Beulah (band)
Encyclopedia
Beulah was an indie rock
band from San Francisco, California
, often associated with The Elephant 6 Recording Company.
frontman and Elephant 6 member Robert Schneider
, who expressed interest on releasing what was to be their first single, A Small Cattle Drive in a Snow Storm
, on Elephant 6 records. Their first album, Handsome Western States
, was released in the same year, also on Elephant 6 and mastered by Schneider. The record soon sold out. This association with the collective has continued throughout their career, despite the fact that they did not release anything more on the label - they are listed as being part of the close family of Elephant 6 bands, on the official Elephant 6 website http://elephant6.com/bands.html, and they have toured with other collective members, such as Dressy Bessy
, Ladybug Transistor, The Olivia Tremor Control
and of Montreal
. In order to tour in support of the album, Steve La Follette, Steve St. Cin, and Pat Noel joined the band, with the band playing their first shows in support of the Apples.
, followed two years later to critical acclaim. The sound of the band had shifted — as Kurosky put it, the band's production values had shifted "from lo-fi to mid-fi" http://www.shiftydisco.co.uk/m/?beulah/biog, and it incorporated a very wide range of instruments, utilising eighteen additional musicians — strings
and horns
were heavily incorporated, along with more exotic instrumentation, the instruments totalling a number of several dozen. Also, at this time, the band added keyboardist Bill Evans to their line-up. Shifty Disco Records, an Oxford
, UK based label, also released two UK-only singles in 1999, namely Sunday Under Glass and Score From Augusta, with Emma Blowgun's Last Stand released the following year. These singles featured b-sides culled from Handsome Western States, which remained unreleased in the UK, and had fallen out of print in the U.S.A.
, until 2000 further copies were made available by the band in 1999, with different artwork. Emma Blowgun's Last Stand was also released in Australia
by Elastic Records, this time with two exclusive bonus tracks.
The band continued to tour extensively throughout 1999, taking a break in 2000. Steve St. Cin left the band after this extensive touring, to be replaced by Danny Sullivan
, best known from his days in Screeching Weasel
. In this time, Kurosky went to Japan
, staying with a friend for eight weeks, here writing the songs that would eventually turn into their third album. He then mailed demo tapes of the songs to each band member, who would in turn mail back their own versions of, and additions to, the songs. This process created interesting juxtapositions in the band's songwriting process, as Kurosky describes: "Bill might have heard it as a soul song and Pat might have heard it as a country song — and I might happen to like both parts, and use them both"http://elephant6.com/bands/beulah.html. Kurosky then turned these recordings into the basis of the band's new record, The Coast Is Never Clear
. During the recording process, however, Kurosky was diagnosed with bipolar disorder
, and took daily therapy sessions http://www.dallasobserver.com/Issues/2001-09-27/music/music_full.html, which informed the lyrical mood of the record, which was often incredibly downbeat, very much at odds with the breezy, summery feel of the music. This also made the recording of the record difficult — Bill Swan's studio diary often contains excerpts such as, "Miles threatened to hit me over the head with a mic stand. This is going to be a long record" http://elephant6.com/press/beulahdiary.html. To add to these personal problems, Beulah also encountered other problems with the release of the record, primarily the buy-out of Capricorn Records
, which had previously signed Beulah after When Your Heartstrings Break was released, which included the purchase of all of the label's acts save Beulah and three others http://beulahmania.com/news/2001news.html. In the end, the record was released on newly-founded independent label Velocette Records on September 11, 2001. The record again gained a great degree of critical acclaim, and the band continued to tour, despite having to cancel their European dates in the winter of that year. Shortly after the release of the record, Steve La Follette and Bill Evans left the band, to be replaced by Eli Crews and Pat Abernathy.
s conception and recording was one of great personal strife for the band - Kurosky split with his longtime girlfriend and three of the six band members went through divorce while the record was being written, rehearsed and recorded. Amid all this, the foundations of the band appeared to be shaking; rumours of a break-up were rife and well-founded. The mood of the album was certainly much darker and the band phased back much of their instrumentation, preferring to create more of a live sound than layering multiple overdubs atop the mix. The album took a much rockier direction than their previous efforts; yet, upon its release in 2003, attracted a similar lauding that had greeted their previous two records. An album of demos, appropriately titled Yoko Demos, was released in the December of this year.
