New Grenada (band)
Encyclopedia
New Grenada is an American indie rock
band formed in Royal Oak, Michigan
in 2001. The current lineup consists of John Nelson
(vocals and guitar), Dave Melkonian (drums) and Monday Busque (bass and vocals).
New Grenada's style of indie rock music is both melodic and abrasive and has been compared to Neil Young
, punk icons the Buzzcocks
and lo-fi pioneers Sebadoh
. Mainstays in the underground Detroit rock scene, New Grenada have developed a cult following and have 4 albums, several EPs, singles and compilation tracks to their credit.
, The Go
, The Sights
and the White Stripes thrived during this important time in Detroit music history. Cloud Car's original lineup featured drummer Jim Edmunds, eventually joining Dean Fertita
's (Queens of the Stone Age
, The Dead Weather
) retro pop group the The Waxwings
.
New Grenada debuted their split 7" with Detroit punk band the Trembling (featuring Busque) in fall of 2001. Their first album, The Open Heart, was released in 2002 and featured tracks produced by Detroit recording engineer Tim Pak and solo artist Brendan Benson
, now of The Raconteurs
. The album featured a diverse mixture of scrappy up-tempo rock songs and quirky keyboard-driven pop. The album was warmly received by critics and found success on college radio stations throughout the U.S. The band has toured and played shows with the likes of Imperial Teen
, Rainer Maria
, Aloha, Joel Plaskett
and many others.
The band went through several lineup changes before their next release, the Hot War EP. Chavarria left the group to concentrate on producing hip hop artists. Shawn Knight, who contributed to the Open Heart recordings, became a full time member. Pallos moved to Los Angeles to concentrate on film making, and a revolving cast of drummers played in the band, most notably Scott Behnan and Andy Roy (now of Copper Thieves).
From 2002-2005 New Grenada played hundreds of shows, released the home-recorded full length Parting Shots, an EP of punk covers called the Iron Triangle, and the experimental More Nature EP. The band was also featured on several compilations, including a high profile Sonic Youth
Tribute called Kill Yr Idols (Narnack Records
). Legendary d.j. John Peel
became a New Grenada fan, playing their music on his radio show.
After an ill-fated show opening for Detroit band Thunderbirds Are Now!
, which featured onstage bickering and instruments being destroyed, Andy Roy left the band. He was soon replaced by Dave Melkonian of Ten Words for Snow.
Nelson and Allie married in 2005, and the band went on a brief hiatus. In January 2006, the band recorded the album Modern Problems with Steve Albini
at Electrical Audio
. This would be the last album to feature Shawn Knight, as he left the band soon thereafter to concentrate on post-punk outfit Child Bite
. Modern Problems was well received by critics, but problems with the fledgling record label Contraphonic resulted in weak album sales.
New Grenada continued on as a trio, recording the stripped down Model Citizen EP in 2007. Soon after the release, Nelson and Allie’s personal and musical relationship came to an end. Nelson and Melkonian forged ahead, recording the full length Energy Shortage with Mike Bridavsky at Russian Recording in Indiana. The album was released on Nelson’s new label, Jack Holmes Recording Company. Monday Busque filled the vacated bass player position in late 2008.
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band formed in Royal Oak, Michigan
Royal Oak, Michigan
Royal Oak is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 57,236. It should not be confused with Royal Oak Charter Township, a separate community located nearby....
in 2001. The current lineup consists of John Nelson
John Nelson
John Nelson may refer to:*John Nelson , Australian political figure*John Nelson , US baseball player...
(vocals and guitar), Dave Melkonian (drums) and Monday Busque (bass and vocals).
New Grenada's style of indie rock music is both melodic and abrasive and has been compared to Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
, punk icons the Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton in 1976, led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock. They achieved commercial...
and lo-fi pioneers Sebadoh
Sebadoh
Sebadoh is an American indie rock band, formed in 1986 in Westfield, Massachusetts by Eric Gaffney and Dinosaur Jr bass player Lou Barlow. Along with such bands as Pavement and Guided by Voices, Sebadoh helped pioneer lo-fi music, a style of indie rock characterized by low-fidelity recording...
. Mainstays in the underground Detroit rock scene, New Grenada have developed a cult following and have 4 albums, several EPs, singles and compilation tracks to their credit.
Biography
The band was started by songwriter John Nelson and girlfriend Nicole Allie, along with Mike Chavarria and Nicholas Pallos. The band formed after the breakup of Nelson's previous band, Cloud Car. Cloud Car, founded by Nelson at the age of 19, were one of the few indie rock groups to find acceptance in the Detroit garage rock scene of the late 1990s. Bands like the Dirtbombs, Outrageous CherryOutrageous Cherry
-History:Outrageous Cherry formed in 1992 as a solo project for Matthew Smith, but soon expanded to a four-piece after he began performing live in 1993...
, The Go
The Go
The Go is an American rock & roll band from Detroit, Michigan. Their sound has evolved from garage punk to a blend of 1960s and 1970s influences, most notably The Beatles....
, The Sights
The Sights
The Sights are a rock and roll band from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 1998. Members include Eddie Baranek , Dave Tick Talkin Lawson , Gordon Smith and Skip Denomme . Former members include Mike Trombley, Mark Leahey, Nate Cavalieri, Matt Hatch, Bobby Emmett and Dave Knepp...
and the White Stripes thrived during this important time in Detroit music history. Cloud Car's original lineup featured drummer Jim Edmunds, eventually joining Dean Fertita
Dean Fertita
Dean Fertita is an American rock musician and multi-instrumentalist. Fertita was the lead singer and guitarist of The Waxwings from the band's formation in 1997 to its breakup in 2005...
