Rilo Kiley ( ) was an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1998, the band consisted of Jenny Lewis,

Blake Sennett Blake Sennett (born September 22, 1976) is an American musician and actor who served as the lead guitarist for indie rock band Rilo Kiley, as well as the lead singer/lead guitarist for his alt-rock side project the Elected. Until 2017 he led Nigh ...

Pierre de Reeder Rilo Kiley ( ) was an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1998, the band consisted of Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Dave Rock. The group released their debut album '' Take-Offs and Landings' ...

, and

Dave Rock Rilo Kiley ( ) was an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1998, the band consisted of Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Dave Rock. The group released their debut album ''Take-Offs and Landings'' ...

. The group released their debut album ''

Take-Offs and Landings ''Take Offs and Landings'' is Rilo Kiley's debut full-length album, originally released in 2001 on the vanity label "Rilo Records", then shortly thereafter on the independent label Barsuk Records. It was released for the first time on vinyl on M ...

'' under Seattle-based independent label

Barsuk Records Barsuk Records ( ) is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, that was founded by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, in 1998 to release their band's material. Its logo is a draw ...

in 2001. After that, they released three additional studio albums and several

EPs EPS, EPs or Eps may refer to: Commerce and finance * Earnings per share * Electronic Payment Services, in Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen, China * Express Payment System, in the Philippines Education * Edmonton Public Schools, in Edmonton, Al ...

. In 2007, they were signed with Warner Bros., and subsequently made their major-label debut with the album '' Under the Blacklight''.

History

Rilo Kiley performed their first concert at Spaceland in Los Angeles in January 1998. Their debut EP, '' Rilo Kiley'' (later reissued as ''The Initial Friend EP''), was released in 1999. The band signed with independent label

for its first full-length album, ''

'', in 2001. The band later signed with Omaha's Saddle Creek Records and released ''

The Execution of All Things ''The Execution of All Things'' is the second full-length album released by Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles-based indie pop band Rilo Kiley. Expanding on their previous musical sound that mostly incorporated guitars, vocals, percussion an ...

'' in 2002. In 2004, it released '' More Adventurous'' on its own imprint, Brute/Beaute Records, which was distributed by major label Warner Bros. Records. The band later signed directly with Warner Bros. 2004 saw a great increase in recognition for the band, as Sennett and Boesel released an album with their band

The Elected The Elected are a Los Angeles-based indie rock band. The Elected have released two albums with Sub Pop: '' Me First'' in 2004, and '' Sun, Sun, Sun'' in 2006. A third album, '' Bury Me In My Rings'', was released on 17 May 2011. Members *Blake ...

and Lewis sang backup on

The Postal Service The Postal Service are an American indie pop supergroup from Seattle, Washington, consisting of singer Ben Gibbard, producer Jimmy Tamborello, and Jenny Lewis on background vocals. The band released their only album, '' Give Up'', in 2003 on S ...

's '' Give Up''. Lewis toured with The Postal Service before heading out on two tours in support of Rilo Kiley's ''More Adventurous'' in the summer and fall of 2004. The album spent late 2004 high on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

s Heatseekers Chart, and was promoted with appearances on '' Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' and ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...

''. The band opened for Bright Eyes on the international leg of Conor Oberst's tour for 2005's '' I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning'' and was the opening act for the North American dates of Coldplay's Twisted Logic Tour in Fall 2005. "I Never" and "Ripchord" (from '' More Adventurous)'' have been featured in several feature films, including ''

Must Love Dogs ''Must Love Dogs'' is a 2005 American romantic comedy film based on Claire Cook's 2002 novel of the same name. Starring Diane Lane and John Cusack, it is the second film directed and written by Gary David Goldberg and was produced on a budget of ...

'', ''

Conversations with Other Women ''Conversations with Other Women'' is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Hans Canosa, written by Gabrielle Zevin, starring Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham Carter. The film won Best Actress for Bonham Carter at the 2005 Tokyo International Fi ...

