Geographer (band)

Geographer
Background information
Origin San Francisco, California, United States
Genres Indie rock, dream pop, electronic rock
Years active 2007–present
Labels Roll Call, Modern Art, Tricycle, Geographer Music
Associated acts St. Vincent
Website www.geographermusic.com
Members Mike Deni

LIVE BAND
Joyce Lee
Duncan Nielsen
Cody Rhodes
Past members Nathan Blaz
Brian Ostreicher

Geographer is an American indie rock band based in San Francisco, California.

Formed in 2007, by Michael Deni[1] who has described his sound as being "soulful music from outer space" using analog, electronic and acoustic elements to craft dense layers and unique sound textures.[2]

As Geographer, Deni has released three full-length albums, Innocent Ghosts in 2008, Myth in 2012, and Ghost Modern in 2015; along with two (EPs), Animal Shapes in 2010, Endless Motion in 2015; and a 7" single, Kites in 2009.

History

Deni relocated to San Francisco from New Jersey to escape strife within his family, and after finding a synthesizer on the street, he began to channel his experiences into the songs that would become Innocent Ghosts.[3] He began playing his songs locally in San Francisco at open mic nights—most notably The Hotel Utah, where he met cellist Nathan Blaz and drummer Brian Ostreicher.[4] Blaz and Ostreicher originally met while attending the Berklee College of Music, in Boston, Massachusetts, before moving to San Francisco. After being introduced to Deni at an open-mic night by mutual friend Kacey Johansing, the two would join Deni's live band.[5]

On August 17, 2008, Deni released Innocent Ghosts independently and the band began playing around the San Francisco Bay Area. The release garnered local and national attention with Spin magazine voting the band "[o]ne of the three undiscovered bands you need to hear now".[6][7]

He then signed with local label Tricycle Records, and in December 2009, released a 7" single for the song "Kites" with a cover of the English rock band New Order's "Age of Consent" as the B-side.[8]

In 2010, he followed up the single with the release of the six-song EP Animal Shapes. The digital-download version of the record also contained two bonus remixes of the songs "Kites" and "Paris".[9] The album received favorable reviews, landing the band a "Best of" award by the SF Weekly.[10]

In March 2011, the band signed with Modern Art Records, based in New York City, New York.[11]

In December 2011, Paste magazine released the single "Life of Crime" from forthcoming full-length album Myth, to be released by Modern Art Records.[12]

On February 28, 2012, Deni released Myth. In March of the same year, the band embarked on a five-week U.S. tour with labelmate indie-pop band Miniature Tigers.[13]

On January 20, 2015 Paste magazine premiered the single "I'm Ready" and announced his forthcoming full-length LP 'Ghost Modern' to be released in March 2015.[14]

Ghost Modern, Deni's 3rd full length album was released on March 23 through Roll Call Records. The album featured the previously released single "I'm Ready" as well as recently released singles "Need" and "The Guest". Prior to the release of Ghost Modern, Blaz and Osteicher stepped down as the touring band due to personal reasons that prevented them from maintaining the band's rigorous touring schedule.[15] Deni recruited cellist Joyce Lee, guitarist and bass player Duncan Nielsen and drummer Cody Rhodes as his touring band, headlining shows throughout the United States and SXSW.[16]

Deni released a cover of Paul Simon's "I Know What I Know" through Billboard on October 26th 2015, announcing the release of the upcoming covers EP 'Endless Motion' which features additional covers of Kate Bush's "Cloudbusting", New Order's Age of Consent, Felix da Housecat's Ready 2 Wear and Arthur Russell's This Is How We Walk On The Moon. [17]

Touring

The band has played and toured with:

The band has played multiple North American music festivals as well, including Outside Lands, the Decibel Festival, Noise Pop, the Treasure Island Music Festival, the MidPoint Music Festival, BFD, Stern Grove Festival, First City Music Festival, Firefly Music Festival as well as Fun Fun Fun Fest and SXSW in Austin, Texas.[25][26][27][28][29]

In live performances, Deni is known to sample and loop his vocals, saxophone, and synthesizers using an Akai MIDI controller. During performances, the cellist uses an NS Designs electric cello, often combined with effects pedals to create unique sounds.[30]

