No Age
No Age | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Los Angeles, California, USA |
Genres | Noise rock, shoegaze, garage punk, Lo-fi |
Years active | 2005 – present |
Labels | FatCat, Sub Pop Arts & Crafts México |
Members | Randy Randall Dean Allen Spunt |
Website | www.noagela.blogspot.com |
No Age is a two-person American indie rock group consisting of guitarist Randy Randall and drummer/vocalist Dean Allen Spunt. The band is based in Los Angeles and is currently signed to Sub Pop records. The duo initially played together with drummer Jeremy Villalobos in Wives, and takes their name from the title of a 1987 SST Records instrumental compilation, which Spunt discovered while working at Aron's, a record store in Los Angeles.[1] Along with the bands Health, Mika Miko, Silver Daggers, Abe Vigoda, BARR, and David Scott Stone, No Age has been listed as a mainstay of the Downtown Los Angeles venue The Smell.[2] The band has strong ties with the Los Angeles underground community centered around The Smell. No Age has released three full-length albums, toured extensively in support of them, and is a strong advocate of the All-ages Movement Project, an organization that connects youth to each other and to the arts through independent music.[3]
History
Formation, EPs, and Weirdo Rippers
No Age formed in December 2005 out of the ashes of their previous band, the hardcore punk group Wives, in which Dean played bass and Randy played guitar.[4] They played their first show at the New Image Art gallery for a show curated by friend and artist Rich Jacobs on January 22, 2006.[4] Their first proper show was at The Smell in April 2006 with sister band Mika Miko. "The Smell is where we got to experiment and find what kind of band we wanted to be. It pushed the boundaries of whatever ideas we had about music—and we had a community to try out these new ideas," Randall told Drew Tewksbury in 2008.[5] On March 6, 2006 Randy and Dean played one reunion show as their previous incarnation, Wives, for the underground film 40 Bands 80 Minutes! directed by Sean Carnage.[6] The band recorded 5 limited edition vinyl singles and EPs, and released them on 5 different labels on the same day, March 26, 2007.[7] The back of each record's sleeve was a different color, and had one of the letters that, when you collected all of them, would join to spell "No Age."[8] These 5 EPs and singles were collected and released in album form under the title Weirdo Rippers, on June 11, 2007 through Fat Cat Records.[9][10] The cover featured the exterior of The Smell, re-done to read No Age and, below, Weirdo Rippers by Amanda Vietta, an artist and friend of No Age.[11] This re-do can also be seen in the band's first music video for the song Boy Void. No Age are known for their community allegiance and playing un-traditional venues, such as their show at the Los Angeles River (shown at left), to protest the Aqueduct.[12] Among other places, they have also played at Food Fight, a vegan grocery store in Portland, Oregon, and the Los Angeles Central Library in downtown Los Angeles.[13][14] A New Yorker article on the band from November 19, 2007 entitled Let It Rip earned them much acclaim and fans.
Sub Pop, touring, and Nouns
Buoyed by positive reviews in the music press, No Age signed to the prominent Seattle-based independent label Sub Pop. The band have gotten support from many contemporary artists. Deerhunter's Bradford Cox named No Age his favorite new band in an interview with Pitchfork Media on February 2, 2007.[9][15] Radiohead's Colin Greenwood has also shown his support, most notably when he wore their signature rainbow font t-shirt in their January 16, 2008 live online concert broadcast.[16] On January 25, 2008, No Age began their profile building month-long, 23-date tour with New York band Liars.[17] Liars and No Age also released a joint 7" single limited to 1200 copies to coincide with the tour. 200 copies of the two-song single were sold on tour, with unique cover art for each individual city designed by Brian Roettinger, and the other 1000 featured hand letterpress-printed covers with different ink and vinyl color for each one.[18][19] Fulfilling their tendency to play at un-traditional venues, No Age played a show at an Ethiopian restaurant named Queen of Sheba in Philadelphia.[20] The change of venue took place at the last minute when Liars' Angus Andrew got sick beforehand. In April Randy Randall accompanied the Altamont Apparel skate team to Paris, France to film them for a short tour film entitled "The Foreigners," with the soundtrack featuring exclusively No Age music.[21][22] The film is being distributed for free, at skateshops and accompanying certain Altamont products, and also features the video for Eraser.[23][24] No Age appeared on a straight-to-VHS edition of Juan's Basement on April 22, 2008. The episode was broadcasted on Pitchfork Media's Pitchfork TV site.[25] On May 6, 2008, No Age released their debut record for Sub Pop, Nouns. No Age appeared in an episode of VBS.tv "Practice Space," showing their Bushwick, New York practice space, which used to be a metal shop. In May 2008, UK music magazine Mojo named No Age one of the top ten best new acts, beside Bon Iver and Sub Pop labelmates Fleet Foxes.[26]
