Ken Stringfellow

Ken Stringfellow
In Chicago, IL in January 2009
Background information
Born	October 30, 1968 (1968-10-30) , Hollywood, California, United States
Genres	Alternative rock, punk rock, power pop
Years active	1988–present
Labels	Hidden Agenda, Sony Music, Manifesto, Yep Roc, Sellout!, King of Patio, Blue Collar Distro
Associated acts	The Posies, Big Star, R.E.M., The Disciplines
Website	kenstringfellow.com

Kenneth Stuart Stringfellow (born October 30, 1968) is an American musician, best known for his work with The Posies, R.E.M., and the re-formed Big Star.

Musical career

His association with R.E.M. extends to the mid-90s Seattle scene, where he first met guitarist Peter Buck, with whom he also plays in Scott McCaughey's The Minus 5. Ken also spent time recording and touring with Lagwagon in the late-1990's, during which he helped craft 1997's Double Plaidinum, adding a unique flair to the band's high-paced melodic brand of punk rock. He has also formed a new band with three Norwegian musicians from the band Briskeby, called The Disciplines.

He has released three solo albums: This Sounds Like Goodbye (1997, on the Hidden Agenda label), Touched (2001, on Manifesto Records), and Soft Commands (2004, on Yep Roc Records) as well as an EP with covers by other artists, The Sellout Cover Sessions Vol. 1 (2008, on Sellout Records). Touched was also released outside the United States by Pop Tones with different cover artwork; the Japanese release contains a bonus track (a cover of Robyn Hitchcock's "Airscape"). An international version of Soft Commands was released by Rykodisc; it has the same cover artwork, but contains four bonus tracks (covers of "Never My Love" by The Association, "Down to the Wire" by Neil Young, "New Test Leper" by R.E.M., and "Knocks Me Off My Feet" by Stevie Wonder). In 2003, Stringfellow and Jon Auer released Private Sides, a six-song split EP (Arena Rock Recording Co./Rykodisc).

On December 22, 2007, Stringfellow revealed, via his blog, that he would not be part of R.E.M.'s 2008 tour in support of Accelerate. On mid-2008, Stringfellow visited Serbia and, during his visit, appeared as guest on most of the tracks of the album Nikadjekraj (Neveristheend) by the Serbian rock band Veliki Prezir.

On March 3, 2009 Second Motion Records is set to release the first single from The Disciplines as a digital-only single and limited-edition blue vinyl 7", entitled "Yours For The Taking". The label will release the band's debut album "Smoking Kills" on April 28, 2009 in North America, which will also see the first Worldwide release of the album on Vinyl.

In 2010, he worked with Can Can, an Ecuadorian electro-rock band, by producing their third album, Caos. During his stay in Ecuador, he premiered a new song by The Posies called "Licenses to Hide".

He has recently been working in Queanbeyan, Australia, on Hannah Gillespie's follow up to her debut album Growing Up Stupid.

Stringfellow performing with The Posies in 2005.

Personal life

Stringfellow is married to a French band manager, Dominique Sassi, and they have a daughter, Aden, born in May 2004. He was previously married to The Fastbacks' bass player Kim Warnick. They divorced in 1996, after a three-year marriage. Stringfellow has a younger sister who attends the University of Connecticut.

Discography

Solo

• This Sounds Like Goodbye (1997)
• Touched (2001)
• Soft Commands (2004)
• The Sellout Cover Session Vol. 1 (2008)

with The Disciplines

• Smoking Kills (2009)
• Virgins of Menace (2011)

with The Posies

• Failure (1988)
• Dear 23 (1990)
• Frosting on the Beater (1993)
• Amazing Disgrace (1996)
• Success (1998)
• In Case You Didn't Feel Like Plugging In (2000)
• Alive Before the Iceberg (2000)
• At Least, At Last (Box Set) (2000)
• Dream All Day: The Best of the Posies (2000)
• Nice Cheekbones and a Ph.D. (2001)
• Every Kind of Light (2005)
• Blood/Candy (2010)

with R.E.M.

• Man on the Moon OST (1999)
• Reveal (2001)
• In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 (2003)
• Perfect Square (2004)
• Around the Sun (2004)
• R.E.M. Live (2007)

with Jon Auer

• Private Sides

with Twin Princess

• The Complete Recordings (2000)

with Sky Cries Mary

• Until the Grinders Cease (1989)
• Don't Eat the Dirt (1990)

with Big Star

• Columbia - Live At Missouri University 4/25/93 (1993)
• Big Star Story (2003)
• In Space (2005)

with The Minus 5

• Old Liquidator (1995)
• Down with Wilco (2003)

with Lagwagon

• Double Plaidinum (Fat Wreck Chords, 1997)

with Chariot

• I Am Ben Hur (1998)

with The Orange Humble Band

• Assorted Creams (1998)
• Humblin' (Across America) (2001)

with Saltine

• Find Yourself Alone (1999)
• Reveal Love (1999)

with White Flag

• On the Way Down (1999)
• Eternally Undone (2001)
• History Is Fiction (2002)
• Piangi Con Me (2006)

with Parkinson DC

• Albanige (1995)

with Jim Protector

• Shields Down (2007)

with Cecilia Ann

• Un Segundo (1998)

External links

• Official Website
• MySpace profile
• Twitter feed
• Ken Stringfellow at Allmusic
• Ken Stringfellow discography at Discogs