November 2010 marked the first major tour for the band, supporting Stars on 12 dates across the United States beginning in the Bay Area and ending in Buffalo, NY. [31]

On August 11, 2012, the band played a set on the Twin Peaks Stage at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival, in San Francisco, the biggest audience for which the band had thus far performed.[32] "Life of Crime," "Lover's Game" and "Kites" were the songs that saw the most audience participation, including dancing and singing along.[33][34]

In September 2012, the band announced that it would head out on a 21-date U.S. tour with indie-rock band Freelance Whales. The tour began October 4 at Lincoln Hall in Chicago, Illinois, and ended November 3 at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston.[35]

The band embarked on their first headlining tour of the western United States in 2013 with Chicago-based band On An On. The tour began January 12 at Doug Fir Lounge in Portland, OR, and ended February 1 at the The Echo in Los Angeles, CA.[36] The tour was a success for the band, selling out venues across the U.S. including their homecoming show at the historic Fillmore on January 31.[37] The band continued touring throughout 2013 in the U.S. and Canada with support from GRMLN and Royal Bangs[38]

The band announced on its website in March 2014 that they would be supporting Tokyo Police Club on their North American tour.[39]

Prior to the release of 'Ghost Modern', the band headlined a sold-out show at the Fox Theater in Oakland, CA as part of the Noise Pop Festival. The show debuted new songs including "Need" and "I'm Ready" which would appear on the upcoming full length album. [40]

In April 2015, the band announced through their website that they would be touring North America in support of the release of Ghost Modern.[41]

