Battle of Mice
Encyclopedia
Battle of Mice was a post-metal
supergroup
consisting of Julie Christmas (Made Out of Babies
), Josh Graham (Neurosis
, ex-Red Sparowes
, A Storm of Light
), Joel Hamilton
(Book of Knots), Tony Maimone (Book of Knots, Pere Ubu
), and Joe Tomino (Fugees, Dub Trio
, Peeping Tom
).
The band was formed when vocalist Julie Christmas and guitarist
/keyboardist
Josh Graham met in Austin, Texas
while touring with their respective bands in 2005. Graham and Christmas, who disliked one another upon first acquaintance, were in an on-again-off-again relationship
during the recording of the band's debut album, A Day of Nights. At their worst, the pair refused to play in the same room.
The album, which was released under Neurot Recordings
, contains seven tracks heavily influenced by the metal
, post-rock
and noise rock
roots from which the group was derived. The song "At the Base of the Giant's Throat" features a recorded 911 call between vocal sections.
The band's name is derived from a saying by Alexander the Great pertaining to a military invasion of Crete
.
On September 3, 2009, a blog was posted on the band's MySpace page stating that the band was parting ways.
Post-metal
Post-metal is a music genre, a mixture between the genres of post-rock and heavy metal.Hydra Head Records owner and Isis frontman Aaron Turner originally termed the genre "thinking man's metal", demonstrating that his band was trying to move away from common metal conventions...
supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
consisting of Julie Christmas (Made Out of Babies
Made Out of Babies
-Biography:Drawing equally from noise-rock bands like The Jesus Lizard and post-metal bands like Isis, the band developed a following after the release of their debut album, Trophy. Their first two albums were released by Neurot Recordings, the label of post-metal and post-rock bands like Isis,...
), Josh Graham (Neurosis
Neurosis (band)
Neurosis is a post-metal band, based in Oakland, California. They formed in 1985 as a hardcore punk band, and their sound progressed towards a doom metal style that also included influences from dark ambient and industrial music as well as incorporating elements of folk music...
, ex-Red Sparowes
Red Sparowes
Red Sparowes is a Los Angeles post-rock band comprising current and former members of Isis, Halifax Pier, Angel Hair and Pleasure Forever. Their sound is characteristic of soundscape-influenced experimental rock, with an otherwise uncommon extensive use of a pedal steel guitar.-History:Red Sparowes...
, A Storm of Light
A Storm of Light
A Storm of Light is a band from Brooklyn,which is sometimes referred to as post-metal. Critic Leech has described them as "Doom Metal/Post-Rock".- History :...
), Joel Hamilton
Joel Hamilton
Joel Hamilton is a producer, engineer, and musician originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Since the late 1990s he has been based out of Brooklyn, NY. He shares a studio with partner Tony Maimone named Studio G. He has worked with a number of well known artists, as well as writing for various...
(Book of Knots), Tony Maimone (Book of Knots, Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu
Pere Ubu is an experimental rock music group from Cleveland, Ohio.Père Ubu may also refer to:* Ubu, the enigmatic central figure of a series of French plays by Alfred Jarry, including Ubu Roi, and subsequent plays Ubu Cocu and Ubu Enchaîné...
), and Joe Tomino (Fugees, Dub Trio
Dub Trio
Dub Trio is a dub/rock cross-over band from Brooklyn, New York.-Biography:Dub Trio is DP - Dave Holmes Stu Brooks and Joe Tomino...
, Peeping Tom
Peeping Tom
Peeping Tom is a nickname commonly given to voyeurs, particularly males. It originated with the legend of Lady Godiva, when a man named Tom watched her during her nude ride and was struck blind or dead.It may also refer to:In music...
).
The band was formed when vocalist Julie Christmas and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
/keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
Josh Graham met in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
while touring with their respective bands in 2005. Graham and Christmas, who disliked one another upon first acquaintance, were in an on-again-off-again relationship
On-again, off-again relationship
An on-again, off-again relationship is a form of casual relationship, usually sexual, between two people. It is where the couple concerned do not see their discontinuous affair as an ongoing or formal relationship...
during the recording of the band's debut album, A Day of Nights. At their worst, the pair refused to play in the same room.
The album, which was released under Neurot Recordings
Neurot Recordings
Neurot Recordings is an independent American record label founded by members of Neurosis and Tribes of Neurot. The label was founded to release the side projects of Neurosis and its members. It has since expanded to a fully functioning label, releasing music from artists...
, contains seven tracks heavily influenced by the metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
and noise rock
Noise rock
Noise rock describes a style of post-punk rock music that became prominent in the 1980s. Noise rock makes use of the traditional instrumentation and iconography of rock, but incorporates atonality and especially dissonance, and also frequently discards usual songwriting conventions.-Style:Noise...
roots from which the group was derived. The song "At the Base of the Giant's Throat" features a recorded 911 call between vocal sections.
The band's name is derived from a saying by Alexander the Great pertaining to a military invasion of Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
.
On September 3, 2009, a blog was posted on the band's MySpace page stating that the band was parting ways.
Members
- Julie ChristmasJulie ChristmasJulie Christmas is an American musician from Brooklyn, New York. She is the lead singer of Brooklyn-based noise rock band Made Out of Babies and the former lead singer of defunct post-metal supergroup Battle of Mice....
(Made Out of BabiesMade Out of Babies-Biography:Drawing equally from noise-rock bands like The Jesus Lizard and post-metal bands like Isis, the band developed a following after the release of their debut album, Trophy. Their first two albums were released by Neurot Recordings, the label of post-metal and post-rock bands like Isis,...
) – vocals - Josh Graham (NeurosisNeurosis (band)Neurosis is a post-metal band, based in Oakland, California. They formed in 1985 as a hardcore punk band, and their sound progressed towards a doom metal style that also included influences from dark ambient and industrial music as well as incorporating elements of folk music...
, ex-Red SparowesRed SparowesRed Sparowes is a Los Angeles post-rock band comprising current and former members of Isis, Halifax Pier, Angel Hair and Pleasure Forever. Their sound is characteristic of soundscape-influenced experimental rock, with an otherwise uncommon extensive use of a pedal steel guitar.-History:Red Sparowes...
, A Storm of LightA Storm of LightA Storm of Light is a band from Brooklyn,which is sometimes referred to as post-metal. Critic Leech has described them as "Doom Metal/Post-Rock".- History :...
) – guitars, keyboards, and vocals - Joel Hamilton (Book of Knots) – drums
- Tony Maimone (Book of Knots, Pere UbuPere UbuPere Ubu is an experimental rock music group from Cleveland, Ohio.Père Ubu may also refer to:* Ubu, the enigmatic central figure of a series of French plays by Alfred Jarry, including Ubu Roi, and subsequent plays Ubu Cocu and Ubu Enchaîné...
) – bass - Joe Tomino (Fugees, Dub TrioDub TrioDub Trio is a dub/rock cross-over band from Brooklyn, New York.-Biography:Dub Trio is DP - Dave Holmes Stu Brooks and Joe Tomino...
, Peeping TomPeeping TomPeeping Tom is a nickname commonly given to voyeurs, particularly males. It originated with the legend of Lady Godiva, when a man named Tom watched her during her nude ride and was struck blind or dead.It may also refer to:In music...
) – drums
Discography
- Triad split album (2006)
- A Day of Nights (2006)
- Jesu/Battle of Mice split EP (2008)
External links
- Official band website
- www.myspace.com/BattleOfMice Battle of Mice at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- An interview with Josh Graham, March 2008
- Battle of Mice interview, avantgarde-metal.com, 2009