Blonde Redhead
Encyclopedia
Blonde Redhead is an American
alternative rock
band composed of vocalist/rhythm guitarist Kazu Makino and twin brothers Simone and Amedeo Pace (drums and vocals/lead guitar, respectively), which formed in New York City in 1993.
The band's earliest albums were noted for their indie
and noise rock
influences, though their sound evolved by the early 2000s with the releases of Misery is a Butterfly
(2004) and 23 (2007), which both incorporated elements of dream pop
and other genres. In 2010, the band released their eighth studio album, Penny Sparkle
, which was their highest-charting album to date, peaking at number 39 on the the Billboard Top 100.
, Italy
, grew up in Montreal
(Saint-Léonard), but later moved to Boston
to study jazz
. After earning Bachelor's degree
s, they entered the New York City
underground music scene. Named after a song with the same title by DNA
, a no wave
band from New York
, the band formed in New York in 1993 with Japanese musician Kazu Makino.
Blonde Redhead's self-titled debut album
was released in 1995. Shortly afterward, 4th member Maki Takahashi left the band and was replaced by her friend Toko Yasuda
as bassist who also was only in the band for a short time. The band continued as a trio. On their third album, Fake Can Be Just as Good
, they were joined by Vern Rumsey
of Unwound
, who filled the role of guest bassist. On their more recent albums, Skúli Sverrisson
, who the twins knew from their time in Boston, has been playing bass. He sometimes joins them for live performances. On their fourth album, In an Expression of the Inexpressible
, Guy Picciotto
of Fugazi was hired as producer. Picciotto also contributed in the construction to the song "Futurism vs. Passéism Part 2" as well as lending it his vocals. Picciotto also produced with Ryan Hadlock at Bear Creek Studio the band's records Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons
and Misery Is a Butterfly
. Alan Moulder
(My Bloody Valentine, Nine Inch Nails
, U2
, Smashing Pumpkins) mixed 23 and Penny Sparkle
which was released on 4AD
, respectively in April 2007 and September 2010.
Blonde Redhead made extensive use of Teisco
guitars early in their career, including the uncommon Teisco six-string bass.
The large span of time between Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons
and Misery Is a Butterfly
is attributed to Makino's recovery time after being trampled by a horse
. Much of the visual and lyrical imagery of Misery Is a Butterfly is reflective of the accident, especially in the music video
for "Equus".
The song "Spring and by Summer Fall" from 23 was recently used in the introduction to an October 2007 episode of the CBS
series Numb3rs
. "23" also appears on the internet and television commercials for the 2009 Pontiac
promotion entitled "Experience Pontiac." Their song "Elephant Woman" was also used as the ending theme for the David Slade
film Hard Candy
. This song was also used on the Billabong Girls website in February 2008.
The track "23" was also used in a trailer for the British TV series Skins
in February 2008, an ad for Crystal Geyser
in May 2008 in Japan
, and an episode of Grey's Anatomy
.
In summer 2008, they wrote and recorded over 15 tracks for the score of the documentary feature film The Dungeon Masters. The documentary premiered at the Toronto International Film festival and was released on February 12, 2010; a soundtrack album is expected in fall 2010. In 2009, Blonde Redhead contributed to the AIDS benefit album Dark Was the Night
produced by the Red Hot Organization
.
Their new album, Penny Sparkle
, was released on 14 September 2010 in US (and a day earlier in the rest of the world.). They currently are on a world tour in support of the album.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band composed of vocalist/rhythm guitarist Kazu Makino and twin brothers Simone and Amedeo Pace (drums and vocals/lead guitar, respectively), which formed in New York City in 1993.
The band's earliest albums were noted for their indie
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...
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...
influences, though their sound evolved by the early 2000s with the releases of Misery is a Butterfly
Misery Is a Butterfly
Misery Is a Butterfly is the sixth studio album by Blonde Redhead, released in 2004.- Track listing :# "Elephant Woman" – 4:49# "Messenger" – 3:21# "Melody" – 4:36# "Doll Is Mine" – 3:06# "Misery Is a Butterfly" – 5:07# "Falling Man" – 3:26...
(2004) and 23 (2007), which both incorporated elements of dream pop
Dream pop
Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s, when bands like The Passions, Dif Juz, Lowlife and A.R. Kane began fusing post-punk and ethereal experiments with bittersweet pop melodies into dreamy, sensual soundscapes. The term was almost...
and other genres. In 2010, the band released their eighth studio album, Penny Sparkle
Penny Sparkle
Penny Sparkle is the eighth studio album by Blonde Redhead, released on in the U.K. and in the U.S.-Track listing:...
