"Jonathan Meek & the Mutes' sound bursts out of the cage with an immediate intensity; a slushy mixture of warbly, irregular melody that cuts through the mildewy self-consciousness of capital 'I' Indie Rock like lemon juice on a 3rd degree burn, and then sounds like Nick Drake joined early Radiohead, reasserting that amidst all the poseurs, there is still a life in the scene - a blistered beating heart with a head drunk with ideas." -Ighuaran, MusicZeitgeist.com
"These guys understand what works for these songs, and hit it out of the park on every track...There’s something new being created here." -Travis Dow, Indie-Music.com
"Irony & Pity is a bit different from the usual pop/rock stuff you might hear. It’s a little bit darker and a little more simplistic in construction than a lot of stuff out there. This less-is-more approach to writing creates starkly beautiful landscapes against which Meek can tell you his stories." -Wildy Haskell, Wildy's World Blog
"...deeply introspective, and the different voices found in each song –- whether they be instrumental or human -– express the myriad points of view at battle within us all: at times discordant, at times in unison." -Phil Lehman, NASCENT magazine
"DIY rock, at [its] best when Meek and his guitar let loose." -Nate Seltenrich, The East Bay Express
Jonathan Meek is not timid about his new self-released EP, Irony & Pity. “I want this to be something awesome and real and different,” he says. The record, like Jonathan himself, is all of those things and more.
Irony & Pity is completely DIY: recorded and mixed in the local church where Jonathan’s dad preaches. It’s credited to Jonathan Meek & the Mutes, but nearly every note recorded was performed by Jonathan himself. His brother, Nathaniel Meek, lent his talents as a drummer for two of the five tracks, and Mike Mittelstedt, Jonathan’s fellow band member in the San Francisco group the Fair Saints, engineered and co-produced. “Having [Mike] there engineering and giving me feedback gave me such enormous freedom and confidence, so that a lot of the record could just fall into place. Most of what you hear was written right there during the session.” The energy and the feel of the music make it hard for the listener to believe that only three people were involved in producing it; and clearly the inspirations for the record are literally countless.
Jonathan’s musical development began in his childhood in a small town outside of Reno, Nevada, where his father preached and led music in the local church, and his mother played the piano. The influence of the simple melodies and rich harmonies of the traditional hymns in Jonathan’s music cannot be understated. Especially in songs like the opening track “The City I Love,” a wiry, jagged, riff-driven tune that opens up in the chorus to a full choir and church organ, calling to mind early hymns of redemption. The artists that have inspired him since his early days in the church, including Elvis Costello, Neko Case, and especially Nick Cave, have served only to strengthen that influence. “Boatman’s Call by Nick Cave is my single favorite record, and ultimately is what pushed me to make Irony & Pity. The textures and the chords and the lyrics to me are perfect. I want to make music like that.”
Jonathan continued to pursue his musical interest through college, and in due time received a degree in music from the University of California in Santa Cruz where he studied Classical theory and performed in orchestras, opera, and chamber ensembles. As a break from all the “serious” music, he would often take his guitar out onto the streets of Santa Cruz and perform to whoever would listen. “Playing on the street is really an experience,” he says. “Just finding out what grabs people. Sometimes I’d get a little crowd gathered around me listening, and I’d play for hours at a time. Afterwards I’d go through my guitar case to count the tips and find all sorts of things: incense, candies, girls’ phone numbers. It’s fun.”
His love for performing continues, and he views the release of this record as just the first step toward his music being heard by, and performed to as many people as possible. Not a very modest goal for someone named Meek.
Listen to Batching It's debut album "Homage" in it's entirety before it is released! CD out in January 2010! Featuring songs by NOFX, Skankin' Pickle, Swingin' Utters, Pearl Jam, Rancid, Lagwagon, Metallica, Sublime, No Use For a Name, Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, No Doubt, The Descendents, Less Than Jake and Operation Ivy!
Ever wondered what to do in the event of a nuclear threat?
A while ago I found stuff that inspired me to make this film:
Living Under the Shadow of the Nuclear Umbrella
Both artistic (ensure you get the background music!) and educational, it primarily comprises official British government civil defence advice.
Though source materials are quite aged, much remains relevant today.
I encourage all to visit the YouTube page to learn more (Show support! Rate! Comment!) and responsibly circulate as widely as possible, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaIim3Rj7L4
thank you so much for checking out our music! it means the world to us! anything you can do to help spread the word about us would be great! tell all of your friends and hit us up anytime! we'd love to hear from you! : )
Good to have you as a friend! So great to see the internet in action this way, shortening distances between people.
I hope all's well with you and that you enjoy checking out my web site some time.
For occasional, new, refreshing, insightful and (possibly?!) valuable content, I encourage you to sign up for my free newsfeed/email newsletter (using the form on site at page right - high quality, low quantity, no spam!).
You might enjoy watching some of my films (use the on screen controls to skip between them):
The Arcadists on MTV? Free raffle for Snow Patrol concert tickets. Grant and Green in San Francisco this Thursday, July 23! Wharf to Wharf on Sunday in Santa Cruz.
We have a busy week this week, two shows, an MTV contest, a raffle, here's what's going on:
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The Arcadists is currently #3 in MTV's Best Breakout Bay Area Band ... we need your votes to win this thing!!! If we win, we have a good chance to play on MTV. Please click on the link, register, click "Judge" and vote. You may need to refresh the web browser page to see us as a choice (out of 4 bands). Thanks! http://www.ourstage.com/contests/3176-mtv-vma-best-breakout-bay-area
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Snow Patrol Concert Raffle and SF Gig!
Thursday, July 23, we are playing a FREE show where we are raffling off two tickets to see Snow Patrol in Concert at the Fox Theater in Oakland, CA, Fri, Oct 16, 2009 08:00 PM
We'll also have some teaser CDs of our upcoming album, mixing is almost done, the art is done, jeez: day job anyone?
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Wharf to Wharf Race in Santa Cruz, 8am Sunday July 26
Sunday, July 26, we play the Santa Cruz Wharf to Wharf Race, so we'll be out on the street at 8am. We learned "Eye of the Tiger" just for this event, haha. Hope to see you there, as a visitor or as a blur running by. We'll be at 26th Avenue and East Cliff Drive.
"The six-mile race route is lined with a virtual gauntlet of entertainment...singers, dancers, clowns and jugglers... bands of every stripe...pep...dance...classical...raging sixties...su
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