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Deerhoof
Satomi Matsuzaki and Chris Cohen of Deerhoof playing live at the 2006 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
Background information
Origin	San Francisco, CA, USA
Genre(s)	Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Pop music, Rock music, Noise Rock, Alternative Rock, Musical improvisation
Years active	1994 – present
Label(s)	Kill Rock Stars, ATP Recordings
Website	Deerhoof official website
Members
John Dieterich Satomi Matsuzaki Greg Saunier

Deerhoof is an experimental rock band from San Francisco. A critical favorite, their music is noted for its unconventional song structures, lyrics and rhythms.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Origins 1.2 The Man, The King, The Girl - Halfbird 1.3 Reveille - The Runners Four 1.4 Friend Opportunity 2 Band members 2.1 Past Members 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 EPs and Singles 4 Videography 5 Trivia 6 External links

Deerhoof was formed in 1994 by Rob Fisk and Greg Saunier. At the time, both were members of the band Nitre Pit and would meet before practice to work on their own material, with Fisk playing bass and Saunier on drums. It was Fisk who came up with the name "Deerhoof". The two played at the Yo Yo A Go-Go festival in Olympia, where Kill Rock Stars founder Slim Moon discovered them. In 1995, Kill Rock Stars released the band's first 7", "Return Of The Wood M'lady". In 1996, Satomi Matsuzaki moved from Tokyo to San Francisco. A member of the band Caroliner (whom Matsuzaki met while they toured Japan) played her the 7" and she decided to join Fisk and Saunier, who were looking for a vocalist at the time. Her first experience with the band was singing into a strange microphone Fisk had constructed out of paper mache and walkman headphones. Like most members in the history of Deerhoof, she had no formal music training (Saunier studied music and sang in barbershop quartets as a child and went to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music).

In 1997, the trio released their first LP, The Man, the King, the Girl, on Kill Rock Stars / 5 Rue Christine (a new label Moon founded). In the liner notes, the band only identified themselves as: The Man (bass, guitar), The King (drums), and The Girl (vocals). The album was an unusual mix of harsh noise and catchy melodies, played in a wild improvisational style, and produced using a wide and bizarre sound palette. For their next album, Matsuzaki began to play bass and the band added Kelly Goode on keyboard. In 1999, that line-up released Holdypaws, an album that focused on extremely strict performance of tightly composed songs, completely removing any element of noise, improvisation, or unusual instrumentation. All of Deerhoof's subsequent albums have fallen between the aesthetic extremes posited by these first two.

Later that year, Fisk and Goode left the band. Saunier became interested in the guitar playing of John Dieterich from the band Gorge Trio and asked Dieterich to join the band. With the new line-up, the band recorded several live tracks, which they combined with previous live recordings on the album Koalamagic, released by Dual Plover in 2000. In 2001, they released Halfbird, an album started four years prior, on Menlo Park. The band then began recording new material and did two tours with XBXRX. A documentary of the tour came out shortly after and sold out quickly.

Deerhoof's next release, Reveille, came in 2002. The album defined the sound of modern Deerhoof, with more integration of melody and dissonance within each song. Matsuzaki no longer screamed any vocals, her delivery becoming more confident and smooth. Matsuzaki also drew the album's artwork. By the end of the recording process, the band had developed a close relationship with Chris Cohen, then playing in his band The Curtains. Not only did The Curtains tour with Deerhoof, Saunier and Matsuzaki played in the band for a time. Cohen was also involved with another band, Natural Dreamers, along with Dieterich. After six months knowing them, Cohen joined the band as a second guitarist.

Now a quartet, Deerhoof recorded their next album, Apple O'. With Jay Pellicci engineering, the band recorded the album in one 9-hour session. Although it was very well received at the time, Apple O' is unfortunately often overlooked when reviewers recount the band's history. The addition of Cohen allowed the band to expand further on their seamless integration of vocal and guitar melodies and also feature less overdubs than its predecessor. Lyrically, Apple O' is a concept album about Adam and Eve, and about love in general. Unlike Milk Man, however, the lyrics are very vague and poetic, forming an album that is extremely consistent despite stylistic differences between songs. The artwork for this album was drawn by Fisk. Around this time, the band decided to quit their jobs and make Deerhoof a fulltime job. At the time, Saunier was a filing clerk, Matsuzaki was editing a San Francisco Japanese magazine, Dieterich was doing data entry at a law firm, and Cohen was a waiter at a Thai restaurant.

2004 was a busy year for Deerhoof. Keeping with their album-a-year pace, they released Milk Man. Each part of the album was recorded separately on a computer; the band members never played simultaneously. Milk Man is based on a character created by Japanese artist Ken Kagami, a friend of the band. The band creates a story to explain the strange character, which lyrically plays out in a relatively coherent narrative.

In 2005, the band released an EP in Japan titled Green Cosmos, originally intended to be a split with 54-71, who Deerhoof toured with in Japan. The EP was released on Toad Records. Eventually, the band decided to release Green Cosmos in the US as well, and did so on Menlo Park. With the exception of a live favorite "Come See The Duck", all lyrics on the EP are sung in Japanese. That is not the only difference, the overall sound of the seven songs comes off very orchestral.