, which was their highest-charting album to date, peaking at number 39 on the the Billboard Top 100.
History
Amedeo and Simone Pace were born in MilanMilan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, grew up in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
(Saint-Léonard), but later moved to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
to study jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
. After earning Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
s, they entered the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
underground music scene. Named after a song with the same title by DNA
DNA (band)
DNA was a No Wave band formed in 1978 by guitarist Arto Lindsay and keyboardist Robin Crutchfield. Rather than playing their instruments in a traditional manner, they instead focused on making unique and unusual sounds...
, a no wave
No Wave
No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
band from 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...
, the band formed in New York in 1993 with Japanese musician Kazu Makino.
Blonde Redhead's self-titled debut album
Blonde Redhead (album)
Blonde Redhead is the eponymous debut album by rock band Blonde Redhead.-Track listing:All tracks by Blonde Redhead#"I Don't Want U" – 5:03#"Sciuri Sciura" – 3:22#"Astro Boy" – 4:19#"Without Feathers" – 3:57#"Snippet" – 3:02#"Mama Cita" – 3:22...
was released in 1995. Shortly afterward, 4th member Maki Takahashi left the band and was replaced by her friend Toko Yasuda
Toko Yasuda
Toko Yasuda is a Japanese singer, songwriter, keyboardist, and bass guitarist. She has played in the bands The Lapse and The Van Pelt before their disbandment, and had a brief stint in Blonde Redhead, although she doesn't appear on any Blonde Redhead recordings...
as bassist who also was only in the band for a short time. The band continued as a trio. On their third album, Fake Can Be Just as Good
Fake Can Be Just as Good
Fake Can Be Just as Good is the third studio album by rock band Blonde Redhead, released by the Touch & Go label in 1997.-Track listing:#"Kazuality" – 4:26#"Symphony of Treble" – 4:10#"Water"– 4:41#"Ego Maniac Kid" – 4:12#"Bipolar" – 5:02...
, they were joined by Vern Rumsey
Vern Rumsey
Vern Rumsey was the bass guitar player for the band Unwound. He generally played a Fender Jazz bass. He is also a recording engineer who has worked with bands such as Blonde Redhead, KARP, Enemymine, Novex and Replicator....
of Unwound
Unwound
Unwound was a United States post-hardcore band based in Tumwater/Olympia, Washington. Formed in 1991, the band consisted of Justin Trosper , Vern Rumsey , and Brandt Sandeno , all of whom had previously been in a band called Giant Henry. Brandt Sandeno quit Unwound in 1992 and was replaced by...
, who filled the role of guest bassist. On their more recent albums, Skúli Sverrisson
Skúli Sverrisson
Skúli Sverrisson is an Icelandic composer and bassist residing in New York City.Over the past two decades, bass guitarist-composer Skuli Sverrisson has worked with a veritable who’s who of the experimental world, from free jazz legends to music icons Skúli Sverrisson (born 23 October 1966) is an...
, who the twins knew from their time in Boston, has been playing bass. He sometimes joins them for live performances. On their fourth album, In an Expression of the Inexpressible
In an Expression of the Inexpressible
In an Expression of the Inexpressible is the fourth studio album by Blonde Redhead, released in 1998.-Track listing:#"Luv Machine" – 3:39#"10" – 3:59#"Distilled"– 3:29#"Missile ++" – 3:13#"Futurism vs...
, Guy Picciotto
Guy Picciotto
Guy Picciotto is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, and producer from Washington, DC.He is most widely known for his role as the guitarist and vocalist of Fugazi, as well as Rites of Spring.-Rites of Spring & Early Projects:...
of Fugazi was hired as producer. Picciotto also contributed in the construction to the song "Futurism vs. Passéism Part 2" as well as lending it his vocals. Picciotto also produced with Ryan Hadlock at Bear Creek Studio the band's records Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons
Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons
Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons is the fifth studio album by Blonde Redhead. It was produced by Guy Picciotto & Ryan Hadlock and released by Touch & Go Records in 2000.-Track listing:#"Equally Damaged" – 0:40#"In Particular" – 6:05...
and Misery Is a Butterfly
Misery Is a Butterfly
Misery Is a Butterfly is the sixth studio album by Blonde Redhead, released in 2004.- Track listing :# "Elephant Woman" – 4:49# "Messenger" – 3:21# "Melody" – 4:36# "Doll Is Mine" – 3:06# "Misery Is a Butterfly" – 5:07# "Falling Man" – 3:26...
