Black Moth Super Rainbow
Encyclopedia
Black Moth Super Rainbow is an American experimental band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Their music contains elements of psychedelia, folk
, electronica
, and pop
. Their distinctive sound is characterized by analog
electronic instruments including the vocoder
, Rhodes piano
, and Novatron
.
A Graveface insert included inside the album Dandelion Gum
describes them as such: "Deep in the woods of western Pennsylvania vocoders hum amongst the flowers and synths bubble under the leaf-strewn ground while flutes whistle in the wind and beats bounce to the soft drizzle of a warm acid rain. As the sun peeks out from between the clouds, the organic aural concoction of Black Moth Super Rainbow starts to glisten above the trees."
(who is no longer with the band) joined and from 2000 to 2002 were known as satanstompingcaterpillars. Under satanstompingcaterpillars, the band self-released their music on different labels, including Fuckeroo (Flower Slides) and Side 8. After their third album in 2002 (The Most Wonderfulest Thing), the band added three members (Father Hummingbird, The Seven Fields of Aphelion, and Iffernaut) and changed their name to form Black Moth Super Rainbow in 2003. BMSR began releasing their music on the 70's Gymnastics Recording company, which is the band's own imprint (characterized by a tree-person jumping rope in a dress). Black Moth Super Rainbow's first album, Falling Through A Field serves as a best-of collection for satanstompingcaterpillars. Little is known about the band or its members, as they have kept themselves something of an enigma.
On March 17, 2007, the band played alongside The Octopus Project
as one band at the South by Southwest
music festival, playing music from their collaborative project, The House of Apples and Eyeballs
.
Black Moth Super Rainbow also opened for the band The Flaming Lips
on their Fall 2007 tour. More recently, BMSR performed at the 2008 SXSW music festival in a badges and wristbands only, packed-to-capacity show at The Thirsty Nickel.
Tobacco has released some albums (Fucked Up Friends, Super Gum [Destroying Dandelion Gum] {Rumored to be a remix album}).
After 2005, Graveface picked them up with Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods
and bonus re-issued versions of their first two albums.
Dandelion Gum
was BMSR's third album, released in 2007, and possibly their most successful album with many good reviews. With it came their first music video for the track "Sun Lips". In early 2008, they continued to release Zodiac Girls - Single and Drippers - EP in November. Along with Drippers - EP, BMSR released for MP3 download on their MySpace Bonus Drippers (The Older Unlreased & Hard-To-Find Songs), older and unreleased tracks or bonus tracks like "The Dark Forest Joggers", a Dandelion Gum vinyl exclusive, "Side 9", a Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods vinyl bonus track. or "Melting in the Meadow", a Start a People outtake track.
The band has appeared at the WIDR
Barking Tuna, Sasquatch, South By Southwest and several other festivals.
On November 4, BMSR released Drippers - EP which not only includes new tracks like "Happy Melted City" or "Milk Skates" but also features some lost tracks from the Dandelion Gum era ("We Are the Pagans" and "One Day I Had an Extra Toe") it also features Mike Watt
and BMSR's first official remix of Laura Burhenn's song "Just for the Night".
Their fourth full-length album Eating Us
was released on May 26, 2009. The band's 2009 tour featured a video introduction created by Eric Wareheim
. Mike Watt
also occasionally joined the band on stage to play bass during this tour. In the same year TOBACCO released The Allegheny White Fish Tapes, a collection of mix-tapes and limited CDs from pre-BMSR, and around the end of the year Rad Cult re-published the satanstompingcaterpillars The Autumn Kaleidoscope Got Changed.
The Seven Fields of Aphelion was the third member from BMSR to release a solo project. Her debut solo album Periphery was released in February 2010 on Graveface. On May 25, Tobacco released his second solo album Maniac Meat, featuring vocals by Beck
on two tracks, "Fresh Hex," and "Grape Aerosmith."
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
, and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
. Their distinctive sound is characterized by analog
Analog signal
An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in terms of small fluctuations in the signal which are...
electronic instruments including the vocoder
Vocoder
A vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder...
, Rhodes piano
Rhodes piano
The Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano, invented by Harold Rhodes during the fifties and later manufactured in a number of models, first in collaboration with Fender and after 1965 by CBS....
, and Novatron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
.
A Graveface insert included inside the album Dandelion Gum
Dandelion Gum
Dandelion Gum is the third album by Pennsylvania based band Black Moth Super Rainbow, released on CD on May 22, 2007. A 2xLP edition was released on March 15, 2008; the first 1000 copies sold included double gatefold packaging, pink vinyl with gold splashes, and a bubblegum scratch-and-sniff cover,...
describes them as such: "Deep in the woods of western Pennsylvania vocoders hum amongst the flowers and synths bubble under the leaf-strewn ground while flutes whistle in the wind and beats bounce to the soft drizzle of a warm acid rain. As the sun peeks out from between the clouds, the organic aural concoction of Black Moth Super Rainbow starts to glisten above the trees."
