Stephen Malkmus

MY goal: to mix the precision of Saab, Stefan Edberg and Bergman with the laid back (yet heavy) beats of deepest Trenchtown. Well, at least on one song ("Vague Space"). The other tunes try to be new and entertaining versions of the type of songs I've always admired - mindlessly groove oriented ("Black Book"), cheeky ("Phantasies"), melodically rocking ("Jo Jo's Jacket"), faux bar bandish ("The Hook"), catchy ("Discretion Grove"), emotional ("Church on White"), warped ("Troubbble"), you get the drift. And anyway these adjectives could easily describe the most annoying band in the world (set myself up for that one!)

Words words words - can they ever tell the truth? And now you might be smirking (really should not use that word) because I pointed out the absurdity of press releases - such an obvious joke. Or it's a revelation, and now you're offended! Or you don't read press releases to be entertained, just informed. You want biographical details (so you know more about the Artist than the average person who doesn't receive press kits). And my tone in this paragraph - it's a little smug and Foster-Wallace-like. I agree - and - I'm tired of entertaining / annoying you anyway. As we all know it comes down to the music - does it move me? So please check out "Trojan curfew" (song 9); there's some good slide guitar and it has been known to move members of the Matador publicity department over to my house for dinner.

Quick Bio - Steve Malkmus - lead singer-songwriter / lead guitarist fronted the group Pavement, a medium big college-rock band. Through heavy touring and a few good album covers they earned a cult following. They split in 1999. You could say this is his first venture as a solo artist, or you could say it's a continuation of the "espirit du Pavement" with a different rhythmn section and less Bob Nastanovich (I was gonna say baggage, but I couldn't even wedge my toiletries into him).

`Stephen Malkmus' was recorded in the summer / fall of 2000 in Portland, Oregon, where Malkmus has been living lately. Other playahs: John Moen, who leads a group called the Maroons and contributes amazing percussive accompaniment, and Joanna Bolme, a bassist of uncommon abilities you may have heard on Minders and Calamity Jane Records in the past. Both of them deserve more than just "side people on the solo album" attention. So lets give them a big hand (We could pilfer Wilt Chamberlain's crypt !!!!!!) Grave robbers never smile.

After Pavement announced they were going on hiatus at the end of 1999, the status of one of America's finest indie rock bands was a mystery for the first half of 2000. It became clearer that summer, however, when it was revealed that both singer/songwriter/guitarists Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg were preparing solo albums. Malkmus was particularly busy during that time, performing new songs with Kim's Bedroom -- a one-off group that also included Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Jim O'Rourke -- that spring in Holland and recording them at studios near his hometown of Portland, OR. Working with him were the Jicks, aka Portland indie rock veterans drummer/percussionist John Moen and bassist Joanna Bolme. Moen had played with the Fastbacks, the Dharma Bums, and his own group, the Maroons; Bolme played with the Minders and worked as an engineer at Jackpot Studios, where Pavement's Terror Twilight was demoed and parts of Malkmus' new project were recorded. Initially, Malkmus intended to release the album on his own or through a local label, but when his old label, Matador, received a copy, they agreed to release it. By the time Malkmus officially confirmed Pavement's breakup in the November 2000 issue of Spin magazine, Matador announced it was releasing the album -- originally titled Swedish Reggae and then changed to Stephen Malkmus -- in winter 2001. The Jicks made their live debut that January at New York's Bowery Ballroom and spent the rest of the winter and spring touring the U.K. and the U.S., including a gig at South by Southwest with labelmates Mogwai and the reunited Soft Boys. Former Pavement percussionist Bob Nastanovich acted as the Jicks' tour manager and Elastica leader Justine Frischmann -- another friend of Malkmus -- joined the band as a guitarist for selected dates. On 2003's darker, trippier Pig Lib, the Jicks shared credit with Malkmus, reflecting the album's more band-like feel. 2005's Face the Truth -- on which Malkmus embraced domesticity with a whimsical feel missing from his work since Wowee Zowee -- featured Malkmus with and without the Jicks, who also supported him on tour that summer. On 2008's Real Emotional Trash, the Jicks welcomed former Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss into their fold, giving the album's psychedelic free-for-alls greater heft. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide