Six Finger Satellite
Encyclopedia
Six Finger Satellite are an American
synthesizer
-based post-hardcore
band, based in Providence
, Rhode Island
.
Records, who, signed them and released the demo as the four-song Weapon EP in 1992.
Six Finger Satellite's first full-length album, The Pigeon Is The Most Popular Bird, was released in 1993, with Kurt Niemand replacing Dixon on bass. The record more accurately represented the band's vision of cyborg-esque post-punk
, and was recorded by Bob Weston
, whose band Shellac
named their 1994 single, The Bird is the Most Popular Finger
in tribute. In 1994, 6FS released the Machine Cuisine EP, which was recorded entirely with synthesizers, suggesting the band's future direction. Their 7" single supposedly recorded "live at the A.C.I." was not actually recorded live at the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institute prison, as purported in its tongue-in-cheek liner notes.
In the meantime, Phillips had left the band and Niemand had died of a drug overdose. James Apt (bass) joined for the 1995 album Severe Exposure
, which represented a fusion of their synth- and guitar-driven sounds. It was during this time that the band began using their advance money from Sub Pop
to buy recording equipment and build their own studion called The Parlour. Over the course of the next 3 years, the studio underwent a few physical renovations and upgrades in recording gear. The band became adept at recording and Ryan, Pelletier and MacLean were involved in recording projects with local Providence bands; Les Savy Fav
, Astoveboat, Landed, Men's Recovery Project
, flicker, The Olneyville Soundsystem, to name a few. The low-budget music video for the song "Parlour Games," from "Severe Exposure
" and directed by Guy Benoit of Thee Hydrogen Terrors,was featured in an episode of Beavis and Butt-head
.
"Paranormalized" was a quick follow-up to "Severe Exposure" and while a few of the songs became live set staples ( "Slave Traitor", "The Greatest Hit"), the album was decidedly less guitar focused. The touring for this record was much more effective as the band played with Shellac
, The Jesus Lizard
, and Trans Am
and was on the road for most of that year.
The band's final full-length was Law of Ruins, released in 1998 and produced by James Murphy. It was marked by a spacier sound, and was heavily influenced by Krautrock
. The CD came in an entirely clear jewelcase with minimalist neon green graphic design/writing. Murphy had joined as live sound engineer the previous year as the band was increasingly aware of the importance of having its own soundman. Murphy had been recording bands in Brooklyn at Plantain Studios and playing with the band Speedking. The 'death from above" moniker was one that Speedking had appropriated from a US military logo. The band and Murphy mutually influenced each other and the punishing live show took on another sonic dimension with Murphy at the board. MacLean quit the band in late 1998 soon after the release of "Law of Ruins" and was replaced by Alex Minoff
from the band Golden
for the few tours dates the band had committed to that year. Minoff played live for a second short tour and then the band went on hiatus. In 1999, Ryan and Pelletier reformed the group replacing Minoff and Apt with Joel Kyack (guitar) and Shawn Greenlee (bass) from the group Landed. This incarnation of the group performed until 2001.
with new recording in the summer of 2008. A handful of live dates were announced with the new lineup.
The 2009 edition includes long time members J. Ryan and Rick Pelletier with Dan St. Jacques and Brian Dufresne.
, Brainiac
, The V.S.S., and The Dismemberment Plan
.
J. Ryan, his brother John Ryan, and Dan St. Jacques—Guy Benoit would come into the fold later—formed the spazzy, scuzzy, garage band Von Ryan's Express, named after the 1965 Frank Sinatra movie
. He is commonly mistaken for the Chicago based illustrator and poster artist of the same name. John MacLean has since recorded as The Juan Maclean
and Rick Pelletier played in The Chinese Stars and plays in an ongoing dub-esque project called La Machine. James Murphy has gone on to form LCD Soundsystem
and DFA Records
. The label takes its name from his tour set-up for 6FS, which was known as "death from above."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
-based post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
band, based in Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
.
