The Decemberists

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The Decemberists
live at the 2006 Sasquatch! Music Festival
live at the 2006 Sasquatch! Music Festival
Background information
Origin U.S. flag Portland, Oregon, United States
Genre(s) Indie rock, Indie pop,
Progressive folk
Years active 2001 – present
Label(s) Kill Rock Stars, Capitol
Website Decemberists.com
Members
Colin Meloy
Chris Funk
Jenny Conlee
Nate Query
John Moen

The Decemberists are a five-piece indie pop band from Portland, Oregon, fronted by singer/songwriter Colin Meloy. Their debut EP, 5 Songs, was self-released in 2001. Their fourth full-length album, The Crane Wife, was released on 3 October 2006 by Capitol Records, and is their first appearance on a major label.

Contents

Named both in reference to the Russian Decembrist Revolt and to the atmosphere associated with the month of December[1], the Decemberists write songs that range from upbeat pop to instrumentally lush ballads, and often employ instruments like the accordion, hammond organ, Wurlitzer organ, and upright bass. In their lyrics, they eschew the angst and introspection common to modern rock, instead favoring a storytelling approach, as evidenced in songs such as "My Mother Was A Chinese Trapeze Artist" from the 5 Songs EP and "The Mariner's Revenge Song" on Picaresque. Their songs convey tales ranging from whimsical ("Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect") to epic ("The Tain") to truly dark ("Odalisque"). They often invoke historical events and themes from around the world. Early in their career, The Decemberists' musical and lyrical aesthetics frequently prompted critics to compare them to Neutral Milk Hotel. Since their debut, their sound has undergone a consistent evolution, most notably in the direction of progressive rock with a strong folk influence, though they have also been described as indie rock and, by Stephen Colbert, as "hyper-literate prog rock".

In March 2005, the Decemberists were reportedly the first band to distribute a music video via BitTorrent -- the self-produced "16 Military Wives" (from Picaresque).[2] That same month, the band's equipment trailer was stolen[3]; fans contributed to a replacement fund, and another fund-raiser was organized via an eBay auction, with buyers bidding for copies of Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey and original art work by Carson Ellis. They also received help from Lee Kruger, the Shins, the Dandy Warhols and other musicians. The Martin Guitar Company offered 6- and 12-string guitars on permanent loan. In early April, police discovered the trailer in Clackamas, Oregon, and a fair amount of the band's merchandise, but the instruments and equipment were not recovered.[1]

On their website, The Decemberists claim that their official drink is Orangina, and that bands they "adore" include Norfolk & Western, The Places, The Long Winters, Death Cab for Cutie, Tracker, Sleater-Kinney, Electrelane, Camera Obscura, Clearlake, Tom Heinl, The Thermals, Swords, and Earlimart. Their official biography, keeping up their reputation for intentionally over-the-top grandiloquence, describes how the band's members met in a Turkish bath. A footnote following the biography claims, "The Decemberists travel exclusively by Dr. Herring's Brand® Dirigible Balloons."

On 12 December 2005, Meloy revealed to Pitchfork Media that they had signed to Capitol Records, and planned to begin recording their major label debut with producers Tucker Martine and Chris Walla, of Death Cab for Cutie fame, in April of 2006.[2]

The Decemberists' most recent album The Crane Wife, their major label debut, was released on 3 October 2006. The release was accompanied by an appearance the same day on the world-wide syndicated TV talk show Late Night with Conan O'Brien when the track "O Valencia!" was performed.

The Decemberists began their tour in support of The Crane Wife, The Rout of the Patagons Tour, on October 17, 2006, at Portland, Oregon's Crystal Ballroom. Their opening act was Lavender Diamond. Later on in the tour, Alasdair Roberts opened for the band.

NPR listeners voted The Crane Wife their favorite album of 2006, as announced on the December 5 episode of All Songs Considered.[3]

In late November 2006, the band announced its intentions to give fans the opportunity to create a music video using footage of the band in front of a green screen. The move came under criticism by Stephen Colbert's host persona on his Comedy Central program on November 29, 2006. Colbert's on-screen character claimed he developed the concept of a "green screen challenge" on his show earlier in the year and that the band was simply ripping off his idea. He then challenged his viewers to a "second green screen challenge" by adding him to the video for "O Valencia!"

The Decemberists countered by accusing Colbert of stealing from an on-stage lightsaber fight the band engaged in during a show in San Francisco on September 12th, 2005, several months prior to the original Green Screen Challenge[4]. "We already played out the lightsaber thing months earlier, live and on stage-- sans animation, stunt double and fancy green screen-- with pure rock, sweat and C batteries" [5] Some fans have also countered that the band shot the video in mid July, a month before Colbert's original challenge was issued in August.

The Decemberists continued by encouraging their fans to edit them defeating Stephen Colbert in their video. They also challenged Stephen to a guitar solo competition. [6] On December 7, 2006, Stephen Colbert accepted the challenge, saying the Decemberists "may be thieves, but they're not cowards." Colbert went on to boast that he would "jam out a solo, with so many dominant sevenths and ascending pentatonic patterns it'll make Yngwie Malmsteen sound like Raffi!"

On December 20, lead guitarist Chris Funk competed on the show with Stephen Colbert. Stephen Colbert feigned a hand injury after playing only a few notes. Begging "Father Christmas" to send him a guitar hero as a Christmas miracle, Peter Frampton appeared and competed in Stephen's place. In a 1-1 tie (NY governor-elect Eliot Spitzer recused himself), Colbert/Frampton was voted the winner by audience vote, although Colbert did insist on 'polite applause' when it was the Decemberists' turn for voting. When asked for his assessment, Dr. Henry Kissinger declared, "Tonight, I think the American people won," to which Colbert replied "That means me!"

Colbert's prize was The Decemberists' CD The Crane Wife, and he went on to say "I love the Decemberists! They rock! In your face Funk!" to show that this event was all in good fun.

In an interview with NPR in January, 2007, Meloy stated that no of them knew about the Colbert challenge beforehand, and that the only thing the group was ever told was that Peter Frampton would step in for Colbert during the show.

The Decemberists' album and promotional artwork prior to the release of the Crane Wife was produced by Carson Ellis, a Portland, Oregon artist, who is Colin Meloy's girlfriend. Meloy and Ellis have one child, Henry Ellis Meloy.

The Decemberists playing a small show at the House of Blues in Orlando, FL in 2005
The Decemberists playing a small show at the House of Blues in Orlando, FL in 2005

  1. ^ Gene Armstrong. "On Behalf of Orangina: The Decemberists perform their dramatic, literary alt-rock, with orange soda in tow", Tucson Weekly, June 17, 2004. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
  2. ^ "Rockers Flex BitTorrent's Muscle", Wired News, 23 March 2005.
  3. ^ "Decemberists Shipwrecked By Pirates", CMJ, 22 March 22 2005.
  4. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51fCwGAue5Q
  5. ^ http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/39928/Exclusive_Decemberists_Counterchallenge_Colbert#39928
  6. ^ http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/39928/Exclusive_Decemberists_Counterchallenge_Colbert#39928
  7. ^ http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/39613/Decemberists_Deliver_Sony_Connect_Exclusive_EP#39613

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