Deerhoof

Deerhoof

Deerhoof is a San Francisco musical group, currently consisting of Satomi Matsuzaki (usually vocals and bass), John Dieterich (usually guitar), Ed Rodriguez (usually guitar as well) and Greg Saunier (usually drums).

Although typically classified as noise rock, or indie rock due to their having been on an indie rock label (Kill Rock Stars) for the entirety of their career, the mercurial and unconventional nature of Deerhoof's music makes genre identification difficult. But several recurring features can be said to constitute Deerhoof's distinctive sound: unassuming vocal delivery set against hyper-expressive instrumental playing; an elastic approach to group dynamics and rhythm more akin to the rubato of classical music performance practice than rock; odd yet highly memorable melodies; harmonic sophistication and dissonance; disjointed, condensed, asymmetrical and otherwise unconventional song structures; raw and at times strident sound surfaces; improvisation; and general creative restlessness.

History

Origins

In 1991, the classically trained Saunier, directly after graduating from conservatory, moved to San Francisco and joined a short-lived quartet called Nitre Pit, on drums. When this quartet broke up suddenly with shows still booked, Saunier and then-bassist Rob Fisk formed a duo, dubbed Deerhoof by Fisk. They forged a convulsive, improvisatory playing style to make up for their lack of material and stark instrumentation.

One such show where Fisk and Saunier were called upon to substitute for their former band was the 1995 Yo Yo A Go Go Festival in Olympia, WA. The audience was instantly polarized by the jarring ferocity of this unknown duo, but among them was Slim Moon, founder of the independent Olympia record label Kill Rock Stars. Moon signed Deerhoof on for one 7" single. The duo, budgetless, recorded themselves on four-track and released "Return of the Wood M'lady", featuring the drawing of visual artist Fisk. Deerhoof's do-it-yourself ethic turned out to be an appropriate match with Kill Rock Stars, and Deerhoof has remained on this label for the entirety of their career, ultimately becoming the longest-running and best-selling artist on the label's current roster.

The histrionic instrumental style and massive volume of the early duo made vocals difficult to perform, so in 1996 Fisk and Saunier began looking for a singer to join them. In May of that year, through a mutual friend, they met Satomi Matsuzaki, who had just arrived in San Francisco from her native Tokyo in order to study film. Although she had no musical experience, all three quickly agreed that her calm singing style was what had been lacking in Deerhoof's sound. Within one week of her joining, Deerhoof went on their first tour as a trio. In this early incarnation she sang into a strange microphone Fisk had constructed out of papier mache and Walkman headphones.

The Man, The King, The Girl—Halfbird

By the time Deerhoof released their self-recorded first album The Man, the King, the Girl in 1997, a vast stylistic difference from the first single was apparent. The album was an unusual mix of swirling noise and facile melody, played in a wild improvisational style, and produced using a wide and bizarre sound palette. Matsuzaki's childlike voice brought a disarming humor and unresolved tension that has remained a hallmark of their style. As on all Deerhoof albums, there were elements of the "concept album" at work, subtle references to a vast range of musical styles, and parallel tendencies towards ragged unpredictability on the one hand and obsessive perfectionism on the other. An illustration of the latter was that Deerhoof submitted the "completed" album several times before being satisfied with it. The artwork was painted by Fisk.

Matsuzaki began teaching herself to play bass and Deerhoof toured the US several times over the next several years, often leaving audiences confused by the cheerful pop elements that seemed incongruous in a "noise" band, as they were generally billed at the time.

In 1998 Deerhoof added Kelly Goode on keyboard, and by the release of 1999's Holdypaws, Deerhoof had once again drastically altered their sound, focusing on extremely strict performance of tightly composed songs, completely removing any element of noise, improvisation, or unusual instrumentation. The austerity and detachment of the performances concealed the intense emotion within the songs. The artwork was once again by Fisk and echoed the newly dark tone of the music. One could say that all of Deerhoof's subsequent albums have fallen between the aesthetic extremes posited by these first two.

Sales were low, band and label were losing money, and Deerhoof seemed destined for obscurity. When both Fisk and Goode quit in fall 1999, they left incomplete a third album, Halfbird, begun before Goode joined. When it was released in 2001, it revealed an increasing compositional sophistication, as well as a more subtle and layered orchestration that belied their modest DIY recording methods. The artwork was by Fisk.

