Brian McMahan is a guitarist from Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

. He was member of the band Squirrel Bait

Squirrel Bait

Squirrel Bait was an American punk band from Louisville, Kentucky. They were in existence from 1983 to 1988. Squirrel Bait's dense, moody, melodic hardcore sound, featuring pronounced tempo shifts, foreshadowed the grunge sound of the late 1980s as well as math rock...

 and went on to create the seminal band Slint

Slint

Slint was an American rock band consisting of Brian McMahan , David Pajo , Britt Walford , Todd Brashear and Ethan Buckler...

. He was both vocalist and guitarist for this band. After their breakup, circa 1991, he went on to play with Will Oldham

Will Oldham

Will Oldham , better known by the stage name Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music...

 on his project Palace Brothers. In 1994, Brian formed The For Carnation

The For Carnation

The For Carnation are a post-rock band from Louisville, Kentucky who formed in 1994. The band was formed by Brian McMahan, who is the only constant group member. McMahan's previous band Slint hinted at the distinctive sound and sombre aesthetic he would create in The For Carnation...

 which acted as a creative outlet; he remains the only permanent member of the band. He was also part of King Kong

King Kong (band)

King Kong, a rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in early 1989 by Ethan Buckler, the original bassist in the band Slint. The core trio for many years was made up of Buckler, Willie McClean , and Ray Rizzo...

. McMahan plays guitar on the song "Why I'm So Unhappy" by Dntel

Dntel

James Scott "Jimmy" Tamborello, more commonly known as Dntel , is an electronic music artist. He is sometimes cited as James Figurine, the co-programmer and vocalist for the electropop outfit Figurine. Other projects include Strictly Ballroom, Headset and The Postal Service. Tamborello has...

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