The Kingsbury Manx
Encyclopedia
The Kingsbury Manx are an American indie rock
group from Chapel Hill, North Carolina
.
, who issued their debut self-titled album in 2000. Despite very little promotional effort from the label, the album became a cult success, including recognition in UK music magazine NME
's Top 50 of 2000. A second LP ("Let You Down") followed in 2001 and a third album and EP ("Aztec Discipline" and "Afternoon Owls") in 2003. The band has toured with many indie bands of note including The Sea and Cake
, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
, Iron and Wine, The Pernice Brothers
, The New Pornographers
, Calexico, Stephen Malkmus
, Clinic
, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, and Brightblack Morning Light
. Over the last few years, there have been a couple lineup changes with original members Kenneth Stephenson and Scott Myers leaving while adding Clarque Blomquist and Paul Finn. In 2005, the group split with Overcoat and signed to Yep Roc, who released The Fast Rise and Fall of the South. The band are currently on Odessa Records and released their fifth full-length record "Ascenseur Ouvert!" on April 21, 2009.
Former members
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...
group from Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
.
History
The original members of The Kingsbury Manx met in middle school. They then attended different colleges and reunited during the summer months to play and record together. One of their demos caught the ear of Chicago-based label Overcoat RecordingsOvercoat Recordings
Overcoat Recordings is an American record label specializing in alt country and indie rock music. It is based out of Chicago, Illinois, and its owner is Howard Greynolds, who was formerly an employee of Thrill Jockey....
, who issued their debut self-titled album in 2000. Despite very little promotional effort from the label, the album became a cult success, including recognition in UK music magazine NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
's Top 50 of 2000. A second LP ("Let You Down") followed in 2001 and a third album and EP ("Aztec Discipline" and "Afternoon Owls") in 2003. The band has toured with many indie bands of note including The Sea and Cake
The Sea and Cake
The Sea and Cake is an indie rock band with a pronounced jazz influence, which formed in the mid-1990s in Chicago out of the ashes of local bands The Coctails and Shrimp Boat. The group's name came from a willful reinterpretation of "The C in Cake", a song by Gastr del Sol...
, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci
Gorky's Zygotic Mynci were a Welsh alternative rock band, formed in Carmarthen, west Wales in 1991. They sang songs in both Welsh and English. They split up in May 2006.-Biography:...
, Iron and Wine, The Pernice Brothers
The Pernice Brothers
Pernice Brothers are an indie rock band. Formed by Joe Pernice in 1996 after the breakup of his old band, the Scud Mountain Boys, and including Joe's brother Bob Pernice , the band recorded their first album, Overcome by Happiness, for Sub Pop in 1998...
, The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia.-History:The band's first four albums each ranked in the top 40 on The Village Voices Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a...
, Calexico, Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Malkmus
Stephen Joseph Malkmus is an indie rock musician and icon, and a member of the band Pavement. He currently performs with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks.-Early years:...
, Clinic
Clinic (band)
Clinic are a Liverpool based post-punk revival band noted for their often fast-paced, eclectic sound. Their sound is often distinguished by the prominent use of vintage keyboards/organs, most notably the Philips Philicorda, and peculiar off-scale chord progressions.-Formation and early...
, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, and Brightblack Morning Light
Brightblack Morning Light
Brightblack Morning Light was a band which formed in Northern California by Nathan Shineywater and Rachael Hughes, both of whom originally hail from Alabama, Shineywater from Birmingham and Hughes from just outside of Montgomery. Shineywater plays electric slide guitar, and Hughes favors vintage...
. Over the last few years, there have been a couple lineup changes with original members Kenneth Stephenson and Scott Myers leaving while adding Clarque Blomquist and Paul Finn. In 2005, the group split with Overcoat and signed to Yep Roc, who released The Fast Rise and Fall of the South. The band are currently on Odessa Records and released their fifth full-length record "Ascenseur Ouvert!" on April 21, 2009.
Members
Current members- Bill Taylor (guitar/vocals/various)
- Ryan Richardson (drums/vocals/bass/various)
- Clarque Blomquist (bass/drums/various/vocals)
- Paul Finn (keys/vocals/various)
Former members
- Kenneth Stephenson (guitar/vocals)
- Scott Myers (bass/keyboards)
Discography
- The Kingsbury Manx (Overcoat RecordingsOvercoat RecordingsOvercoat Recordings is an American record label specializing in alt country and indie rock music. It is based out of Chicago, Illinois, and its owner is Howard Greynolds, who was formerly an employee of Thrill Jockey....
, 2000) - Let You Down (Overcoat, 2001)
- Afternoon Owls EP (Overcoat, 2003)
- Aztec Discipline (Overcoat, 2003)
- The Fast Rise and Fall of the South (Yep Roc, 2005)
- Ascenseur Ouvert! (Odessa, 2009)