Gil = bass, backing vox
Riaz = lead vox, guitars, words
Charles = drums
Elaine = backing vox, percussions
Russ = organs
Influences
Syd Barrett, Guided By Voices, the Byrds, The Zombies, Rain Parade, Peter Tosh, Big Star, Daniel Johnston, the Who, Love, Ride, the Sebadoh, Neutral Milk Hotel, the Hollies, the Buffalo Springfield, the Olivia Tremor Control, the Smiths, Indienella, the Monkees, the Clash, the Stone Poneys, Wilco, the Specials, Built to Spill, Miles Davis, Pavement, Tobin Sprout, the Small Faces, the Cure, Slowdive, the Flaming Lips
Coming Soon: the NEW E.P. "FORCES AFIELD" featuring:
1. A Shoutout to the Underside
2. What's in the Bag
3. The Large Bouquet
4. The Greater Good
5. Go to a Window
$5.00 US + shipping
Sample tracks are posted.
CONTACTS: Management: pianomanagement@live.com Band: thefrenchsemester@hotmail.com
"LA's The French Semester produce charming shoegaze pop that's really worth your attention. They have a new EP in the works that's joining a pretty solid library of music..." -Radio Free Silver Lake, Oct 2009.
"One thing about the indie rogue band The French Semester is that they have a sound that directly reflects their influences...and also has an honest, simple-complicated, yet modern-classic acoustic rock sound that they have and own...Come performance, each band member approached their instruments, stage, and crowd with a sort of mature fearlessness..." -LA Nightimer, Oct 2009.
"The French Semester took their relaxed, Zombies-styled rock/pop and injected it with an adrenalized immediacy on Saturday night, driving their tempos and melodies past the relaxed, third-Velvet-Underground-record mellow pace of their newest disc, Good Friends Only I Could See (one of our favorites of ‘09), and into an ear-charming sugar rush of jangle-popped guitar rock." -Web In Front, Oct 2009.
". . .the tuneful charm of the ‘80s Flying Nun and early Creation bands; ‘60s influences through an ‘80s filter. The French Semester are all about subtle, barely amplified indie pop with medium to slow paced, mellow melodies that roll gently on. The songs are often understated but well crafted and appealing. . ." -Shindig! Magazine, June 2009.
". . . one of LA's better musical assets . . ." -ISGOODMUSIC, June 14, 2009.
". . .perfect '60's style pop psychedelia" -Radio Free Silver Lake, June 8, 2009.
". . .the quintet effortlessly churned out poppy songs providing toe-tapping beats rivaling the sounds of favorites such as The Shins and the Postal Service. With its slightly haunting synchronizations and lo-fi pop sound, The French Semester is not to be missed." -The Daily Aztec, May 7, 2009.
". . .the quintet dispatched a magical performance, full of great songs, and kept up the pace from start to finish.
. . . One of those evenings to which it is difficult not to give a 10 , and which makes you leave with the desire to do it again soon." -Pop Muzik April 24, 2009.
"This neo-psychedelic quartet were the best new discovery at the International Pop Overthrow in Mesa, AZ last month . . ." - Anti-Snob , April 17, 2009
"A sweet and smile-inducing blend of Guided By Voices’ ragged melodic charm with the hushed pop wits of the third Velvet Underground record, the French Semester’s Good Friends I Could Only See churns out one harmonious and guitar-jangled rock/pop gem after another—with “Remembering Right Now” being the big winner—with each track’s layered loveliness capable of breaking your heart without so much as breaking a sweat." -Web in Front, April 1, 2009
"[The East Man] Another breezy jangle-pop tune that we've become hopelessly smitten with." -Sensory Overload, March 21, 2009
"This sophomore release is absolutely gorgeous. . . Influences include Syd Barrett and Guided By Voices. Like those two acts, The French Semester can write pop songs that are experimental, and show that the two do not have to be worlds apart. . .In a world of indie by numbers, and where people feel that mining 1982 is the closest we can get to innovation in 2009, the French Semester might seem to be out there on their own. They’re not. They’re leading the pack, kickstarting the assault. . ."
-17 Seconds, March. 17, 2009
"The French Semester han sido una de las grandes sorpresas que nos ha dado el indie rock americano en los últimos meses." -H Magazine March 16, 2009
"Vous qui avez aimé Brighten the Corners (Pavement) ou Penthouse (Luna), arrachez vous un poumon plutôt que de manquer ce disque!." -C'est Entendu Feb 8, 2009
"I shouldn't have gone so long without knowing this band better. They play the kind of echoey, jangly rock and roll that reminds me of Southern California in the '60's. . . their music reminds me of a time when change seemed possible and necessary. Not unlike now. It's not in their lyrics, it's in the hollow, slightly haunted and distant sound of their music. . . . after listening to their new CD, Good Friends Only I Could See, I'm more impressed than ever. In fact, I can't stop playing it." -Feed Your Head, Jan. 30, 2009
Courtesy: Performer Magazine; Photos: Olivia Hemaratanatorn, Jon Hershfield
". . . indie rogue . . ."
The French Semester is a five gun salute to the foreign and the familiar. Five friends from LA bonded by an insistence on analog grooves and live instrumentation for a new musical pop-art thats always changing. Raised on the baroque of late 60's folk acts like the Left Banke, macabre 80's dreampop of the Rain Parade, and the DIY 90's esprit de corps of Guided By Voices, the band has been hailed for charting its own path amid a flood of garage, alt-country, and synth-rock repeaters. At the core is an almost obsessive songcraft with a heavy premium on lyrical impressionism: "we all are passerbys, thinking we all are bastards/ born in a village, faces with the city lights in them." The songs tell of dusty Third World goodbyes, and sanctuary in the human and urban landscapes of Europe and America. Forged from diverse experience in homelands afield such as Vietnam, India, and the Phillipines, the various members embrace and deliver their message like carrier pigeons sent to remind you that 'we're not so different all of us'. All the while, burying the hook in a smooth, ear-pleasing live set that usually ends in a flurry of dancing bodies. The French Semester is Riaz Tejani, Gil Disloquez, Charles Maxey, Elaine Bagorio, and Russ Quintana. They recently toured France and Spain, and are finishing a new E.P. expected for release early this fall. For inquiries please contact pianomanagement@live.com .
- Lorenzo P.
See above for live shows near you and click HERE for general band reviews and updates.
Courtesy: Performer Magazine; Photos: Olivia Hemaratanatorn, Jon Hershfield
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