June of 44 formed in 1994, after the breakup of Louisville post hardcore band Rodan. Guitarist Jeff Mueller teamed up with guitarist Sean Meadows, bassist/trumpeter Fred Erskine (former member of DC band Hoover), and drummer Doug Scharin, who'd played in the slowcore band Codeine. The band's name was inspired by the date of correspondence between erotic fiction writers Henry Miller and Anaïs Nin; furthermore June also coincided with Mueller's mother's birthday and the military service of Meadows' grandfather.
After only three-and-a-half weeks of practice, the quartet had a complete set of songs that were heavy on dynamics and atmospheres. The work resulted in the creation of shifting, dissonant and disarticulated music based on soft-to-loud dynamics, neurotic rhythm changes, angular and hypnotic guitars and lyrics shouted or half-spoken in a dramatic way.
In the summer of 1995, the group released its debut album, "Engine Takes to the Water", on Rodan's former label Quarterstick.
With their second album, 1996's "Tropics and Meridians", June of 44 established themselves as a top-notch experimental indie band, offering a more fully realized take on the sound of their debut. In the meantime the band appeared on the benefit compilation "Lounge AX Defense and Relocation", published by Touch And Go.
In 1997 the band released a three-track EP entitled "Anatomy of Sharks", further proof of the quartet's unpredictable creativity.
1998's full-length "Four Great Points" is their most experimental album, and further emphasizes Scharin's interest in electronic music and Erskine's trumpet-playing skills. June of 44's fourth album, 1999's "Anahata", expanded on the model of its immediate predecessor, deepening the jazz influence and sampling techniques already noted.
Later that year the "In the Fishtank" EP was released on the Dutch label Konkurrent. The label offered limited free studio time to intriguing bands on tour in Europe. It was the final June of 44 release, as the band broke up in 2000. Meadows quickly embarked on other projects, the Letter E, the solo project Everlasting the Way and the Italian band Red House Blues Revue. Scharin continued with HiM. Erskine played trumpet in Abilene and HiM and joined Sur la Mer. Mueller released solo album "Fold and Perish" in 1999, and then reunited with Rodan guitar mate Jason Noble in the Shipping News.
DISCOGRAPHY:
Engine Takes to the Water LP (Quarterstick 1995) Tropics and Meridians LP (Quarterstick 1996) The Anatomy of Sharks EP (Quarterstick 1997) Four Great Points LP (Quarterstick 1998) Southeast of Boston/Dexterity of Luck (live) 7" (Bcore 1999) Anahata LP (Quarterstick 1999) In the Fishtank CD (Konkurrent 1999)
Compilations:
Lounge AX Defense and Relocation (Touch And Go 1996) CD Magic Eye Single Series, Green Edition (MES) 7" Zum N°10 (ZUM 'zine 1997) CD On the Cam (Touch And Go 1999) CD
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