'', and ''

John Tucker Must Die ''John Tucker Must Die'' is a 2006 teen comedy film directed by Betty Thomas. The film is about a trio of teenage girls who plot to break the heart of school basketball star John Tucker after they learn he has been secretly dating all three and p ...

''. The band's fourth album '' Under the Blacklight'' was released August 20, 2007 in the United Kingdom and the following day in the United States. Its first single is "The Moneymaker". For the video, the band cast "real-life porn stars", who Lewis says were told they were auditioning for "soft core porn". The second single is "Silver Lining". On September 6, 2007, the band began a North American tour in support of ''Under the Blacklight''. On this tour, it was joined by

Orenda Fink Orenda Fink is an American singer, musician, and writer. Perhaps best known as half of the duo Azure Ray, Fink is also a member of Art in Manila, O+S, Closeness, and High Up, and has played with or appeared as a guest on records by Bright Ey ...

(of

Azure Ray Azure Ray is an American dream pop duo, consisting of musicians Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor. Formed in Athens, Georgia in 2001, they later moved to Omaha, Nebraska and became part of the Saddle Creek Records music scene, which also included ...

) and

Kristin Gundred Kristin Gundred, known professionally as Kristin Kontrol, is an American musician, singer and songwriter. She is best known as founder and lead singer of indie rock band Dum Dum Girls (using the pseudonym Dee Dee), with whom she released five stud ...

(of

Grand Ole Party Grand Ole Party was a three-piece band formed in Santa Cruz, California consisting of singer-drummer Kristin Kontrol, Kristin Gundred, guitarist John Paul Labno and bassist Michael Krechnyak. They began recording their debut album shortly after mov ...

and Dum Dum Girls). The group was also known for its charitable contributions, particularly to the

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...

Memorial Fund, in honor of the late singer and friend of the band. Sennett and Lewis participated in a memorial concert for the singer shortly after his death in 2003. In 2007, the band contributed a t-shirt, which was designed by de Reeder for the

Yellow Bird Project Yellow Bird Project (often abbreviated YBP) is a company that collaborates with indie bands to raise money for charity, primarily through the sale of T-shirts. They approach indie bands, asking them to choose a charity and submit an original desig ...

to benefit the Elliott Smith Memorial Fund.

Hiatus and breakup

In a 2010 interview with '' Paste'', Jason Boesel said the band was taking a break but working on a compilation of unreleased songs. He also said there were no plans to release a new album in the near future. In an April 2011 interview, Blake Sennett said,"I would say that if Rilo Kiley were ... hmmm ... a human being ... hmmm ... he's probably laying on his back in a morgue with a tag on his toe. Now, I see movies where the dead get up and walk. And when they do that, rarely do good things happen." In June 2011, when asked about his "corpse" comment and whether Rilo Kiley was indeed dead, Sennett said "I never say never. I loved Rilo Kiley—I loved writing with Jenny. I think she's a great artist and great to write with. I think we're not there yet. Maybe one day we'll dust it off and give it a go; I'd be open to it. I think it was fun—for all of the pitfalls, it was great. I had a great time in Rilo Kiley. I always did." A month later Sennett told AOL Spinner: "I said, 'Fuck that, I can't do this anymore.' That being said, it was probably immature and that came from a place of ego. I think that stuff will rear its head in anything you do, depending on the personnel you surround yourself with; things change overtime and people change and relationships change." In February 2013, the band announced a collection of previously released rarities and unreleased material, titled '' Rkives'', to be released in April 2013 on DeReeder's own label the Little Record Company. In a 2014 interview with the National Post, Jenny Lewis confirmed the band had officially broken up. In April 2015, Blake Sennett joined Jenny Lewis and her band on stage at Coachella for a performance of the Rilo Kiley song "

Portions for Foxes Portion may refer to: * Dominant portion, in real estate appraising * Marriage portion, another term for dowry. * Serving size, the typical amount of a certain food eaten (or recommended for eating) at one seating See also * * * Cavernous port ...

