Deerhoof - biography
Satomi Matsuzaki and Chris Cohen of Deerhoof playing live at the 2006 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.Deerhoof is a San Francisco musical group, currently consisting of Satomi Matsuzaki (usually vocals and bass), John Dieterich (usually guitar), Ed Rodriguez (usually guitar as well) and Greg Saunier (usually drums).Although typically classified as noise rock, or indie rock due to their having been on an indie rock label (Kill Rock Stars) for the entirety of their career, the unconventional nature of Deerhoof's music makes genre identification difficult.Rob Fisk formed a duo, dubbed Deerhoof by Fisk.One such show where Fisk and Saunier were called upon to substitute for their former band was the 1995 Yo Yo A Go Go Festival in Olympia, WA.Moon signed Deerhoof on for one 7" single.The histrionic instrumental style and massive volume of the early duo made vocals difficult to perform, so in 1996 Fisk and Saunier began looking for a singer to join them.Although she had no musical experience, all three quickly agreed that her calm singing style was what had been lacking in Deerhoof's sound.Within one week of her joining, Deerhoof went on their first tour as a trio.The Man, the King, the Girl in 1997, a vast stylistic difference from the first single was apparent.The album was an mix of swirling noise and facile melody, played in a improvisational style, and produced using a wide sound palette.Matsuzaki's childlike voice brought a unresolved tension that has remained a hallmark of their style.As on all Deerhoof albums, there were elements of the "concept album" at work.Deerhoof submitted the "completed" album several times before being satisfied with it.The artwork was painted by Fisk.Matsuzaki began teaching herself to play bass and Deerhoof toured the US several times over the next several years, often leaving audiences confused by the cheerful pop elements that seemed incongruous in a noise rock band.In 1998 Deerhoof added Kelly Goode on keyboard, and by the release of 1999's Holdypaws, Deerhoof had once again drastically altered their sound, focusing on extremely strict performance of tightly composed songs, completely removing any element of noise, improvisation, or unusual instrumentation.The artwork was once again by Fisk and echoed the newly dark tone of the music.One could say that all of Deerhoof's subsequent albums have fallen between the aesthetic extremes posited by these first two.Sales were low, band and label were losing money, and Deerhoof seemed destined for obscurity.When both Fisk and Goode quit in fall 1999, they left incomplete a third album, Halfbird, begun before Goode joined.The result was Reveille, released in 2002.It was at this time that Deerhoof first started to receive more serious critical attention.Cohen joined Deerhoof, primarily as a second guitarist, Saunier joined The Curtains for several years, and Cohen and Dieterich formed another band called Natural Dreamers.For the next three years Deerhoof toured and recorded as a quartet, slowly building towards the international renown they receive today.The formerly shy Matsuzaki developed into a commanding stage presence.Milk Man is notable for being the band's first release to be distributed in Europe by ATP Recordings, who have done the same for all major Deerhoof recordings since that time.Matsuzaki's role as vocalist was larger than on Reveille, although she still often sounded like another instrument along with the guitars, which sometimes doubled her melodies in unison, a recurring feature of Deerhoof's music.Apple O' focused its artwork (again by Fisk, though he was no longer in the band) and lyrics around mythic themes of love and war, featuring repeated allusions to Adam and Eve, the atom bomb, and extinction.Around this time, the quartet decided to leave their jobs and tour fulltime.Milk Man began as a cartoon character created by Japanese artist Ken Kagami, a longtime friend of the band.The EP Green Cosmos was the first Deerhoof release to be sung almost entirely in Matsuzaki's native language of Japanese.Musically Green Cosmos took the aesthetic of Milk Man a step further by combining an even more expansive orchestral sound, some live playing as fierce as anything Deerhoof had recorded, and references to disco that at times completely replaced live drums with programmed beats and samples.Artwork was created from original tarot cards designed by Dawn Garcia.In the fall, Deerhoof released The Runners Four.Unlike the short albums of Deerhoof's past, The Runners Four was in essence a double album, with 20 songs, the result of several intense months of recording together in their rented practice space in Oakland.All four members were featured as vocalists at various points.This was their wordiest release, a contrast to the telegraphic simplicity of Reveille and