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Digital download single“All The Lost Souls Welcome You To San Francisco” released 8th September www.american-music-club.com ~ www.myspace.com/americanmusicclub ~ www.cookingvinyl.com |
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American
Music Club, who will be touring Europe in September
& October, have announced that they will be releasing a digital
download single on Monday
8th September. The single features three tracks
– All The Lost Souls Welcome
You To San Francisco (taken from their critically acclaimed album
The Golden Age), plus two previously unreleased
tracks – Stars (demo) and
Who You Are (demo).
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New Studio Album “The Golden Age” Irish Release on Friday 25th January 2008 on Cooking Vinyl |
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AMC Irish Tour Dates - 2008
“I
don’t intend to make songs dark or difficult. I want to
make the best f**ked up pop songs out there.” |
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American
Music Club’s
MARK EITZEL Set to Play Two Intimate Irish Shows in December December 6th (Tuesday) - Dublin - Whelans - www.whelanslive.com December 7th (Wednesday) - Cork - Cyprus Ave - www.cyprusavenue.ie New Solo Album "CANDY ASS" (Cooking Vinyl) Out Now!! “America’s Greatest Living Lyricist.” – The Guardian |
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"Candy Ass", Mark Eitzel's first solo album of new songs since 2001's "The Invisible Man" was released in Europe back in October has already garnered acclaimed reviews that most artists spend an entire career trying to achieve!. "Candy Ass" is an American redneck term used to describe a wimp or a spineless person, a title as much for his detractors as for his fans - for his fine art of self deprecation. As the vocalist/songwriter for one of the most influential bands to emerge from the '80s – American Music Club – Eitzel’s sound is constantly changing, from his first solo effort of “60 Watt Silver Lining” through to “The Invisible Man”, which was primarily electronic based. He has allowed “Candy Ass” to retain a timeless electronic sound by using both modern and older equipment, layering and interweaving his soundscapes over beds of percussion and drum loops to make some of his most beautiful songs. He also includes three acoustic based tracks including “Sleeping Beauty” which has become a current staple of his recent live solo shows. Eitzel penned 11 of the 12 songs while “Green Eyes” is a partial collaboration with Calexico and their track “Praskovia”. Calexico and Eitzel have long had a mutual admiration as the former originally recorded a cover of “Chanel No 5” for the AMC tribute album. While AMC is Eitzel’s guitar driven side, his solo albums allow him to explore his electronic tastes more widely from Four Tet to the Aphex Twin, and Eno to Mogwai. Just prior to AMC’s breakup in 1995, Eitzel began his solo career in earnest and since then he has released six albums including “West” with REM’s Peter Buck, “Caught in a Trap...” with members of Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo and two albums of cover versions. Last year, American Music Club got back together for one of the most anticipated and amazing reunions in ages, with one US scribe declaring “forget about the Pixies reunion, this is the reunion of the decade”. Their 2004 album, “Love Songs for Patriots”, received widespread critical acclaim. “Candy Ass” was recorded in San Francisco and London over a three-year period, both before and after the AMC reunion album and tours, and was mixed and mastered in London in June of this year where Eitzel spends much of his time. All photos on the album were taken by Eitzel. |
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Friday 30th of September sees the release of ”Candy Ass”, Mark Eitzel’s first album of new songs since 2001’s “The Invisible Man”. “Candy Ass” is an American redneck term used to describe a wimp or a spineless person, a title as much for his detractors as for his fans - for his fine art of self deprecation. As the vocalist/songwriter for one of the most influential bands to emerge from the '80s – American Music Club – Eitzel’s sound is constantly changing, from his first solo effort of “60 Watt Silver Lining” through to “The Invisible Man”, which was primarily electronic based. He has allowed “Candy Ass” to retain a timeless electronic sound by using both modern and older equipment, layering and interweaving his soundscapes over beds of percussion and drum loops to make some of his most beautiful songs. He also includes three acoustic based tracks including “Sleeping Beauty” which has become a current staple of his recent live solo shows. Eitzel penned 11 of the 12 songs while “Green Eyes” is a partial collaboration with Calexico and their track “Praskovia”. Calexico and Eitzel have long had a mutual admiration as the former originally recorded a cover of “Chanel No 5” for the AMC tribute album. While AMC is Eitzel’s guitar driven side, his solo albums allow him to explore his electronic tastes more widely from Four Tet to the Aphex Twin, and Eno to Mogwai. Just prior to AMC’s breakup in 1995, Eitzel began his solo career in earnest and since then he has released six albums including “West” with REM’s Peter Buck, “Caught in a Trap...” with members of Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo and two albums of cover versions. Last year, American Music Club got back together for one of the most anticipated and amazing reunions in ages, with one US scribe declaring “forget about the Pixies reunion, this is the reunion of the decade”. Their 2004 album, “Love Songs for Patriots”, received widespread critical acclaim. “Candy Ass” was recorded in San Francisco and London over a three-year period, both before and after the AMC reunion album and tours, and was mixed and mastered in London in June of this year where Eitzel spends much of his time. All photos on the album were taken by Eitzel.
