Tommy Keene
Encyclopedia
Tommy Keene is an American
singer-songwriter
, best known for releasing critical acclaimed new wave
/power pop
songs in the 1980s
. He has a longtime cult following among fans of the musical genre of power pop
.http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=tommy_keene Originally hailing from Washington D.C., his 1984 EP Places That Are Gone became one of the year's top selling independent releases.[] The EP garnered a four-star review in Rolling Stone
, and was voted the #1 EP in the following year's Village Voice Jazz & Pop Poll. Keene has since recorded and released numerous albums on such labels as Dolphin, Geffen
and Matador Records
. He has worked with producers T-Bone Burnett
, Don Dixon, and R. Walt Vincent
. He continues to record and tour and recently released an album with Robert Pollard, formerly of Guided by Voices
, as 'The Keene Brothers.' His biggest influence is said to be the band Raspberries
.[]
Keene released his 8th studio album "In The Late Bright" with Second Motion Records
on Feb 17th 2009. This is the second release with members of the label as founder Stephen Judge also signed and released Keene's previous release "Crashing The Ether" on 2006 on his Eleven Thirty Records
while serving as A&R DIrector and General Manager at Redeye Distribution
.
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, best known for releasing critical acclaimed new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
/power pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
songs in the 1980s
1980s in music
For music from a year in the 1980s, go to 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89For a history of music in all times, see Timeline of musical events....
. He has a longtime cult following among fans of the musical genre of power pop
Power pop
Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...
.http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=tommy_keene Originally hailing from Washington D.C., his 1984 EP Places That Are Gone became one of the year's top selling independent releases.[] The EP garnered a four-star review in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, and was voted the #1 EP in the following year's Village Voice Jazz & Pop Poll. Keene has since recorded and released numerous albums on such labels as Dolphin, Geffen
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
and Matador Records
Matador Records
Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands.-History:Matador was started by Chris Lombardi in 1989 in his New York City apartment. The following year, Lombardi was joined by former Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy, and the two of them have...
. He has worked with producers T-Bone Burnett
T-Bone Burnett
Joseph Henry Burnett , widely known as T-Bone Burnett, is an American musician, songwriter, and soundtrack and record producer.He was a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band on the Rolling Thunder Revue...
, Don Dixon, and R. Walt Vincent
R. Walt Vincent
R. Walt Vincent is a Los Angeles based record producer, recording engineer, composer, and multi instrumentalist known for his work with indie rock icons Pete Yorn, Liz Phair, and Tommy Keene....
. He continues to record and tour and recently released an album with Robert Pollard, formerly of Guided by Voices
Guided by Voices
Guided by Voices is an American indie rock band originating from Dayton, Ohio. Beginning with the band's formation in 1983, it made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard...
, as 'The Keene Brothers.' His biggest influence is said to be the band Raspberries
Raspberries (band)
Raspberries is an American power pop/pop rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. They had a run of success in the early 1970s music scene with their crisp pop sound, which Allmusic later described as featuring "exquisitely crafted melodies and achingly gorgeous harmonies." The members were known for their...
.[]
Keene released his 8th studio album "In The Late Bright" with Second Motion Records
Second Motion Records
Second Motion Records is part of Second Motion Entertainment based in Carrboro, North Carolina. The Label was founded in Chapel Hill, NC by Stephen Judge, who is the former manager of the rock band Athenaeum as well as the former General Manager/A&R Director of Redeye Distribution and Yep Roc...
on Feb 17th 2009. This is the second release with members of the label as founder Stephen Judge also signed and released Keene's previous release "Crashing The Ether" on 2006 on his Eleven Thirty Records
Eleven Thirty Records
Eleven Thirty Records is an indie label based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and owned by RedEye Distribution . Co-founded in 2004 by A&R Director Stephen Judge and Redeye and Yep Roc Records co-owner, Glenn Dicker, the label has released albums by artists such as: Concrete Blonde, The Gourds, A.J...
while serving as A&R DIrector and General Manager at Redeye Distribution
Redeye Distribution
Redeye Distribution is an independent music distribution company founded in 1996 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Redeye currently distributes such labels as Marsalis Music, Barsuk Records, Warp Records, Daptone Records, Luaka Bop Records, Kill Rock Stars, Sargent House, Hydra Head Records, The...
.
Full-length albums
- Strange AllianceStrange AllianceStrange Alliance is the debut album by Tommy Keene and was self-released on LP in 1982 on his Avenue Records label . Initially slated for release on Skip Groff's Limp Records, it still carries the Limp catalog number in the run-out groove of the vinyl. This album has never been reissued on any...