Nouns Videos and High School Record
The music video for No Age's song "Eraser" debuted on June 27, 2008.[27] It was directed by Andy Bruntel, also responsible for the videos of artists such as Will Oldham, St. Vincent, and The Mountain Goats.[28][29] The video begins with No Age's instrumental song "Impossible Bouquet" from Nouns, before it segues into "Eraser". Another video for the track "Keechie" was posted on Bruntel's website, filmed at the same location along the Los Angeles River that No Age once played at.[30] The video ends on the same character and framing as the beginning of the "Eraser" video, making it a companion video or prequel.[30]
The band have also published a video of their song "Impossible Bouquet" on their blog.[31] A No Age music video for the song "Goat Hurt" has appeared on the band's blog, and is included on a new DVD entitled New Video Works released by Dean Spunt's label, Post Present Medium.[32] The song is off of the band's out of print Dead Plane EP, but was also available through a limited edition 10" EP made available at the Fuck Yeah! festival held in L.A. on August 30, 2008.[32] The video was directed by "sister band" Mika Miko's Jennifer Clavin.[33] The movie High School Record, co-starring Dean Spunt, was shown for a week on Pitchfork.tv, starting on September 26, 2008.[34] The movie, directed by Ben Wolfinsohn, also features Randy Randall, members of Mika Miko, The Minutemen's Mike Watt, and music by Dean and Randy.[35]
Shred Yr. Face, Teen Creeps, and the Laneway festival
The band supported Welsh band Los Campesinos! on six shows in the UK in October 2008.[36] Going under the name of the 'Shred Yr. Face Tour', the band Times New Viking also accompanied No Age and Los Campesinos!.[37] Like the No Age/Liars Tour EP that accompanied that tour, the three bands will also be releasing a joint 7" single in a limited run of a thousand copies. Released on October 13, 2008, the EP features Los Campesinos!' "Death To Los Campesinos! (Death To Napoleon IIIrd remix)", "Revolving Credit For Kitty" by No Age (a version appeared in an early state of the "Sick People Are Safe" song off the EP of the same name), and Times New Viking's "Anything Could Happen".[38][39] Some in-store performances have also been added, and Seattle artist Carlos Ruiz has designed a limited edition poster and t-shirt for the tour, available exclusively at the shows.[38]
No Age released a single for "Teen Creeps", the third track off of Nouns, on November 4, 2008 via Sub Pop.[40] The single's B-Side was the previously unreleased "Intimate Descriptions", and the cover a still taken from the Falls Hardly, Queen short film that featured Dean Spunt.[41] The band had been scheduled to feature in an episode of The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, taping their performance on October 2, 2008, with the episode scheduled to air on the 27th of the same month.[42] However, soon before they were to perform, the CBS management demanded Randy remove his Barack Obama t-shirt, citing the Equal-time rule which designates equal time for political candidates on most U.S. television and radio broadcasts.[42][43] After they briefly considering walking out on the show, Randy instead scrawled "Free Health Care" on the shirt and obscured Obama's image.[43] However, the episode actually aired on October 9, 2008, for reasons unknown, with an intro from Craig Ferguson promoting the band's cause.[44] During the summer, Urban Outfitters and Toyota Yaris hosted a series of shows called Free Yr. Radio aimed to promote independent radio stations around the country.[45] Many notable indie bands were involved, No Age among them, and on January 27, 2009, a Benefit Compilation will be released for 99 cents via Insound.[46] Among the 12 tracks are an assortment of remixes, live versions, and new songs, including the previously unreleased No Age song "Padded Chair."[47] In a surprise for both the band and their fans, No Age's Nouns, designed by the band and Brian Roettinger, was nominated for Best Recording Package Grammy.[48][49][50] No Age accompanied bands such as The Hold Steady and Stereolab in the early part of 2009 as part of St Jerome's Laneway Festival.[51] These dates meant the duo could not attend the Grammy's award ceremony. In the summer of 2009, No Age went on tour with two other notable acts, Deerhunter, and Dan Deacon on the "No Deachunter" tour.