In the fall, Deerhoof released The Runners Four. The idea behind The Runners Four was to give each band member equal say in its creation. This concept led to intense sessions while recording, although the band says there weren't any hard feelings from the experience. The album was recorded on Pro Tools and mixed collectively by the band. After completing the mixing, Deerhoof went on tour. After a few days, they decided to listen to the new album while in the car. They immediately called Kill Rock Stars and said they had to rework it. The band ultimately submitted the "completed" album four times before being satisfied with it.[1] The Runners Four was widely considered by fans and the press to be Deerhoof's best work. Many positive reviews, including a great one in The New York Times further increased the band's popularity.

In May 2006, Cohen left Deerhoof to work on The Curtains full time. The split was apparently amicable and the band released a nine song EP free on their website to commemorate the departure. The EP consisted of five live recordings and four covers. The band didn't assign a name to the EP, so reviewers referred to it as Untitled E.P. for simplicity.

On January 23 2007, Deerhoof released Friend Opportunity on Kill Rock Stars/5RC. The album was recorded in John's bedroom with some overdubbing done at Tiny Telephone with Jay and Ian Pellicci. The band has been touring throughout fall 2006, including a stop in North Haven, Maine, where a middle school produced a ballet version of Milk Man.[2] Deerhoof is also currently working with composer Ed Shearmer on the soundtrack to the upcoming film Dedication.

In December, the band released both a download-only EP, +81, and a picture disc 7" single, "The Perfect Me", featuring songs from Friend Opportunity.

Deerhoof has toured with such bands as The Roots, Radiohead, The Flaming Lips, Wilco and Sonic Youth. When not on the road, Saunier and Matsuzaki live in San Francisco while Dieterich lives in Oakland.

In addition to Deerhoof all members have played in many other bands, including The Curtains, Xiu Xiu, THETEETHE, Gorge Trio, Natural Dreamers, and Retrievers. Saunier has teamed up with Hella drummer Zach Hill and Joanna Newsom to create Nervous Cop. The band also recorded a few tracks with Danielson for their album Ships.

A new fan-made music video for 'Kidz are so Small' is posted on YouTube YouTube and picked up by Pitchfork Media. It was created through the use of traditional 2D animation by Face3media, a Montreal based media company.

• John Dieterich
• Satomi Matsuzaki
• Greg Saunier

• Kelly Goode
• Rob Fisk
• Chris Cooper
• Jess Goddard
• Chris Cohen

• The Man, the King, the Girl CD (1997)
• Holdypaws CD (1999)
• Koalamagic (2000)
• Halfbird CD (2001)
• Reveille CD/LP (2002)
• Apple O' CD/LP (2003)
• Milk Man CD/LP (2004)
• Bibidi Babidi Boo MP3 (2004)
• The Runners Four CD/LP (2005)
• Friend Opportunity CD/LP (2007)

• Green Cosmos CD (2005)
• Untitled E.P. MP3 (2006)
• +81 MP3 (2006)
• The Perfect Me Ltd 7" picturedisc (2007)

• Kidz are so Small An unofficial Music Video appears on [Youtube.com] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G30nXKh1Xho Animated by Alex Fellows and Produced by Face3media from the album Friend Oppurtunity (April 2007) [3]
• Gore in Rut (directed by Children of Hoof Education Center) on Video Fanzine #1 (NTSC VHS, Kill Rock Stars, April 1999, KRS200) [4]
• Wicca Wind (directed by Aida Ruilova) on Video Fanzine #2 (NTSC VHS, Kill Rock Stars, 3 October 2000, KRS300) [5]
• XBXRX/Deerhoof tour documentary (Nothing Fancy Just Music, January 2001, NFJM5V)
• live performance and interview on epsiode 6 of Burn My Eye! (shot and edited by Stephen Kozlowski, Kirsten Nordine, Trevor Shimuzu and Deerhoof, aired 6 November 2002 on Access SF a.k.a. Channel 29; NTSC DVD, June 2003; PAL DVD, Plastic Donkey / Rimbaud Records, 5 May 2005) [6]
• Dog on the Sidewalk (live) on Video Fanzine #3 (NTSC DVD, Kill Rock Stars, 12 July 2005, KRS400) [7]
• Wrong Time Capsule (directed by Martha Colburn, November 2005)
• Apple Bomb (animated by Adam Shecter, 2005) [8]
• The Perfect Me (directed by Eric Landmark & Peter Venuto, March 2007) [9]

• Saunier and Dieterich are both vegetarians.
• In the band's early years, Matsuzaki often performed live while wearing an orange bear suit.
• The North Haven Community in North Haven, Maine recently performed a ballet version of Deerhoof's 2004 release, Milk Man. A DVD of the performance is available at http://www.milkmanballet.com/index.htm.

• Deerhoof official website
• Deerhoof on MySpace
• The Milk Man Ballet
• Greg Saunier's music blog at MOG.com
• Kill Rock Stars
• Deerhoof at All Music Guide
• MP3s on ibiblio
• Bio and press page
• Comprehensive Deerhoof discography
• ATP Recordings
• Various Album Reviews

Deerhoof

John Dieterich | Satomi Matsuzaki | Greg Saunier Rob Fisk | Kelly Goode | Chris Cooper | Jess Goddard | Chris Cohen

Discography

Albums: The Man, the King, the Girl | Holdypaws | Halfbird | Reveille | Apple O' | Milk Man | The Runners Four | Friend Opportunity EPs: Green Cosmos | Untitled E.P. | +81

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