Wild Flag
Encyclopedia
Wild Flag is an American
four-piece group based in Portland, Oregon
and Washington, D.C.
. The group consists of Carrie Brownstein
(vocals, guitar
), Mary Timony
(vocals, guitar
), Rebecca Cole (keyboards, backing vocals) and Janet Weiss
(drums, backing vocals). The band is most known for consisting of ex-members of the bands Sleater-Kinney
, Helium
and The Minders
.
played in Excuse 17
from 1993 to 1995 and then more famously played in Sleater-Kinney
from 1994 until 2006 when the band went on hiatus. Janet Weiss
had drummed simultaneously for both Quasi
and Sleater-Kinney
throughout the late nineties and early 2000s, afterwards contributing to Bright Eyes, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
and Conor Oberst
albums. Mary Timony
played guitar and shared vocals in Autoclave
in the early nineties, then went on to do the same for the band Helium
from 1992 to 1997. Afterwards, she played with Brownstein in the short-lived band The Spells, which released one EP on K Records
in 1999, and also released various solo albums before contributing her skills to Wild Flag. Rebecca Cole played drums in The Minders
from 1996 to 2008 before becoming the keyboardist for Wild Flag.
via a blog post on National Public Radio’s All Songs Considered
blog, of which she was a contributor, in September 2010. She said that she had called together her friends a year ago and tried to form a band:
A Myspace
page was soon put up with very little information about the band. No songs were posted and the biography was short and strange:
"What is the sound of an avalanche taking out a dolphin? What do get when you cross a hamburger with a hot dog? The answer is: WILD FLAG."
Brownstein and Timony previously collaborated in the late 1990s, when they were still in Sleater-Kinney and Helium respectively. Their side project band The Spells released one EP, The Age of Backwards
, on K Records in 1999, and played a single live show in Olympia. In the summer of 2000 they recorded four more songs for a prospective album, but it was never completed. The four songs remained unreleased until 2008 when Brownstein released them online through National Public Radio’s Monitor Mix blog.
The first Wild Flag single, "Future Crimes" b/w "Glass Tambourine" was released on Record Store Day 2011.
A second single, "Romance" was premiered June 18, 2011.
Their eponymous debut album
was released on September 13, 2011 on Merge Records
.
, giving fans little to go off of as far as the musical sound of the band. They played their first show in Olympia, Washington
to a crowd of 200 fans. This was the first official time that fans of the band got to hear what the band sounded like. Song titles were announced during the course of the set like "Racehorse" and "Future Crimes". The band traveled from Washington down to the state of California
throughout November 2010.
On November 2, 2010, Wild Flag was listed on the South By Southwest
website in the first round of invited acts to play for the festival in March 2011.
Wild Flag announced on their Facebook
on January 20, 2011 that a 7” record would be pressed and available for purchase exclusively at their shows for the month of March, then to the general public on Record Store Day
.
Tour dates for the East coast
were announced for the month of March, including two dates in New York City
where they open for Bright Eyes. 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.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
four-piece group based in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. The group consists of Carrie Brownstein
Carrie Brownstein
Carrie Rachel Brownstein , is an American musician, writer, and actress, best known as a guitarist and vocalist in the now-defunct Portland, Oregon-based band Sleater-Kinney...
(vocals, 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...
), Mary Timony
Mary Timony
Mary B. Timony is an American independent singer-songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist, and violist. She was a member of the bands Helium and Autoclave, and currently plays in Wild Flag.-Biography:...
(vocals, 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...
), Rebecca Cole (keyboards, backing vocals) and Janet Weiss
Janet Weiss
Janet Lee Weiss was the drummer of now defunct Sleater-Kinney and is currently a member of Quasi and Wild Flag. She was the drummer for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, leaving after the album Mirror Traffic.-Early life:...
(drums, backing vocals). The band is most known for consisting of ex-members of the bands Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney was an alternative rock band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 1994. Originally formed in Olympia, Washington, the group's name is derived from Sleater-Kinney Road, Interstate 5 off ramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces. They were a...