Song usage

Discography

Full-length albums

Extended-play albums

Singles

Covers

Remixes

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mahnty, Shannon (May 8, 2011). "Geographer: The band maps out their future". Don't Panic. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  2. ↑ Kahn, Jennifer (August 20, 2010). "Geographer – Animal Shapes – What's So Good?". IndieShuffle. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  3. ↑ Kish, Molly. "Geographer Interview: Noise complaints, reclaimed synths and courtesy cookies". Show Bams. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  4. ↑ Johnson-Igra, David. "Interview with Geographer: Q&A with Michael Deni". SFCritic. Retrieved August 20, 2009.
  5. ↑ Kuo, Fenny. "Video: Geographer Interview". The Bay Bridged. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  6. ↑ Gaston, Peter. "Three Undoscovered Bands You Need To Hear Now". Spin. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
  7. ↑ "CD of the Month: Geographer – Innocent Ghosts". The Deli Magazine. Retrieved August 14, 2008.
  8. ↑ Andy (August 16, 2010). "[mp3/b-side] Geographer – Age of Consent (New Order Cover)". Tympanogram. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  9. ↑ Gillespie, Blake. "Geographer, Kites". Impose Magazine. Retrieved August 27, 2010.
  10. ↑ Staff (n.d.). "Best Local Version of Radiohead – 2010 – Geographer". SF Weekly. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  11. ↑ Staff (undated). "Geographer". Modern Art Records. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  12. ↑ Alwahab, Clint. "Song Premiere: Geographer – 'Life of Crime'". Paste. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  13. ↑ Staff (January 18, 2012). "Consequence of Sound presents The Modern Art Tour". consequenceofsound.com.
  14. ↑ Staff (January 20, 2015). "Song Premiere: Geographer - "I'm Ready"". www.pastemagazine.com.
  15. ↑ http://www.reddit.com/r/listentothis/comments/317tmf/ama_hi_its_mike_deni_aka_geographer_here_im_ready/. Retrieved 8 April 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ↑ Staff (April 8, 2015). . geographermusic.com.
  17. ↑ Staff (October 26, 2015). "Geographer Announces New Covers EP, Debuts Paul Simon Cover: Exclusive Premiere". http://www.billboard.com.
  18. ↑ YOUSSOUFIAN, RAFFI. "Noise Pop Show Review: Atlas Sound with Geographer, Nice Nice and The Magic Wands at Great American Music Hall, 2/26/10". spinningplatters.com. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  19. ↑ . http://www.crescentphx.com/ http://www.crescentphx.com/event/31799-toro-y-moi-foster-people-tempe/. Missing or empty |title= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  20. ↑ . thedelimagazine.com http://sf.thedelimagazine.com/11478/geographer-releases-lovers-game-video-tours-freelance-whales. Retrieved 17 October 2012. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. ↑ Palmer, Penny. "Ladytron Celebrates Career High Chart Debut; Landing At #2 On Billboard's Heatseekers Chart". nettskinny.com. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  22. ↑ Staff (January 18, 2012). "Consequence of Sound presents The Modern Art Tour". consequenceofsound.com.
  23. ↑ Van Houten, Ben. "Geographer tours the US with Stars". thebaybridged.com. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  24. ↑ . http://www.crescentphx.com/ http://www.crescentphx.com/event/31799-toro-y-moi-foster-people-tempe/. Missing or empty |title= (help); External link in |publisher= (help)
  25. ↑ "Noise Pop 2011: Geographer at the Independent 2/23/11". Treeswingers. Retrieved 24 February 2011. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  26. ↑ Dalton, Andrew. "Treasure Island Music Festival 2011 Lineup Announced". SFist.
  27. ↑ "Midpoint Music Festival 2009". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
  28. ↑ Welbon, Collin. The Owl Mag http://www.theowlmag.com/news/from-the-news-nest-2012-bfd-lineup-announced/. Retrieved 27 April 2012. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. ↑ . SXSW http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_MS17177. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  30. ↑ Staff (October 15, 2011). "Live Blogging Treasure Island Music Festival 2011: Day 1". thebaybridged.com. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  31. ↑ http://thebaybridged.com/2010/11/08/geographer-tours-the-us-with-stars/#.Vi_ciys1FoA. Retrieved 8 November 2010. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  32. ↑ Sankin, Aaron (August 7, 2012). "Geographer's Mike Deni Talks Long Walks in Noe Valley, The Agony of Open Mic Nights and the Novel He Wrote About Lance Bass". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 18, 2013. 'We've done smaller stuff like [Live 105's] BFD, but OSL is going to be the biggest festival we've ever played.'
  33. ↑ Sankin, Aaron (August 7, 2012). "Geographer's Mike Deni Talks Long Walks in Noe Valley, The Agony of Open Mic Nights and the Novel He Wrote About Lance Bass". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  34. ↑ Zimmerman, Peter (August 12, 2012). "Show Review: Outside Lands – Day Two: Saturday, August 11, 2012". Glide Magazine. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
  35. ↑ . thedelimagazine.com http://sf.thedelimagazine.com/11478/geographer-releases-lovers-game-video-tours-freelance-whales. Retrieved 17 October 2012. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  36. ↑ . glidemagazine.com http://www.glidemagazine.com/22341/geographer-announce-january-tour-dates-with-on-an-on/. Retrieved 19 December 2012. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  37. ↑ http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2013/02/geographer_comes_home_to_the_f.php. Retrieved 1 February 2013. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  38. ↑ http://www.royalbangs.com/home/2013/10/10/october-november-tour-dates.html. Retrieved 10 October 2013. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  39. ↑ http://geographermusic.com/news/205003. Retrieved 18 March 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  40. ↑ http://www.stanforddaily.com/2015/03/06/san-franciscos-geographer-enthralls-at-the-fox-theater/. Retrieved 6 March 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  41. ↑ http://geographermusic.com/news/246003. Retrieved 9 April 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  42. ↑ .
  43. ↑ Hockley-Smith, Smith (May 7, 2010). "G-Side F[eaturing]. Geographer and Jhi Ali, "Impossible" MP3". The Fader. Retrieved February 18, 2013. delete character in |title= at position 11 (help)
  44. ↑ . MTV.
  45. ↑ . MTV.
  46. ↑ . MTV.
  47. ↑ Video (uploaded November 22, 2010). . Pixar Animation Studios (via YouTube). Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  48. ↑ . MTV.
  49. ↑ .
  50. ↑ . Apple Inc.
  51. ↑ .
  52. ↑ .
  53. ↑
  54. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAihd8vOtm8&index=12&list=PL0rLKaJWD9VBx1hTyuLVhll_jZc7kd_u6
  55. ↑
  56. ↑ "Good As New" Amazon.com. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  57. ↑ "Where The Kids Are" Hypem.com. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  58. ↑ "Kanye" Last.fm. Retrieved March 16, 2013
  59. ↑ "Oversaturated" Soundcloud.com. Retrieved March 16, 2013

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