History
The band formed in 1990 around a line-up of J. Ryan (singer/keyboards), John MacLean (guitar), Peter Phillips (guitar), Chris Dixon (bass), and Rick Pelletier (drums). They submitted a demo of rock to Sub PopSub Pop
Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
Records, who, signed them and released the demo as the four-song Weapon EP in 1992.
Six Finger Satellite's first full-length album, The Pigeon Is The Most Popular Bird, was released in 1993, with Kurt Niemand replacing Dixon on bass. The record more accurately represented the band's vision of cyborg-esque post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
, and was recorded by Bob Weston
Bob Weston
Bob Weston is an American musician, producer, recording engineer, and record mastering engineer. Critic Jason Ankeny declares that "Weston's name and fingerprints are all over the American underground rock of the post-punk era, producing and engineering dates for a seemingly endless number of...
, whose band Shellac
Shellac (band)
Shellac is an American group composed of Steve Albini , Bob Weston and Todd Trainer...
named their 1994 single, The Bird is the Most Popular Finger
The Bird Is the Most Popular Finger
The Bird Is the Most Popular Finger is the third release by Shellac. The title is a parodic reference to the album The Pigeon Is the Most Popular Bird by Six Finger Satellite, and was originally the title of an article on Shellac that appeared in the magazine Alternative Press after the release of...
in tribute. In 1994, 6FS released the Machine Cuisine EP, which was recorded entirely with synthesizers, suggesting the band's future direction. Their 7" single supposedly recorded "live at the A.C.I." was not actually recorded live at the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institute prison, as purported in its tongue-in-cheek liner notes.
In the meantime, Phillips had left the band and Niemand had died of a drug overdose. James Apt (bass) joined for the 1995 album Severe Exposure
Severe Exposure
Severe Exposure was the second full-length album by Six Finger Satellite. It was marked by the extensive use of synthesizers, which augmented the jittery, post-punk sound of the band's earlier releases....
, which represented a fusion of their synth- and guitar-driven sounds. It was during this time that the band began using their advance money from Sub Pop
Sub Pop
Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
to buy recording equipment and build their own studion called The Parlour. Over the course of the next 3 years, the studio underwent a few physical renovations and upgrades in recording gear. The band became adept at recording and Ryan, Pelletier and MacLean were involved in recording projects with local Providence bands; Les Savy Fav
Les Savy Fav
Les Savy Fav is a New York City indie rock band. Their style is influenced by art rock and post-hardcore. The group is known for the stage presence of lead singer Tim Harrington...
, Astoveboat, Landed, Men's Recovery Project
Men's Recovery Project
Men's Recovery Project was an American experimental noise rock band formed by Sam McPheeters and Neil Burke in Richmond, Virginia, active from 1993–2002...
, flicker, The Olneyville Soundsystem, to name a few. The low-budget music video for the song "Parlour Games," from "Severe Exposure
Severe Exposure
Severe Exposure was the second full-length album by Six Finger Satellite. It was marked by the extensive use of synthesizers, which augmented the jittery, post-punk sound of the band's earlier releases....
" and directed by Guy Benoit of Thee Hydrogen Terrors,was featured in an episode of Beavis and Butt-head
Beavis and Butt-Head
Beavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...
.
"Paranormalized" was a quick follow-up to "Severe Exposure" and while a few of the songs became live set staples ( "Slave Traitor", "The Greatest Hit"), the album was decidedly less guitar focused. The touring for this record was much more effective as the band played with Shellac
Shellac
Shellac is a resin secreted by the female lac bug, on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes , which are dissolved in ethyl alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and wood finish...
, The Jesus Lizard
The Jesus Lizard
The Jesus Lizard was an American alternative rock and noise rock band formed in 1987 in Austin, Texas. They were "a leading noise rock band in the American independent underground…[who] turned out a series of independent records filled with scathing, disembowelling, guitar-driven pseudo-industrial...
, and Trans Am
Trans Am (band)
Trans Am is a three-piece band which originated in Bethesda, Maryland that was one of the originators of "post-rock" in the mid 90s. Their work centers on a cerebrally robotic, usually instrumental, semi-danceable, minimalistic format, with influences including Krautrock, heavy metal, hardcore...
and was on the road for most of that year.
