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Biography
Infobox musical artist | name = The Walkmen| image = WalkmenConcert.jpg| caption = The Walkmen performing in New York (April, 2004)| image_size =| background = group_or_band| origin = New York City / Washington, D.C. , United States | genre = Indie rock , Post-punk revival | years_active = 2000–present| label = Record Collection , Startime , Gigantic Music|Gigantic , Fierce Panda , Fat Possum , Bella Union | associated_acts = nowrap| Jonathan Fire*Eater , Flashy Python , nowrap| The Recoys | website = http://www.marcata.net/walkmen www.marcata.net/walkmen| current_members = Hamilton Leithauser Paul Maroon Walter Martin Peter Bauer Matt Barrick| past_members =The Walkmen are an United States|American indie rock band, with members based in New York City and Philadelphia . The band formed in 2000 with three members from Jonathan Fire*Eater —Paul Maroon (guitar, piano), Walter Martin (organ/bass), and Matt Barrick (drums)—and two from The Recoys , Peter Bauer (bass/organ) and Hamilton Leithauser (vocals, guitar). All but Bauer attended St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.)|St. Albans in Washington, D.C.
They prefer the sound of vintage musical instruments, particularly the upright piano , and have often recorded at Marcata Recording, a recording studio built in Harlem in 1999 by the three former members of Jonathan Fire*Eater and later relocated to upstate New York . http://www.marcata.net/ Marcata Recording
History
Early Years
Each of the members of The Walkmen grew up in and around the Washington, DC area, played in many of the same bands from early in their careers,cite web|url= http://music.yahoo.com/ar-282464-bio--The-Walkmen|title=The Walkmen Biography on Yahoo& #33; Music|accessdate=2009-02-17 and even attended the same Washington-area high school, St. Albans School (Washington, D.C.) .cite web|url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/collective/A903700|title=BBC Collective - The Walkmen Interview|accessdate=2009-02-17 The bandmates eventually moved to Harlem and became a part of the burgeoning New York City rock scene.
The band was formed in 2000 following the breakup of two separate bands: Jonathan Fire*Eater , whose members included Martin, Maroon and Barrick, and The Recoys , whose members included Leithauser and Bauer. The three members from Jonathan Fire*Eater, which had recorded for Dreamworks Records , had money left over from that past recording contract and used the remaining funds to construct a rehearsal space in uptown New York City|New York . The rehearsal space featured a 24-track recording studio and was dubbed Marcata Studios .
The newly-formed band, who wished to distance themselves from the garage rock sounds of previous bands, released a self-titled EP of songs in 2001 on Startime International , a small Brooklyn -based record label.cite web|url=Allmusic|class=artist|id=p508143|pure_url=yes|title=Allmusic Biography-The Walkmen|accessdate=2009-02-18 Shortly after the release of the EP, which featured a blend of upright pianos and other vintage instruments, The Walkmen made their official live debut with a performance at Joe's Pub in the East Village, Manhattan|East Village .
Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone
The 2002 debut album Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone , released by Startime International|Startime , was well received by critics.cite web|url= http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/8571-everyone-who-pretended-to-like-me-is-gone/|title=Pitchfork Media Review: Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone|last=Dahlen|first=Chris|date=April 8, 2002|accessdate=2009-02-18 The album was noted for its innovative approach to atmosphere and instrumentation, with sparse bass and drums complemented by plinking piano, jangly guitars and Leithauser's unique vocal stylings. Two of the songs on the album, "The Blizzard of '96" and "That's the Punchline," were adaptations of tracks meant for The Recoys ' unreleased full-length album.