At this time, Beulah appeared to be falling apart. Cryptic messages alluding to a break-up appeared on the band's website, and the state of the band was in much speculation. Beulah themselves had stated that, if Yoko did not achieve gold status, the band would split. Though it received the best reviews of the band's career, scoring Universal Acclaim on Metacritic and described as a "career-spanning epic" by Dusted Magazine http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/beulah/yoko?q=yoko, the record still failed to achieve gold status, and consequently the band, after one final tour with the band dios malos opening for them, split up, ending with a free concert at New York
's Battery Park
at Castle Clinton
on August 5, 2004. On August 2, 2005, a DVD
chronicling their last tour in fall 2003, titled A Good Band is Easy to Kill (referring to the band's song "A Good Man is Easy to Kill," which, in turn, references lead singer Miles's love for Flannery O'Connor
) was released, again to much praise.
In 2005, all four Beulah albums, as well as the single "My Horoscope Said It Would Be a Bad Year," were released on iTunes after fans suggested they be easily accessible http://www.beulahmania.com/. However, "My Horoscope Said It Would Be a Bad Year" has since been removed and has become something of a rarity.
. The EP was released January 12, 2010 on digital. Produced by Kurosky and engineered by former Beulah member Eli Crews (Deerhoof, Why?), The Desert of Shallow Effects includes a cast of more than two dozen musicians (among them several ex-Beulah members) playing a vast array of instruments. “When I wrote lyrics before, for Beulah, they were of an esoteric nature, but this time, I wanted them to read like stories,” says Kurosky of the compositions that populate The Desert of Shallow Effects.
In late 2009, the members of Beulah reunited to perform selections from The Desert of Shallow Effects for The Bay Bridged.
The 2009 Film Youth in Revolt
contained the Beulah song "Popular Mechanics for Lovers" which is subsequently contained on the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack for the film.
Another Beulah song to be featured in a motion picture and its respective Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is their track "If We Can Land A Man On The Moon, Surely I Can Win Your Heart" from the album When Your Heartstrings Break
in 2010 Film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
starring Michael Cera
.
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band from San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, often associated with The Elephant 6 Recording Company.
Early Years: 1996-1998
The band was formed by Miles Kurosky and Bill Swan in San Francisco in 1996, while the pair were both working in the same office mail room. The pair discovered that they shared similar musical tastes and, disregarding some mutual dislike, decided to form a band. This early incarnation of Beulah recorded a song every 6 weeks for 16 months, on their 4-track recorder. The band received attention from The Apples in StereoThe Apples in Stereo
The Apples in Stereo, styled The Apples in stereo, is an American indie rock band associated with The Elephant Six Collective, a group of bands also including Neutral Milk Hotel and The Olivia Tremor Control. The band is largely a product of lead vocalist/guitarist Robert Schneider, who writes the...
frontman and Elephant 6 member Robert Schneider
Robert Schneider
Robert Peter Schneider is one of the co-founders of The Elephant 6 Recording Company, along with Will Cullen Hart, Bill Doss, and Jeff Mangum...
, who expressed interest on releasing what was to be their first single, A Small Cattle Drive in a Snow Storm
A Small Cattle Drive in a Snow Storm
A Small Cattle Drive in a Snow Storm is a single released by Beulah in 1997, and was recorded after Robert Schneider of The Apples in Stereo, a member of the Elephant 6 collective, took notice of the band...
, on Elephant 6 records. Their first album, Handsome Western States
Handsome Western States
Handsome Western States is indie rock band Beulah's debut album, released in 1997. The sound is much less polished and elaborate than later albums. The album went out of print in 1999 but was re-pressed with new artwork in 2002. The album was never released in Europe, however...
, was released in the same year, also on Elephant 6 and mastered by Schneider. The record soon sold out. This association with the collective has continued throughout their career, despite the fact that they did not release anything more on the label - they are listed as being part of the close family of Elephant 6 bands, on the official Elephant 6 website http://elephant6.com/bands.html, and they have toured with other collective members, such as Dressy Bessy
Dressy Bessy
Dressy Bessy is an indie rock band from Denver, Colorado, associated with the Elephant Six Collective. Guitarist John Hill also plays with The Apples in Stereo. Lead vocalist/guitarist Tammy Ealom formed the band with drummer Darren Albert and guitarist turned bassist Rob Greene in 1996. The name...