's (Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...
, The Dead Weather
The Dead Weather
The Dead Weather is an American alternative rock supergroup, formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2009. Composed of Alison Mosshart , Jack White , Dean Fertita and Jack Lawrence , The Dead Weather debuted at the opening of Third Man Records' Nashville...
) retro pop group the The Waxwings
The Waxwings
The Waxwings are a rock band from Detroit, Michigan, United States, formed in 1997.The band's lineup consists of Dean Fertita on vocals and guitar, James Edmunds on drums and percussion, and Kevin Peyok on bass guitar...
.
New Grenada debuted their split 7" with Detroit punk band the Trembling (featuring Busque) in fall of 2001. Their first album, The Open Heart, was released in 2002 and featured tracks produced by Detroit recording engineer Tim Pak and solo artist Brendan Benson
Brendan Benson
Brendan Benson is an American musician and songwriter. He sings and plays guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, and drums. He has released four solo albums and is a member of the band The Raconteurs....
, now of The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs is an American rock band that was formed in Detroit, Michigan, featuring four members known for other musical projects: Jack White , Brendan Benson , Jack Lawrence , and Patrick Keeler .-Formation:The...
. The album featured a diverse mixture of scrappy up-tempo rock songs and quirky keyboard-driven pop. The album was warmly received by critics and found success on college radio stations throughout the U.S. The band has toured and played shows with the likes of Imperial Teen
Imperial Teen
Imperial Teen is a San Francisco-based indie pop group made up of Roddy Bottum primarily on guitar/vocals, Will Schwartz primarily on guitar/vocals, Lynn Truell primarily on drums and backing vocals, and Jone Stebbins primarily on bass and backing...
, Rainer Maria
Rainer Maria
Rainer Maria was an indie rock/emo band originally from Madison, Wisconsin, later residing in Brooklyn, New York. Named after the German-language poet Rainer Maria Rilke, they formed in the late summer of 1995 and released five full length albums, a live DVD, numerous live recordings, and EPs...
, Aloha, Joel Plaskett
Joel Plaskett
Joel Plaskett is a Canadian rock musician originally from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. He grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia and now resides across the harbour in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia...
and many others.
The band went through several lineup changes before their next release, the Hot War EP. Chavarria left the group to concentrate on producing hip hop artists. Shawn Knight, who contributed to the Open Heart recordings, became a full time member. Pallos moved to Los Angeles to concentrate on film making, and a revolving cast of drummers played in the band, most notably Scott Behnan and Andy Roy (now of Copper Thieves).
From 2002-2005 New Grenada played hundreds of shows, released the home-recorded full length Parting Shots, an EP of punk covers called the Iron Triangle, and the experimental More Nature EP. The band was also featured on several compilations, including a high profile 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...
Tribute called Kill Yr Idols (Narnack Records
Narnack Records
Narnack Records is an independent record label founded in 2002. The label developed in NYC & Brooklyn’s underground music scene, quickly becoming known for its ability for developing new artists, but also working with established bands like The Fall and The Slits...
). Legendary d.j. John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
became a New Grenada fan, playing their music on his radio show.
After an ill-fated show opening for Detroit band Thunderbirds Are Now!
Thunderbirds Are Now!
Thunderbirds are Now! is a Livonia, Michigan-based post-punk revival band whose sound uses a mix of traditional post-punk, New Wave and noise rock. The band is heavily influenced by 1980s New Wave and other post-punk revival acts like Les Savy Fav...
, which featured onstage bickering and instruments being destroyed, Andy Roy left the band. He was soon replaced by Dave Melkonian of Ten Words for Snow.
Nelson and Allie married in 2005, and the band went on a brief hiatus. In January 2006, the band recorded the album Modern Problems with Steve Albini
Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman, and Flour, and is currently a member of Shellac...
at Electrical Audio
Electrical Audio
Electrical Audio is a recording facility founded in Chicago, Illinois by musician and recording engineer Steve Albini in 1997. Hundreds of independent music projects have been recorded there....
. This would be the last album to feature Shawn Knight, as he left the band soon thereafter to concentrate on post-punk outfit Child Bite
Child Bite
Child Bite is an art rock/post-punk band based out of Ferndale, Michigan. Their instruments range from traditional to unconventional . Child bite was formed by Shawn Knight along with Danny Sperry and Zach Norton in the fall of 2005...
. Modern Problems was well received by critics, but problems with the fledgling record label Contraphonic resulted in weak album sales.
New Grenada continued on as a trio, recording the stripped down Model Citizen EP in 2007. Soon after the release, Nelson and Allie’s personal and musical relationship came to an end. Nelson and Melkonian forged ahead, recording the full length Energy Shortage with Mike Bridavsky at Russian Recording in Indiana. The album was released on Nelson’s new label, Jack Holmes Recording Company. Monday Busque filled the vacated bass player position in late 2008.
Past members
- Nicole Allie - Bass, Vocals
- Shawn Knight - Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals
- Andy Roy - Drums
- Scott Behnan - Drums
- Mike Chavarria - Guitars
- Nick Pallos - Drums
LPs
- The Open Heart (2002, Plumline)
- Parting Shots (2005, Asaurus)
- Modern Problems (2006, Contraphonic)
- Energy Shortage (2009, Jack Holmes Recording Co.)
EPs
- Hot War (2003, Plumline)
- Iron Triangle (2003, Boyarm/Plumline)
- More Nature (2005, Melodic Virtue)
- Model Citizen (2008, Asaurus)
7"s
- Oberlin/ Shooting Blanks split with The Trembling (2001, Plumline)
- The Day After/ Airwolf (2003, Wax Detroit)