Chocolate USA
Encyclopedia
Chocolate USA was an American indie rock
band from Tampa Bay, Florida formed in 1989 as Miss America. The band featured Julian Koster who went on to join The Music Tapes
and Neutral Milk Hotel
.
. All Jets Are Gonna Fall Today was released under the Chocolate USA banner after Miss America
made legal threats. By this time Wells and Edwards had left with George Harris, Gerry Hammill, and Chris Irvin being drafted in. The lo-fi band released a second album under Bar/None entitled Smoke Machine in 1994, this time with core members Koster, Wakeman, and Block joined by Bill Cullen Hart, Eric Harris, and Jesse Rogers, before disbanding for other, ultimately more successful, projects.
Their sound can be described as quirky, and containing many different sorts of instrumentation, which is a trait that went with Koster into The Music Tapes
and Neutral Milk Hotel
; present in their releases are Guitars, Bass Guitars, Standup Basses, Accordions, Concertinas, Rattles, drums, robot sound effects [specifically on Smoke Machine], organs, toy pianos, banjos, and numerous other instruments.
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 Tampa Bay, Florida formed in 1989 as Miss America. The band featured Julian Koster who went on to join The Music Tapes
The Music Tapes
The Music Tapes is an experimental pop music project of Elephant 6 member Julian Koster, also of Neutral Milk Hotel, and the earlier Chocolate U.S.A....
and Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel was an American indie rock band formed by singer, guitarist and songwriter Jeff Mangum in the early 1990s. The band was noted for its experimental sound, obscure lyrics and eclectic instrumentation....
.
History
The band formed as Miss America in 1989 with Koster as singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter, Liza Wakeman (violin), Alan Edwards (guitar), Paul Wells (bass guitar), and Keith Block (drums). After self-releasing cassettes to fans via their "Chocolaty Good Smash Hit of the Month Club", they released debut album All Jets Are Gonna Fall Today themselves. It was reissued in 1992 by Bar/None RecordsBar/None Records
Bar/None Records is an independent record label based in Hoboken, New Jersey.-Early history:Tom Prendergast started Bar/None in early 1986. Having previously worked in pirate radio and booked and promoted bands in his native Ireland, Prendergast moved to Hoboken in 1982 and started Pier Platters...
. All Jets Are Gonna Fall Today was released under the Chocolate USA banner after Miss America
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
made legal threats. By this time Wells and Edwards had left with George Harris, Gerry Hammill, and Chris Irvin being drafted in. The lo-fi band released a second album under Bar/None entitled Smoke Machine in 1994, this time with core members Koster, Wakeman, and Block joined by Bill Cullen Hart, Eric Harris, and Jesse Rogers, before disbanding for other, ultimately more successful, projects.
Their sound can be described as quirky, and containing many different sorts of instrumentation, which is a trait that went with Koster into The Music Tapes
The Music Tapes
The Music Tapes is an experimental pop music project of Elephant 6 member Julian Koster, also of Neutral Milk Hotel, and the earlier Chocolate U.S.A....
and Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel
Neutral Milk Hotel was an American indie rock band formed by singer, guitarist and songwriter Jeff Mangum in the early 1990s. The band was noted for its experimental sound, obscure lyrics and eclectic instrumentation....
; present in their releases are Guitars, Bass Guitars, Standup Basses, Accordions, Concertinas, Rattles, drums, robot sound effects [specifically on Smoke Machine], organs, toy pianos, banjos, and numerous other instruments.
Releases
- All Jets Are Gonna Fall TodayAll Jets Are Gonna Fall TodayAll Jets Are Gonna Fall Today is the debut full-length album by Julian Koster's Chocolate USA. Released in 1992, it was their first release for Bar/None Records.- Track listing :# Test :40# All Jets Are Gonna Fall Today – 3:14...
(1992), Bar/NoneBar/None RecordsBar/None Records is an independent record label based in Hoboken, New Jersey.-Early history:Tom Prendergast started Bar/None in early 1986. Having previously worked in pirate radio and booked and promoted bands in his native Ireland, Prendergast moved to Hoboken in 1982 and started Pier Platters...
- Cassette/CD - Smoke MachineSmoke Machine (album)Smoke Machine is the second and final album by Chocolate USA. The group is best known as the first band of The Music Tapes' and Neutral Milk Hotel's Julian Koster...
(1994), Bar/None - CD/cassette