. Alan Moulder
Alan Moulder
Alan Moulder is one of Britain's premier alternative rock record producers. He has worked with such artists as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Elastica, Gary Numan, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Curve, Ride, Lush and My Bloody Valentine, Lostprophets, Shihad, Ivyrise and Placebo, as well as with many American...
(My Bloody Valentine, Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, Smashing Pumpkins) mixed 23 and Penny Sparkle
Penny Sparkle
Penny Sparkle is the eighth studio album by Blonde Redhead, released on in the U.K. and in the U.S.-Track listing:...
which was released on 4AD
4AD
4AD is a British independent record label that was started in 1979 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, funded by Beggars Banquet Records, and is still active today...
, respectively in April 2007 and September 2010.
Blonde Redhead made extensive use of Teisco
Teisco
Teisco was a Japanese manufacturer of affordable musical instruments from 1948 until 1969, and now its brand is owned by Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co. Ltd. . The company produced guitars as well as keyboard instruments, microphones, amplifiers and even drums...
guitars early in their career, including the uncommon Teisco six-string bass.
The large span of time between Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons
Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons
Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons is the fifth studio album by Blonde Redhead. It was produced by Guy Picciotto & Ryan Hadlock and released by Touch & Go Records in 2000.-Track listing:#"Equally Damaged" – 0:40#"In Particular" – 6:05...
and Misery Is a Butterfly
Misery Is a Butterfly
Misery Is a Butterfly is the sixth studio album by Blonde Redhead, released in 2004.- Track listing :# "Elephant Woman" – 4:49# "Messenger" – 3:21# "Melody" – 4:36# "Doll Is Mine" – 3:06# "Misery Is a Butterfly" – 5:07# "Falling Man" – 3:26...
is attributed to Makino's recovery time after being trampled by a horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
. Much of the visual and lyrical imagery of Misery Is a Butterfly is reflective of the accident, especially in the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Equus".
The song "Spring and by Summer Fall" from 23 was recently used in the introduction to an October 2007 episode of the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
series Numb3rs
NUMB3RS
Numb3rs is an American television drama which premiered on CBS on January 23, 2005, and concluded on March 12, 2010. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes...
. "23" also appears on the internet and television commercials for the 2009 Pontiac
Pontiac
Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the...
promotion entitled "Experience Pontiac." Their song "Elephant Woman" was also used as the ending theme for the David Slade
David Slade
David Aldrin Slade is a British film director who began his career making music videos. His work includes videos for artists such as Aphex Twin, Rob Dougan, System of a Down, Stone Temple Pilots, Tori Amos, and Muse.-Life and career:...
film Hard Candy
Hard Candy (film)
Hard Candy is a 2005 psychological thriller film focusing on the confrontation between an assumed sexual predator and a not-so-innocent 14-year-old girl....
. This song was also used on the Billabong Girls website in February 2008.
The track "23" was also used in a trailer for the British TV series Skins
Skins (TV series)
Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
in February 2008, an ad for Crystal Geyser
Crystal Geyser
Crystal Geyser is located on the east bank of the Green River approximately 4.5 miles downstream from Green River, Utah. It is a rare example of a cold water carbon dioxide driven geyser; geothermal activity does not play a role in the activity of the geyser...
in May 2008 in 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...
, and an episode of Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
.
In summer 2008, they wrote and recorded over 15 tracks for the score of the documentary feature film The Dungeon Masters. The documentary premiered at the Toronto International Film festival and was released on February 12, 2010; a soundtrack album is expected in fall 2010. In 2009, Blonde Redhead contributed to the AIDS benefit album Dark Was the Night
Dark Was the Night
Dark Was the Night is the twentieth compilation release benefiting the Red Hot Organization, an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS...
produced by the Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization
Red Hot Organization is a not-for-profit, 501 3, international organization dedicated to fighting AIDS through pop culture.Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors have contributed to over 15 compilation albums, related television programs and media events to raise...
.
Their new album, Penny Sparkle
Penny Sparkle
Penny Sparkle is the eighth studio album by Blonde Redhead, released on in the U.K. and in the U.S.-Track listing:...
, was released on 14 September 2010 in US (and a day earlier in the rest of the world.). They currently are on a world tour in support of the album.