History
From 1996 to 2000 Tobacco existed as Allegheny White Fish [Pittsburghese for a condom floating down the river] Power Pill Fist
I had started off really noisy and abstract with Allegheny White Fish. We were all so happy with ourselves for coming up with that name in 10th grade, but it wasn’t too funny 4 years later. Then ssc [satanstompingcaterpillars] was like my way to be more melodic all the time, and a little more serious. Then when it started to shift again into something I might be a little more comfortable performing live, I brought in the rest of the band and we changed over again. I’ve always felt like these ideas shouldn’t outstay their welcome. 3 or 4 records is enough, because I get really bored, and I like to keep these bands and ideas as pure as I can, in their places in time, until it seems like I’ve finally gotten it right.
-Tobacco, via FMLY interview
Power pill fist
Power Pill Fist is an Atari noise rock artist from Pittsburgh, PA. He was the bassist for the experimental band Black Moth Super Rainbow from its beginnings in 1999 to 2009. Beginning in 2004, Ken Fec started experimenting with the Atari 2600 and the Synthcart cartridge created by Paul Slocum...
(who is no longer with the band) joined and from 2000 to 2002 were known as satanstompingcaterpillars. Under satanstompingcaterpillars, the band self-released their music on different labels, including Fuckeroo (Flower Slides) and Side 8. After their third album in 2002 (The Most Wonderfulest Thing), the band added three members (Father Hummingbird, The Seven Fields of Aphelion, and Iffernaut) and changed their name to form Black Moth Super Rainbow in 2003. BMSR began releasing their music on the 70's Gymnastics Recording company, which is the band's own imprint (characterized by a tree-person jumping rope in a dress). Black Moth Super Rainbow's first album, Falling Through A Field serves as a best-of collection for satanstompingcaterpillars. Little is known about the band or its members, as they have kept themselves something of an enigma.
On March 17, 2007, the band played alongside The Octopus Project
The Octopus Project
The Octopus Project is an American indietronica band based in Austin, Texas, active since 1999. Its unique sound, blending pop and experimental elements, is a combination of digital and electronic sounds and noises and analog equipment...
as one band at the South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
music festival, playing music from their collaborative project, The House of Apples and Eyeballs
The House of Apples and Eyeballs
The House Of Apples & Eyeballs is a collaborative album by Black Moth Super Rainbow and The Octopus Project.-Track listing:# "Spiracle" – 3:51# "Marshmallow Window" – 1:55# "It Hurts To Shoot Lasers From Your Fingers, But It's Necessary" – 0:04...
.
Black Moth Super Rainbow also opened for the band The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are an American alternative rock band, formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1983.Melodically, their sound contains lush, multi-layered, psychedelic rock arrangements, but lyrically their compositions show elements of space rock, including unusual song and album titles—such as "What...
on their Fall 2007 tour. More recently, BMSR performed at the 2008 SXSW music festival in a badges and wristbands only, packed-to-capacity show at The Thirsty Nickel.
Tobacco has released some albums (Fucked Up Friends, Super Gum [Destroying Dandelion Gum] {Rumored to be a remix album}).
After 2005, Graveface picked them up with Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods
Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods
Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods is an EP by the Pennsylvania based band Black Moth Super Rainbow, released in 2005. "Lost, Picking Flowers In the Woods", "Caterpillar House", "Drippy Eye" and "They Live In The Meadow" would later appear on Dandelion Gum in 2007...
and bonus re-issued versions of their first two albums.
Dandelion Gum
Dandelion Gum
Dandelion Gum is the third album by Pennsylvania based band Black Moth Super Rainbow, released on CD on May 22, 2007. A 2xLP edition was released on March 15, 2008; the first 1000 copies sold included double gatefold packaging, pink vinyl with gold splashes, and a bubblegum scratch-and-sniff cover,...
was BMSR's third album, released in 2007, and possibly their most successful album with many good reviews. With it came their first music video for the track "Sun Lips". In early 2008, they continued to release Zodiac Girls - Single and Drippers - EP in November. Along with Drippers - EP, BMSR released for MP3 download on their MySpace Bonus Drippers (The Older Unlreased & Hard-To-Find Songs), older and unreleased tracks or bonus tracks like "The Dark Forest Joggers", a Dandelion Gum vinyl exclusive, "Side 9", a Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods vinyl bonus track. or "Melting in the Meadow", a Start a People outtake track.
The band has appeared at the WIDR
WIDR
WIDR is a freeform FM radio station that broadcasts from the Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. WIDR, a volunteer/student-run radio station licensed to the Western Michigan University, broadcasts at 89.1 FM with 100 watts of power. The station is entirely volunteer/student run and...
Barking Tuna, Sasquatch, South By Southwest and several other festivals.