Apple O'.After an extensive world tour, Deerhoof was invited by the San Francisco International Film Festival to perform a live, original score to a silent film of their choosing.This was to be Cohen's last activity with Deerhoof, as he left to pursue The Curtains fulltime.The split was apparently amicable and, to commemorate Cohen, Deerhoof posted one of their occasional free mp3 EPs on their website.The band didn't assign a name to the EP, so reviewers referred to it as Untitled E.Dedication Film Soundtrack, featuring four tracks by Deerhoof, was also released at this time.In contrast to the raw and at times "retro" guitar rock sound of The Runners Four, Friend Opportunity was marked by the extreme clarity of its dense layering of sounds, both acoustic and electronic, and one could detect a hip hop influence for the first time.The stylistic incongruities between songs were large even for Deerhoof.On Worried Noodles the song is entitled 'You, Dog (AKA Kidz Are So Small)'.When Friend Opportunity was released in January 2007, Deerhoof began a world tour that continues at present.Deerhoof tour documentary (Nothing Fancy Just Music, January 2001, NFJM5V)
live performance and interview on episode 6 of Burn My Eye!Stephen Kozlowski, Kirsten Nordine, Trevor Shimuzu and Deerhoof, aired 6 November 2002 on Access SF a.This page was last modified on 5 May 2008, at 21:10.See Copyrights for details.It worked on The Runners Four, but it works better and quicker on their new album, Friend Opportunity.All of a sudden the band is back to silences and blank stares, sustained tones and reverbed guitars.But on Friend Opportunity, Deerhoof work best when they blast right to the answers.The Roots Host Picnic With Gnarls, Deerhoof, Diplo
Los Campesinos!Fuck Buttons Street Horrrsing
El Guincho Alegranza!Deerhoof Website
Deerhoof records for sale at Kill
Rock Stars.This video will appear on your blog shortly.Thank you for sharing this video!Please login to add to favorites.Please login to add to your playlists.Be the first to Post a Video Response.Everyone has their own taste.Deerhoof is automatically some mindless mainstream drone with no taste or appreciation for good music.Listening a bit more, I'm starting to like the way it sounds.But it's not for everyone, and it's a bit foolish how people are being accused of "following the crowd" for not following this one.Liking Deerhoof does not equate to having a more open mind, nor does NOT liking Deerhoof equate to being a closeminded, mainstream idiot.That's their opinion, and their right.Deerhoof's video for "The Perfect Me" from thei...Deerhoof's video for "The Perfect Me" from their album, Friend Opportunity.Mad TV Can I Have Your Number?All The Stuff Your Hear..."YouTube recommends upgrading to a safer, modern browsersuch as Firefox.Thank you for sharing this video!This video has been added to your favorites.The video has been added to your playlist.Please login to add to your playlists.This video has no Responses.Change this to see only comments above a certain value.Deerhoof runs along the same lines as Animal Collective, Erase Errata and other bands.So it's hard to find bands that sound like them.Coolsick bandhow did u do it?This is the 'finished' version of my +81 video....Didn't quite end up as I planned.Israel's 60th Birthday :...They are art punks who mix noise
and melody.The group began with Rob Fisk (guitar) and Greg
Saunier (drums) in 1994.Fisk left the band after the release
of Holdy Paws (1999).John Dieterich was recruited as Deerhoof's
new guitarist.In 2002, the group released the critically acclaimed Reveille
(2002).International fame soon followed.This album was recorded in one afternoon with
engineer, Jay Pelucci.Deerhoof just returned from some
successful shows in Japan in the summer of 2003.This is their best album
yet.FW: How did you folks meet each other?Greg: First I met Rob Fisk , and all I can remember about
it is that he wore duct tape in his hair.Rob was a woman when she spoke to him on
the phone.Chris was a Deerhoof fan, at least until he joined the band.FW: Who writes the songs in Deerhoof?Greg: Actually now we're back from Japan.Nagoya, Osaka, and three
times in Tokyo (it's a big city).FW: Can you tell if your fan base is growing faster in
America or Japan?FW: Do any Japanese labels represent you right now?Vine is who set up our
shows!FW: How do you feel about using samples?The song was already completely
written beforehand.FW: If you could distill your music into one message or
a question: what would it be?Deerhoof was Rob Fisk's bass solo originally.I'm not saying I recommend
it.We played with them in Williamsburg!It's just hearsay that Bob Mould
and Yeah Yeah Yeahs like Deerhoof, so I feel vague.FW: What should people expect when they attend a Deerhoof
show?Greg: If they are starting a band then they've already
taken my advice!
