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Biography
Infobox musical artist| name = The Mountain Goats| image = Mountainsgoatscropped.jpg| caption = John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats in 2010| background = group_or_band| origin = Claremont, CA | genre = Folk rock , indie rock , Lo-fi music|lo-fi | years_active = 1991present| label = Merge Records 4AD Records Shrimper Records Absolutely Kosher Ajax Emperor Jones 3 Beads of Sweat Records Yoyo Records | associated_acts = The Extra Lens , The Seneca Twins, The Bloody Hawaiians, The Congress, John Vanderslice , Kaki King , Owen Pallett | current_members = John Darnielle Peter Hughes (musician)|Peter Hughes Jon Wurster Owen Pallett The Mountain Goats (stylized "the Mountain Goats") are an American folk rock band formed in Claremont, California by singer-songwriter John Darnielle . For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle himself, despite the plural moniker.
Darnielle remains the sole core member of the band, but has worked with a variety of collaborators over the years, including bassist Peter Hughes (musician)|Peter Hughes , drummer Jon Wurster (of Superchunk ), singer-songwriter Franklin Bruno , bassist and vocalist Rachel Ware, singer-songwriter/producer John Vanderslice , guitarist Kaki King , and Annie Clark (of St. Vincent (musician)|St. Vincent ).cite web|url= http://4ad.com/artists/themountaingoats |title=The Mountain Goats |publisher=4AD |date= |accessdate=December 26, 2011cite web| authorlink = | title = the Mountain Goats FAQ | publisher = themountaingoats.net| url = http://www.themountaingoats.net/faq.html| accessdate = February 16, 2009
Throughout the 1990s, the Mountain Goats were known for producing "militantly lo-fi" home recording s (most famously, on a boom box ) and releasing recordings in Compact Cassette|cassette or 7" single|vinyl 7" formats.cite web| last = Nickey| first = Jason| authorlink = | title = The Mountain Goats: Biography| work = Allmusic | publisher = Macrovision Corporation | year = 2008 | url = Allmusic|class=artist|id=p169495|pure_url=yes| accessdate = February 16, 2009 Since 2002, the Mountain Goats have transitioned to a more polished approach, recording studio albums with a full band.
The Mountain Goats are currently based in Durham, North Carolina .
History
In 1991, Darnielle began performing under the name The Mountain Goats in Claremont, California , where he attended Pitzer College and worked as an electrical technician. The band's name is a reference to the Screamin' Jay Hawkins song "Yellow Coat". Darnielle released his first album, Taboo VI: The Homecoming , on Shrimper Records . Many of his first recordings and performances featured Darnielle accompanied by members of the all-girl reggae band The Casual Girls , who became known as The Bright MountainChoir . One of this group's members, Rachel Ware , continued to accompany Darnielle on bass, both live and in studio, until 1995.
On November 24, 1996, Darnielle announced a vow to "clear his musical tendency for profanity" to promote a more optimistic reception to the ideas outlined in his material.
The first five years of the Mountain Goats' career saw a prolific output of songs on cassette, vinyl and CD. These releases spanned multiple labels and countries of origin; many were unavailable to the majority of fans until recent reissues.
The focus of the Mountain Goats project was the urgency of writing.Brown, "Sermon on the Mount", June 1999. Songs not recorded adequately to tape within days of being written were often forgotten.
Darnielle graduated from Pitzer College in 1995. Most of what could be considered classic Mountain Goats conventions (boom-box recording, song series, Latin quotes, and mythological themes) were abandoned in favor of a more thematically focused and experimental sound. This period was marked by Darnielle's collaborations with other artists including Alastair Galbraith (musician)|Alastair Galbraith and Simon Joyner .
2002 saw the release of two Mountain Goats albums: All Hail West Texas and Tallahassee (album)|Tallahassee . These albums mark a distinct change in focus for the Mountain Goats project, being the first in a series of concept albums that explore aspects of The Mountain Goats' canon in depth. All Hail West Texas featured the resurrection of Darnielle's early boom box recording for a complete album. Darnielle considers this album to be the culmination of his lo-fi recording style. Tallahassee , recorded with a band and in a studio, explores the relationship of a couple whose lives were the subject of the song cycle known as the Alpha Series.
