Dan Boeckner
Encyclopedia
Dan Boeckner (born 1978) is a Canadian singer, songwriter
and guitarist
. He currently fronts the indie rock
bands Wolf Parade
and Handsome Furs
and was previously a member of Atlas Strategic
.
, British Columbia
and, immediately upon graduating high school, moved to Victoria
, BC. In Victoria he became a singer/guitarist for many small, independent outfits. One of these bands was named God Shaped Vacuum, and featured a pre-Frog Eyes
Carey Mercer
on drums. They released one album in their brief existence, entitled Apocalypse Now! In 2000 Boeckner co-founded notable British Columbian band Atlas Strategic
with organist/vocalist John Pollard, and recorded their debut Rapture, Ye Minions!
. The album was released on a local label, Global Symphonic. The band toured and recorded a second album/EP, which they self-released upon their demise in 2002.
Boeckner then moved to Montreal
, Quebec
, where he eventually met up with Spencer Krug
and helped form Wolf Parade
. Boeckner contributes his guitar skills, while also splitting the role of lead singer with band-mate Krug. The band is signed to Sub Pop Records. As of November 2010, Wolf Parade is on indefinite hiatus.
Boeckner also plays in Handsome Furs
a duo that he formed with his then fiancée/now wife, Alexei Perry
, in the winter of 2005. The duo signed onto Sub Pop Records and released their debut album Plague Park
in 2007. "Face Control
" was released in 2009, while Handsome Furs' latest album Sound Kapital
was released in 2011.
In October 2005, Boeckner was a part of the satirical North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative (NAHPI) and contributed to the UNICEF benefit song "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?
". Boeckner also played on Islands
' debut album Return to the Sea
. He played guitar on the opening track "Swans (Life After Death)" and he played in the "marching band" on the track "Where There's a Will There's a Whalebone".
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
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...
. He currently fronts the indie rock
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...
bands Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade is an indie rock band formed in 2003 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band is currently on an indefinite hiatus as of May 31, 2011.-History:...
and Handsome Furs
Handsome Furs
Handsome Furs is a Montreal-based indie rock duo which consists of Dan Boeckner, of Wolf Parade and Atlas Strategic, and his wife, writer Alexei Perry.-Music:...
and was previously a member of Atlas Strategic
Atlas Strategic
Atlas Strategic was an indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.-History:The band was composed of Dan Boeckner on guitar and vocals; Johnny Pollard on organ, synthesizer, saxophone, and backing vocals; Steve Simard on drums; and Brooklyn Cannon on guitar and backing vocals.Their...
.
Overview
Boeckner grew up in Lake CowichanLake Cowichan, British Columbia
Cowichan Lake is a large freshwater lake located on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is located along the Cowichan Valley in the Cowichan Valley Regional District, with its eastern shore about west of Duncan, British Columbia. Cowichan Lake is about in length, running...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and, immediately upon graduating high school, moved to Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, BC. In Victoria he became a singer/guitarist for many small, independent outfits. One of these bands was named God Shaped Vacuum, and featured a pre-Frog Eyes
Frog Eyes
Frog Eyes is an indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada known for their highly idiosyncratic songs, which pit Carey Mercer's melodic falsetto whoops against an avalanche of guitar, keyboards, piano, and drums. Their 2010 album Paul's Tomb: A Triumph was a longlisted nominee for the...
Carey Mercer
Carey Mercer
Carey Mercer is a Canadian musician and English teacher best known for his work as lead singer of the indie rock band Frog Eyes and his work in Swan Lake. He has an additional solo project called Blackout Beach. Once, when on tour with Sum 41 , Mercer fell off stage and bruised his tailbone at a...
on drums. They released one album in their brief existence, entitled Apocalypse Now! In 2000 Boeckner co-founded notable British Columbian band Atlas Strategic
Atlas Strategic
Atlas Strategic was an indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.-History:The band was composed of Dan Boeckner on guitar and vocals; Johnny Pollard on organ, synthesizer, saxophone, and backing vocals; Steve Simard on drums; and Brooklyn Cannon on guitar and backing vocals.Their...
with organist/vocalist John Pollard, and recorded their debut Rapture, Ye Minions!
Rapture, Ye Minions! (Atlas Strategic)
Rapture, Ye Minions! is an album by Indie rock group, Atlas Strategic. Released by Global Symphonic. Only 500 copies were produced.-Album:# "Welcome Aboard" - 1:41# "Jeered by Minor Demons" - 2:48# "Chicken Shack" - 2:35# "Little Black Heart" - 4:27...
. The album was released on a local label, Global Symphonic. The band toured and recorded a second album/EP, which they self-released upon their demise in 2002.
Boeckner then moved to 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...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, where he eventually met up with Spencer Krug
Spencer Krug
Spencer Krug is a Canadian musician. He is currently the singer, songwriter and keyboardist for the indie rock bands Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown. He has also performed with other Canadian bands including Swan Lake, Frog Eyes, Fifths of Seven, and ska band the Two Tonne Bowlers, playing various...
and helped form Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade is an indie rock band formed in 2003 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band is currently on an indefinite hiatus as of May 31, 2011.-History:...
. Boeckner contributes his guitar skills, while also splitting the role of lead singer with band-mate Krug. The band is signed to Sub Pop Records. As of November 2010, Wolf Parade is on indefinite hiatus.
Boeckner also plays in Handsome Furs
Handsome Furs
Handsome Furs is a Montreal-based indie rock duo which consists of Dan Boeckner, of Wolf Parade and Atlas Strategic, and his wife, writer Alexei Perry.-Music:...
a duo that he formed with his then fiancée/now wife, Alexei Perry
Alexei Perry
Alexei Perry is a Canadian short-story writer and musician. She is best known for playing keyboards in the indie rock duo Handsome Furs with her husband Dan Boeckner, who is known for his work in Wolf Parade and Atlas Strategic.-Overview:...