Critics compared the results of the album to past work by U2 and The Cure as a result of the uniqueness of its sound as compared to other contemporary New York City bands such as The Strokes . One of the album's songs, "We've Been Had," was featured in a commercial for a Saturn Ion automobile.cite web|url= http://media.www.jhunewsletter.com/media/storage/paper932/news/2004/09/24/Arts/Featured.Events-2244552.shtml|title=N.Y.'s Walkmen rock in D.C. this Thursday|last=Yu|first=Stephanie|publisher=The Johns-Hopkins Newsletter|accessdate=2009-02-18
Listen|filename = The-Walkmen-The-Rat.ogg |title = "The Rat" |description = In 2009, "The Rat" was placed at #20 on '' Pitchfork Media 's list of 500 Top Tracks of the 2000s The band's followup album, Bows + Arrows , was released on the Record Collection label in 2004 and was listed by many critics as one of the year's best albums.cite web|url= http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/23075-bows-and-arrows|title=Pitchfork Media: Bows + Arrows Review|last=Carr|first=Eric|accessdate=2009-02-18 The album spawned singles for the songs " The Rat (song)|The Rat " and "Little House of Savages." Critical success of the album led the band to perform on the popular Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox series The O.C. Bows + Arrows was noted for containing a more immediate and focused sound than its predecessor; both "The Rat" and "Little House of Savages" were seen as stark contrasts to much of the band's past outputs.
A Hundred Miles Off and Pussy Cats
Their next album, A Hundred Miles Off , was released in the United States|U.S. on May 23, 2006. The band premiered most of the new songs on a tour of the Northeast in early 2006. The first single (music)|single to be released was "Louisiana," which featured an upbeat chorus of horns. Peter Bauer and Walter Martin traded musical instrument s on the new album, with Bauer handling the organ (music)|organ duties and Martin playing bass (guitar)|bass .cite web|url= http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/36545-the-walkmen-a-hundred-miles-off|title=Pitchfork Media: A Hundred Miles Off Review|last=LeMay|first=Matt|accessdate=2009-02-18 The album found the band refocusing its sound toward folk sounds, unlike their previous two albums; though the change in direction was lauded by some critics,cite web|url= http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thewalkmen/albums/album/10307980/review/10532947/a_hundred_miles_off|title=Rolling Stone Review: A Hundred Miles Off|last=Hiatt|first=Brian|accessdate=2009-02-18 other reviews were often mixed.
The band was forced to close Marcata Studios that same year after Columbia University purchased the building it resided in. The band released another full-length album, Pussy Cats (The Walkmen album)|"Pussy Cats" Starring the Walkmen , a track-by-track cover of Harry Nilsson and John Lennon 's 1974 album Pussy Cats , as a farewell to their studio's Harlem location.
You & Me
Their next studio album, You & Me (The Walkmen album)|You & Me , became available on July 29, 2008, as an exclusive charitable pre-release on indie music website Amie Street . The Walkmen made the album available for $5 on Amie Street, with all proceeds donated to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center . http://www.prefixmag.com/news/walkmen-you-me-5-dollars/20278/ PrefixMag.com: Walkmen release You & Me for $5... During its first week of sales, the album charted at #29 on Billboard (magazine)|Billboard 's Billboard charts|Top Digital Albums .cite news|url= http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/07/28/get-the-walkmen-album-early-help-charity-on-amiestreet/|title=Get The Walkmen Album Early, Help Charity On Amie Street|publisher= TechCrunch |date=2008-07-28|accessdate=2008-08-08cite news|url= http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/chart_display.jsp? g=Albums& f=Top+Digital+Albums/|title=Top Digital Albums|publisher= Billboard (magazine)|Billboard |date=2008-08-06|accessdate=2008-08-08 The album was made available on physical formats on August 19, 2008. The album was recorded at Gigantic Studios with Chris Zane .
