Mistle Thrush (Band)
Encyclopedia
Mistle Thrush was a female-fronted 1990s alternative rock
band based in Boston, Massachusetts
. They've been described by the Boston Herald
as The Cure
-meets-Fairport Convention
. Steve Morse of The Boston Globe
wrote that Valerie Forgione, the band's singer, has "some of the most versatile pipes since the dream-pop heyday of Kate Bush" and that the "band remains a local treasure". During the band's heyday, their songs frequently charted in CMJ
's Top 200. According to the band's website, they're on hiatus but their last album was released in February 2002. In January 2011, they reunited to play their first concert since 2003. Forgione's current project is called Van Elk.
that eats the poisonous-to-most berries of the mistletoe
plant. Generally identified as goth
—although the term, as The Phoenix
s Brett Milano later put it, "never quite suited them"—quickly found a home at Washington, D.C.
's Bedazzled Records
, who released the band's debut 7" in 1994. Later that same year, they released a 5-song CD entitled Agus Amàrach
.
In May 1995 they advanced as far as the semi-finals of the 17th annual WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble
; by the time they put out their full-length debut (1995's Silt
), Rigney had been replaced by former teenage Boston hardcore
semi-star Matthew Kappman (ex-Funny Wagon, Kingpin).
Two years later, they released Super Refraction
on the "fake" indie label
, Egg Records (bankrolled by major label Elektra
). The album landed them on the Boston Heralds "Local Best of 1997" list, with music critic Tristram Lozaw declaring it to be "[s]ilky smart pop with sublime sonics". The album was nominated for a Boston Music Award for Indie Label Album of the Year, with Forgione also being nominated for Outstanding Local Female Vocalist.
Signing a publishing deal with Warner-Chappell Music, they ultimately used most of the advance money buying out the remainder of their 5-album contract with Egg, with whom they'd become increasingly disillusioned.
During this time-period, band members involved themselves with other creative outlets since the band's recording career was effectively on hold. Forgione received positive reviews for her turn as Mary Magdalene
in the Boston Rock Opera's 2000 production of Jesus Christ Superstar
. Jim Sullivan noted in the Boston Globe that Forgione "shines during her featured numbers" and that she "belt[s] out... [the] songs in a manner far from her work with... Mistle Thrush."
All of the legal wrangling involved in extracting themselves from their contract took its toll on the band and Kattman and Layman both left the band. Matthew Klain was recruited to take over on bass, and the band decided they could make do with just one guitarist. In early 2002 the band released what would be their final album, Drunk with You
on new Los Angeles
indie label, Ecstatic. The album was recognized by the Boston Music Awards with a nominations for Local Album of the Year, and Local Song of the Year (for the song "Small").
, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
, The Boo Radleys
, The Brian Jonestown Massacre
, The Candy Butchers, Cranes
, Cindytalk
, David J
, The Fixx
, Garbage
, Gigolo Aunts
, Helium
, Ivy
, Love and Rockets
, Love Spit Love
, Lush
, Mercury Rev
, Morphine
, My Own Worst Enemy
, Amanda Palmer
, The Push Stars
, Rockets burst from the Streetlamps, Seven Mary Three
, Slowdive
, Sonic Youth
, Splashdown
, Spiritualized
, The Strokes
, Jen Trynin
, Steve Wynn
.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band based in Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. They've been described by the Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
as The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
-meets-Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
. Steve Morse of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
wrote that Valerie Forgione, the band's singer, has "some of the most versatile pipes since the dream-pop heyday of Kate Bush" and that the "band remains a local treasure". During the band's heyday, their songs frequently charted in CMJ
College Music Journal
College Music Journal, commonly known as CMJ, is a music events/publishing company which hosts an annual festival in New York City, the CMJ Music Marathon, as well as a weekly magazine of and for the music industry and college radio stations in the United States and Canada. It publishes top 30...
's Top 200. According to the band's website, they're on hiatus but their last album was released in February 2002. In January 2011, they reunited to play their first concert since 2003. Forgione's current project is called Van Elk.
