Six Finger Satellite
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Six Finger Satellite | |
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| Origin | John MacLean James Apt Kurt Niemand Peter Phillips Chris Dixon |
Six Finger Satellite (a.k.a. 6FS) are an American synthesizer-based post-hardcore band, based in Providence, Rhode Island, United States.
History
The band formed in 1990 around a line-up of J. Ryan (singer/keyboards),
Six Finger Satellite's first full-length album,
In the meantime, Phillips had left the band and Niemand had died of a drug overdose.
Paranormalized was a quick follow-up to Severe Exposure, and while it continued in the same sonic vein, the album was decidedly less guitar focused, with more emphasis on layered synthesizers. The touring for this record was much more effective as the band played with Shellac, The Jesus Lizard, and Trans Am and was on the road for most of that year. A few of the songs became live set staples ("Slave Traitor", "The Greatest Hit").
The band's final full-length was Law of Ruins, released in 1998 and produced by James Murphy. It was marked by a spacier sound, and was heavily influenced by Krautrock. The CD came in an entirely clear jewelcase with minimalist neon green graphic design/writing. Murphy had joined as live sound engineer the previous year as the band was increasingly aware of the importance of having its own soundman. Murphy had been recording bands in Brooklyn at Plantain Studios and playing with the band Speedking. The 'death from above" moniker was one that Speedking had appropriated from a US military logo. The band and Murphy mutually influenced each other and the punishing live show took on another sonic dimension with Murphy at the board. MacLean quit the band in late 1998 soon after the release of "Law of Ruins" and was replaced by Alex Minoff from the band Golden for the few tours dates the band had committed to that year. Minoff played live for a second short tour and then the band went on hiatus. In 1999, Ryan and Pelletier reformed the group, replacing Minoff and Apt with Joel Kyack (guitar) and Shawn Greenlee (bass) from the group Landed. This incarnation of the group performed until 2001.
Reformation
The 2008 edition of Six Finger Satellite include longtime members J. Ryan and Rick Pelletier with Dan St. Jaques (Landed/Olneyville Sound System/Thee Hydrogen Terrors/Von Ryan's Express) on bass and Jon Loper (Made in Mexico/La Machine/Ghosts of Waco) on drums.[3] The band announced that a previously unreleased album named Half Control, recorded in 2001, would be released on Load Records with new recording in the summer of 2008. A handful of live dates were announced with the new lineup.
The 2009 edition includes longtime members J. Ryan and Rick Pelletier with Dan St. Jacques and Brian Dufresne.
Influence
Six Finger Satellite attracted a significant underground following during the 1990s, and are today recognized for their somewhat prophetic fusion of electronic and post-punk music. In 2005, Jonathan Galkin remarked that "if a band came out today that sounded like Paranormalized, they'd be signed to a huge record deal, sight unseen."
J. Ryan, his brother John Ryan, and Dan St. Jacques—Guy Benoit would come into the fold later—formed the spazzy, scuzzy, garage band Von Ryan's Express, named after the 1965 Frank Sinatra
Members
Current members
- Jeremiah Ryan – vocals (1988–2001, 2007–present)
- Rick Pelletier – drums (1988–2001); guitars (2007–present)
- Dan St. Jaques – bass (2007–present)
- Brian Dufresne – drums (2009–present)
Former members
- John MacLean – guitars (1988–1998)
- Peter Phillips – guitars (1988–1994); died 2015
- Chris Dixon – bass (1988–1992)
- Kurt Niemand – bass (1992–1994); died 1995
- James Apt – bass (1994–1999)
- Alex Minoff – guitars (1998–1999)
- Joel Kyack – guitars (1999–2001)
- Shawn Greenlee – bass (1999–2001)
- Jon Loper – drums (2007–2009)
Timeline
Color denotes main live duty
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album details |
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| 1993 | The Pigeon Is the Most Popular Bird |
| 1995 | Severe Exposure
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| 1996 | Paranormalized
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| 1998 | Law of Ruins
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| 2009 | Half Control
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| 2009 | A Good Year For Hardness
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EPs
| Year | EP details |
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| 1992 | Weapon
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| 1994 | Machine Cuisine
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| 1994 | Machine Cuisine Companion Cassette
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| 1996 | Clone Theory
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Singles
| Year | Single details |
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| 1992 | "Weapon"
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| 1993 | "Declaration Of Techno-Colonial Independence"
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| 1995 | "Rabies (Baby's Got The)" / "Mistaken Street" / "Swing Alone"
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| 1996 | "Massive Cocaine Seizure" b/w "Human Operator"
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| 1996 | "Live At The A.C.I. - Man Behind The Glasses + 2"
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| 1999 | "Fuzzy Logic" b/w "20 Questions"
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Compilations
- Revolution Come and Gone ("Weapon") (1992, Sub Pop)
- Altered States of America ("Funny Like a Clown") (1993, Lime Lizard)
- Curtis W. Pitts: Sub Pop Employee of the Month ("Funny Like a Clown") (1993, Sub Pop)
- Say "Hello" to the Far East ("Solitary Hiro") (1993, Sub Pop Japan)
- A Bitter Pill to Swallow: A Providence Music Sampler ("Whitepower") (1994, Over the Counter)
- That Virtua Feeling: Sub Pop and Sega Get Together ("Parlour Games") (1995, Sub Pop)
- Chicken Bomb ("Parlour Games" (live)) (1996, Boring Theoretical Productions)
- Felidae: A Benefit for the Cedarhill Animal Sanctuary ("E.V. 635") (1997, Last Exit)
- Spring Lineup: A Compilation of Sub Pop's Heavy Hitters ("Coke and Mirrors") (1997, Sub Pop)
- The Money Shot! ("Fisher of Kings") (1997, Chunklet)
- To All the URL's I've Loved ("Spooks / So Lonely") (1997, Sick & Tired)
- untitled 7" with Carbon 14 magazine #9 ("Unit 6") (1997, Carbon 14)
- Sound: Check ("Race Against Space") (1998, Sub Pop)
- False Object Sensor ("The Pain Has Gone Away") (2001, Vermiform/X-Mist)
Other appearances
- Fred Schneider - Just Fred (backing band on "Bad Dream") (1996, Warner Bros.)
References
- Rhapsody Music. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
- ^ a b c C. Carioli, "Both sides now," The Boston Phoenix, 11–17 March 2005 (online Archived 2013-01-18 at archive.today).
- ^ M.Grigelevich, "Legendary Six Finger Satellite Reunite," Providence Daily Dose, 28 April 2008 (online).
- ^ "Record Label Discographies of collectable and rare vinyl". 2 July 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-07-02. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- ^ "Six Finger Satellite". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
External links
- Myspace page
- Sub Pop's old page on Six Finger Satellite
- Sub Pop's new page
- Trouser Press entry
- 6FS at Allmusic
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