Deerhoof

Deerhoof are a Noise rock band from San Francisco.

History

Origins

Deerhoof was formed in 1994 by Rob Fisk and Greg Saunier. At the time, both were members of the band Nitre Pit and would meet before practice to work on their own material, with Fisk playing bass and Saunier on drums. It was Fisk who came up with the name "Deerhoof". The two played at the Yogo-A-Gogo festival in Olympia, where Kill Rock Stars founder Slim Moon discovered them. In 1995, Kill Rock Stars released the band's first 7", "Return Of The Wood M'lady". In 1996, Satomi Matsuzaki moved from Tokyo to San Francisco. A member of the band Caroliner (who Matsuzaki met while they toured Japan) played her the 7" and she decided to join Fisk and Saunier, who were looking for a vocalist at the time. Her first experience with the band was singing into a strange microphone Fisk had constructed out of walkman headphones. Like most members in the history of Deerhoof, she had no formal music training (Saunier studied music and sang in barbershop quartets as a child). At some point, Saunier and Matsuzaki married.

The Man, The King, The Girl - Halfbird

In 1997, the trio released their first LP, The Man, the King, the Girl, on Kill Rock Stars / 5 Rue Christine (a new label Moon founded). In the liner notes, the band only identified themselves as: The Man, (bass, guitar) The King, (drums) and The Girl (vocals). The album was an interesting mix of noise and catchy melodies, although which feature is dominant depends on the song. For their next album, Matsuzaki began to play bass and the band added Kelly Goode on keyboard. In 1999, that line-up released Holdypaws, an album that came closer to more traditional song-writing. Later that year, Fisk and Goode left the band. While listening to recordings with several musicians, Saunier was drawn to the guitar work of John Dieterich with the band Gorge Trio. Impressed, he asked Dieterich to join the band (only later did Saunier discover that the guitar solos he was so impressed with were actually the work of the other guitarist in Gorge Trio). With the new line-up, the band recorded several live tracks, which they combined with previous live recordings on the album Koalamagic, released by Dual Plover in 2000. In 2001, they released Halfbird, an album started four years prior, on Menlo Park. The band then began recording new material.

Reveille - The Runners Four

Deerhoof's next release, Reveille, came in 2002. The album defined the sound of modern Deerhoof, with more integration of melody and dissonance within each song. Matsuzaki no longer screamed any vocals, her delivery becoming more confident and smooth. Matsuzaki also drew the album's artwork. Deerhoof started to really become noticed with Reveille. In addition to receiving many positive reviews, the album led Sonic Youth, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Matt Groening (among others) to sing the band's praises. By the end of the recording process, the band had developed a close relationship with Chris Cohen, then playing in his band The Curtains. Not only did The Curtains tour with Deerhoof, Saunier and Matsuzaki played in the band for a time. Cohen was also involved with another band, Natural Dreamers, along with Dieterich. After six months knowing them, Cohen joined the band as a second guitarist.

Now a quartet, Deerhoof recorded their next album, Apple O'. With Jay Pellicci engineering, the band recorded the album in one 9-hour session. Although it was very well received at the time, Apple O' is unfortunately often overlooked when reviewers recount the band's history. The addition of Cohen allowed the band to expand further on their seamless integration of vocal and guitar melodies and also feature less overdubs than its predecessor. Lyrically, Apple O' is a concept album about Adam and Eve, and about love in general. Unlike Milk Man, however, the lyrics are very vague and poetic, forming an album that is extremely consistent despite stylistic differences between songs. The artwork for this album was drawn by Fisk. Around this time, the band decided to quit their jobs and make Deerhoof a fulltime job. At the time, Saunier was a filing clerk, Matsuzaki was editing a San Francisco Japanese magazine, Dieterich was doing data entry at a law firm, and Cohen was a waiter at a Thai restaurant.