The band's final full-length was Law of Ruins, released in 1998 and produced by James Murphy. It was marked by a spacier sound, and was heavily influenced by Krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
. The CD came in an entirely clear jewelcase with minimalist neon green graphic design/writing. Murphy had joined as live sound engineer the previous year as the band was increasingly aware of the importance of having its own soundman. Murphy had been recording bands in Brooklyn at Plantain Studios and playing with the band Speedking. The 'death from above" moniker was one that Speedking had appropriated from a US military logo. The band and Murphy mutually influenced each other and the punishing live show took on another sonic dimension with Murphy at the board. MacLean quit the band in late 1998 soon after the release of "Law of Ruins" and was replaced by Alex Minoff
Alex Minoff
Alex Minoff is an American musician from Pennsylvania who is known for his work with the groups Golden, Weird War, and Extra Golden.Though coming from an independent rock 'n' roll tradition, Minoff plays Kenyan Benga music in Extra Golden, which also includes a drummer and singer-guitarist from...
from the band Golden
Golden (Band)
Golden is an American rock band formed in 1993 in Oberlin, Ohio. Since Golden's members are also involved with other, more well-known bands, Golden is often considered more of a side project than a full-fledged band in its own right....
for the few tours dates the band had committed to that year. Minoff played live for a second short tour and then the band went on hiatus. In 1999, Ryan and Pelletier reformed the group replacing Minoff and Apt with Joel Kyack (guitar) and Shawn Greenlee (bass) from the group Landed. This incarnation of the group performed until 2001.
Reformation
The 2008 edition of Six Finger Satellite include long time members J. Ryan and Rick Pelletier with Dan St. Jaques (Landed/Olneyville Sound System/Thee Hydrogen Terrors/Von Ryan's Express) on bass and Jon Loper (Made In Mexico/La Machine/Ghosts of Waco) on drums. The band announced that a previously unreleased album named "Half Control", recorded in 2001, would be released on Load RecordsLoad Records
Load Records is an American noise/experimental independent record label based out of Providence, Rhode Island. "Load Records might possibly be in possession of the world's most challenging record roster," writes Mark Hensch of Thrash Pit...
with new recording in the summer of 2008. A handful of live dates were announced with the new lineup.
The 2009 edition includes long time members J. Ryan and Rick Pelletier with Dan St. Jacques and Brian Dufresne.
Influence
Six Finger Satellite attracted a significant underground following during the 1990s, and are today recognized for their somewhat prophetic fusion of electronic and post-punk music. In 2005, Jonathan Galkin remarked that "if a band came out today that sounded like Paranormalized, they'd be signed to a huge record deal, sight unseen." Similar bands that existed alongside 6FS in the 1990s included Trans AmTrans Am (band)
Trans Am is a three-piece band which originated in Bethesda, Maryland that was one of the originators of "post-rock" in the mid 90s. Their work centers on a cerebrally robotic, usually instrumental, semi-danceable, minimalistic format, with influences including Krautrock, heavy metal, hardcore...
, Brainiac
Brainiac (band)
Brainiac was an American synthpunk band formed in 1992, and disbanded after the sudden death of lead singer Tim Taylor in 1997.-Biography:...
, The V.S.S., and The Dismemberment Plan
The Dismemberment Plan
The Dismemberment Plan is a Washington D.C. based indie rock band formed on January 1, 1993. Also known as D-Plan or The Plan, the name comes from a stray phrase uttered by insurance salesman Ned Ryerson in the popular comedy Groundhog Day. The band members included Eric Axelson , Jason Caddell ,...
.
J. Ryan, his brother John Ryan, and Dan St. Jacques—Guy Benoit would come into the fold later—formed the spazzy, scuzzy, garage band Von Ryan's Express, named after the 1965 Frank Sinatra movie
Von Ryan's Express
Von Ryan's Express is a 1965 World War II adventure film starring Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard, based on a novel by David Westheimer, and directed by Mark Robson.-Plot:...