, Ladybug Transistor, The Olivia Tremor Control
The Olivia Tremor Control
The Olivia Tremor Control is an indie rock band prominent in the mid to late 1990s which, along with The Apples in Stereo and Neutral Milk Hotel, was one of the three original Elephant 6 projects...
and of Montreal
Of Montreal
Of Montreal is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontman Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance with a woman "of Montreal." The band is one of the bands of the Elephant 6 collective...
. In order to tour in support of the album, Steve La Follette, Steve St. Cin, and Pat Noel joined the band, with the band playing their first shows in support of the Apples.
Middle Years: 1999-2002
Their second album, When Your Heartstrings BreakWhen Your Heartstrings Break
When Your Heartstrings Break is the second album by San Francisco indie rock band Beulah. It was released on March 9, 1999 on the Sugar Free Records label. The album went out of print several years afterwards and did not see a reprinting until 2003...
, followed two years later to critical acclaim. The sound of the band had shifted — as Kurosky put it, the band's production values had shifted "from lo-fi to mid-fi" http://www.shiftydisco.co.uk/m/?beulah/biog, and it incorporated a very wide range of instruments, utilising eighteen additional musicians — strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
and horns
Horn section
In music, a horn section can refer to several groups of musicians. It can refer to the musicians in a symphony orchestra who play the horn . In a British-style brass band it refers to the tenor horn players. In popular music, it can also refer to a small group of wind instrumentalists who augment a...
were heavily incorporated, along with more exotic instrumentation, the instruments totalling a number of several dozen. Also, at this time, the band added keyboardist Bill Evans to their line-up. Shifty Disco Records, an Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, UK based label, also released two UK-only singles in 1999, namely Sunday Under Glass and Score From Augusta, with Emma Blowgun's Last Stand released the following year. These singles featured b-sides culled from Handsome Western States, which remained unreleased in the UK, and had fallen out of print in the U.S.A.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, until 2000 further copies were made available by the band in 1999, with different artwork. Emma Blowgun's Last Stand was also released in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
by Elastic Records, this time with two exclusive bonus tracks.
The band continued to tour extensively throughout 1999, taking a break in 2000. Steve St. Cin left the band after this extensive touring, to be replaced by Danny Sullivan
Dan Panic
Dan Sullivan, also known as Dan Panic or Danny Panic, is a punk rock drummer from Chicago.-Career:Dan Sullivan began his musical career with Ivy League, a quartet from Chicago's western suburbs who released one 7" EP in 1990. He then joined Screeching Weasel in 1991 and remained with the band until...
, best known from his days in Screeching Weasel
Screeching Weasel
Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Jughead.Since their formation, Screeching Weasel have broken up and reformed numerous times with numerous line-up changes. Ben Weasel has been the only constant...
. In this time, Kurosky went to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, staying with a friend for eight weeks, here writing the songs that would eventually turn into their third album. He then mailed demo tapes of the songs to each band member, who would in turn mail back their own versions of, and additions to, the songs. This process created interesting juxtapositions in the band's songwriting process, as Kurosky describes: "Bill might have heard it as a soul song and Pat might have heard it as a country song — and I might happen to like both parts, and use them both"http://elephant6.com/bands/beulah.html. Kurosky then turned these recordings into the basis of the band's new record, The Coast Is Never Clear
The Coast Is Never Clear
The Coast Is Never Clear was the third album released by indie rock band Beulah in 2001. Originally planned for release on Capricorn Records, the label was folded into Island Def Jam Records along with many of its artists including 311. However, Beulah, The Glands, Jucifer, and The Honeyrods were...
. During the recording process, however, Kurosky was diagnosed with bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
, and took daily therapy sessions http://www.dallasobserver.com/Issues/2001-09-27/music/music_full.html, which informed the lyrical mood of the record, which was often incredibly downbeat, very much at odds with the breezy, summery feel of the music. This also made the recording of the record difficult — Bill Swan's studio diary often contains excerpts such as, "Miles threatened to hit me over the head with a mic stand. This is going to be a long record" http://elephant6.com/press/beulahdiary.html. To add to these personal problems, Beulah also encountered other problems with the release of the record, primarily the buy-out of Capricorn Records
Capricorn Records
Capricorn Records was an independent record label which was launched by Phil Walden, Alan Walden, and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia.-First Incarnation:...