FACTS
ABOUT THE NEW ALBUM BY MARK EITZEL
Where did you record the record? At Kingsize Studio's in LA. The producer was Dave Trumfio who made a name for himself recording many records including Summerteeth by Wilco How long to record the album? 2 months - one month to rehearse When did you start writing songs for record? Some of the songs were written 2 years ago - some were written right before the album was recorded. One of the songs - called 'Sleeping Beauty' was on a previous solo album of mine called 'Candy Ass' - and the band wanted to put it on this record. On My Way was begun many years ago. Is there a theme for this record? Nope - it is just a collection of songs played by AMC. If there was a theme - it would be how much fun it is to play music with these guys. Do you write songs as a band? We arrange the songs I write as a band. I bring the finished songs to the band and they either batter them into shape or into little pieces. It is more or less a democracy - but sometimes I will say no. How was this a different approach from your last record 'Love Songs For Patriots'? We recorded as live as we could do without thousands of overdubs. There was a month of rehearsal and then a month of mixing. We arranged the music before we went into the studio. There wasn't a lot of time or money - so this is what we did. Where did you find Sean and Steve (the new bassist and drummer)? Vudi was a fan of a band called 'The Bedroom Walls' - of which Sean was the guitarist. When he left the band and joined the 'Larks' - Vudi loved this band and Steve was the drummer and one of the songwriters. Last year I called Vudi and said that we should try working out some arrangements for the new AMC record. He called Sean and Steve just as a way of bashing out some ideas. We worked together for a week or so and it felt very easy. Steve and Sean are very, very good players. The original members of AMC had been out of touch for a long time - and after a while playing with Steve and Sean felt more like a band than trying to play with Tim and Danny. How would you categorize your music? We always try and subvert categories - I would say we are a different genre according to any band member you talk to. It's an impossible question. What tunes stand out for you on this record? That is another hard question. I personally like 'All My Love' and 'I Know That’s Not Really You'. The record company chose the single. What is different about this record than other AMC records? I think it’s easier to listen to than previous records. The focus was on making a positive statement. Maybe there is something more free about this one. I love pop music - it seems like the most honest statements are the simplest. Also we wanted to make something that people would want to listen to over and over. I think this album is simpler than previous records. The music is basically just what we rehearsed before recording it. What does the title 'The Golden Age' mean? Well it was Vudi's idea to call the record this and put it against a picture of two pit bulls fucking or against a picture of a slaughterhouse. The reason for the title can be your own interpretation. Whose idea was the album cover? This was completely the idea of the photographer Mark Holthusen. He wanted to take these pictures as part of his collection (see his web site!) and we agreed - but never thought that this would be the album cover until we saw the cover photograph. How do you like Los Angeles? I love Los Angeles but I still make my home in San Francisco - where my heart is. What are the old band member doing now? Tim Mooney works at a cooperative studio called Closer in San Francisco. Dan Pearson (bass) plays in several bands and is also releasing his own solo record. He has a web site - that you can find through the AMC web site. What are your plans for the record? Do you think it will be a smash hit? Of course it will. By this time next year I will be playing for the President at the White House. I will have a yacht and a plane and a collection of solid gold candy dispensers ... Do you write the music or the lyrics first? Well it’s a bit of both - sometimes the words suggest music and sometimes the music suggest words.
