Actionslacks
Encyclopedia
Actionslacks are an American indie rock
band
, based primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area
, long associated with the region's Noise Pop
scene.
, 1980s American post-punk
and guitar-based New Zealand indie rock
. The band played one gig in Berkeley, California
under the name King Friday but changed their name after Scanlin realized he "just couldn't be in a band named after a puppet."
The band soon became a regular on the San Francisco and West Coast
club circuit and released the "Tugboat Mutiny" b/w "A.C.R.O.N.Y.M." 7" single on their own Permanent Records imprint. In 1996 the band's first full length, Too Bright, Just Right, Good Night was released on the Minneapolis Skene! label. Actionslacks' second LP, One Word (a reference to the spelling of their name as well as a nod to the influence of Overwhelming Colorfast's second album Two Words) was recorded in 1997 and released in 1998 by the Arena Rock Recording Company. The band toured with labelmates Harvey Danger
and an ascendant Death Cab for Cutie
in support of the record.
Wijsen left the band in late-1998 and Scanlin and Kelly began working on more pop-oriented songs, first with producers Greg Freeman (Pell Mell
, Virginia Dare) and Jeff Palmer (Granfalloon Bus, Sunny Day Real Estate
, Mommyheads
) and later with new band members Aaron Rubin (bass; Mr. T Experience, Samiam
) and Chuck Lindo (guitar and vocals; The Nukes, Jumbo Shrimp, The American Professionals). The Scene's Out of Sight was recorded in the fall of 1999 with producer/engineer J. Robbins
at John Vanderslice's Tiny Telephone recording studio and released in early 2001 by the Self-Starter Foundation. The band's following grew in part due to well-timed promotions with Napster
, various song placements in television shows and video games, and a strong showing on college radio. Prior to touring in support of the album, Rubin left the band and Lindo took time off to attend to other projects. Enter new permanent bassist Ross Murray and touring guitarist/singer Doug Modie.
In 2002 Scanlin moved to Los Angeles
and the band began a continuing long-distance relationship. Full Upright Position was written and recorded between 2001-2003 in various studios in California and Washington, DC. J. Robbins once again engineered and the band produced, venturing into the far-ranging territory of multi-instrumentation, eloborate arrangements and stylistic diversity (including elements of pop, alt-country and electronica). The album's release was complicated by Kelly's relocation to Maine
in late 2003 and record label issues. Nevertheless, the band managed to tour both the East and West coasts, adding keyboard/vocalist Darice Bailey to help reproduce the band's new sound. Actionslacks took a semi-hiatus beginning in late 2004, with occasional live appearances and writing sessions amid individual projects, careers, and family life.
In early 2008 the band was reinvigorated by the idea of a new writing and recording paradigm, writing new tracks via online collaboration and meeting up at Tiny Telephone to rehearse and record over the course of 8 days with engineer Aaron Prellwitz. The resulting collection, which marks a return to the aggressive yet tuneful punk sound of The Scene's Out of Sight, was self-released as Kids With Guitars in spring 2009. Downloaders were invited to pay however much they wished for the record in a move similar to that used by Radiohead
on In Rainbows
.
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...
band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
, based primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, long associated with the region's Noise Pop
Noise pop
Noise pop is a subgenre of alternative rock developed in the mid 1980s in the UK and US, that mixes atonal noise or feedback, or both, with the melodic instrumentation and production elements more often found in pop music, making it more melodic and angst-free than noise rock.-History:Noise pop has...
scene.
History
Actionslacks formed in Northern California's East Bay in 1994 when ex-Pillbox members Tim Scanlin and Mark Wijsen met drummer Marty Kelly and discovered a mutual appreciation of late-70s English punk rockPunk 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...
, 1980s American post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
and guitar-based New Zealand indie rock
Kiwi rock
Kiwi rock is a term used informally to describe New Zealand rock music and the culture surrounding rock music in New Zealand.-1950s:The first Rock'n'Roll record recorded outside the US was Johnny Cooper's recording of Rock Around The Clock for HMV in the mid 1950s...
. The band played one gig in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
under the name King Friday but changed their name after Scanlin realized he "just couldn't be in a band named after a puppet."
The band soon became a regular on the San Francisco and West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
club circuit and released the "Tugboat Mutiny" b/w "A.C.R.O.N.Y.M." 7" single on their own Permanent Records imprint. In 1996 the band's first full length, Too Bright, Just Right, Good Night was released on the Minneapolis Skene! label. Actionslacks' second LP, One Word (a reference to the spelling of their name as well as a nod to the influence of Overwhelming Colorfast's second album Two Words) was recorded in 1997 and released in 1998 by the Arena Rock Recording Company. The band toured with labelmates Harvey Danger
Harvey Danger
Harvey Danger was an American indie rock band that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1993, and rose to prominence in 1998 with the single "Flagpole Sitta." On August 29, 2009, the band played its final show at the Crocodile Cafe in Seattle....
and an ascendant Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Ben Gibbard , Chris Walla , Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr ....
in support of the record.