, in the winter of 2005. The duo signed onto Sub Pop Records and released their debut album Plague Park
Plague Park
Plague Park is Handsome Furs' first full-length album. Handsome Furs is Dan Boeckner and his wife, Alexei Perry.The record is named after the park Ruttopuisto, situated in Helsinki, Finland...
in 2007. "Face Control
Face Control
-Additional personnel:* Jouko Lehtola - Artwork* Harris Newman - Mastering, Remastering* Dusty Summers - Art Direction* Arlen Thompson - Audio Engineer, Engineer, Mixing-Charts:-Videos:* - Radio K in-studio performance.* - Radio K in-studio performance....
" was released in 2009, while Handsome Furs' latest album Sound Kapital
Sound Kapital
Sound Kapital is Handsome Furs' third full-length album. It was released through Sub Pop Records on June 28, 2011. According to a press release, Sound Kapital is inspired by the electronic and industrial music of 1980s Eastern Europe and it is the first album that the duo wrote entirely on...
was released in 2011.
In October 2005, Boeckner was a part of the satirical North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative (NAHPI) and contributed to the UNICEF benefit song "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?
Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?
"Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" is a charity single inspired by "Do They Know It's Christmas?". It was released on October 11, 2005 in Canada on Vice Records by a cast of rock artists and other performers under the name "North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative"...
". Boeckner also played on Islands
Islands (band)
Islands is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2005 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and currently based in Brooklyn, New York.-Return to the Sea:In mid-2005 Islands recorded a debut album titled Return to the Sea, which was released in April 2006...
' debut album Return to the Sea
Return to the Sea
Return to the Sea is the full-length debut by indie rock band Islands. It was released April 4, 2006 on Equator Records.The cover painting is "The Sea of Ice" by Caspar David Friedrich, 1824.-Track listing:# "Swans " – 9:31...
. He played guitar on the opening track "Swans (Life After Death)" and he played in the "marching band" on the track "Where There's a Will There's a Whalebone".
Atlas Strategic
- Rapture, Ye Minions!Rapture, Ye Minions! (Atlas Strategic)Rapture, Ye Minions! is an album by Indie rock group, Atlas Strategic. Released by Global Symphonic. Only 500 copies were produced.-Album:# "Welcome Aboard" - 1:41# "Jeered by Minor Demons" - 2:48# "Chicken Shack" - 2:35# "Little Black Heart" - 4:27...
(2000) Global Symphonic - That's Familiar!That's Familiar! (Atlas Strategic)-Album:# "Smooth Nights" - 4:34# "Hott Space" - 2:55# "The Day It Came to Earth" - 2:37# "National Flag" - 5:31# "German Pavilion" - 3:51# "Frankenstein" - 4:34# "Artisan " - 2:55# "Soul Food" - 3:22...
(2002) Self-released
Wolf Parade
- Wolf Parade (4-song EP)Wolf Parade (4 song EP)Wolf Parade is the first EP by Canadian indie rock band Wolf Parade."Modern World" and "Dinner Bells" would later appear on their debut LP Apologies to the Queen Mary-Track listing:#"Modern World" - 2:46...
(2003) Self-Released - Wolf Parade (6-song EP) (2004) Self-Released
- Wolf Parade (EP)Wolf Parade (2005 EP)Wolf Parade is an EP by the Canadian indie band Wolf Parade. It was released on July 12, 2005 on Sub Pop. "Shine a Light" and "You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son" also appeared on Wolf Parade's full-length release, Apologies to the Queen Mary later that same year.-Track listing:# "Shine a...
(2005) Sub PopSub PopSub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene... - Apologies to the Queen MaryApologies to the Queen MaryApologies to the Queen Mary is the highly-acclaimed first full-length album by Canadian indie rock band Wolf Parade.- Track listing :# "You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son" – 2:54# "Modern World" – 2:52...
(2005) Sub PopSub PopSub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene... - At Mount ZoomerAt Mount ZoomerAt Mount Zoomer, the second full length LP from the Canadian indie rock band Wolf Parade, was released on June 17, 2008.-Album title:The album is named after drummer Arlen Thompson's sound studio, Mount Zoomer, which apparently is "a B.C...
(2008) Sub PopSub PopSub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene... - Expo 86Expo 86 (album)Expo 86 is the third full-length album by Canadian indie rock band Wolf Parade. It was released on 29 June 2010."Expo 86" was recognized by Exclaim! as the No. 17 Pop & Rock Album of 2010. Exclaim! writer Josh O'Kane said: "Long gone are the densely layered sonic landscapes of Wolf Parade albums...
(2010) Sub PopSub PopSub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
Handsome Furs
- Plague ParkPlague ParkPlague Park is Handsome Furs' first full-length album. Handsome Furs is Dan Boeckner and his wife, Alexei Perry.The record is named after the park Ruttopuisto, situated in Helsinki, Finland...
(2007) Sub PopSub PopSub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene... - Face ControlFace Control-Additional personnel:* Jouko Lehtola - Artwork* Harris Newman - Mastering, Remastering* Dusty Summers - Art Direction* Arlen Thompson - Audio Engineer, Engineer, Mixing-Charts:-Videos:* - Radio K in-studio performance.* - Radio K in-studio performance....
(2009) Sub PopSub PopSub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene... - Sound KapitalSound KapitalSound Kapital is Handsome Furs' third full-length album. It was released through Sub Pop Records on June 28, 2011. According to a press release, Sound Kapital is inspired by the electronic and industrial music of 1980s Eastern Europe and it is the first album that the duo wrote entirely on...
(2011) Sub PopSub PopSub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...