, which had previously signed Beulah after When Your Heartstrings Break was released, which included the purchase of all of the label's acts save Beulah and three others http://beulahmania.com/news/2001news.html. In the end, the record was released on newly-founded independent label Velocette Records on September 11, 2001. The record again gained a great degree of critical acclaim, and the band continued to tour, despite having to cancel their European dates in the winter of that year. Shortly after the release of the record, Steve La Follette and Bill Evans left the band, to be replaced by Eli Crews and Pat Abernathy.
Later Years: 2002-2004
2002 saw the now long out of print Handsome Western States being repressed for the third time, along with another U.S. tour, after which the band settled into rehearsing material for their next album. The period surrounding YokoYoko (album)
Yoko is Beulah's final album, released on Velocette Records in 2003. For the album, the band toned down the happy melodic horn tones of their last album, The Coast Is Never Clear, in favor of a darker approach....
s conception and recording was one of great personal strife for the band - Kurosky split with his longtime girlfriend and three of the six band members went through divorce while the record was being written, rehearsed and recorded. Amid all this, the foundations of the band appeared to be shaking; rumours of a break-up were rife and well-founded. The mood of the album was certainly much darker and the band phased back much of their instrumentation, preferring to create more of a live sound than layering multiple overdubs atop the mix. The album took a much rockier direction than their previous efforts; yet, upon its release in 2003, attracted a similar lauding that had greeted their previous two records. An album of demos, appropriately titled Yoko Demos, was released in the December of this year.
At this time, Beulah appeared to be falling apart. Cryptic messages alluding to a break-up appeared on the band's website, and the state of the band was in much speculation. Beulah themselves had stated that, if Yoko did not achieve gold status, the band would split. Though it received the best reviews of the band's career, scoring Universal Acclaim on Metacritic and described as a "career-spanning epic" by Dusted Magazine http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/beulah/yoko?q=yoko, the record still failed to achieve gold status, and consequently the band, after one final tour with the band dios malos opening for them, split up, ending with a free concert at New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Battery Park
Battery Park
Battery Park is a 25-acre public park located at the Battery, the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City, facing New York Harbor. The Battery is named for artillery batteries that were positioned there in the city's early years in order to protect the settlement behind them...
at Castle Clinton
Castle Clinton
Castle Clinton or Fort Clinton, once known as Castle Garden, is a circular sandstone fort now located in Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan Island, New York City, in the United States. It is perhaps best remembered as America's first immigration station , where more than 8 million...
on August 5, 2004. On August 2, 2005, a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
chronicling their last tour in fall 2003, titled A Good Band is Easy to Kill (referring to the band's song "A Good Man is Easy to Kill," which, in turn, references lead singer Miles's love for Flannery O'Connor
Flannery O'Connor
Mary Flannery O'Connor was an American novelist, short-story writer and essayist. An important voice in American literature, O'Connor wrote two novels and 32 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries...
) was released, again to much praise.
In 2005, all four Beulah albums, as well as the single "My Horoscope Said It Would Be a Bad Year," were released on iTunes after fans suggested they be easily accessible http://www.beulahmania.com/. However, "My Horoscope Said It Would Be a Bad Year" has since been removed and has become something of a rarity.
Miles Kurosky's Desert of Shallow Effects
Miles Kurosky announced that his first solo album (CD/digital), titled The Desert of Shallow Effects, was released on March 9, 2010 via Majordomo Records, an imprint of Shout! FactoryShout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
. The EP was released January 12, 2010 on digital. Produced by Kurosky and engineered by former Beulah member Eli Crews (Deerhoof, Why?), The Desert of Shallow Effects includes a cast of more than two dozen musicians (among them several ex-Beulah members) playing a vast array of instruments. “When I wrote lyrics before, for Beulah, they were of an esoteric nature, but this time, I wanted them to read like stories,” says Kurosky of the compositions that populate The Desert of Shallow Effects.
