makes them "definitely one of the more underrated college-rock bands to emerge in the '90s". , March 10, 2010.

Other music projects

Poster Children have also recorded techno and electronic music under the name Salaryman. Two singles and three studio albums ( Salaryman ; Karoshi ; and The Electric Forest ) have been released as of 2010.

Band members

Rick Valentin - Vocals, guitar

Rose Marshack - Bass, background vocals

Jeff Dimpsey - Guitar (1989–1991)

Jim Valentin - Guitar (1991-

Shannon Drew - Drums (1987–1988)

Brendan Gamble - Drums (1988–1989)

Mike Rader - Drums (1989–1990)

Bob Rising - Drums (1990–1991)

John Herndon - Drums (1991–1993)

Howie Kantoff - Drums (1993–2001)

Matt Friscia - Drums (2001-

Discography

Albums/EPs

Toreador Squat (demo, Trashcan Records ), 1989

Light Into Dark (compilation, Halo), 1989

Flower Plower (Frontier), 1989

Daisychain Reaction ( Reprise Records|Reprise ), 1991

Tool of the Man ( Sire Records|Sire ), 1993

Just Like You (Poster Children album)|Just Like You ( Warner Bros. Records ), 1994

Junior Citizen ( Sire Records|Sire ), 1995

RTFM (album)|RTFM ( Warner Bros. Records ), 1997

New World Record ( spinART Records|spinART ), 1999

DDD (album)|DDD ( spinART Records|spinART ), 2000

No More Songs About Sleep and Fire (Hidden Agenda), 2004

On the Offensive (Hidden Agenda), 2004

DVD

Zero Stars (Parasol), 2001

Videos

If You See Kay, 1991

Clock Street, 1993

Dynamite Chair, 1993

What's Inside the Box, 1994

Junior Citizen, 1995

He's My Star, 1995

Superhero, 1996

21st Century, 1997

6 X 6, 1999

This Town Needs A Fire, 2000

Western Springs, 2003

Copyright Citations

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