, Helium
Helium (band)
Helium was an American alternative rock band formed in the summer of 1992. Originally calling themselves "Chupa", its founding members were Mary Lou Lord, Jason Hatfield , Shawn King Devlin and Brian Dunton...
and The Minders
The Minders
The Minders is a band closely associated with The Elephant Six Collective. Started by Martyn Leaper in Denver, Colorado in 1996, the band's original members included Leaper on guitars and vocals, Rebecca Cole on drums, Jeff Almond on guitar, and Marc Willhite on bass.Leaper formed the Minders in...
.
Musical Influences
The members of Wild Flag have extensive musical histories prior to forming their current band. Carrie BrownsteinCarrie Brownstein
Carrie Rachel Brownstein , is an American musician, writer, and actress, best known as a guitarist and vocalist in the now-defunct Portland, Oregon-based band Sleater-Kinney...
played in Excuse 17
Excuse 17
Excuse 17 was a punk rock band from Olympia, Washington that performed and recorded from 1993 to 1995.Carrie Brownstein, Becca Albee and CJ Phillips came together to form Excuse 17, a band that would only last a few years but would prove to be influential. Carrie and Becca both played guitar and...
from 1993 to 1995 and then more famously played in Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney was an alternative rock band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 1994. Originally formed in Olympia, Washington, the group's name is derived from Sleater-Kinney Road, Interstate 5 off ramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces. They were a...
from 1994 until 2006 when the band went on hiatus. Janet Weiss
Janet Weiss
Janet Lee Weiss was the drummer of now defunct Sleater-Kinney and is currently a member of Quasi and Wild Flag. She was the drummer for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, leaving after the album Mirror Traffic.-Early life:...
had drummed simultaneously for both Quasi
Quasi
Quasi is an American indie rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1993 by ex-husband and wife Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss . Since 2007 the group has been a trio, following the addition of bassist Joanna Bolme.-History:In 1990 , Coomes, Weiss, and Brad Pedinov formed the band Motorgoat...
and Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney was an alternative rock band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 1994. Originally formed in Olympia, Washington, the group's name is derived from Sleater-Kinney Road, Interstate 5 off ramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces. They were a...
throughout the late nineties and early 2000s, afterwards contributing to Bright Eyes, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks is a rock band consisting of Stephen Malkmus, Mike Clark, Joanna Bolme, and Jake Morris. Malkmus was the main singer and songwriter behind the influential 1990s indie rock band Pavement.-History:...
and Conor Oberst
Conor Oberst
Conor Mullen Oberst is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes. He has also played in several other bands, including Desaparecidos, Norman Bailer , Commander Venus, Park Ave., Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, and Monsters of Folk.-Musical career:Oberst began...
albums. Mary Timony
Mary Timony
Mary B. Timony is an American independent singer-songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist, and violist. She was a member of the bands Helium and Autoclave, and currently plays in Wild Flag.-Biography:...
played guitar and shared vocals in Autoclave
Autoclave (band)
Autoclave was a post-punk band, based in Washington, D.C.. They were on local label Dischord Records. Formed in the summer of 1990, the group consisted of vocalist and bassist Christina Billotte, lead guitarist Mary Timony, guitarist Nikki Chapman, and drummer Melissa Berkoff.The group broke up in...
in the early nineties, then went on to do the same for the band Helium
Helium (band)
Helium was an American alternative rock band formed in the summer of 1992. Originally calling themselves "Chupa", its founding members were Mary Lou Lord, Jason Hatfield , Shawn King Devlin and Brian Dunton...
from 1992 to 1997. Afterwards, she played with Brownstein in the short-lived band The Spells, which released one EP on K Records
K Records
K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, co-founded, owned, and operated by Calvin Johnson, formerly of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, The Halo Benders and presently in the bands Dub Narcotic Sound System and The Hive Dwellers...
in 1999, and also released various solo albums before contributing her skills to Wild Flag. Rebecca Cole played drums in The Minders
The Minders
The Minders is a band closely associated with The Elephant Six Collective. Started by Martyn Leaper in Denver, Colorado in 1996, the band's original members included Leaper on guitars and vocals, Rebecca Cole on drums, Jeff Almond on guitar, and Marc Willhite on bass.Leaper formed the Minders in...
from 1996 to 2008 before becoming the keyboardist for Wild Flag.