Losing Feeling and Everything In Between through present
No Age has previously worked with skateboarder Andrew Reynold's clothing company, Altamont Apparel, and for the company's fall line they contributed a collection for which the theme was "The human body's amazing capacity to heal."[22] Those contributing were Hisham Baroocha, Sam McPheeters, Matthew Thurber, and the members of the group themselves.[52] No Age's next undertaking with the company came when they went on a tour with members the company and The Goat, a musical group featuring Andrew Reynolds, fellow skateboarder Kevin "Spanky" Long, skate photographer Atiba Jefferson and skateboarding filmer Beagle.[32]
The group released the EP Losing Feeling on October 6, 2009.
On June 24, 2010, No Age announced their new album, Everything In Between, along with the tracklisting.[53] On July 28, No Age premiered the first single from the album, Glitter on a BBC 6 Music interview with Steve Lamacq.[54] On August 10, the album's cover was released, and plans to release two Glitter singles were announced, along with their respective covers.[55] The singles were released on August 24.[55] Everything In Between was released on September 28, 2010, to generally favorable reviews.[56] The band have been chosen by Les Savy Fav to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas festival that they co-curate in December 2011 in Minehead, England.[57]
Discography
Studio albums
- Weirdo Rippers CD/12" (FatCat, 2007)
- Nouns CD/12" (Sub Pop, 2008)
- Everything in Between CD/12" (Sub Pop, 2010)
EPs
- Get Hurt 12" (Upset The Rhythm, 2007)
- Dead Plane 12" (Teenage Teardrops, 2007)
- Sick People Are Safe 12" (Deleted Art, 2007)
- Flannel Graduate CD-r (with Zach Hill) (Self-Released, 2008)
- Altamont Apparel 10" (2009)
- Losing Feeling 12" (Sub Pop, 2009)
Singles
- "Neck Escaper 7" (Youth Attack, 2007)
- PPM 7" (Post Present Medium, 2007)
- Liars + No Age 7" (Post Present Medium/Hand Held Heart, 2008)
- "Eraser" (Sub Pop, 2008)
- Goat Hurt 10" (Self-Released, 2008)
- Shred Yr. Face 7" (Coalition, 2008)
- "Teen Creeps" (Sub Pop, 2008)
- "Glitter" (Sub Pop, 2010)
- Bored Fortress split 7" with Infinite Body (Not Not Fun, 2010)
- "Fever Dreaming" (Sub Pop, 2010)
Cassettes
- "Secret City"/"Brett Schultz Himself" split cassette with Abe Vigoda (Death Bomb Arc, 2007)
- Slow Gag live in Glasgow 9 October 2010 cassette (Rude Fans, 2011)
Compilations
- NFJM 030 compilation LP (No Age contribute Bird Sex)
DVDs
- DVD #1 (Self Released 2006)
Remixes
- Holy Fuck - "Lovely Allen (No Age Remix)" (from Holy Fuck's Lovely Allen 12")
- Bloc Party - "Betten Than Heaven (No Age Remix)" (from Bloc Party's remix album, Intimacy Remixed)
- Fucked Up - "No Epiphany (No Age Remix)" (from Fucked Up's No Epiphany 7")
- Crystal Castles - "Baptism (No Age Remix)" (mp3)
References
- ^ Mason-Campbell, Nilina. "Pitchfork Feature: Interview: No Age". pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
- ^ Petrusich, Amanda. "No Age: Nouns: Pitchfork Record Review". pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
- ^ "AMP". All-ages Movement Project. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
- ^ a b Macfarlane, David. "Dummymag.com interview, October 2009". Dummymag.com. Retrieved 2008-11-27. Cite error: The named reference "gallery" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Tewksbury, Drew. "Interviews No Age". Drew Tewksbury: Multimedia Journalist. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
- ^ "40 BANDS/80 MINUTES!". 40 Bands/80 Minutes. Retrieved 2008-09-27.
- ^ Hughes, Josiah "No Age Find Eternal Youth", Exclaim!, May 2008.
