A Minor Forest
Encyclopedia
A Minor Forest was a San Francisco-based math rock
band in the 1990s. They were musically related to the Louisville
scene of post rock groups like Slint
and had personal connections to the San Diego scene of Three Mile Pilot
and related bands. Their songs had pop music
, progressive rock
, and punk rock
influences and featured changing time signatures, sudden dynamic changes, silent pauses, unintelligible screaming, catchy, repeating melodic passages and absurd, in-joke titles. Their slogan was "A Minor Forest Supports the Destruction of Mankind." They formed in San Francisco in 1992 and, in addition to other smaller releases, put out three albums: Flemish Altruism (1996) and Inindependence (1998) on Chicago
label Thrill Jockey
, and So, Were They in Some Sort of Fight? (1999), a career-spanning compilation on My Pal God records. They played their last show on November 1, 1998 at Great American Music Hall
in San Francisco.
Math rock
Math rock is a rhythmically complex guitar-based style of experimental rock that emerged in the 1980s and that was very influenced by progressive rock like King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Henry Cow - and 20th century composers such as Steve Reich and John Cage...
band in the 1990s. They were musically related to the Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
scene of post rock groups like Slint
Slint
Slint was an American rock band consisting of Brian McMahan , David Pajo , Britt Walford , Todd Brashear and Ethan Buckler...
and had personal connections to the San Diego scene of Three Mile Pilot
Three Mile Pilot
Three Mile Pilot is an indie rock band from San Diego, California formed by Armistead Burwell Smith IV on bass and vocals, Pall Jenkins Three Mile Pilot (often shortened to 3MP) is an indie rock band from San Diego, California formed by Armistead Burwell Smith IV (a.k.a. Zach Smith from Pinback,...
and related bands. Their songs had pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, and punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
influences and featured changing time signatures, sudden dynamic changes, silent pauses, unintelligible screaming, catchy, repeating melodic passages and absurd, in-joke titles. Their slogan was "A Minor Forest Supports the Destruction of Mankind." They formed in San Francisco in 1992 and, in addition to other smaller releases, put out three albums: Flemish Altruism (1996) and Inindependence (1998) on Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
label Thrill Jockey
Thrill Jockey
Thrill Jockey Records is an American independent record label established in 1992 in New York City by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards.-History:...
, and So, Were They in Some Sort of Fight? (1999), a career-spanning compilation on My Pal God records. They played their last show on November 1, 1998 at Great American Music Hall
Great American Music Hall
The Great American Music Hall is a concert hall in San Francisco, California. It is located on O'Farrell Street in the Tenderloin neighborhood on the same block as the Mitchell Brothers O'Farrell Theater...
in San Francisco.
Members
- Erik Hoversten guitar, singing, yelling (also of Threnody EnsembleThrenody EnsembleThrenody Ensemble are a three piece experimental classical music group who formed in 1997, first as a two piece made up of Dave Cerf and Erik Hoversten, but soon as a trio when cellist Dominique Davison joined a year later...
, PinbackPinbackPinback is an indie rock band from San Diego, California, currently signed to Temporary Residence Ltd. The band was formed in 1998 by singers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Armistead Burwell Smith IV and Rob Crow. Tom Zinser, Chris Prescott, and Mario Rubalcaba have all contributed drums...
) - Andee Connors drums, yelling (also of P.E.E., Lumen, Tic War). Played in the July 2007 Boredoms 77 Boadrum77 Boadrum77 Boa Drum was a concert held on July 7, 2007 at 7:07 PM consisting of 77 drummers. The concert was organized by Boredoms. The title of the concert was a portmanteau of "Boredoms", "boa", "drum", and "77"...
performance in BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. - John Trevor Benson bass and some vocals (also of Creepy Crawly Claw, Tic War)
- Dominique Davison plays cello on some tracks (also of SpitboySpitboySpitboy was an American anarcho-punk band founded in San Francisco, California in the early 1990s by four women. Within their music they aggressively criticized patriarchy and gender roles.-History:...
)
Discography
- Flemish Altruism (Constituent Parts 1993-1996)Flemish Altruism (Constituent Parts 1993-1996)Flemish Altruism is A Minor Forest's first studio album. It was recorded in 1995 by Steve Albini and Bob Weston and released on the Thrill Jockey label.-Track listing:#"...But the Pants Stay On" -...
CD (Thrill JockeyThrill JockeyThrill Jockey Records is an American independent record label established in 1992 in New York City by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards.-History:...
, 1996) - InindependenceInindependenceInindependence is the second album by A Minor Forest.-Track listing:#"The Dutch Fist" #"Erik's Budding Romance" #"Look at That Car, It's Full of Balloons." #"...It's Salmon!!!" #"The Smell of Hot"...
CD (Thrill JockeyThrill JockeyThrill Jockey Records is an American independent record label established in 1992 in New York City by former Atlantic Records A&R representative Bettina Richards.-History:...
, 1998) - ...So, Were They in Some Sort of Fight? double CD (My Pal God, 1999)
External links
- Brainwashed A Minor Forest site
- Thrill Jockey A Minor Forest site with good bio
- My Pal God site for So Were They in Some Sort of Fight?
- jaja VH1
- 77 Boadrum Site Profile Viva Radio, Sep 2007. (FlashAdobe FlashAdobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
)