It is all in the song - I have nothing to say about it.
St. John Berchman is the Patron Saint of altar boys. I used to be one. The Stars It’s a song that came from a dream The Dance Inspired partly by the movie Werkmeister - and by those stupid sunglasses that all American cops and soldiers wear to intimidate you into thinking that there is no justice. The Sleeping Beauty Originally recorded on a solo record of mine called Candy Ass. The band like the song and we started playing it - so when it came to recording the record we decided to throw it on.
About one of San Francisco's lost souls.
A dumb love song - from the point of view of someone who is always outclassed. On My Way Came from a ferry crossing that AMC took from the UK to Germany - in a bar full of soldiers from Northern Ireland, on their way to Croatia.
Was the name of the bar on the top of he World Trade Center
About being on a boat.
Yes I am a lost soul - and tried to write a tribute to my city.
www.cookingvinyl.com / www.american-music-club.com / www.myspace.com/americanmusicclub
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return to Ireland due to popular demand
"This band belongs
together ... the chemistry is still there" - Uncut
"Politically and emotionally unflinching, America's Greatest Living
Lyricist is back on scarifying form." - The Guardian ****
"(Eitzel is) . the consummate entertainer: funny, charming and gifted
with a voice that can make you swoon, shudder and shake." -
Independent on Sunday
"Bleakly beautiful" - The Independent
AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB return to Ireland due to popular demand following their appearance in Dublin's Village last October. In addition to their return to Dublin, AMC also play Galway's Roisin Dubh. For more info or Inverview requests: Stevo Berube at Berube Communications on (01) 476 3603 or 087 244 2695 info@berubecommunications.com or www.berubecommunications.com.
Galway
Roisin Dubh, 8:30pm
28 Jan 2005
?22.50, ?20.00 (members)
Available from Redlight Records, Mulligan Records and the Roisin Dubh.
www.roisindubh.net
Dublin
The Village, 8:30pm
29 Jan 2005
?20.00
Available from WaV, Ticketmaster Outlets, and mcd.ie
www.thevillagevenue.com
AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB, the San Francisco-based band whose poignantly dark, often desperately beautiful music garnered critical acclaim throughout the 80s and 90s, released their new album, "Love Songs For Patriots"
Featuring original members Mark Eitzel (vocals/guitar), Danny Pearson (bass), Tim Mooney (drums) and Vudi (guitar), along with new addition Marc Capelle (piano/trumpet), the 13-song album blends American Music Club's unique mix of rock, folk, country and jazz with Eitzel's ever-present acerbic, brutally honest lyrics. From the first few bars of "Ladies And Gentlemen" it's obvious that the band is back in full force.
AMC are original members
Mark Eitzel (vocals, guitar), Dan Pearson (bass),
Tim Mooney (drums), Vudi (guitar) and they are joined by new member Jason
Borger (keyboards).
AMERICAN
MUSIC CLUB
return
with a new album after a 10 year hiatus
“LOVE
SONGS FOR PATRIOTS” (Cooking Vinyl)
Irish
Release 3rd September 2004
*** Mark
Eitzel Irish Promo trip August ***
“This band belongs together ... the chemistry is still there” - Uncut
“Politically and emotionally unflinching, America’s Greatest Living Lyricist is back on scarifying form.” – The Guardian ****
“(Eitzel is) … the consummate entertainer: funny, charming and gifted with a voice that can make you swoon, shudder and shake.” – Independent on Sunday
“Bleakly beautiful” – The Independent
AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB,
the San Francisco-based band whose poignantly dark, often desperately
beautiful music garnered critical acclaim throughout the 80s and 90s,
are set to release their new album, “Love Songs For Patriots”
on 3rd September. The album will be preceded by a single, “Ladies
& Gentlemen” on 20th August.
