American Music Club 2573075 222883134 2008-07-01T16:02:16Z 195.137.57.132 {{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians --> | Name = American Music Club | Img = | Img_capt = | Img_size = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels --> | Landscape = | Background = group_or_band | Birth_name = | Alias = | Born = | Died = | Origin = [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]], [[California]] | Instrument = | Genre = | Occupation = | Years_active = 1982–1994, 2004–present | Label = | Associated_acts = | URL = [http://www.american-music-club.com/ www.american-music-club.com] | Current_members = | Past_members = | Notable_instruments = }} '''American Music Club''' is a [[San Francisco]]-based band led by [[singer-songwriter]] [[Mark Eitzel]]. The band is commonly credited as one of the major bands from the "[[slowcore]]" and "[[sadcore]]" movements. ==History== Although born in California, Eitzel spent his formative years in Great Britain and Ohio before returning to the Bay Area in 1981. After a brief stint with the band [[The Naked Skinnies]] he founded American Music Club in San Francisco in 1982 with guitarist Scott Alexander, drummer Greg Bonnell, bass player [[Brad Johnson (musician)|Brad Johnson]]. The band went through many personnel changes before arriving at a stable line up of guitarist [[Vudi]], bassist [[Dan Pearson (musician)|Dan Pearson]], keyboardist [[Brad Johnson (musician)|Brad Johnson]], and drummer [[Matt Norelli]]. This lineup would change over the next several years but Eitzel always remained the core of the band in terms of its vocals, lyrics and thematic focus with [[Vudi]] and [[Dan Pearson (musician)|Dan Pearson]] accompanying him on guitar and bass. Their 1985 debut, ''[[The Restless Stranger]]'', offers a rough outline of their increasingly eclectic sound and firmly established Eitzel's worldview, a harrowing vision of life as seen through the bottom of a shot glass. 1987's ''[[Engine (album)|Engine]]'' honed the formula: the addition of producer [[Tom Mallon]] as a full-time member expanded the group's sonic palette. American Music Club earned a solid cult following on the strength of 1988's ''[[California (American Music Club album)|California]]''. Their next LP, 1989's ''[[United Kingdom (album)|United Kingdom]]'', appeared only in the nation which lent the record its name and consisted of leftover material and live tracks. In 1991 American Music Club emerged with the record that is widely considered their masterpiece, ''[[Everclear (album)|Everclear]]''. Critical acclaim attracted the attention of several major labels. Eventually AMC -- now consisting of Eitzel, [[Vudi]], Pearson, multi-instrumentalist [[Bruce Kaphan]], and drummer [[Tim Mooney]] -- signed with [[Reprise]] in the U.S. and [[Virgin]] throughout the rest of the world. ''[[Mercury (American Music Club album)|Mercury]]'' followed in 1993 and, despite positive reviews, ''Mercury'' fared poorly on the charts and earned virtually no recognition from radio or [[MTV]]. In 1994, AMC issued ''[[San Francisco (American Music Club album)|San Francisco]]'', which balanced confessional tunes like "Fearless" and "The Thorn in My Side Is Gone" alongside more accessible offerings such as "Wish the World Away," one of the band's biggest hits. The band disbanded soon after ''[[San Francisco (American Music Club album)|San Francisco]]'' was released and reunited in 2003 to record a new album, ''[[Love Songs for Patriots]]'', which is described by reviewer Mark Deming as "a stronger and more coherent effort than the group's last set, 1994's ''San Francisco'', and while it's too early to tell if this is a new start or a last hurrah for AMC, it at least shows that their formula still yields potent results. Here's hoping Eitzel and Vudi have more where this came from." [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:r69hs37ea3dg] On June 20, 2007, AMC announced a new lineup connected to the band's base of operations moving to [[Los Angeles]]. Eitzel and Vudi remain, while Mooney and Pearson stayed behind in San Francisco. They are replaced by bassist [[Sean Hoffman]] and drummer [[Steve Didelot]]. AMC's next record, entitled ''[[The Golden Age (American Music Club album)|The Golden Age]]'', was released in the UK on February 4, 2008 on [[Cooking Vinyl]] and in the US on [[Merge Records]] on February 19. == Discography == * ''[[The Restless Stranger]]'' (January 1985) * ''[[Engine (album)|Engine]]'' (October 1987) * ''[[California (American Music Club album)|California]]'' (October 1988) * ''[[United Kingdom (album)|United Kingdom]]'' (October 1989) * ''[[Everclear (album)|Everclear]]'' (October 1991) * ''[[Mercury (American Music Club album)|Mercury]]'' (March 1993) * ''[[San Francisco (American Music Club album)|San Francisco]]'' (September 1994) * ''[[Love Songs for Patriots]]'' (September 2004) * ''[[The Golden Age (American Music Club album)|The Golden Age]]'' (February 2008) ==External links== *[http://www.american-music-club.com/ Official website] *[http://www.americanmusicclub.net AMC/Eitzel comprehensive site] *[http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:51ug6j4h71r0 All Music Guide entry] *[http://www.geocities.com/rsjbraz/touring.html American Music Club & Mark Eitzel tour history] *[http://www.timmcmahan.com/amc.htm Lazy-i Interview: November 2004] *[http://www.archive.org/details/AmericanMusicClub American Music Club collection] at the [[Internet Archive]]'s live music archive *[http://www.zpop.co.uk/amc/amcreview.htm 2008 live review of Manchester gig] [[Category:1990s music groups]] [[Category:2000s music groups]] [[Category:Alternative musical groups]] [[Category:California musical groups]] [[Category:Musical groups established in 1982]] [[nl:American Music Club]]