Reveille—The Runners Four

In late 1999 Saunier and Matsuzaki found a replacement in self-taught guitarist John Dieterich, and spent the next two years crafting a new approach to writing, playing, and recording. The result was Reveille, released in 2002. Though still self-produced, it was recorded in a combination of home and studio settings, for certain songs using the engineering aid of Jay Pellicci and Ian Pellicci. As a result, the sound quality was more powerful and more polished than on previous releases. Dieterich's guitar playing added a new element of guitar virtuosity to the band. Matsuzaki's vocals were at once more confident and more minimal, often acting as another instrument in the mix, and often with seemingly meaningless phonemes for lyrics. The stylistic contrasts between and within songs were more unpredictable and daring. The artwork was by Matsuzaki, and had religious connotations and a grandiose tone that was echoed in the lyrics and musical style. It was at this time that Deerhoof first started to receive more serious critical attention.

By the end of the recording process, the band had developed a close relationship with Chris Cohen, then playing in his band The Curtains. Cohen joined Deerhoof, primarily as a second guitarist, Saunier joined The Curtains for several years, and Cohen and Dieterich formed another band called Natural Dreamers. For the next three years Deerhoof toured and recorded as a quartet, slowly building towards the international renown they receive today. A seemingly telepathic connection developed in the playing styles of Saunier, Dieterich and Cohen, who were able to switch fluidly between extreme rhythmic dissonance and uncanny precision. The formerly shy Matsuzaki developed into a commanding stage presence. During this time Deerhoof released Apple O' [2003], Milk Man [2004], and The Runners Four [2005] in rapid succession, each receiving more critical attention, sales, and airplay than the previous. A lesser-known EP, Green Cosmos [2005], was also released during this time.

Despite the addition of Cohen, or perhaps as a result, Apple O' strips away the multi-layared and often electronic sounds of Reveille in favor of simple, live-sounding production without overdubs. Most of Apple O' was recorded in one nine-hour session with Jay Pellicci engineering. Exceptions were "Sealed With A Kiss", which was apparently created entirely on home computer using only samples from songs about apples, and the final two tracks which were acoustic and folksong-like. Matsuzaki's role as vocalist was larger than on Reveille, although she still often sounded like another instrument along with the guitars, which sometimes doubled her melodies in unison, a recurring feature of Deerhoof's music. Apple O' focused its artwork (again by Fisk, though he was no longer in the band) and lyrics around mythic themes of love and war, featuring repeated allusions to Adam and Eve, the atom bomb, and extinction.

Around this time, the quartet decided to leave their jobs and tour fulltime. Matsuzaki had been editing a San Francisco Japanese magazine, Dieterich and Saunier had been doing data entry for legal and consulting firms, and Cohen had been a waiter at a Thai restaurant.

Milk Man began as a bizarre cartoon character created by Japanese artist Ken Kagami, a longtime friend of the band. Using this drawing as a starting point, they created lyrics and music that told an ambiguous story about an all-white, masked character with fruits stabbed into its body, who takes children on a magical journey during the night. In contrast to the earnest guitar rock that predominated on Apple O', Milk Man featured a broad palette of orchestral colors, echoes of music theater and camp, polished and gaudy arrangements, Stravinskian harmonies, and a more stylized, anonymous playing style resulting partly from recording most of the instruments at separate times rather than playing together as a band. Milk Man's connections to both music theater and to children were embodied later in a theatrical version created by Courtney Naliboff and performed by children of the North Haven Community School in North Haven, Maine in fall 2006. The Milk Man Ballet was later released on DVD.

The EP Green Cosmos was the first Deerhoof release to be sung almost entirely in Matsuzaki's native language of Japanese. Musically Green Cosmos took the aesthetic of Milk Man a step further by combining an even more expansive orchestral sound, some live playing as fierce as anything Deerhoof had recorded, and references to disco that at times completely replaced live drums with programmed beats and samples. Artwork was created from original tarot cards designed by Dawn Garcia.

In the fall, Deerhoof released The Runners Four. Unlike the short albums of Deerhoof's past, The Runners Four was in essence a double album, with 20 songs, the result of several intense months of recording together in their rented practice space in Oakland. The idea was to give each band member equal say in its creation, and to work out arrangements as a live band rather than in the computer. Matsuzaki and Cohen reversed instrumental roles, with Matsuzaki playing guitar and Cohen bass. All four members were featured as vocalists at various points. This was their wordiest release, a contrast to the telegraphic simplicity of Reveille and Apple O'. Lyrics were ambiguous, but certain motifs - time travel, smuggling, allusions to Noah's Ark - recurred throughout. Artwork was by Trevor Shimizu, formerly of The Curtains.

