Stars Like Fleas is a Brooklyn-based band formed by multi-instrumentalist Shannon Fields and vocalist Montgomery Knott in the winter of 1998. Frequently compared to later Talk Talk

Talk Talk

Talk Talk were an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World"....

 and Robert Wyatt

Robert Wyatt

Robert Wyatt is an English musician, and founding member of the influential Canterbury scene band Soft Machine, with a long and distinguished solo career...

, their music blends avant-jazz and free improvisation with electronic textures and several overdubbed murmured vocal lines.

Biography

The band started in 1998. On their albums and in live performances, Fields and Knott have recruited a host of other musicians, including members and ex-members of Other Dimensions in Music

Other Dimensions In Music

Other Dimensions In Music is a free jazz group founded in the 1980s.The group's music is entirely improvised, but is generally more melodic than some listeners expect from free jazz.-Members:* Rashid Bakr * Roy Campbell, Jr....

, TEST, No Neck Blues Band, Papa M, Out Hud

Out Hud

Out Hud was an electronic band formed in 1996 in the Bay Area of California and later based in New York City. The band consisted of guitarist Nic Offer, bassist Tyler Pope, cellist Molly Schnick, vocalist/drummer Phyllis Forbes and mixer Justin Van Der Volgen. Pope, Offer, and Van Der Volgen are...

, Gold Sparkle Band, At the Drive-In

At the Drive-In

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, Beirut

Beirut (band)

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, Tall Firs

Tall Firs

Tall Firs are a New York City based underground electric folk rock band, originally formed in 1990 by Dave Mies and Aaron Mullan in Annapolis, Maryland...

, TV on the Radio

TV on the Radio

TV on the Radio is an American art rock band formed in 2001 in Brooklyn, New York, whose music spans numerous diverse genres, from post-punk to electro and free jazz to soul music....

, Celebration

Celebration (band)

Celebration is a psychedelic soul band based out of Baltimore, Maryland.-History:Celebration is composed of singer Katrina Ford, multi-instrumentalist Sean Antanaitis and drummer David Bergander, with a number of additional rotating members: Walker Teret plays bass, sometimes guitar, percussion and...

, Fiery Furnaces, The Silent League

The Silent League

The Silent League is a post-rock, chamber pop band from Brooklyn, New York founded by Justin Russo, formerly of Mercury Rev. Their 2004 debut, The Orchestra, Sadly, Has Refused, featuring Sam from Interpol,...

, and Mercury Rev

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Mercury Rev is an American alternative rock group, that formed in the late 1980s in Buffalo, New York. Original personnel were David Baker , Jonathan Donahue , Sean Mackowiak, a.k.a...

. In 2007 they did a Take-Away Show video session shot by Vincent Moon

Vincent Moon

Vincent Moon is an independent filmmaker from Paris mainly known for his field work music videos of indie rock related musicians as well as some notable mainstream artists like Tom Jones, R.E.M. or Arcade Fire. Besides making music videos he also makes experimental films and documentaries...

.

Members

• Shannon Fields - "too much to get into right now"; producer
• Montgomery Knott - vocals
• Ryan Smith - piano, synthesizers, laptop, many other things
• Ryan Sawyer - drums, percussion
• Matt Lavelle
  Matt Lavelle
  Matt Lavelle ,.began his Music career with Hildred Humphries,.a Swing era veteran that played with Count Basie,Billie Holiday,and many others of the time.Lavelle played Trumpet during this time as a member of Hildred's band.Lavelle then made his move on New York City to go through the trials of all...
  
  - bass clarinet, flugelhorn, trumpet, cuica
• Sam Amidon - fiddle, banjo, voice
• Jon Natchez - reeds, brass, strings, keys, etc
• Gerald Menke - pedal steel, dobro resonator, guitars
• Shelley Burgon - harp, laptop, baritone guitar
• Tianna Kennedy - cello
• Shayna Dulberger - bass
• Laura Ortman - violin

Discography

• Took the Ass for a Drive (1999; digitally re-released by File 13 2007, downloadable at iTunes)
• Sun Lights Down on the Fence (2003, Praemedia)
• The Ken Burns Effect (2007, Talitres Records in Europe) (May 20, 2008 Hometapes, distribution via Absolutely Kosher/Misra)

External links

• Official Site (Hometapes)
• Official Site (Praemedia)
• Official Site (Talitres Records)
• MySpace Page
• [ Allmusic Guide Entry]
• Sounds, Paths, Radios: Notes on Stars Like Fleas
• Stylus Magazine Review of Sun Lights Down on the Fence
• Pitchfork Review of Sun Lights Down on the Fence
• Video of a Stars Like Fleas Performance

Interviews

• from Splendid eZine Interview with Shannon Fields and Montgomery Knott by Mike Meginnis.