Martial Arts Weekend , also released in 2002 under the band name The Extra Glenns , is a collaboration with Franklin Bruno on several previously unreleased Mountain Goats songs. Since that recording, Bruno has joined Darnielle in the studio along with bassist Peter Hughes (musician)|Peter Hughes , who is the second official member of the band and accompanies Darnielle on tour. These three musicians form what may be considered the Mountain Goats studio band.
In 2004, the Mountain Goats released We Shall All Be Healed . The album marked a number of changes for the Mountain Goats. It was the first time Darnielle worked with producer John Vanderslice and the first album of directly autobiographical material. We Shall All Be Healed chronicles Darnielle's life with a group of friends and acquaintances addicted to methamphetamine in Portland, Oregon , though the album is set in Pomona, California .
In 2005, the Mountain Goats released their second Vanderslice-produced album, The Sunset Tree . Again autobiographical, Darnielle tackles the subject of his early childhood spent with an abusive stepfather. Darnielle had previously dealt with this subject in what he often refers to as the only autobiographical song he had written before 2004, the unreleased song " You're in Maya ."
In 2006, the Mountain Goats relocated to Durham, North Carolina and issued Get Lonely , which was produced by Scott Solter , who had worked with Vanderslice on engineering for prior Mountain Goats records. In 2007, Jon Wurster played drums on the last leg of the Get Lonely tour.
In 2007, the band recorded tracks for its next album at Prairie Sun studios . http://www.aversion.com/news/news_article.cfm? news_id=9022 Mountain Goats Hatch Studio Plans - Aversion.com Entitled Heretic Pride , the album was released on February 19, 2008.cite web|url= http://www.mountain-goats.com/archives/2007/11/high-heresy-1.html |title=News Archive & #124; High Heresy |publisher=The Mountain Goats |date=November 20, 2007 |accessdate=December 26, 2011 It was produced by John Vanderslice and Scott Solter. Franklin Bruno and Erik Friedlander returned to the studio with Darnielle and Hughes, and they were also joined by Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster (who appeared during portions of the Get Lonely tour in 2007) and vocalist Annie Clark of St. Vincent.
On February 3, 2008, the Mountain Goats released a song called " Down to the Ark " that was commissioned by Weekend America .cite web|url= http://weekendamerica.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/01/31/mtngoats/ |title=Weekend America: The Mountain Goats do Super Tuesday |publisher=American Public Media |date=February 2, 2008 |accessdate=December 26, 2011
On March 19, 2008, Darnielle posted on the band's website that their Australian tour would be canceled due to "personal health reasons".cite web|url= http://www.mountain-goats.com/archives/2008/03/australian-tour.html |title=Australian Tour Cancelled |publisher=Mountain-goats.com |date=March 19, 2008 |accessdate=December 26, 2011
Darnielle is featured on Aesop Rock 's song "Coffee" from the 2007 album None Shall Pass . Aesop Rock also released a remix of the track " Lovecraft in Brooklyn " from the album Heretic Pride .
In 2009, Darnielle and Vanderslice released MoonColonyBloodbath , a concept record about organ harvesting colonies on the moon . The EP was produced in a limited vinyl run of 1000 and sold during their "Gone Primitive" tour.
The Life of the World to Come (album)|The Life of the World to Come was officially released on October 6, 2009. It was Internet leak|leaked on September 8, 2009.cite web|author= |title= John Darnielle Tells the Story Behind the Mountain Goats' Biblical New LP |url= http://pitchfork.com/news/36406-john-darnielle-tells-the-story-behind-the-mountain-goats-biblical-new-lp/ |publisher= Pitchfork Media |date= September 8, 2009 |accessdate=October 7, 2009 The third track, "Genesis 3:23", was released as a free download via the band's website on July 28.cite web| url= http://www.mountain-goats.com/archives/2009/07/the-good-news.html | title= The Mountain Goats News Archive - The Good News | publisher= mountain-goats.com
On October 6, 2009, the Mountain Goats performed "Psalms 40:2" on The Colbert Report . It was their first television appearance.Citation needed|date=October 2009 Darnielle also had a short interview with Colbert in which Colbert professed himself a fan.
On August 5, 2010, the band announced that they had signed to Merge Records ,John Darnielle's Mountain Goats and Extra Lens Sign to Merge Records, Pitchfork, August 5, 2010 http://pitchfork.com/news/39663-john-darnielles-mountain-goats-and-extra-lens-sign-to-merge-records/cite web|url= http://www.mountain-goats.com/archives/2010/08/all-lanes-merge.html |title=All Lanes Merge Immediately |publisher=Mountain-goats.com |date=August 5, 2010 |accessdate=December 26, 2011 home to drummer Jon Wurster 's other band, Superchunk . It was also announced that The Extra Lens, formerly The Extra Glenns , will release their new record Undercard via the label in October 2010.