After an extensive world tour, Deerhoof was invited by the San Francisco International Film Festival to perform a live, original score to a silent film of their choosing. They chose Heaven And Earth Magic by Harry Smith, and performed their hour-long soundtrack, largely composed by Dieterich, in spring 2006. This was to be Cohen's last activity with Deerhoof, as he left to pursue The Curtains fulltime. The split was apparently amicable and, to commemorate Cohen, Deerhoof posted one of their occasional free mp3 EPs on their website. The band didn't assign a name to the EP, so reviewers referred to it as Untitled E.P.

Friend Opportunity

Now back to a trio, in summer 2006 they began working with first-time director Justin Theroux on the soundtrack to Dedication, released in fall 2007. (Dedication Film Soundtrack, featuring four tracks by Deerhoof, was also released at this time.)

Using the Heaven And Earth Magic score as a starting place, the trio began recording a new album. In contrast to the raw and at times "retro" guitar rock sound of The Runners Four, Friend Opportunity was marked by the extreme clarity of its dense layering of sounds, both acoustic and electronic, and one could detect a hip hop influence for the first time. Matsuzaki, Saunier, and Dieterich did not divide their contributions according to their onstage roles, and each contributed percussion, guitar, bass, keyboards and production. The stylistic incongruities between songs were brazen even for Deerhoof. It was mostly recorded in late summer 2006 in Dieterich's Oakland apartment, between two legs of a concert tour opening for Radiohead. Though self-produced as always, some portions were recorded once again with Jay and Ian Pellicci's assistance. It was mixed largely while on the road. Endearing on the surface but ultimately dark, the obscure lyrics move through the promise, development, corruption, and negation of human relationships. Paintings were by well-known Scottish artist David Shrigley.

When Friend Opportunity was released in January 2007, Deerhoof began a world tour that continues at present. The album has been their most critically successful and best-selling work, and Deerhoof has come to be widely recognized as musical innovators and trendsetters.

In early February, 2008, guitarist Ed Rodriguez joined the band as a full-time member.

Band members

• John Dieterich
• Satomi Matsuzaki
• Greg Saunier
• Ed Rodriguez

Past members

• Chris Cohen
• Kelly Goode
• Rob Fisk
• Chris Cooper
• Jess Goddard

Discography

• The Man, the King, the Girl CD (1997)
• Holdypaws CD (1999)
• Halfbird CD (2001)
• Reveille CD/LP (2002)
• Apple O' CD/LP (2003)
• Milk Man CD/LP (2004)
• Bibidi Babidi Boo online only (2004)
• Green Cosmos CD EP(2005)
• The Runners Four CD/LP (2005)
• Friend Opportunity CD/LP (2007)

Videography

• Gore in Rut (directed by Children of Hoof Education Center) on Video Fanzine #1 (NTSC VHS, Kill Rock Stars, April 1999, KRS200) [1]
• Wicca Wind (directed by Aida Ruilova) on Video Fanzine #2 (NTSC VHS, Kill Rock Stars, 3 October 2000, KRS300) [2]
• XBXRX/Deerhoof tour documentary (Nothing Fancy Just Music, January 2001, NFJM5V)
• live performance and interview on episode 6 of Burn My Eye! (shot and edited by Stephen Kozlowski, Kirsten Nordine, Trevor Shimuzu and Deerhoof, aired 6 November 2002 on Access SF a.k.a. Channel 29; NTSC DVD, June 2003; PAL DVD, Plastic Donkey / Rimbaud Records, 5 May 2005) [3]
• Dog on the Sidewalk (live) on Video Fanzine #3 (NTSC DVD, Kill Rock Stars, 12 July 2005, KRS400) [4]
• Wrong Time Capsule (directed by Martha Colburn, November 2005)
• The Perfect Me (directed by Eric Landmark & Peter Venuto, March 2007) [5]

External links

• Deerhoof official website (tourdates, news, blog, contacts, interviews, videos)
• Press page
• The Milk Man Ballet
• Template:MySpace
• Kill Rock Stars
• MP3s on ibiblio
• Detailed discography