Wijsen left the band in late-1998 and Scanlin and Kelly began working on more pop-oriented songs, first with producers Greg Freeman (Pell Mell
Pell Mell
Pell Mell was an instrumental rock combo, formed in 1980 in Portland, Oregon.The original members were Arni May, guitar, and Jon-Lars Sorenson, bass, from the Portland avant-garde group UHF, and from local Reed College Bill Owen on guitar, and Bob Beerman on drums...
, Virginia Dare) and Jeff Palmer (Granfalloon Bus, Sunny Day Real Estate
Sunny Day Real Estate
Sunny Day Real Estate is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington. In the 1990s, the group expanded upon the grunge style that was popular in the local scene to make a more melodic sound. While not the first band to be classified as emo, they were instrumental in establishing the genre. In...
, Mommyheads
Mommyheads
The Mommyheads are an American indie pop band who played from around 1987 through 1998, disbanded for a decade, and then reformed in 2008. Starting in New York City as the brainchild of singer Adam Cohen , the band produced a string of quirky and highly inventive releases on...
) and later with new band members Aaron Rubin (bass; Mr. T Experience, Samiam
Samiam
-Biography:Samiam was formed in late 1988 after the breakup of the Gilman club mainstay Isocracy. Their first show was in January 1989 with Christ on Parade. They released records through New Red Archives and Hopeless Records in the US and Burning Heart Records in Europe. In the mid-'90s, the band...
) and Chuck Lindo (guitar and vocals; The Nukes, Jumbo Shrimp, The American Professionals). The Scene's Out of Sight was recorded in the fall of 1999 with producer/engineer J. Robbins
J. Robbins
James Robbins is an American rock music artist. He began his career as a bassist for Government Issue, and has also led four of his own bands: Jawbox, Rollkicker Laydown, Burning Airlines, and Channels. He was a touring bassist for Scream and played bass on the debut 7" from Jack Potential, which...
at John Vanderslice's Tiny Telephone recording studio and released in early 2001 by the Self-Starter Foundation. The band's following grew in part due to well-timed promotions with Napster
Napster
Napster is an online music store and a Best Buy company. It was originally founded as a pioneering peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that emphasized sharing audio files that were typically digitally encoded music as MP3 format files...
, various song placements in television shows and video games, and a strong showing on college radio. Prior to touring in support of the album, Rubin left the band and Lindo took time off to attend to other projects. Enter new permanent bassist Ross Murray and touring guitarist/singer Doug Modie.
In 2002 Scanlin moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and the band began a continuing long-distance relationship. Full Upright Position was written and recorded between 2001-2003 in various studios in California and Washington, DC. J. Robbins once again engineered and the band produced, venturing into the far-ranging territory of multi-instrumentation, eloborate arrangements and stylistic diversity (including elements of pop, alt-country and electronica). The album's release was complicated by Kelly's relocation to Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
in late 2003 and record label issues. Nevertheless, the band managed to tour both the East and West coasts, adding keyboard/vocalist Darice Bailey to help reproduce the band's new sound. Actionslacks took a semi-hiatus beginning in late 2004, with occasional live appearances and writing sessions amid individual projects, careers, and family life.
In early 2008 the band was reinvigorated by the idea of a new writing and recording paradigm, writing new tracks via online collaboration and meeting up at Tiny Telephone to rehearse and record over the course of 8 days with engineer Aaron Prellwitz. The resulting collection, which marks a return to the aggressive yet tuneful punk sound of The Scene's Out of Sight, was self-released as Kids With Guitars in spring 2009. Downloaders were invited to pay however much they wished for the record in a move similar to that used by Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
on In Rainbows
In Rainbows
In Rainbows is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was first released on 10 October 2007 as a digital download self-released, that customers could order for whatever price they saw fit, followed by a standard CD release in most countries during the last week of 2007. The...
.
Albums
- Too Bright, Just Right, Good Night (Skene! 1996)
- One Word (The Arena Rock Recording Company, 1998)
- The Scene's Out of Sight (Self-Starter Foundation, 2001)
- Full Upright Position (Self-Starter Foundation, 2004)
- Full Upright Position Acoustic Companion (Actionslacks, 2004)
- Kids With Guitars (Actionslacks, 2009)
Singles
- "Tugboat Mutiny" b/w "A.C.R.O.N.Y.M" / "Space-Age Heart" (permanent records, 1995)
- "John Hughes" b/w "Operator (That's Not the Way It Feels)" (Go Zombie!, 1996)
Compilations
- "John L. Sullivan" (recorded live at the Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco) on Ten Years of Noise Pop (2002)
- "Annie Oakley" and "Perfect G" on Inside X (Games) DVD and CD Sampler (2004)
- "Iodine" on Until the Shaking Stops: A Tribute to Jawbox (2004)
Television
- Selections from The Scene's Out of Sight appeared on Road RulesRoad RulesRoad Rules was an MTV reality show that debuted on July 19, 1995. The series, which was MTV's second reality show after The Real World followed six strangers between the ages of 18 and 24 after stripping them of their money and putting them on an RV traveling from location to location only guided...
on MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
ca. 2001-2002 - Selections from The Scene's Out of Sight appeared on The Real WorldThe Real WorldThe Real World is a reality television program on MTV originally produced by Mary-Ellis Bunim and Jonathan Murray. First broadcast in 1992, the show, which was inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary series An American Family, is the longest-running program in MTV history and one of the...
ca. 2001-2002 - "Tad Loves Kimberly James," "The Scene's Out of Sight' and "Joan of Arc" appeared in NBC's All About UsAll About Us (TV series)All About Us is an American teen comedy-drama series that aired on NBC during the station's TNBC lineup from August 4, 2001 to November 10, 2001. It was produced by Peter Engel Productions.-Synopsis:...
in 2001 - "Joan of Arc" featured in the Australian program Out There
- "Joan of Arc" featured on Fuel TVFuel TVFuel TV is a U.S. cable and satellite specialty channel that launched on July 1, 2003. It focuses on the cultures of such extreme sports as skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, motocross, surfing, BMX and FMX. It is a unit of Fox Cable Networks and is currently available to 26-million...
- "The Scene is Out of Sight" was used as background music in an AdidasAdidasAdidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
commercial that aired during the X GamesX GamesThe X Games is a commercial annual sports event, controlled and arranged by US sports broadcaster ESPN, which focuses on action sports. The inaugural X Games was held in the summer of 1995 in Rhode Island....
in 2004 - "All You'll Ever Need To Know" featured in Queer Eye for the Straight Guy episode #133 ("Michael Zurrich")
- "My Favorite Man" featured on RoswellRoswell (TV series)Roswell is an American science fiction television series developed, produced, and co-written by Jason Katims. The series debuted on October 6, 1999 on The WB and moved to UPN for the third season. The last episode aired May 14, 2002...
DVD release - Selections from Full Upright Position featured on MTV's Real World/Road Rules ChallengeReal World/Road Rules ChallengeThe Challenge is a reality television game show on MTV that is both dependent on and spun off from the network's two flagship reality shows, The Real World and the now cancelled series, Road Rules. It is currently hosted by T.J...
- "Moneypenny's Theme" featured on The Real World
- "Shining Jewels," "Simple Life," and "Cut Above" featured in ABC's Men In TreesMen in TreesMen in Trees is an American romantic television dramedy series which premiered on September 12, 2006 on ABC and starred Anne Heche who played relationship coach Marin Frist. The series was set in the fictional town of Elmo, Alaska and concerned Marin Frist's misadventures in relationships...
2007-2008 season - "Joan of Arc" appeared in the pilot episode of CBS's The Ex-ListThe Ex-ListThe Ex List is an American dramedy television series based on the Israeli series The Mythological X created and written by Sigal Avin. The Americanized version, developed by Diane Ruggiero and produced by Fox Television Studios, premiered on CBS on October 3, 2008. Avin and Ruggiero acted as...
, October 3, 2008
Film
- "Joan of Arc" played in the background of a night club scene in Personal VelocityPersonal Velocity: Three PortraitsPersonal Velocity: Three Portraits is a 2002 American independent film written and directed by Rebecca Miller.- Plot :Personal Velocity is a tale of three women who have reached a turning point in their lives. Delia is a spirited, working-class woman from a small town in New York state who leaves...
Video Games
- "I Hope This Makes It Easier For You" and "The Scene's Out of Sight" appeared in Amped 2Amped 2Amped 2 is a sequel to Microsoft's snowboarding game Amped, which was an Xbox launch title. The game was introduced as part of the XSN Sports lineup, which included such games as NFL Fever, Top Spin and Rallisport Challenge.- Career Mode :The career mode in Amped 2 is much like other extreme...
for XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console... - "33 1/3" appeared in NHL Rivals 2004 for Xbox
Other
- "Shining Jewels" was used in a promotional DVD for the Los Angeles GalaxyLos Angeles GalaxyThe Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...
professional soccer team - "Simple Life" was featured in an interactive car radio section of Honda's CR-VHonda CR-VThe Honda CR-V is a compact suv, now called crossover, manufactured since 1995 by Honda. It was loosely derived from the Honda Civic to satisfy a public demand for a sport-utility vehicle from Honda. There are discrepancies as to what "CR-V" stands for, with Honda sources in different markets...
Web site in 2007 - "If I'm Not Deceived" was used in an American Eagle OutfittersAmerican Eagle OutfittersAmerican Eagle Outfitters is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1977 by Mark and Jerry Silverman as a subsidiary of Retail Ventures, Inc., a company which also owned and operated Silverman's Menswear...
commercial/vignette on MTV in 2007