History
Formed in 1993 by guitarists Scott Patalano and Brad Rigney, bassist Ruben Layman, drummer Todd Demma and Forgione (ex-Funeral Party, Twelve Tone Failure), Mistle Thrush took their name from a birdMistle Thrush
The Mistle Thrush is a member of the thrush family Turdidae.It is found in open woods and cultivated land over all of Europe and much of Asia...
that eats the poisonous-to-most berries of the mistletoe
Mistletoe
Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemi-parasitic plants in several families in the order Santalales. The plants in question grow attached to and within the branches of a tree or shrub.-Mistletoe in the genus Viscum:...
plant. Generally identified as goth
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
—although the term, as The Phoenix
The Phoenix (newspaper)
The Phoenix is the name of several alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts including the Boston Phoenix, the Providence Phoenix, the Portland Phoenix and the now-defunct Worcester Phoenix...
s Brett Milano later put it, "never quite suited them"—quickly found a home at Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
's Bedazzled Records
Bedazzled Records
Bedazzled Records was an American record label, based in Washington, D.C., which existed from 1989 to 2000. It primarily featured dream pop, goth rock and shoegaze bands...
, who released the band's debut 7" in 1994. Later that same year, they released a 5-song CD entitled Agus Amàrach
Agus Amàrach
Agus Amàrach, an EP, is the first CD released by Mistle Thrush, a goth-identified band based in Boston, Massachusetts. It came out in 1994 on Washington, D.C.-based Bedazzled Records . It was followed by the band's debut full-length, Silt, in 1995...
.
In May 1995 they advanced as far as the semi-finals of the 17th annual WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble
WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble
The WBCN Rock 'n' Roll Rumble, begun in 1979, is a Greater Boston "battle of the bands" competition co-sponsored by WBCN-FM and its local music show Boston Emissions....
; by the time they put out their full-length debut (1995's Silt
Silt (Mistle Thrush album)
Silt is the debut album by Mistle Thrush, a Boston, Massachusetts-based band. It was released in 1995 on CD by Bedazzled . The previous year, the band released a five-song EP titled Agus Amàrach. The band didn't release another full-length album until 1997's Super Refraction...
), Rigney had been replaced by former teenage Boston hardcore
Boston hardcore
Boston hardcore is the hardcore punk scene of Boston, Massachusetts. Boston hardcore is the hardcore punk scene of Boston, Massachusetts. Boston hardcore is the hardcore punk scene of Boston, Massachusetts. (Not to be confused with Boston metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore; itself an...
semi-star Matthew Kappman (ex-Funny Wagon, Kingpin).
Two years later, they released Super Refraction
Super Refraction
Super Refraction is the second full-length album by former Boston, Massachusetts band Mistle Thrush. It was released in 1997 by Egg Records .-Track listing:All songs written by Mistle Thrush#"Stupid Song" – 3:12#"Moth-Like" – 4:00...
on the "fake" indie label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
, Egg Records (bankrolled by major label Elektra
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
). The album landed them on the Boston Heralds "Local Best of 1997" list, with music critic Tristram Lozaw declaring it to be "[s]ilky smart pop with sublime sonics". The album was nominated for a Boston Music Award for Indie Label Album of the Year, with Forgione also being nominated for Outstanding Local Female Vocalist.
Signing a publishing deal with Warner-Chappell Music, they ultimately used most of the advance money buying out the remainder of their 5-album contract with Egg, with whom they'd become increasingly disillusioned.
During this time-period, band members involved themselves with other creative outlets since the band's recording career was effectively on hold. Forgione received positive reviews for her turn as Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
in the Boston Rock Opera's 2000 production of Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
. Jim Sullivan noted in the Boston Globe that Forgione "shines during her featured numbers" and that she "belt[s] out... [the] songs in a manner far from her work with... Mistle Thrush."
All of the legal wrangling involved in extracting themselves from their contract took its toll on the band and Kattman and Layman both left the band. Matthew Klain was recruited to take over on bass, and the band decided they could make do with just one guitarist. In early 2002 the band released what would be their final album, Drunk with You
Drunk with You
Drunk with You is the third and final album by Boston's Mistle Thrush. It was released on the Los Angeles-based Ecstatic Records label in 2002...
on new Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
indie label, Ecstatic. The album was recognized by the Boston Music Awards with a nominations for Local Album of the Year, and Local Song of the Year (for the song "Small").
Singles and EPs
- "Beside" 7" single (1994, BedazzledBedazzled RecordsBedazzled Records was an American record label, based in Washington, D.C., which existed from 1989 to 2000. It primarily featured dream pop, goth rock and shoegaze bands...