(1982, Avenue) - Songs from the FilmSongs from the FilmSongs from the Film is Tommy Keene's second full-length album and his major label debut. Originally released on LP and cassette in 1986 , it wasn't available on CD until 1998....
(1986, GeffenGeffen RecordsGeffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
) U.S. #148 - Based on Happy TimesBased on Happy TimesBased on Happy Times is Tommy Keene's third album, his second for major label Geffen Records. It was released in 1989 and was his first album available on CD .-Track listing:...
(1989, Geffen) - Driving into the Sun (1994, Alias)
- Ten Years AfterTen Years After (Tommy Keene album)Ten Years After is Tommy Keene's fourth studio album, and his first for Matador Records . It was released in 1996.-Track listing:All songs written by Tommy Keene, except where noted#"Going Out Again" – 2:19#"Turning on Blue" – 4:16...
(1996, MatadorMatador RecordsMatador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands.-History:Matador was started by Chris Lombardi in 1989 in his New York City apartment. The following year, Lombardi was joined by former Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy, and the two of them have...
) - Isolation PartyIsolation PartyIsolation Party is Tommy Keene's fifth album, and was released in 1998 by Matador Records . It includes a cover version of Mission of Burma's "Einstein's Day".-Track listing:All songs written by Tommy Keene, except where noted...
(1998, Matador) - The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down (2002, spinARTSpinART RecordsspinART Records is a now-defunct New York City-based independent record label that released recordings by artists such as The Apples in Stereo, Clem Snide, Frank Black and Michael Penn....
) - Crashing the EtherCrashing the EtherCrashing the Ether is the seventh album by Tommy Keene. Recorded at his home studio, Keene played most of the instruments himself; among others, John Richardson played drums and Gin Blossoms guitarist Jesse Valenzuela chipped in with some back-up vocals....
(2006, Eleven ThirtyEleven Thirty RecordsEleven Thirty Records is an indie label based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and owned by RedEye Distribution . Co-founded in 2004 by A&R Director Stephen Judge and Redeye and Yep Roc Records co-owner, Glenn Dicker, the label has released albums by artists such as: Concrete Blonde, The Gourds, A.J...
) - In The Late BrightIn The Late Bright-Track listing:All songs written by Tommy Keene.#"Late Bright" – 2:16#"A Secret Life of Stories" – 3:52#"Save This Harmony" – 4:04#"Tomorrow's Gone Tonight" – 3:06#"Goodbye Jane" – 2:06#"Nightmare Crime Scene" – 4:44#"Elevated" – 4:55...
(2009, Second Motion RecordsSecond Motion RecordsSecond Motion Records is part of Second Motion Entertainment based in Carrboro, North Carolina. The Label was founded in Chapel Hill, NC by Stephen Judge, who is the former manager of the rock band Athenaeum as well as the former General Manager/A&R Director of Redeye Distribution and Yep Roc...
) - Behind the Parade (2011, Second Motion Records)
Compilations and live albums
- The Real UndergroundThe Real UndergroundThe Real Underground is a compilation of out-of-print and previously unreleased recordings by Tommy Keene. It was released on CD in 1993 by Alias Records .-Track listing:All songs written by Tommy Keene, except where noted...
(1993, AliasAlias RecordsAlias Records is a small American indie-rock record label based in California.Alias has released albums by American Music Club, Archers of Loaf, Yo La Tengo, The Loud Family, Too Much Joy and Knapsack among others....
) - ShowtunesShowtunes (album)Showtunes is a live album by Tommy Keene. It came out in 2000 on the Parasol Records label. Along with in-concert versions of original compositions, the album includes a cover version of Mission of Burma's "Einstein's Day".-Track listing:...
(2000, ParasolParasol RecordsParasol Records is an American independent record label based out of Urbana, Illinois. The label was founded by Geoff Merritt as an outgrowth of the catalogue Parasol Mail Order ....
) - Drowning—A Tommy Keene Miscellany (2004, Not LameNot Lame RecordingsNot Lame Recordings was a Ft. Collins, Colorado, United States based independent record label specializing in power pop releases. The company was started by Bruce Brodeen in November 1994 but it shut down per November 24, 2010. The reasons Brodeen mentioned were a career switch combined with...
)
EPs
- Places That Are Gone (1984, Dolphin)
- Back Again (Try...) (1984, Dolphin)
- Run Now (1986, Geffen)
- Sleeping on a Roller CoasterSleeping on a Roller CoasterSleeping on a Roller Coaster is an EP by Tommy Keene, released on CD in 1992 by Matador Records . This was his only release of new material between 1989's Based on Happy Times and 1996's Ten Years After.-Track listing:...
(1992, Matador)
External links
- Official website
- [ Allmusic entry]