- ^ "No Age - Singles Series « Seven Ten Twelve". Seven Ten Twelve. Archived from the original on May 7, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ a b Stosuy, Brandon. "No Age: Weirdo Rippers: Pitchfork Record Review". pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
- ^ "Amazon.com: Weirdo Rippers: No Age: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ Frere-Jones, Sasha. "Let It Rip: Musical Events: The New Yorker". New Yorker magazine. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ^ "i wish god were alive to see this: When It All Comes Down, We're Gonna See A Real Masterpiece". I Wish God Were Alive To See This. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- ^ "Ground Control - No Age - Lunarcast.009 - [Video]". Ground Control. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
- ^ "Of No Significance". Of No Significance. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ^ Cox, Bradford. "Pitchfork Feature: Guest List: Deerhunter". Pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
- ^ "Radiohead Are Weirdo Rippers - Stereogum". Stereogum. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
- ^ Thompson, Paul. "Liars, No Age Announce Joint Tour Pitchfork". pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
- ^ "Liars / No Age - Liars + No Age". Discogs. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
- ^ "Liars / No Age : Hand Held Heart". Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ "Of No Significance: NO Age Interview". Of No Significance. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
- ^ Curtis, Carleton. "Altamont x No Age = The Foreigners Teaser". Transworld Skateboarding. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
{{cite web}}
: Text "transworld Skateboarding" ignored (help) - ^ a b "NO AGE - NO MORE R&R: Links to The Foreigner reviews". No Age: No More R&R. Retrieved 2008-09-06. Cite error: The named reference "altamont" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Mercer, Nik. "Altamont Apparel Tour Video Directed By Randy Randall". Anthemmagazine.com. Retrieved 2008-09-07.
{{cite web}}
: Text "Anthem" ignored (help) - ^ "Blog « Altamont Apparel". Altamont Apparel. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
- ^ "Eraser". pitchfork.tv. Retrieved 2008-05-16.
{{cite web}}
: Text "Pitchfork.TV" ignored (help) - ^ Bennett, Ross. "MOJO's Mid-Term Report - News - Mojo". Mojo4music.com. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
- ^ "No Age - "Eraser"". MTV.com. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
{{cite web}}
: Text "FNMTV Premieres" ignored (help); Text "MTV" ignored (help); Text "Music Video" ignored (help); Text "Rihanna, Maroon 5, T.I., No Age, Day 26" ignored (help) - ^ "Andy Bruntel / Eraser". Andy Bruntel. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
- ^ "MTV Search". MTV.com. Retrieved 2008-06-30.
- ^ a b "Andy Bruntel". Andy Bruntel. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
- ^ "NO AGE - NO MORE R&R: new video clip". No Age: No More R&R. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
- ^ a b c Hogan, Marc. "Goat Hurt". Pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved 2008-08-22. Cite error: The named reference "goat" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "NO AGE - NO MORE R&R: New Video Jerks". No Age: No More R&R. Retrieved 2008-08-22.
- ^ Thompson, Paul. "No Age, Watt, Becky Stark High School Flick Hits DVD". Pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
- ^ "HIGH SCHOOL RECORD". Stop Following Me. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
- ^ "Los Campesinos!". Los Campesinos!. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
- ^ "Matador Records". Matador Records. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
{{cite web}}
: Text "Times New Viking" ignored (help) - ^ a b Thompson, Paul. "Los Campesinos, No Age, Times New Viking Split Tour 7". Pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
- ^ "latest news". the coalition uk. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
- ^ Thompson, Paul. "No Age Craft "Teen Creeps" Single". Pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
{{cite web}}
: Text "Pitchfork" ignored (help) - ^ "Sub Pop Records : No Age : Teen Creeps". Sub Pop. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
- ^ a b Thompson, Paul. "No Age Tangle With CBS Over Obama T-Shirt". Pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
{{cite web}}
: Text "Pitchfork" ignored (help) - ^ a b Randall, Randy. "NO AGE - NO MORE R&R: No Age vs CBS". No Age: No More R&R. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
- ^ "NO AGE - NO MORE R&R: Wow, the blog was on TV!". No Age: No More R&R. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
- ^ "FYR2008". Free Yr. Radio. Archived from the original on June 12, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
- ^ Breihan, Tom. "No Age, Walkmen, Jamie Lidell on Free Yr Radio Comp". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
{{cite web}}
: Text "Pitchfork" ignored (help) - ^ "FYR2008". Free Yr. Radio. Archived from the original on June 12, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
- ^ "No Age - No More R&R: Holy Crap!!!". No Age: No More R&R. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ Phillips, Amy. "Grammy Nominations Surprisingly Relevant". Pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ "GRAMMY.com". Grammy.com. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ Maher, Dave. "Hold Steady, Stereolab, Girl Talk, No Age Play Laneway". Pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
{{cite web}}
: Text "Pitchfork" ignored (help) - ^ "No Age << Contributors << Altamont Apparel". Altamont Apparel. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
- ^ "Pitchfork: No Age Announce New Album". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
- ^ "BBC - BBC 6 Music Programmes - Steve Lamacq, 28/07/10". BBC. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
- ^ a b "Pitchfork: No Age Unveil Album Cover". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
- ^ "Everything In Between Reviews and More at MetaCritic". MetaCritic. Retrieved 2010-10-01.
- ^ ATP Nightmare Before Christmas