) - Agus AmàrachAgus AmàrachAgus Amàrach, an EP, is the first CD released by Mistle Thrush, a goth-identified band based in Boston, Massachusetts. It came out in 1994 on Washington, D.C.-based Bedazzled Records . It was followed by the band's debut full-length, Silt, in 1995...
(1994, Bedazzled)
Albums
- SiltSilt (Mistle Thrush album)Silt is the debut album by Mistle Thrush, a Boston, Massachusetts-based band. It was released in 1995 on CD by Bedazzled . The previous year, the band released a five-song EP titled Agus Amàrach. The band didn't release another full-length album until 1997's Super Refraction...
(1995, Bedazzled) - Super RefractionSuper RefractionSuper Refraction is the second full-length album by former Boston, Massachusetts band Mistle Thrush. It was released in 1997 by Egg Records .-Track listing:All songs written by Mistle Thrush#"Stupid Song" – 3:12#"Moth-Like" – 4:00...
(1997, Egg) - Drunk with YouDrunk with YouDrunk with You is the third and final album by Boston's Mistle Thrush. It was released on the Los Angeles-based Ecstatic Records label in 2002...
(2002, Ecstatic)
Compilation appearances
- Kindred Spirits CD (1994, Bedazzled) (song: "Whispers")
- Soon CD (1994, Castle von Buhler) (song: "Beyond Reach")
- Woke Up Smiling CD (1995, Bedazzled) (song: "She Is a Flower")
- Wicked Deluxe CD (1996, Wicked Disc) (song: "51 Pegasi: Rocket Song, V.1")
- Spring Fling CD (1996, Pulp Magazine) (song: "Flowereyed" (demo version))
- No Secrets CD (1998, Big Heavy World) (song: "51 Pegasi: Rocket Song, V.2")
- Notes from thee Real Underground Vol.1 3xCD, 2001, Underground, Inc./InvisibleInvisible RecordsInvisible Records is a Chicago based record label founded by Martin Atkins to support and distribute the works of artists who preferred to work with a smaller, artist driven label.-Artist Roster:* Ashtrayhead* Attrition* Bagman* Bizarre Sex Trio...
) (songs: "Heavy-Set John", "Jody Stone") - Maximum Wage, A Bureau of Dissonant Culture Compilation CD (2001, Bureau of Dissonant Culture) (song: "Drowning For William")
Noteworthy bands they've played with
AerosmithAerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, now based in Los Angeles. BRMC is known for their garage rock, blues, folk revival, neo-psychedelia sound. They are influenced by bands such as: The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Verve, The Rolling Stones, Oasis, T...
, The Boo Radleys
The Boo Radleys
-Studio albums:-Compilation albums:-Extended plays:-Singles:-External links:* * * * * * by Laurent Orseau * *...
, The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American eclectic musical group led by Anton Newcombe, whose music spans multiple genres including psychedelia, electronica, folk music, blues, experimental music, and many others....
, The Candy Butchers, Cranes
Cranes (band)
Cranes are a British music group formed in 1986, whose style has been described as "gothic minimalism".-History:Formed in 1986 in Portsmouth, England by siblings Alison and Jim Shaw, and named after the many mechanical cranes around the city's docks, Cranes are best known for the childlike,...
, Cindytalk
Cindytalk
Cindytalk is an experimental music group fronted by Gordon Sharp, a Scottish performer who has been the only constant member since its inception in 1982.-History:...
, David J
David J
David John Haskins , better known as David J, is a British alternative rock musician. He was the bassist for the gothic rock band Bauhaus and Love and Rockets....
, The Fixx
The Fixx
The Fixx is an English rock band formed in London in 1979. Their hits include "One Thing Leads to Another," "Red Skies," "Stand or Fall," "Saved by Zero," "Sign of Fire," "Are We Ourselves?," "Secret Separation," "Driven Out," "How Much Is Enough?," and "Deeper and Deeper," which was featured on...
, Garbage
Garbage (band)
Garbage are an alternative rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. The group consists of Scottish singer Shirley Manson and American musicians Duke Erikson , Steve Marker and Butch Vig . All four members are involved in songwriting and production...
, Gigolo Aunts
Gigolo Aunts
-Early history:The band was formed by middle school students Steve Hurley, Dave Gibbs, Phil Hurley and Paul Brouwer in 1981 in Potsdam, New York, originally known as Sniper...
