Mico (band)
Encyclopedia
History
Formed in the late 1990s by John Stewart (of Red Fisher and Black HalosThe Black Halos
The Black Halos are a Vancouver, BC based punk rock band founded in 1993 by lead singer Billy Hopeless and guitarist Rich Jones as The Black Market Babies. The band was briefly on Sub Pop Records, and later signed with History Music...
fame), Mico originally existed as a 3-piece consisting of Todd Lapp (bass, and body), Troy "BDF" Fleischhaker (drums) and John Stewart (guitar, vocals). All three founding members were at the time living in Banff, Alberta
Banff, Alberta
Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise....
, Canada and formed the band as a way to get free beer at the local establishments around the small resort town.
In 1999 the band relocated to Calgary, Alberta and in early 2000 added a second guitar player, Patrick May, formerly of the band Nine Miles to Morgan, and top guitarist of all time. This lineup recorded the 4 song ep "A Timpani of Failure of Defeat", a self released CD which is now long out of print. In the summer of 2000 Fleischhaker left the band temporarily and was replaced by Todd Harkness (formerly of Porter Hall
Porter Hall
Porter Hall was an American character actor known for appearing in a number of films in the 1930s and 1940s...
and The Browns
The Browns
The Browns were an American country and folk music vocal trio best known for their 1959 Grammy-nominated hit, "The Three Bells". The group, composed of Jim Ed Brown and his sisters Maxine and Bonnie Brown, had a close, smooth harmony characteristic of the Nashville sound, though their music also...
) on drums. This version of the band spent the better part of the year touring Western Canada.
Fleischhaker returned to the band in March 2001 and Harkness moved over to third guitar and keyboard duties. This version of the band recorded and released the album Standing Inside a Shadow in the summer of 2001, which was released by Does Everyone Stare Records in North America and Boss Tuneage
Boss Tuneage
Boss Tuneage is an independent record label based in the UK started in 1990 by Aston Stephens. The label became dormant in 1995 before being started up again in 1999. Over 150 record releases took place before a second hiatus being taken in 2005...
Records in the UK and Japan. Outtakes from this record made their way onto a split 8.5" vinyl record with fellow Calgary band First In Last Out. Only 300 copies were released and are hard to find as distribution was nonexistent on this release.
In 2002 the band toured behind Standing Inside a Shadow and also released a split 7" with The Milwaukees. This 7" was released on Does Everyone Stare, and features two previously unreleased songs, including a cover of "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out
"There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" is a song by the British alternative rock group The Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. It was originally featured on their third album The Queen Is Dead , and was released as a single in 1992, five years after The Smiths split up...
" by The Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
. During these sessions the band also record a cover of Shudder to Think
Shudder to Think
Shudder to Think is an American indie rock group. Formed in 1986, they released three albums on the Washington, D.C.-based label Dischord Records and were a post-hardcore band, although they drew upon a wide range of stylistic influences, including pop....
's "White Page" for a Shudder to Think tribute album released by Engineer Records.
In 2003 Lapp left the band and was replaced by Cameron Brass, also of the band Nine Miles to Morgan. The band signed to G7 Welcoming Committee and the album Outside the Unbearable Grows was released in the summer of 2003. A limited edition picture disc LP version was released in the fall of 2003 by Does Everyone Stare & Boss Tuneage.
2004 saw the band experience a period of inactivity as various members moved away or left the band. Stewart started working on the band's third full length Our Living Language, playing the majority of the instruments himself, while most of the drums were handled by Troy's brother Mark Fleischhaker. Harkness and May played guitar on three songs each, and Troy Fleischhaker played drums on one track. The album was released digitally by G7 Welcoming Committee in 2006 and a short run of CDs was made for the band's tour in support of the album.
The band has since played a handful of show around their former home base of Calgary. In January 2010 the band reformed with almost all original members (Stewart, Fleishhaker, May and Harkness along with bassist Jahmeel Russel) as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of University of Calgary radio station CJSW. The same lineup also performed at the 2010 edition of Sled Island, playing a show with Ted Leo and Why? There are plans for more shows but no word on any new recordings.
Discography
- A Timpany of Failure and Defeat EP (2000)
- Standing Inside a Shadow (2001)
- split 8.5" with First In Last Out (2001)
- split 7" with The Milwaukees (2002)
- Outside the Unbearable Grows (2003)
- Our Living Language (2006)