Awesome Color was a musical trio formed in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

in 2004. They disbanded in 2010.

History

The band was formed by

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

natives Michael Troutman (aka Michael Awesome), Allison Busch (aka Allison Awesome), and Derek Stanton (aka Derek Awesome) in

, New York, in 2004.McClintock, J. Scott " Awesome Color Biography, ''

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

'', Macrovision Corporation Inspired by

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

garage rock, they came to the attention of

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American musician best known as a member of Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Mo ...

, who signed the band to his Ecstatic Peace label. They released a self-titled debut album in 2006, which was followed by a second album, ''Electric Aborigines'' in 2008, both released by Ecstatic Peace. (Vinyl editions for both albums were released by

American Dust American Dust was an independent record label that operated out of Oakland, California. Notable artists to have released records on American Dust included Department of Eagles, Port O'Brien and Awesome Color. In September 2009 the label released ...

.) The first album drew comparisons with

the Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Da ...

(with '' Stylus Magazine'' going as far as saying "there are times when you could play

Fun House A funhouse or fun house is an amusement facility found on amusement park and funfair midways and is where patrons encounter and interact with various devices designed to surprise, challenge, and amuse them. Unlike thrill rides or dark rides, fu ...

and this album back-to-back and not be able to tell the difference between the two") as did ''Electric Aborigines'', although this album expanded the band's sound and drew comparisons with

The Scientists The Scientists is a post-punk band from Perth, Western Australia, led by Kim Salmon, initially known as the Exterminators and then the Invaders. The band had two primary incarnations: the Perth-based punk band of the late 1970s and the Sydne ...

and

Spacemen 3 Spacemen 3 were an English neo-psychedelia space rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce, known respectively under their pseudonyms Sonic Boom and J Spaceman. Their music is known for its brand of " ...

. The band were described by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' as sounding like "a grimier version of Sonic Youth".Goodman, Elizabeth (2006)
Pick of the Day: Awesome Color
", ''

'' In 2007, the song ¨Hat Energy¨ from the album Awesome Color appeared in the film

I Know Who Killed Me ''I Know Who Killed Me'' is a 2007 American psychological thriller film directed by Chris Sivertson, written by Jeff Hammond, and starring Lindsay Lohan, Julia Ormond, Neal McDonough and Brian Geraghty. The film's story revolves around a young ...

, starring Lindsay Lohan. After the second album, the band toured the world in support of Sonic Youth and

Dinosaur Jr. Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlo ...

during 2008. They recorded and released Massa Hypnos on April 6, 2010. They toured to promote it with Tyvek and Hair Police. In early 2008, the band released a video for the single "Eyes of Light" directed by The Wilderness After the breakup of Awesome Color, Stanton returned to Detroit and started the band Turn to Crime.

Albums

*''Awesome Color'' (2006), Ecstatic Peace *''Electric Aborigines'' (2008), Ecstatic Peace *''Massa Hypnos'' (2010), Ecstatic Peace

References

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' *Mills, Fred (2007)
Concert Reviews: Dinosaur Jr, Awesome Color and the Labiators Live in Asheville
, ''Harp'' *McKay, Helen (2008)
Awesome Color/Vile Imbeciles At Hackney Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen/Bar and Grill
(review), '' Drowned in Sound'' *Lowrey, Jack (2007)
Awesome Color: Awesome Color
", '' Drowned in Sound''
Awesome Color's "Eyes of Light" video
on

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software a ...

Allison Busch Interview on Youtube.
{{Authority control Rock music groups from New York (state) Ecstatic Peace! artists

History

Albums

References

External links