Mean Red Spiders
Encyclopedia
Mean Red Spiders are a Canadian alternative rock
band formed in Toronto
, Canada in September 1993. Mean Red Spiders' music is largely guitar-based indie rock
influenced by psychedelic music
. Their music makes extensive use of distortion
, digital keyboard loops
, recorded voice samples
, and effects pedals, creating a repeatable orchestrated wall of sound
style with vocals. Usually categorized by some reviewers into the shoegaze
, dreampop, or space rock
genres.
This band is not to be confused with the earlier British R&B group from Ipswich, Suffolk, of the same name (1985–1993) who issued two albums, Nude Guitarist in Wet Lettuce Frenzy (1987) and Dark Hours (1991), the punk rock
band made up of members of The Chesterfield Kings
, or the UK outfit currently performing under the same name.
) joined, contributing three songs to Still Life Fast Moving and touring with the band in 2002. Boak left the band early in 2003 and Dave Rodgers (of Neck/Christiana) joined. Humphreys later rejoined the band in 2007. Mean Red Spiders continue to record and release material, while playing in Ghostlight free-form improvisational collective featuring members of Mean Red Spiders, along with James Anderson and Scott Cameron.
Other musicians that have been in MRS include:
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band formed in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada in September 1993. Mean Red Spiders' music is largely guitar-based indie rock
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...
influenced by psychedelic music
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
. Their music makes extensive use of distortion
Distortion
A distortion is the alteration of the original shape of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation. Distortion is usually unwanted, and often many methods are employed to minimize it in practice...
, digital keyboard loops
Music loop
In electroacoustic music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections of material can be repeated to create ostinato patterns...
, recorded voice samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
, and effects pedals, creating a repeatable orchestrated wall of sound
Wall of Sound
The Wall of Sound is a music production technique for pop and rock music recordings developed by record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, California, during the early 1960s...
style with vocals. Usually categorized by some reviewers into the shoegaze
Shoegazing
Shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted there until the mid 1990s, with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991...
, dreampop, or space rock
Space rock
Space rock is a subgenre of rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early, mostly British, 1970s progressive and psychedelic rock bands such as Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, characterised by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by electric organs, synthesizers, experimental...
genres.
This band is not to be confused with the earlier British R&B group from Ipswich, Suffolk, of the same name (1985–1993) who issued two albums, Nude Guitarist in Wet Lettuce Frenzy (1987) and Dark Hours (1991), the 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...
band made up of members of The Chesterfield Kings
The Chesterfield Kings
The Chesterfield Kings are a rock band from Rochester, New York, who began as a retro-1960s garage band, and who have heavily mined 1960s music, including some borrowing from the 1960s recordings of The Rolling Stones...
, or the UK outfit currently performing under the same name.
Career
In 2001 David Humphreys left the band. Rob Boak (of InterstellarInterstellar (band)
-History:The band was formed in 1998 by Rob Boak and Denis Dufour . The debut album, Late Night Tea, was released in 2000 on Mother Superior Records. Cam Lindsay of Exclaim! described the record as sounding like it had been recorded "at four in the morning", comparing it with Spiritualized and...
) joined, contributing three songs to Still Life Fast Moving and touring with the band in 2002. Boak left the band early in 2003 and Dave Rodgers (of Neck/Christiana) joined. Humphreys later rejoined the band in 2007. Mean Red Spiders continue to record and release material, while playing in Ghostlight free-form improvisational collective featuring members of Mean Red Spiders, along with James Anderson and Scott Cameron.
Band members
At the time of the release of their January 2003 album, Still Life Fast Moving, Mean Red Spiders personnel were:- Adam Rosen - drums/vocals (of 122 Greige)
- Rob Boak - guitar
- Minesh Mandoda - keyboards, guitars, loops (of Parts Unknown)
- Lisa Nighswander - bass guitar and lead vocalist
- Greg Chambers - guitar/vocals
Other musicians that have been in MRS include:
- Don Matheson - Drums (named the band in 1994)
- Nick Andrews - Bass/vocals (of Ottawa's Restless Virgins)
- Paul Boddum - Drums (of Neck/Christiana)
- Martin (vocals on El Diabolos DevoDevoDevo is an American band formed in 1973 consisting of members from Kent and Akron, Ohio. The classic line-up of the band includes two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs and the Casales . The band had a #14 Billboard chart hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It", and has maintained a cult...
cover "Mongoloid") - Serge (original lead vocalist)
- Leanne Davies - Drums (of Amor de Cosmos/Mason Hornet)
- Jim Bravo - Drums (of Jim Bravo & the Beethoven Frieze)
- Antony Seabourg - Drums
Discography
- El Diabolo - May 1995
- Places You Call Home - May 1998 - Teenage USATeenage USATeenage USA Recordings is a Canadian independent record label, founded by Phil Klygo and Mark DiPietro in the fall of 1997 on the back of Klygo's Skull Geek record label and fanzine....
- Stars and Sons - May 2000 - Teenage USA
- Still Life, Fast Moving - March 2003 - Clairecords
- Dave Newfeld co-produced Places You Call Home with Mean Red Spiders from 1997-1998 in the basement of a rental house at Bathurst and Lawrence, also known as 'the bagel belt', and produced Stars and Sons from 1999-2000 at Stars and Sons Studio located in Chinatown, TorontoChinatown, TorontoChinatown is an ethnic enclave in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with a high concentration of ethnic Chinese residents and businesses extending along Dundas Street West and Spadina Avenue. First developed in the late 19th century, it is now one of the largest Chinatowns in North America and...
. - Jeff McMurrich recorded and co-produced Still Life Fast Moving in his old studio at Dupont & Spadina and in the band's Pod Studio.
- Al Forte (of Groundcover) recorded some of the bass, guitar and drum tracks for Places You Call Home in 1996.
External links
- Mean Red Spiders at MySpace
- New Music Canada: Mean Red Spiders profile, accessed 19 July 2006