, Helium
Helium (band)
Helium was an American alternative rock band formed in the summer of 1992. Originally calling themselves "Chupa", its founding members were Mary Lou Lord, Jason Hatfield , Shawn King Devlin and Brian Dunton...
, Ivy
Ivy (band)
Ivy is a New York City band composed of a trio of musicians, Adam Schlesinger, Dominique Durand, and Andy Chase.-Lately and Realistic:...
, Love and Rockets
Love and Rockets (band)
Love and Rockets were an English alternative rock band formed in 1985 by former Bauhaus members Daniel Ash , David J , and Kevin Haskins . Former Bauhaus vocalist Peter Murphy had embarked on a solo career after Bauhaus split in 1983...
, Love Spit Love
Love Spit Love
Love Spit Love was a musical group founded in 1992 by singer Richard Butler following the initial disbanding of the Psychedelic Furs.-History:...
, Lush
Lush (band)
Lush were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1998. They were one of the first bands to attract the "shoegazing" label...
, Mercury Rev
Mercury Rev
Mercury Rev is an American alternative rock group, that formed in the late 1980s in Buffalo, New York. Original personnel were David Baker , Jonathan Donahue , Sean Mackowiak, a.k.a...
, Morphine
Morphine (band)
Morphine was an American alternative rock group formed by Mark Sandman and Dana Colley in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1989. They disbanded in 1999 after frontman Sandman died of a heart attack....
, My Own Worst Enemy
My Own Worst Enemy
"My Own Worst Enemy" is a song by the American punk rock band Lit, issued as the lead single from their second album, A Place in the Sun, released in 1999. One of the most enduring rock songs that season, it spent 11 weeks at #1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and went on to become a staple in...
, Amanda Palmer
Amanda Palmer
Amanda MacKinnon Gaiman Palmer , sometimes known as Amanda Fucking Palmer, is an American performer who first rose to prominence as the lead singer, pianist, and lyricist/composer of the duo The Dresden Dolls...
, The Push Stars
The Push Stars
The Push Stars are an American rock band, formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1996. The band members include Chris Trapper, Ryan MacMillan and Dan McLoughlin. They developed a following playing shows in Boston, then released their first album, "Meet Me at the Fair" in 1996...
, Rockets burst from the Streetlamps, Seven Mary Three
Seven Mary Three
Seven Mary Three, occasionally abbreviated to 7 Mary 3 or 7M3, is an American hard rock band. They have released seven studio albums and one live album, and are best known for their hit singles "Cumbersome", "Water's Edge", "Lucky", and "Wait"....
, Slowdive
Slowdive
Slowdive were an English shoegaze band that formed in 1989. The band formed in Reading, Berkshire and primarily consisted of Nick Chaplin , Rachel Goswell , Neil Halstead , and Christian Savill...
, Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
, Splashdown
Splashdown (band)
Splashdown, formed in Allston, Massachusetts, in 1996, was an American pop rock band. The group disbanded in 2001; their last show was at the release party for the debut CD of Freezepop on February 2 of that year. Splashdown gained a small but extremely loyal following in the Northeast United...
, Spiritualized
Spiritualized
Spiritualized are an English space rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire by Jason Pierce after the demise of his previous outfit, space-rockers Spacemen 3...
, The Strokes
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
, Jen Trynin
Jen Trynin
Jennifer Trynin, also credited as Jen Trynin, is an American singer-songwriter and author from Boston, Massachusetts.She recorded her debut album Cockamamie in 1994 at the age of thirty-one while running her own desktop publishing business. The track "Better Than Nothing" received considerable...
, Steve Wynn
Steve Wynn (songwriter)
Steve Wynn is a songwriter based in New York . He led the band the Dream Syndicate from 1981 to 1989 and afterward began a solo career.- Career in bands :...
.
Other sources
- Matthew Chabe, Mistle Thrush: Drunk With You, PopMattersPopMattersPopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
, July 11, 2002 - Tristram Lozaw, "Mistle Thrush says goodbye to its Gothic-rocking roots", Boston HeraldBoston HeraldThe Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
, April 18, 1997
External links
- Boston Soundcheck Magazine, Interview
- Van Elk site Valerie Forgione's current project