In late 2009, the members of Beulah reunited to perform selections from The Desert of Shallow Effects for The Bay Bridged.
The 2009 Film Youth in Revolt
Youth in Revolt
Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp is a 1993 epistolary novel by C. D. Payne. The story is told in a picaresque fashion and makes heavy use of black humor and camp...
contained the Beulah song "Popular Mechanics for Lovers" which is subsequently contained on the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack for the film.
Another Beulah song to be featured in a motion picture and its respective Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is their track "If We Can Land A Man On The Moon, Surely I Can Win Your Heart" from the album When Your Heartstrings Break
When Your Heartstrings Break
When Your Heartstrings Break is the second album by San Francisco indie rock band Beulah. It was released on March 9, 1999 on the Sugar Free Records label. The album went out of print several years afterwards and did not see a reprinting until 2003...
in 2010 Film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a 2010 comedy film directed by Edgar Wright, based on the graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley. The film is about Scott Pilgrim , a young Canadian musician, meeting the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers , an American delivery girl...
starring Michael Cera
Michael Cera
Michael Austin Cera is a Canadian actor best known for his roles in Arrested Development, Youth in Revolt, Superbad, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Juno. Cera received the 2008 Canadian Comedy Award for best male performance for his work in Superbad.-Early...
.
Members
- Miles Kurosky - Lead Vocals/Guitar
- Bill Swan - Trumpet/Guitar/Vocals
- Pat Noel - Guitar/Keyboards
- Bill Evans - Keyboards (1999–2001)
- Pat Abernathy - Keyboards (2001–2004)
- Steve La Follette - Bass/Vocals (1996–2001)
- Eli Crews - Bass/Vocals (2001–2004)
- Steve St. Cin - Drums (1996–2000)
- Danny SullivanDan PanicDan Sullivan, also known as Dan Panic or Danny Panic, is a punk rock drummer from Chicago.-Career:Dan Sullivan began his musical career with Ivy League, a quartet from Chicago's western suburbs who released one 7" EP in 1990. He then joined Screeching Weasel in 1991 and remained with the band until...
- Drums (2000–2004)
Albums
- Handsome Western StatesHandsome Western StatesHandsome Western States is indie rock band Beulah's debut album, released in 1997. The sound is much less polished and elaborate than later albums. The album went out of print in 1999 but was re-pressed with new artwork in 2002. The album was never released in Europe, however...
(Elephant 6; CD; 1997) - When Your Heartstrings BreakWhen Your Heartstrings BreakWhen Your Heartstrings Break is the second album by San Francisco indie rock band Beulah. It was released on March 9, 1999 on the Sugar Free Records label. The album went out of print several years afterwards and did not see a reprinting until 2003...
(Sugar Free Records; CD; 1999) - The Coast Is Never ClearThe Coast Is Never ClearThe Coast Is Never Clear was the third album released by indie rock band Beulah in 2001. Originally planned for release on Capricorn Records, the label was folded into Island Def Jam Records along with many of its artists including 311. However, Beulah, The Glands, Jucifer, and The Honeyrods were...
(Velocette Records; CD; 2001) - YokoYoko (album)Yoko is Beulah's final album, released on Velocette Records in 2003. For the album, the band toned down the happy melodic horn tones of their last album, The Coast Is Never Clear, in favor of a darker approach....
(Velocette Records; CD; 2003) - Demo (Velocette Records; CD; 2003)
Singles
- A Small Cattle Drive in a Snow StormA Small Cattle Drive in a Snow StormA Small Cattle Drive in a Snow Storm is a single released by Beulah in 1997, and was recorded after Robert Schneider of The Apples in Stereo, a member of the Elephant 6 collective, took notice of the band...
(Elephant 6; 7 inchSingle (music)In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
; 1997) - Sunday Under Glass (Shifty Disco Records; CD; 1999)
- Score From Augusta (Shifty Disco Records; CD; 1999)
- Emma Blowgun's Last Stand (Shifty Disco Records; CD; 2000)
- Emma Blowgun's Last Stand (Elastic Records; CD; 2000)
- Popular Mechanics For Lovers (Shifty Disco Records; CD; 2001)