Horse the Band

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Not to be confused with Band of Horses.
Horse the band

Nathan Winneke and Erik Engstrom at 2008's Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour.
Background information
Origin Lake Forest, California, United States
Genres Nintendocore, metalcore, post-hardcore
Years active 1999–present
Labels Combat, Koch, Pluto, LIF, Vagrant
Website www.horsetheband.com
Members
Nathan Winneke
David Isen
Erik Engstrom
Daniel Pouliot
Former members
Eli Green
Chris Prophet
Andy Stokes
Jason Karuza
Adam Crook
Mike Benitez
Alex Duddy
Jon Karel
Dashiel Arkenstone
Guy Morgenstien
Brian Grover

Horse the band is a band from Lake Forest, California who are best known for their 8-bit Nintendo influenced sound combined with metalcore. Frontman Nathan Winneke had once proclaimed their sound as "Nintendo-core".

Contents

[edit] Biography

Horse the Band was started in Lake Forest, CA in 1999 while Erik and Dave were still in high school. Erik and Dave also graduated from UCLA. Erik noted in an interview, "I'm glad I went there, but by the time I was done, if I wouldn't have done the band and stayed on that college to 9-5 track, my life would be like a complete pile of shit right now."[1] The band booked its own tours starting the summer of 2002, including a 3-month tour spanning seven countries. With a carefully maintained web presence including their MP3.com and myspace accounts, they had gained themselves a niche audience.

In the summer of 2004, the Horse the World Tour 2004 included 85 shows in 90 days, spanning 7 countries throughout North America and Europe.

Early 2008 saw the band planning Horse the Band Earth Tour that would travel to 40 countries starting in early March. The band stated "we've become disillusioned, bad-attitude nerds and pariahs of the established music industry."[2] They asked for their fans' help booking shows in most locations, with no plans of bringing other bands along on the tour. The band booked the tour themselves, and played mostly unpromoted shows in 45 countries, starting with Australia. Many performances were done without compensation. Some of the tour's venues hadn't been visited by western acts since Cannibal Corpse as in their visit to Belarus.

The band's line-up continuously fluctuated in its 10 year history. In February it was announced that Chris Prophet had been fired and Jon Karel from The Number 12 Looks Like You would be filling in on drums during Earth Tour. In July, 2008 the band stated that long-time band friend Daniel Pouliot of Bleeding Kansas had joined as the band's full time drummer. On Wednesday, December 3 2008, the band announced that Dash Arkenstone would be leaving the band soon, though he remains on good terms with the other members and has attended local shows.

The band wrote and recorded a new album in the first part of 2009 and will tour in support of their new record. Brian from the band Thriller has filled in on bass during live shows and recently recorded alongside the rest of the group, though the band has continued to search for a permanent bassist; this is presumably due to Brian's commitments to Thriller.

On February 2 2009, Horse the band signed to Vagrant Records. In an interview they stated that this is a label they have been trying to get on for nine years.[3]

Horse the Band's latest album Desperate Living was released on October 6, 2009[4].

[edit] Song lyrics

Horse the band's lyrics are chaotic and colorful metaphors for vocalist Nathan Winneke's life, often with humorous or abstract pop culture reference titles and bases. Winneke has referred to his style on multiple occasions as "lynchian" in reference to his favorite film director David Lynch and his obtuse narrative style.

The band had jokingly labeled themselves "Nintendocore" very early on in their career in reference to the synth sound they had adopted. Some Nintendo characters that are metaphorically referred to include Cut Man from Mega Man, although the song is spelled "Cutsman" because the song was about a childhood friend Winneke grew up with and that was how they had said the character's name in youth; "Birdo", one of the bosses from the NES game Super Mario Bros. 2, in the song "Birdo" which was actually about Winneke's distaste for eggs and traumatic experiences with his stepfather early in his life ; and the rabbit-like nemesis from The Legend of Zelda] in the song "Pol's Voice" which is about Winneke's early loathing of the sound of his own voice. Similarly, the song "A Million Exploding Suns" refers to the Marvel Comics character Sentry, a schizophrenic and agoraphobic hero with this abundance of power, pertaining to Winneke's double life as a musician and as a video rental clerk.

2007's A Natural Death featured significant lyrical and musical evolution into the concepts of nature and mortality while moving slightly away from the Nintendo metaphors. The song "Murder" is inspired by the Western novel Lonesome Dove, in which a Native American named Blue Duck stalks and kills white settlers on the plains. "Hyperborea" as a reference to Robert E. Howard's original "Conan" pulp fantasy stories from the 30s, and "The Red Tornado," a DC comics character from the company of which Winneke is such an open enthusiast.

While there are numerous references on every album, Winneke states "No song is ever what it seems....the more silly it may come off the more troubled it probably is under the surface."

[edit] Current projects

Horse have recently signed a deal with Vagrant Records for the year 2009 and beyond. The deal doesn't cover recording costs, promotion, nor touring costs. [5]

Horse the band will be writing a new album in the winter of 08-09, record during the spring, and tour in the summer in support of the album as it is released.[6]

Jamie Stewart of the band Xiu Xiu agreed to produce Horse the band's fourth album as per request from Erik Engstrom in an email he sent to Stewart.

Photos of Stewart possibly working on the record recently surfaced on Engstrom's personal private blog.

Stewart commented on his role in the recording process, stating, “ Horse the band has asked me to try to help them make a dying robot, an exploding keyboard, a dream laugh and a melted, drastic flute of redemption. Lucky for you and for me they have the wit and creativity to turn these things into music.”

Prior to the release of their upcoming album, Horse the Band released Shapeshift 7", featuring their first single "Shapeshift (feat. Jamie Stewart)" as well as “Shapeshift vs. Skrillex” remix by Skrillex (aka Sonny) on the b-side.

They are currently headlining a North American Tour with IWrestledABearOnce titled "Fate or Destiny."

[edit] Members

[edit] Current members

  • Nathan Winneke – vocals (1999-present)
  • David Isen – guitar (1999-present)
  • Erik Engstrom – synthesizer/LSDJ (1999-present)
  • Daniel Pouliot - drums (2009-present)

[edit] Former members

  • Dashiell Han Arkenstone- bass, organ, and baritone guitar (2004-2009)
  • Eli Green – drums (2004-2007)
  • Andy Stokes – bass (2002-2004) (Now a member of Da Nest)
  • Jason Karuza – drums (2002-2004)
  • Christopher Prophet - drums (2007)
  • Adam Crook – vocals (1999-2002)
  • Alex Duddy - drums
  • Mike Benitez - bass
  • John Karel - drums (#12, Touring only)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] EPs

[edit] DVDs

[edit] Demos

  • Scabies, The Kangarooster, and You (1999)

[edit] Videography

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.ryansrockshow.com/php2/interviews/229-horse-the-band-erik-from-ucla-to-horse.html "From UCLA to HORSE."] Ryansrockshow.com.
  2. ^ "Horse the Band Need Your Help Booking Tour." AbsolutePunk. January 21, 2008.
  3. ^ http://www.vagrant.com/artist/index/51
  4. ^ http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=4085991&blogID=501438806
  5. ^ "Horse The Band Artist Information" "Vagrant Records".
  6. ^ [1]
  7. ^ Horse The Band Begin Recording

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_the_Band"