Mark Eitzel

As both a solo artist and the frontman for enduring cult favorites American Music Club, Mark Eitzel established himself among the truly powerful forces in contemporary music; a hauntingly evocative singer, he earned even greater recognition for his brilliance as a composer, combining the energy of punk, the pastoral beauty of folk, and the melodrama of lounge music to build one of the most impressive and darkly poetic bodies of songs in the modern pop canon. Born January 30, 1959, in Walnut Creek, CA, Eitzel's military upbringing led him everywhere from Great Britain to Columbus, OH; as a teen, he became a born-again Christian, but at the age of 16, he rejected religion in favor of alcohol, his love/hate relationship with the bottle going on to fuel much of his subsquent work as a performer. Inspired by punk, he eventually formed his own group, the Naked Skinnies, and with them relocated to San Francisco in 1980; there the band quickly dissolved, and three years later he formed American Music Club.

AMC's 12-year existence was tumultuous, to say the least; Eitzel, prone to facing his demons while on-stage, earned a notorious reputation as a loose cannon, and despite the lavish critical praise heaped on albums like 1991's Everclear and 1993's Mercury, the group never rose beyond a fierce cult following. Eitzel quit the band on numerous occasions, once joining another Bay Area group, the Toiling Midgets; in 1991, while still fronting American Music Club, he issued his solo debut, Songs of Love, a live acoustic set recorded in London (British audiences being much more receptive to his music than their American counterparts). A subsequent solo single on Matador, the lovely "Take Courage," increased rumors of AMC's impending breakup, but they did not truly implode until after the release of 1994's San Francisco. At that point, Eitzel began pursuing his solo career in earnest, debuting in 1996 with the jazzy 60 Watt Silver Lining.

Eitzel's subsequent solo career soon found him following a wildly eclectic path. In 1997, Eitzel teamed up with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, and in a matter of days they wrote and recorded West, which matched Eitzel's verse with Buck's intelligent and engaging pop melodies. His next album, 1998's Caught in a Trap and I Can't Back Out 'Cause I Love You Too Much, Baby, was an unusually stark and downbeat affair, recorded in part with the assistance of Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth and James McNew from Yo La Tengo. Eitzel next embraced both pop and electronics with 2001's The Invisible Man, and in 2002 he recorded two albums of covers -- a tribute to the work of other songwriters on Music for Courage and Confidence, and a look back at his own songs for American Music Club as performed with a group of Greek folk musicians on The Ugly American. A new album of solo material called Candy Ass was released on the Cooking Vinyl label in 2005. Klamath appeared in 2009.

from Wikipedia:

Mark Eitzel is a musician, best known as a songwriter and lead singer of the San Francisco band American Music Club.

History

Eitzel spent his formative years in a military family living in Okinawa, Taiwan, Ohio and the United Kingdom. He moved to America in 1979.

He started making music while he was a teenager in Southampton, England. His first band was a punk band called the Cowboys when he moved to Columbus, Ohio at 19. They released one single in 1980. His second band was called The Naked Skinnies and they released one single in 1981. He moved to San Francisco with The Naked Skinnies in 1981 where they disbanded in 1982. Eitzel formed American Music Club (AMC) in San Francisco in 1982. The band performed and created albums for twelve years. At one point, Eitzel also sang with San Francisco's Toiling Midgets, and often recorded solo work while involved in AMC.

American Music Club disbanded in 1994, and Eitzel focused on his solo career, releasing 60 Watt Silver Lining in 1996. It was a surprisingly smooth, jazz-pop departure. Also in 1996, Eitzel contributed to the AIDS benefit album Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip produced by the Red Hot Organization. Following this, he released West in 1997 co-writing all of the songs with R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, with whom he also toured. He followed up with Caught in a Trap and I Can't Back out 'Cause I Love You Too Much, Baby, assisted by Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo bassist James McNew.

Eitzel released more music in 2001, beginning with a more electronic turn in The Invisible Man on Matador Records. This was followed by two covers projects in 2002: Music for Courage and Confidence, which was material written by other songwriters, and The Ugly American, an album which included reinterpretations of American Music Club songs performed with a band of traditional and non traditional Greek musicians.

American Music Club reformed in 2003 for a sold out show at the London South Bank Centre, The following year they released [(Love Songs For Patriots)] and toured both the United States and Europe several times. The Guardian Newspaper called Mark "America's greatest living lyricist" and the album received glowing reviews across the world. In 2008 the band line up changed again and the band released The Golden Age which UNCUT magazine said was their best since Mercury with a 5 star album of the month review.

Eitzel released a compilation album of soundtrack material and electronics in 2005, Candy Ass. His most recent album is Klamath which was released at the end of 2009 on Decor Records. UNCUT magazine said it was his best solo album yet. 2010 saw the launch of Marine Parade. This was a musical written by Simon Stephens for which Mark had written all the music. It was premiered in the 2010 Brighton Festival to good reviews and featured two of the songs from Klamath. He also contributed a cover of the Ira Gershwin song 'S Wonderful to the soundtrack of "Vidal Sassoon - The Movie". The film was directed by Craig Teper, and the soundtrack was produced by David Spelman. The soundtrack also included music by post-rock chamber ensembles Clogs (featuring Padma Newsome and Bryce Dessner of The National), Redhooker, and Arcade Fire side project Bell Orchestre. The film had its premiere at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival.

In addition to all the above albums Mark has also released many mail order tour CDs, his most recent being the limited edition (500 copies) Brannan St., which is available at his concert dates and at the Decor records website.