2004 was a busy year for Deerhoof. Keeping with their album-a-year pace, they released Milk Man. Each part of the album was recorded separately on a computer; the band members never played simultaneously. Saunier, Dieterich, and Cohen recorded their portions in a cabin in Yosemite Park. Milk Man is based on a character created by Japanese artist Ken Kagami, a friend of the band. The band creates a story to explain the strange character, which lyrically plays out in a relatively coherent narrative. Although not as well received as their previous two albums, some reviewers took interest in Milk Man, which was more of an effort at traditional songwriting than anything Deerhoof had done before. Later in the year, the band recorded a live session for John Peel. They released those songs, along with various radio and live recordings, on Bibidi Babidi Boo, an album released free on the internet.

In 2005, the band released an EP in Japan titled Green Cosmos. Originally intended to be a split with 5471, who Deerhoof toured with in Japan. The EP was released on Toad Records. Eventually, the band decided to release Green Cosmos in the US as well, and did so on Menlo Park. With the exception of a live favorite "Come See The Duck", all lyrics on the EP are sung in Japanese. That is not the only difference, there is much less noise and the overall sound of the seven songs comes off very orchestral. In the fall, Deerhoof released The Runners Four. The album was recorded over a greuling six month period. The idea behind The Runners Four was to give each band member equal say in its creation. This concept led to intense sessions while recording, although the band says there weren't any hard feelings from the experience. The album was recorded on ProTools and mixed by Saunier. After completing the mixing, Deerhoof went on tour. After a few days, they decided to listen to the new album while in the van. They immediately called Kill Rock Stars and said they had to rework it. The band ultimately submitted the "completed" album four times before being satisfied with it. The Runners Four was widely considered by fans and the press to be Deerhoof's best work. Many positive reviews, including a great one in The New York Times further increased the band's popularity.

In May 2006, Cohen left Deerhoof to work on The Curtains full time. The split was apparently amicable and the band released a nine song EP free on their website to commemorate the departure. The EP consisted of five live recordings and four covers. The band didn't assign a name to the EP, so reviewers referred to it as Untitled E.P. for simplicity.

Friend Opportunity

In September 2006, Deerhoof announced that their forthcoming album, entitled Friend Opportunity, will be released on January 23, 2007. It will be released by Kill Rock Stars/5RC. The album was recorded at Tiny Telephone and was engineered by Jay and Ian Pellicci. The band has been touring throughout Fall 2006, including a stop in North Haven, Maine, where a middle school produced a ballet version of Milk Man. Deerhoof is also currently working with composer Ed Scheaurmer on the soundtrack to the upcoming film "Dedication".

Deerhoof tours frequently and have done so along with Wilco, TV on the Radio, The Roots, Radiohead, The Flaming Lips, and The Fiery Furnaces. When not on the road, Saunier and Matsuzaki live in San Francisco while Dieterich lives in Oakland.

In addition to Deerhoof all members have played in many other bands including The Curtains, Xiu Xiu, THETEETHE, Gorge Trio, Natural Dreamers, and Retrievers. Saunier has teamed up with Hella drummer Zach Hill and Joanna Newsom to create Nervous Cop. The band also recorded a few tracks with Danielson for their album Ships.

Band members

Greg Saunier - drums
Satomi Matsuzaki - vocals, bass, guitar
John Dieterich - guitar, vocals

Past Members

Discography

Albums

EPs

Videos

Deerhoof/XBXRX NFJM5V (2001)
Burn My Eye TV show episode 6/Compilation DVD ([2002])
Wrong Time Capsule, ([2005])

Trivia

Performed a cover of "My Pal Foot Foot" by The Shaggs.
Matsuzaki has threatened to quit the band if Saunier ever again mentions his love of Michael Bolton.
Saunier and Dieterich are both vegetarians.
The band toured with The Flaming Lips during the latter's late summer tour in 2006 as well as playing several dates with Radiohead whose singer Thom Yorke is a big fan of theirs.

External links