Jonathan Meek and the Mutes
Indie / Rock
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"It's just a matter of time"
LIVERMORE, California
United States
Profile Views:
9535
Last Login:
11/23/2008
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http://www.myspace.com/jonathanmeek |
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| Jonathan Meek and the Mutes: General Info
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| Member Since | 5/5/2005 | | Band Website | jonathanmeek.com | | Band Members | Download the entire EP here on Myspace and pay what you want by donating through PayPal. Thanks!
| | Influences | The Boatman's Call-Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Brutal Youth-Elvis Costello and the Attractions
Time (The Revelator)-Gillian Welch
A Ghost Is Born-Wilco
The Trials of Van Occupanther-Midlake
Fox Confessor Brings the Flood-Neko Case
American Elf-James Kochalka
Nine Stories-J.D. Salinger
Blood Meridian-Cormac McCarthy
The Fountainhead-Ayn Rand | | Type of Label | Major |
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"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.
Also available:
The Fair Saints featuring Jonathan Meek on piano and trumpet, with artwork designed by Jonathan Meek
Debut album out now!!!
Order it today from iTunes and CD Baby.
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