Featuring
original members Mark Eitzel (vocals/guitar), Danny
Pearson (bass), Tim Mooney (drums) and Vudi
(guitar), along with new addition Marc Capelle
(piano/trumpet), the 13-song album blends American Music Club's unique
mix of rock, folk, country and jazz with Eitzel's ever-present acerbic,
brutally honest lyrics. From the first few bars of "Ladies
And Gentlemen" it’s obvious that the band is back
in full force.
Formed in 1983, American Music Club produced music that reflected America ... a blend of free-form jazz tendencies and Eitzel's down beat poetics. His talent landed him Best Songwriter accolades in Rolling Stone's Critics Poll, which also deemed the group a "Hot Band" pick. After releasing five, much lauded, full-length records on a handful of indie labels, American Music Club signed to a major in 1993 and released "Mercury", considered a masterpiece of modern rock music and the band's most focused album to date. After non-stop touring in '94, the group put out their seventh release titled "San Francisco", which laid claim to their birthplace and featured an introspective collection of songs that twisted and turned like the ambivalent emotions that created them. That ambivalence was fortuitous as American Music Club called it quits, amicably, in 1995.
Separately, the band continued musically. Eitzel released a trove of much-loved solo efforts, Pearson went on to play with Clodhopper and release quality solo records, Mooney took on life as a producer and Vudi fronted an L.A. Band called Clovis de Foret.
In the summer of 2003, Mooney phoned his American Music Club band mates to ask about recording a new album. The songs Eitzel had written laid the seed for what would become their new record, "Love Songs For Patriots".
Following on from their string of sold out tour dates in the U.S. and U.K, the band will begin a worldwide tour in September. More details to follow ….
After a 10-year hiatus, American Music Club is back together. In fact, the band are currently working in San Francisco at Closer Recording Studios on a brand new AMC album.
Mark Eitzel (vocals and guitar) reports that things are going pretty well with the sessions. “It’s very inspiring to be working with these great musicians once again,” Eitzel recently told RollingStone.com. “We’re pretty different now. I think we’ve changed a lot. You’d have to in ten years, right?”
Forming in San Francisco back in 1983, Mark Eitzel, Vudi and Dan Pearson began by synthesizing their love for rock, country, blues, folk, pop and punk, featuring Eitzel’s enigmatic presence, heartfelt vocals and brilliant songwriting. Songs often became an unpredictable wedding between their free-form jazz tendencies and Eitzel’s downbeat poetics, eventually landing him “Best Songwriter” accolades in Rolling Stone Critics Poll, not to mention a “Hot Band” pick from the same publication. The band went on to release five, much applauded, full length records on a handful of indie labels before recording their major label debut, ‘Mercury’, in 1993, considered by many to be a masterpiece of modern popular music and their most focused record. Then, after incessant touring, the band settled down in the spring of 1994 to produce a set of songs that emphasized the line-ups steadiness and a wealth of new perspective. They called it ‘San Francisco’, their seventh album, which laid claim to their critical birthright in an album full of introspective songs that twisted and turned like the ambivalent emotions that created them. Soon after, American Music Club split up, albeit amicably in 1995. Eitzel went on to create of reservoir of much loved solo efforts, including ‘60 Watt Silver Lining’ and ‘The Invisible Man’. Danny went on to play with Clodhopper, and release his solo recordings. Tim is a busy producer at his own Closer Recording Studios in San Francisco, and Vudi fronts LA band Clovis de Foret. Now, after a decade of being apart, we can expect a new AMC effort – a full length album, no less – in September. More information will be issued shortly.
AMC are – original members Mark Eitzel (vocals, guitar), Dan Pearson (bass), Tim Mooney (drums), Vudi (guitar) and new member Marc Capelle (piano/trumpet).
