Anathallo was a band originally from Mt. Pleasant, Michigan and then based in Chicago, Illinois. The band started practicing in the fall of 2000 and played their first show soon afterward. Their name is derived from a Greek word meaning "to renew, refresh or bloom again."[1]

Anathallo
Andrew Dost and Jamie Macleod performing at Coachella in 2007
Andrew Dost and Jamie Macleod performing at Coachella in 2007
Background information
OriginMt. Pleasant, Michigan, United States
GenresIndie rock
Years active2000–09
Labels
  • Artist Friendship
  • Anticon
  • Moor Works
Past members
  • Andrew Dost
  • Matt Joynt
  • Bret Wallin
  • Danny Bracken
  • Seth Walker
  • Jeremiah Johnson
  • Erica Froman
  • Jamie Macleod
  • Joel Thiele
  • Kevin Greenlees (The Jig)
  • Nathan Sandberg
  • Glenn King
  • Ty Forquer
Websiteanathallo.com

Anathallo released Floating World, their first nationally distributed record, in 2006 through Sony/BMG. The band released a follow-up, entitled Canopy Glow, on Anticon in 2008.[2]

History edit

Anathallo was formed in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, in 2000. The band, led by singer and guitarist Matt Joynt, often consisting of seven or eight members, operated in a relentlessly DIY manner for the first six years of its existence, releasing three EPs (one independently, and two on Selah Records) one full-length album (Sparrows originally on Selah Records) and independently booking eighteen national tours between the years 2000 and 2006.[3]

In 2006 the band independently released Floating World, a concept album based on a Japanese story called Hana-Saka-Jiji,.[4] Soon after, the album was re-released with wider distribution through Sony/BMG. The album spawned several songs that were used in television commercials, including "Yuki! Yuki! Yuki!" in a Vick's ad, and "Dokkoise House (With Face Covered)" in an American Express commercial. The income from these licenses allowed the band a less stressful experience pursuing their follow-up album.[5] The group relocated to Chicago, Illinois, and accepted an invitation to be artists-in-residence at Berry United Methodist Church where they began working on their follow-up LP, "Canopy Glow".[6]

In 2008, Canopy Glow — which was recorded at Engine Studios by engineer/producer Neil Strauch — was released to critical acclaim in the US, EU, and Japan.[7] Following the release of Canopy Glow, the band toured with an eclectic variety of artists including Sam Amidon, Brand New, Aloha, Page France, The Format, Dosh, Manchester Orchestra and Rainer Maria, played Austin City Limits, Coachella, and Lollapalooza, and shared the stage with Joanna Newsom, Broken Social Scene and Sufjan Stevens. The group toured in support of Canopy Glow with two headlining US tours, one tour of the UK, two European tours and two tours in Japan before going on hiatus in 2009.

On April 12, 2010, after a long silence from the band, member Bret Wallin addressed the inactivity on his personal blog:

Many of you know me from a past life. One which included month-long van rides, small rooms in the back filled with bottled water, playing Tetris with a trailer and seven people's musical equipment, a dry hoodie over a sweat-filled shirt by the end of each night. So let's put it on the record. It's not as though we put a stake through Anathallo's vampire heart. It's more that we wandered the band back to rest, to let it sleep through the day. And whatever or whoever wakes up in its place, we'll see.[8]

Band members edit

Final members edit

  • Matt Joynt – vocals, guitar, auxiliary percussion, piano
  • Bret Wallin – trombone, auxiliary percussion, vocals
  • Danny Bracken – guitar, auxiliary percussion, vocals
  • Seth Walker – bass, vocals
  • Jeremiah Johnson – drums, percussion, vocals (current live drummer for Wild Nothing)
  • Erica Walker – vocals, auxiliary percussion, autoharp
  • Jamie Macleod – piano, trumpet, auxiliary percussion, vocals (current law professor at Brooklyn Law School)[9]

Former members edit

  • Andrew Dost[10] - flugelhorn, piano, vocals, auxiliary percussion c d e (current member of the band Fun.)
  • Greg Leppert – trumpet (current member of the band Foxhole)
  • Ken Fedor, auxiliary guitarist (of band Pending Happiness)[11]
  • Joel Thiele – drums a b c d e
  • Nathan Sandberg – trombone, auxiliary percussion, piano, vocals a b c d e
  • Kevin Greenlees, The Jig – trombone, auxiliary percussion, vocals c d e
  • Glenn King – guitar, auxiliary percussion, vocals a b c d
  • Ty Forquer – drums, auxiliary percussion, keyboard a b

(letters denote albums that former members recorded and or wrote: a Luminous Luminescence in the Atlas Position, b Sparrows, c A Holiday at the Sea, d Hymns EP, e Floating World)

Discography edit

Albums edit

Year Title Record label
2001 Luminous Luminescence in the Atlas Position Artist Friendship
2002 Sparrows Artist Friendship
2006 Floating World Nettwerk
2008 Canopy Glow Anticon

EPs edit

Year Title Record label
2003 A Holiday at the Sea Artist Friendship
2004 Hymns Selah Records

Other edit

Year Title Record label Notes
2005 Entropy Potential Getaway Driver 12-inch vinyl split EP with Javelins
2006 Anathallogy Artist Collective compilation album
2008 "Hanasakajijii (Four: A Great Wind, More Ash)" Big Scary Monsters UK-only 7-inch vinyl single

References edit

  1. ^ Kate Kiefer, 4 to Watch: Anathallo; Creation in Isolation Archived June 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Paste Magazine, June 7, 2006 (accessed November 27, 2008).
  2. ^ BW [Bret Wallin] (March 21, 2008). "Canopy Glow". Your Happy Makes Me Go Oldies. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  3. ^ "Press". Anathallo.com. Archived from the original on 2013-12-29. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  4. ^ "XXXV. Hana-Saka-Jiji". Chestofbooks.com. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  5. ^ "Anathallo abandons concepts – The Maneater". Themaneater.com. 2008-03-18. Archived from the original on 2014-03-22. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  6. ^ "Anticon". Anticon. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  7. ^ Legaspi, Althea. "Anathallo's top 5 most serendipitous Canopy Glow moments :: Music :: Features :: Paste". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  8. ^ [1] Archived September 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Brooklyn Law School - Macleod James A". Brooklyn Law School. Retrieved 2022-04-08.
  10. ^ "Andrew Dost". Myspace.com. Retrieved 2014-03-22.
  11. ^ pendinghappiness.com/history

External links edit