History
The existence of Wild Flag was first announced by Carrie BrownsteinCarrie Brownstein
Carrie Rachel Brownstein , is an American musician, writer, and actress, best known as a guitarist and vocalist in the now-defunct Portland, Oregon-based band Sleater-Kinney...
via a blog post on National Public Radio’s All Songs Considered
All Songs Considered
All Songs Considered is a weekly online multimedia program started in January 2000 by NPR's All Things Considered director Bob Boilen. At first, the show featured information and streaming audio about the songs used as bumper music on All Things Considered. The program has turned into a source of...
blog, of which she was a contributor, in September 2010. She said that she had called together her friends a year ago and tried to form a band:
A Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page was soon put up with very little information about the band. No songs were posted and the biography was short and strange:
"What is the sound of an avalanche taking out a dolphin? What do get when you cross a hamburger with a hot dog? The answer is: WILD FLAG."
Brownstein and Timony previously collaborated in the late 1990s, when they were still in Sleater-Kinney and Helium respectively. Their side project band The Spells released one EP, The Age of Backwards
The Age of Backwards E.P.
The Age of Backwards E.P. was the only release by the short-lived band The Spells, a collaboration between Carrie Brownstein and Mary Timony.-Track listing:# "The Age of Backwards"# "Octaves Apart"# "Number One Fan"# "Can't Explain [The Who]"...
, on K Records in 1999, and played a single live show in Olympia. In the summer of 2000 they recorded four more songs for a prospective album, but it was never completed. The four songs remained unreleased until 2008 when Brownstein released them online through National Public Radio’s Monitor Mix blog.
The first Wild Flag single, "Future Crimes" b/w "Glass Tambourine" was released on Record Store Day 2011.
A second single, "Romance" was premiered June 18, 2011.
Their eponymous debut album
Wild Flag (album)
Wild Flag is the first album from American indie rock band Wild Flag. It was released September 13th, 2011 on Merge Records.-Track listing:#"Romance" - 3:52#"Something Came Over Me" - 4:03#"Boom" - 2:45#"Glass Tambourine" - 5:29...
was released on September 13, 2011 on Merge Records
Merge Records
Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as a way to release music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expanded to include artists from around the world and records...
.
Touring
Tour dates were announced for the West CoastWest 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...
, giving fans little to go off of as far as the musical sound of the band. They played their first show in Olympia, Washington
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
to a crowd of 200 fans. This was the first official time that fans of the band got to hear what the band sounded like. Song titles were announced during the course of the set like "Racehorse" and "Future Crimes". The band traveled from Washington down to the state of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
throughout November 2010.
On November 2, 2010, Wild Flag was listed on the South By Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
website in the first round of invited acts to play for the festival in March 2011.
Wild Flag announced on their Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
on January 20, 2011 that a 7” record would be pressed and available for purchase exclusively at their shows for the month of March, then to the general public on Record Store Day
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an internationally celebrated day observed the third Saturday of April each year. Its purpose, as conceived by independent record store employee Chris Brown, is to celebrate the art of music...
.
Tour dates for the East coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
were announced for the month of March, including two dates in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where they open for Bright Eyes. The band have been chosen by Les Savy Fav
Les Savy Fav
Les Savy Fav is a New York City indie rock band. Their style is influenced by art rock and post-hardcore. The group is known for the stage presence of lead singer Tim Harrington...
to perform at the ATP Nightmare Before Christmas
All Tomorrow's Parties (music festival)
All Tomorrow's Parties is a music festival which takes place at Camber Sands holiday camp in East Sussex and Butlin's holiday camp in Minehead, Somerset, England....
festival that they co-curate in December 2011 in Minehead, England.