On November 4, BMSR released Drippers - EP which not only includes new tracks like "Happy Melted City" or "Milk Skates" but also features some lost tracks from the Dandelion Gum era ("We Are the Pagans" and "One Day I Had an Extra Toe") it also features Mike Watt
Mike Watt
Michael David Watt is an American bassist, singer and songwriter.He is best known for co-founding the rock bands Minutemen, dos, and Firehose; , he is also the bassist for the reunited Stooges and a member of the art rock/jazz/punk/improv group Banyan as well as many other post-Minutemen...
and BMSR's first official remix of Laura Burhenn's song "Just for the Night".
Their fourth full-length album Eating Us
Eating Us
Eating Us is the fourth album by Pennsylvania based band Black Moth Super Rainbow released on May 26, 2009 on the CD format. With a running time of just under 36 minutes, it is the shortest full-length release by the band to date. The album was released in a limited-edition "hairy" version, in...
was released on May 26, 2009. The band's 2009 tour featured a video introduction created by Eric Wareheim
Eric Wareheim
Eric Wareheim is an American actor, comedian, writer and director. He is one half of the comedy team of Tim and Eric. Wareheim, along with Tim Heidecker, created the television shows Tom Goes to the Mayor, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! and Check It Out! with Dr...
. Mike Watt
Mike Watt
Michael David Watt is an American bassist, singer and songwriter.He is best known for co-founding the rock bands Minutemen, dos, and Firehose; , he is also the bassist for the reunited Stooges and a member of the art rock/jazz/punk/improv group Banyan as well as many other post-Minutemen...
also occasionally joined the band on stage to play bass during this tour. In the same year TOBACCO released The Allegheny White Fish Tapes, a collection of mix-tapes and limited CDs from pre-BMSR, and around the end of the year Rad Cult re-published the satanstompingcaterpillars The Autumn Kaleidoscope Got Changed.
The Seven Fields of Aphelion was the third member from BMSR to release a solo project. Her debut solo album Periphery was released in February 2010 on Graveface. On May 25, Tobacco released his second solo album Maniac Meat, featuring vocals by Beck
Beck
Beck Hansen is an American musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known by the stage name Beck...
on two tracks, "Fresh Hex," and "Grape Aerosmith."
Albums
- Falling Through a FieldFalling Through a FieldFalling Through a Field is the first album by the American psychedelic rock band Black Moth Super Rainbow, released in 2003. It is the band's fourth album if releases under the name Satanstompingcaterpillars are included in the chronology...
(2003) - Start a PeopleStart a PeopleStart a People is the second album by the American psychedelic rock band Black Moth Super Rainbow, released in 2004. It is the band's fifth album if releases under the name Satanstompingcaterpillars are included in the chronology...
(2004) - Dandelion GumDandelion GumDandelion Gum is the third album by Pennsylvania based band Black Moth Super Rainbow, released on CD on May 22, 2007. A 2xLP edition was released on March 15, 2008; the first 1000 copies sold included double gatefold packaging, pink vinyl with gold splashes, and a bubblegum scratch-and-sniff cover,...
(2007) - Eating UsEating UsEating Us is the fourth album by Pennsylvania based band Black Moth Super Rainbow released on May 26, 2009 on the CD format. With a running time of just under 36 minutes, it is the shortest full-length release by the band to date. The album was released in a limited-edition "hairy" version, in...
(2009) - Psychic Love Damage (2012)
EPs
- Chinese Witch Guy With an Ax (70s Gymnastics, 3" CD-R, 2004)
- Lost, Picking Flowers in the WoodsLost, Picking Flowers in the WoodsLost, Picking Flowers in the Woods is an EP by the Pennsylvania based band Black Moth Super Rainbow, released in 2005. "Lost, Picking Flowers In the Woods", "Caterpillar House", "Drippy Eye" and "They Live In The Meadow" would later appear on Dandelion Gum in 2007...
(70s Gymnastics/Graveface, CD/LP, 2005 and 2006) - DrippersDrippersDrippers is an EP by the American psychedelic rock band Black Moth Super Rainbow, released in 2008. It was officially released on November 4, 2008, however it was available from the band's website a few months in advance...
(70s Gymnastics, CD/LP, 2008) - Bonus Drippers (2008 Free Download)
- The Autumn Kaleidoscope Got Changed (Album, Sing to Us) + Ep, Sing to Us (Rad Cult, Reissue Double-LP, 2009)
- Extra Flavor (2011, Graveface Records)
Collaborations
- The House of Apples and EyeballsThe House of Apples and EyeballsThe House Of Apples & Eyeballs is a collaborative album by Black Moth Super Rainbow and The Octopus Project.-Track listing:# "Spiracle" – 3:51# "Marshmallow Window" – 1:55# "It Hurts To Shoot Lasers From Your Fingers, But It's Necessary" – 0:04...
with The Octopus ProjectThe Octopus ProjectThe Octopus Project is an American indietronica band based in Austin, Texas, active since 1999. Its unique sound, blending pop and experimental elements, is a combination of digital and electronic sounds and noises and analog equipment...
(Graveface, 2006)
Singles
- Zodiac Girls (2008)
- Don't You Want To Be In A Cult? (2009)
- Born On A Day The Sun Didn't Rise (2009)