Halloween, Alaska
Encyclopedia
Halloween, Alaska is a Minnesota
-based band consisting of James Diers
(voice, guitar
, keys), Jake Hanson (brother of Tapes 'n Tapes
drummer Jeremy Hanson
, guitar), Bill Shaw (electric bass guitar), and David King
(acoustic and electronic drum
s). All of the group's members live in the Twin Cities. Original keyboardist and programmer Ev left the band in 2008. Original bassist Matt Friesen left the band in 2009. The group first formed in 2002, and work on a self-titled debut soon began to be recorded. Completed in 2003, the disc earned considerable acclaim not only in the Twin Cities but also from indie tastemakers and college radio programmers across the US, combining ambient electronic elements with moody alt-pop songwriting. Two tracks from the disc were featured in the Fox
television series The O.C.
: "Des Moines" in season one, and "All the Arms Around You" in season two. The track "State Trooper", featured on their self-titled debut, is a cover version
of the song by Bruce Springsteen
. East Side Digital reissued the album in 2005, adding remixes and bonus tracks. A second disc titled "Too Tall to Hide" was released in 2005 and features another cover song - "I Can't Live Without My Radio" by LL Cool J
. Their latest album, "Champagne Downtown", was released on April 7, 2009. (iTunes initially listed the album under the band "Alaska & Halloween." Amazon currently lists all Halloween, Alaska albums under "Alaska Halloween.") An EP of remixes by Twin Cities artists was released in November 2009.
Members of the group are or have been part of the bands The Bad Plus
, Love-Cars, Happy Apple
, 12 Rods
, Cowboy Curtis, Minneapolis Dub Ensemble, Post Mortem Grinner, and The Gang Font feat. Interloper.
The band is not named after a real town in Alaska
. According to Diers, King "came up with the name ... before we even starting playing together, actually," and felt that the combination of the two words was "evocative of some of the moods and textures he wanted us to be looking at."
The band are currently touring as support for Anna Calvi.
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
-based band consisting of James Diers
James Diers
James Diers is a writer and musician in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a founding member of the bands Halloween, Alaska and Love-cars. He is known for writing literate, thought-provoking lyrics in a modern indie rock context...
(voice, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, keys), Jake Hanson (brother of Tapes 'n Tapes
Tapes 'n Tapes
-History:Formed in the winter of 2003 at Carleton College, the band has released four albums. First came the self-released Tapes 'n Tapes EP in 2004, followed by the full-length release, The Loon, on Ibid Records in 2005. The band signed to XL Recordings and re-released The Loon on July 25, 2006...
drummer Jeremy Hanson
Jeremy Hanson
Jeremy Hanson is an Australian politician with the Liberal Party of Australia, elected to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly in the Molonglo electorate at the 2008 election...
, guitar), Bill Shaw (electric bass guitar), and David King
David King (musician)
David King is a drummer/ composer from Minneapolis. He is best known for being a founding member of the jazz groups The Bad Plus and Happy Apple although he is active in many other projects including free jazz collective Buffalo Collision with NYC "Downtown" legends Tim Berne and Hank Roberts and...
(acoustic and electronic drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s). All of the group's members live in the Twin Cities. Original keyboardist and programmer Ev left the band in 2008. Original bassist Matt Friesen left the band in 2009. The group first formed in 2002, and work on a self-titled debut soon began to be recorded. Completed in 2003, the disc earned considerable acclaim not only in the Twin Cities but also from indie tastemakers and college radio programmers across the US, combining ambient electronic elements with moody alt-pop songwriting. Two tracks from the disc were featured in the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
television series The O.C.
The O.C.
The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on the Fox television network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 21, 2007, running a total of four seasons...
: "Des Moines" in season one, and "All the Arms Around You" in season two. The track "State Trooper", featured on their self-titled debut, is a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of the song by Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
. East Side Digital reissued the album in 2005, adding remixes and bonus tracks. A second disc titled "Too Tall to Hide" was released in 2005 and features another cover song - "I Can't Live Without My Radio" by LL Cool J
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
. Their latest album, "Champagne Downtown", was released on April 7, 2009. (iTunes initially listed the album under the band "Alaska & Halloween." Amazon currently lists all Halloween, Alaska albums under "Alaska Halloween.") An EP of remixes by Twin Cities artists was released in November 2009.
Members of the group are or have been part of the bands The Bad Plus
The Bad Plus
The Bad Plus are a jazz trio from the United States, consisting of pianist Ethan Iverson, bassist Reid Anderson, and drummer Dave King, originating from Minneapolis, MN.-History:...
, Love-Cars, Happy Apple
Happy Apple
Happy Apple is an American jazz trio.Formed in 1996 in Minneapolis, members of the band are David King , Michael Lewis and Erik Fratzke ....
, 12 Rods
12 Rods
12 Rods was an indie rock band formed in Oxford, Ohio, United States in 1992. The group went on to relocate to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1995 until its end in 2004.-History:...
, Cowboy Curtis, Minneapolis Dub Ensemble, Post Mortem Grinner, and The Gang Font feat. Interloper.
The band is not named after a real town in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. According to Diers, King "came up with the name ... before we even starting playing together, actually," and felt that the combination of the two words was "evocative of some of the moods and textures he wanted us to be looking at."
The band are currently touring as support for Anna Calvi.
Albums
- Halloween, Alaska (Princess, 2004)
- Halloween, Alaska (reissue) (East Side Digital, 2005)
- Too Tall to Hide (East Side Digital, 2005)
- Champagne Downtown (East Side Digital, 2009)
- Occasion: Remixes (2009)
- All Night the Calls Came In (Amble Down, 2011)
Compilation appearances
- "Des Moines" (alternate version), Live Current Vol. 1 (Minnesota Public Radio, 2005)
- "Drowned" (VIC 20 remix), Twin Town High Music Yearbook Vol. 8 (Pulse, 2006)
- "Halloween" (Housewares remix), For Callum benefit compilation (Catlick Records, 2007)
External links
- Halloween, Alaska
- National Public Radio profile, 2005
- [ AMG entry for "Too Tall to Hide", 2006]
- City Pages article, 2003
- Spin Magazine review of "Champagne Downtown", 2009