Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks is a rock band

Rock Band

Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...

 consisting of Stephen Malkmus

Stephen Malkmus

Stephen Joseph Malkmus is an indie rock musician and icon, and a member of the band Pavement. He currently performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks.-Early years:...

, Mike Clark

Mike Clark (Jicks)

Mike Clark is a musician and restaurateur based in Portland, Oregon. He currently plays keyboards and guitar for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks.- Musical career :...

, Joanna Bolme

Joanna Bolme

Joanna Bolme is a multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer who works with several indie rock bands and artists, mainly in the Pacific Northwest...

, and Jake Morris. Malkmus was the main singer and songwriter behind the influential 1990s indie rock band Pavement

Pavement (band)

Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...

.

History

The Jicks formed in 2000, almost immediately after Pavement's 1999 "hiatus" began. The group's first record - which had a working title of Swedish Reggae - was simply called Stephen Malkmus

Stephen Malkmus (album)

Stephen Malkmus is the debut album by the group Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. It was released by Matador Records on February 13, 2001. Malkmus had planned to create the record by himself, or through a smaller, local label, but eventually accepted the offer Matador asked, and he released it. It...

. It was released by Matador Records

Matador Records

Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands.-History:Matador was started by Chris Lombardi in 1989 in his New York City apartment. The following year, Lombardi was joined by former Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy, and the two of them have...

 on February 13, 2001. At least a few of the songs were proposed Pavement songs before the group disbanded.

The group made their official live debut at 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...

's Bowery Ballroom

Bowery Ballroom

The Bowery Ballroom is a music venue in the Bowery section of New York City. The structure, at 6 Delancey Street, was built just before the Stock Market Crash of 1929. It stood vacant until the end of WWII, when it became a high-end retail store. The neighborhood subsequently went into decline...

 only a few weeks before their first record was released. Around this time, Pavement's auxiliary percussionist Bob Nastanovich

Bob Nastanovich

Robert "Bob" Nastanovich is a member of the indie rock band, Pavement, as well as former member of 1990s bands Ectoslavia, and Pale Horse Riders...

 began acting as The Jicks' tour manager.

Pig Lib

Pig Lib

Pig Lib is the name of the second album by Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. It was released March 18, 2003 on Matador Records. It peaked at #97 in the U.S. and #63 in the UK...

 was the name of the band's second record, which was released in 2003. The album featured a looser interplay between the musicians with longer song lengths and a growing emphasis on guitar solos. The album received positive reviews, gaining 4/5 stars from Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

 and an 8.0/10 from Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...

. In 2003 the Jicks opened for Radiohead on their North American tour, and in 2004 the band helped to curate an edition of the British All Tomorrow's Parties

All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)

All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....

 festival.

Face the Truth, came in 2005 to widely positive reviews, many of them claiming a return to Wowee Zowee

Wowee Zowee

Wowee Zowee is the third studio album by Pavement. The album showcased a more experimental and spontaneous side of the group, returning them to the clatter and unpredictability of their early recordings after the classic rock vibe of 1994's Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain...

-type form. Most of the album was recorded by Malkmus alone in his basement, although each member of the Jicks play on at least one song on the record. The band toured only a small amount behind this record, partially due to the fact that Malkmus had a new child.

On October 2, 2006, it was reported by Pitchfork that John Moen

John Moen

John Moen is a musician and member of The Decemberists, Boston Spaceships, and Perhapst. He sings, plays the drums, five banjos, the melodica, occasionally the keyboard, and dances around with a floor tom...

 had become a full-time member of The Decemberists

The Decemberists

The Decemberists are an indie folk rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, fronted by singer/songwriter Colin Meloy. The other members of the band are Chris Funk , Jenny Conlee , Nate Query , and John Moen .The band's...

 and had been replaced by Janet Weiss

Janet Weiss

Janet Lee Weiss was the drummer of now defunct Sleater-Kinney and is currently a member of Quasi and Wild Flag. She was the drummer for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, leaving after the album Mirror Traffic.-Early life:...

 - drummer of Quasi

Quasi

Quasi is an American indie rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1993 by ex-husband and wife Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss . Since 2007 the group has been a trio, following the addition of bassist Joanna Bolme.-History:In 1990 , Coomes, Weiss, and Brad Pedinov formed the band Motorgoat...

 and the defunct Sleater-Kinney

Sleater-Kinney

Sleater-Kinney was an alternative rock band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 1994. Originally formed in Olympia, Washington, the group's name is derived from Sleater-Kinney Road, Interstate 5 off ramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces. They were a...

.

The band's fourth studio album, Real Emotional Trash

Real Emotional Trash

Real Emotional Trash is the fourth album by Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. The album was released on March 4, 2008 by Matador Records. The album was leaked on to the internet January 13, 2008...

, was recorded at SnowGhost Music in Whitefish, Montana

Whitefish, Montana

Whitefish is a city in Flathead County, Montana, United States. The population was 5,032 at the 2000 census. It is home to a ski resort on Big Mountain called Whitefish Mountain Resort. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer hails from Whitefish....

, and released on March 4, 2008 to generally positive reviews. While Malkmus spent much of 2010 on tour with Pavement, the band completed recording on their fifth album Mirror Traffic with Beck Hansen. Prior to the release, Janet Weiss' departure from the Jicks lineup was announced. Her place was to be taken by ex-Joggers drummer Jake Morris.

Albums

• Stephen Malkmus
  Stephen Malkmus (album)
  Stephen Malkmus is the debut album by the group Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. It was released by Matador Records on February 13, 2001. Malkmus had planned to create the record by himself, or through a smaller, local label, but eventually accepted the offer Matador asked, and he released it. It...
  
   (2001)
• Pig Lib
  Pig Lib
  Pig Lib is the name of the second album by Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. It was released March 18, 2003 on Matador Records. It peaked at #97 in the U.S. and #63 in the UK...
  
   (2003)
• Face the Truth (2005)
• Real Emotional Trash
  Real Emotional Trash
  Real Emotional Trash is the fourth album by Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. The album was released on March 4, 2008 by Matador Records. The album was leaked on to the internet January 13, 2008...
  
   (2008)
• Mirror Traffic (2011) (UK chart peak: #69)

Singles

• "Phantasies" (2001)
• "Discretion Grove" (2001)
• "Jo Jo's Jacket" (2001)
• "Dark Wave" (2003) (repeat of bonus disc that accompanied Pig Libs first pressing)
• "Baby C'mon" (2005)
• "Baltimore" (2008)
• "Gardenia" (2008)
• "Cold Son" (2008)