Lisbon
The Walkmen recorded 13 songs for their latest album in five days in August 2009 with John Congleton and Chris Zane . They had been playing several of the songs since the summer of 2009. http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/nashvillecream/2009/09/the_walkmens_walter_martin_the.php The Walkmen's Walter Martin: The Cream Interview They recorded "something like 28 songs," but included only 11 on the album. In support of the new album, The Walkmen performed at All Tomorrow Parties in May 2010, Lollapalooza in early August 2010, and the Reading and Leeds Festivals at the end of August 2010. Lisbon (album)|Lisbon was released on September 14, 2010 on label Fat Possum records. http://www.marcata.net/walkmen/news.html dead link|date=April 2012 Initial reviews have been favorable, with Pitchfork Media awarding the album 8.6/10,cite web|url= http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14605-lisbon/ |title=The Walkmen: Lisbon & #124; Album Reviews |publisher=Pitchfork |date=2010-09-13 |accessdate=2012-04-29 and PopMatters rating it 7/10.cite web|last=Amidon |first=David |url= http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/130598-the-walkmen-lisbon/ |title=The Walkmen: Lisbon < PopMatters |publisher=Popmatters.com |date= |accessdate=2012-04-29 The band embarked on a fall tour of North America and Europe to support their new release. http://www.marcata.net/walkmen/concerts.html dead link|date=April 2012
Heaven
The band is working on a new album entitled Heaven . Pitchfork announced that our new album 'Heaven' will be out on June 4 (Europe/UK) and on June 5 (US). cite web|url= http://pitchfork.com/news/45958-the-walkmen-announce-new-album/ |title=The Walkmen Announce New Album & #124; News |publisher=Pitchfork |date=2012-03-29 |accessdate=2012-04-29 It was completed in early March, as mentioned by the band on their website on March 7, 2012. "Hi everyone. Our album is finally done and we're thrilled with it. We can't wait to get it out there." http://thewalkmen.com/home.html dead link|date=April 2012
They released the song entitled Heaven to the public through Pitchfork Media's website on April 16th, 2012, sparking the website to give the title "Best New Track" on the same day.
The Walkmen have been touring in early 2012 for their 10th anniversary of Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me is Gone, and during that tour they played many new songs.
Discography
Studio albums
Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone (March 26, 2002)
Daytrotter Session, March 2008 (Leonard Cohen covers) http://www.daytrotter.com/article/1214/the-walkmen The Walkmen | Daytrotter | The Creature Of Man And His Endless Figuring Over Cursive Lines
Daytrotter Session, August 2008 (Neil Hagerty covers)cite web|url= http://daytrotter.com/article/1374/the-walkmen-encore-session|title=Pipe Dreams Are Still Dreams To The Blind Modernists|last=Moeller|first=Sean|accessdate=2009-02-17
Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) (August 12, 2009)
Singles
"Let's Live Together" (2002)
" The Rat (song)|The Rat " (April 19, 2004) #45 UK
"Little House of Savages" (June 28, 2004) #74 UK
"Louisiana" (September 11, 2006)
"The Blue Route"/"Canadian Girl" (November 10, 2008)
"In the New Year" (February 23, 2009)
"Weight On My Shoulders" / "Good Days Carry On" (September 14, 2010)(Limited Edition 7")
"Stranded" (July 2, 2010)
"Angela Surf City" (October 4, 2010)
"Heaven" (April 17, 2012)
Other recordings
"Radio" (aka "Wake Up") on This Is Next Year: A Brooklyn-Based Compilation (2001)
"Little House of Savages (Live version)" on Music from the OC: Mix 2 (2004)
"There Goes My Baby" on Stubbs the Zombie: The Soundtrack (2005)
"Red River" on Spider-Man 3 (soundtrack)|Spider-Man 3 Soundtrack (2007)
"Brandy Alexander" on In Bruges Soundtrack (2008)
"Lemon Hill" - Blog Released Track (2007)
References
Reflist|2
External links
External links|date=April 2012
http://www.marcata.net/walkmen Official website
MySpace|thewalkmen|The Walkmen
Allmusic|class=artist|id=p508143
http://www.archive.org/details/TheWalkmen The Walkmen collection at the Live Music Archive
http://www.amiestreet.com/TheWalkmen The Walkmen's newest album, "You & Me" at Amie Street
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php? storyId=15291595 The Walkmen on NPR Music
http://www.reaxmusic.com/tiki-read_article.php? articleId=50406& show_comzone=y Interview with Hamilton Leithauser and Ashley Marie Sansotta with REAX Music Magazine
http://larecord.com/issues/2008/08/22/the-walkmen-like-a-big-beefcake/ August 2008 Interview with L.A. Record
http://supersweet.org/main.aspx? atype=1& aname=Music_Walkmen& con=1& sc1=0& sc2=0 Interview with Hamilton Leithauser and Matt Barrick, September 2010
http://www.drop-d.ie/article.php? article_id=788 October 2008 Interview with Drop-D
The Walkmen DEFAULTSORT:Walkmen, The Category:American indie rock groups Category:Post-punk revival music groups Category:Live Music Archive artists Category:Musical groups from New York