On October 8, 2010, the Mountain Goats performed at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.cite web|url= http://2010.aclfestival.com/events/2010/10/10/ |title=2010 Schedule |publisher=Austin City Limits Music Festival |date= |accessdate=December 26, 2011
On December 8, 2010, the band announced their new album, All Eternals Deck , and that it would be released March 29, 2011.cite web|url= http://stereogum.com/597052/mountain-goats-all-eternals-decks-details/news/ |title=Mountain Goats All Eternals Deck Details |publisher=Stereogum |date=December 9, 2010 |accessdate=December 26, 2011 They were also chosen by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel to perform at the All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)|All Tomorrow's Parties festival that he was due to curate in December 2011 in Minehead, England but were unable to appear due to a rescheduling.cite web|url= http://www.atpfestival.com/events/jeffmangum.php |title=ATP curated by Jeff Mangum (Neutral Milk Hotel) |publisher=All Tomorrow's Parties |date= |accessdate=December 26, 2011
Members
John Darnielle Vocals, guitar, keyboard
Peter Hughes (musician)|Peter Hughes Bass, backing vocals
Come, Come to The Sunset Tree (Limited release of 1000)
Get Lonely
Heretic Pride
The Life of the World to Come
All Eternals Deck
Transcendental Youth
Related bands
The Congress (band)|The Congress (John Darnielle with Mark Givens and others)
The Extra Lens|The Extra Glenns/Lens (John Darnielle with Franklin Bruno)
The Seneca Twins (John Darnielle with Lalitree Chavanothai and Chris Butler)
The Bloody Hawaiians (John Darnielle with Joel Huschle, Mark Givens and Caroline)
The Salvation Brothers (John Darnielle played drums for the band's live sets)
The Comedians (John Darnielle with John Vanderslice)
In other media
The band's music has been featured in the Showtime (TV network)|Showtime television series Weeds (TV series)|Weeds . "Cotton" was prominently featured in the season one episode "The Punishment Light", and "International Small Arms Traffic Blues" was featured in the season four episode "Yes I Can."cite web|author= |title= Weeds Music |url= http://www.sho.com/site/weeds/music.do |publisher= Showtime |accessdate=October 7, 2009
The songs "No Children", "Old College Try", and "Love Love Love" were each featured in separate episodes of the television series Moral Orel s third season, which has featured major running themes of alcoholism, regret, and domestic discontent.
The band made their television debut on October 6, 2009, playing "Psalms 40:2" on The Colbert Report . On January 19, 2010, they played "Genesis 3:23" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon .cite web|last=Brown |first=Jake |url= http://www.gloriousnoise.com/videos/2010/mountain_goats_on_jimmy_fallon.php |title=The Mountain Goats on Jimmy Fallon |publisher=Glorious Noise |date=January 21, 2010 |accessdate=December 26, 2011 On February 23, 2011, they played "Birth of Serpents" in support of their album, All Eternals Deck , on The Late Show with David Letterman .
References
Reflist
Further reading
Adams, Tim (2004). http://www.mountain-goats.com/discog.html "Discography of The Mountain Goats". Retrieved 19 March 2005
Adams, Tim (2005). http://3bos.com/label/artists/tmg/tmg_discography.html "Mountain Goats Discography". Retrieved 19 March 2005
themountaingoats.net staff (2004). http://www.themountaingoats.net/faq.html "The Mountain Goats FAQ". Retrieved 20 March 2005
unknown author (2003). http://4ad.com/artists/themountaingoats/biography2.html "Tallahassee Biography". Retrieved 20 March 2005
Nickey, Jason(2000). Allmusic|class=artist|id=p169495|pure_url=yes "Mountain Goats Biography". Retrieved 20 March 2005
http://www.archive.org/details/MountainGoats Mountain Goats collection at the Internet Archive 's live music archive
The Mountain Goats DEFAULTSORT:Mountain Goats, The Category:American indie rock groups Category:Musical collectives Category:Musical groups from California Category:4AD artists Category:Concept album series Category:Lo fi music groups Category:American folk musical groups Category:Live Music Archive artists