. He is commonly mistaken for the Chicago based illustrator and poster artist of the same name. John MacLean has since recorded as The Juan Maclean
The Juan MacLean
John MacLean, better known by the stage name The Juan MacLean, is an American electronic musician.-History:Maclean was guitarist for the post-hardcore band Six Finger Satellite, based in Providence, Rhode Island. The band was struck by several tragedies, and Maclean eventually moved into production...
and Rick Pelletier played in The Chinese Stars and plays in an ongoing dub-esque project called La Machine. James Murphy has gone on to form LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem was a prominent American dance-punk band from New York City. It was fronted by American singer-songwriter and producer James Murphy, co-founder of record label DFA Records...
and DFA Records
DFA Records
DFA Records is an independent record label and production team, launched in September 2001 by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. The label has an exclusive distribution deal with major record label EMI....
. The label takes its name from his tour set-up for 6FS, which was known as "death from above."
Albums
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 1993 | The Pigeon Is The Most Popular Bird
|
| 1995 | Severe Exposure Severe Exposure Severe Exposure was the second full-length album by Six Finger Satellite. It was marked by the extensive use of synthesizers, which augmented the jittery, post-punk sound of the band's earlier releases.... LP album The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry... , CD |
| 1996 | Paranormalized Paranormalized Paranormalized was the third full-length album by Six Finger Satellite. It was marked by an almost complete reliance on synthesizers, in contrast to their earlier records, in which guitars still played a significant part.... |
| 1998 | Law of Ruins
Double album A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs.... , CD |
| 2009 | Half Control
Load Records Load Records is an American noise/experimental independent record label based out of Providence, Rhode Island. "Load Records might possibly be in possession of the world's most challenging record roster," writes Mark Hensch of Thrash Pit... (#125) |
| 2009 | A Good Year For Hardness
Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
EPs
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 1992 | Weapon
|
| 1994 | Machine Cuisine
|
| 1994 | Machine Cuisine Companion Cassette
Compact Cassette The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel... |
| 1996 | Clone Theory
|
Singles
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 1992 | Weapon
|
| 1993 | Declaration Of Techno-Colonial Independence
Extended play An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact... |
| 1995 | Rabies (Baby's Got The) / Mistaken Street / Swing Alone
|
| 1996 | Massive Cocaine Seizure b/w Human Operator
|
| 1996 | Live At The A.C.I. - Man Behind The Glasses + 2
|
| 1999 | Fuzzy Logic b/w 20 Questions
|
Compilations
- Weapon on Revolution Come And Gone CD · Sub Pop, 1992
- Funny Like A Clown on Altered States Of America Cassette · Lime Lizard, 1993
- Funny Like A Clown on Lutz R. Mastmeyer: Sub Pop Employee Of The Month CD · Sub Pop, 1993
- Parlour Games on That Virtua Feeling: Sub Pop And SegaSega, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
Get Together CD · Sub Pop, 1995 - Parlour Games (Live) on Chicken Bomb CD · Boring Theoretical Productions, 1996
- E.V. 635 on FelidaeFelidaeFelidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the thirteen terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, although the three families of marine mammals comprising the superfamily pinnipedia are as carnivorous as the...
: A Benefit For The Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary CD · Last Exit, 1997 - Coke & Mirrors on Spring Lineup: A Compilation Of Sub Pop's Heavy Hitters CD · Sub Pop, 1997
- Fisher Of Kings on The Moneyshot! CD · Chunklet, 1997
- Spooks / So Lonely on To All The URL's I've Loved CD · Sick & Tired, 1997
- Unit 6 on Carbon 14 Magazine: Issue 9 7" · Carbon 14, 1997
- Race Against Space on Sound: Check 2xCD · Sub Pop, 1998
- The Pain Has Gone Away on False Object Sensor CD · VermiformVermiform RecordsVermiform Records was an American independent record label that specialized in releasing punk rock music from 1990 until 2002. Over the course of those twelve years Vermiform released 57 albums and relocated many times, being headquartered in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Rhode Island and...
/X-Mist, 2001