". Since embarking on a solo career, Jenny Lewis has enlisted the help of drummer Jason Boesel for percussion on studio recordings. He was also part of Lewis' live band for her 2019 tour.

Television appearances

The band's songs have frequently been used on television programs, such as '' The O.C.'' and '' Dawson's Creek''. The apparent first use of Rilo Kiley music on a television show was also the last time that Blake Sennett and Jenny Lewis acted on television. In 2000, they played fictionalized versions of themselves (and the band performed "The Frug") on ABC's short-lived drama ''Once & Again''. Both "The Frug" and "85" were used during a third season episode of ''Dawson's Creek'' (#46, "Barefoot At Capefest"). "Pictures of Success" was used in episode No. 114 of ''

Buffy The Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

'', entitled "

Older and Far Away Older is the comparative form of "old". It may also refer to: Music: * ''Older'' (album), the third studio album from George Michael (released in 1996) ** "Older" (George Michael song) * "Older", a song on the 1999 album ''Long Tall Weekend'' ...

". The song "Breakin' Up" was featured in a fourth season episode of '' Grey's Anatomy''. In 2005, "Portions For Foxes" was used in the pilot of '' Grey's Anatomy'' and in 2009, the song was used in the seventh episode of season one of '' Dollhouse'', "Echoes". "With Arms Outstretched" was used at the end of the pilot episode of '' Weeds'' in 2005 and to bring the show full circle, it was the final song played in the series finale in 2012. For a second-season episode of ''Weeds'', Lewis sang the theme song ("

Little Boxes "Little Boxes" is a song written and composed by Malvina Reynolds in 1962, which became a hit for her friend Pete Seeger in 1963, when he released his cover version. The song is a social satire about the development of suburbia, and associat ...

") with

Johnathan Rice Johnathan Rice (born May 27, 1983) is a Scottish-American singer-songwriter. He used to frequently collaborate with Jenny Lewis. His first album, ''Trouble is Real'', was released on Reprise Records on April 26, 2005. His follow-up, ''Furthe ...

who was touring with the band. "Silver Lining" was featured in the pilot of '' Women's Murder Club''. The song was also used in the second season of '' Girls''. "The Moneymaker" was used on an episode of '' Nip/Tuck'' that aired on December 11, 2007 and on an episode of '' Samantha Who?'' that aired on April 16, 2009. "The Good That Won't Come Out" was featured in the background of the Season 4 Episode 4 episode of ''

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

'' "Hysterical Blindness" on 10/12/2009. Their song "A Better Son/Daughter" was featured in the trailer for the Netflix original series ''Orange is the New Black''. It is also featured at the end of

Hannah Gadsby Hannah Gadsby (born 1978) is an Australian comedian, writer, and actress. She began her career in Australia after winning the national final of the Raw Comedy competition for new comedians in 2006. In 2018, her show '' Nanette'' on Netflix won ...

's 2018 Netflix special

Nanette Nanette is a feminine given name. By 2013, the name was considered to be on the verge of extinction in the United States; it had been among the top 1000 baby names until 1977, and had reached a peak in usage in 1956. Notable people with the name i ...

. Rilo Kiley's song "The Execution Of All Things" also featured in Episode 4, Season 4 of '' Six Feet Under''. Their song "Go Ahead" was featured throughout the movie, ''Very Good Girls''.

Origin of the band's name

On the syndicated radio show '' Loveline'' in August 2005, Sennett explained that he had a dream in which he was being chased by a sports almanac: "when it got me, I leafed through it...and I came upon an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

player from the 19th century named Rilo Kiley. It's kind of embarrassing." When asked by co-host Drew Pinsky if he had ever seen this name in reality, Sennett said "I don't think so, I don't think that character exists...If you Google 'Rilo Kiley' you just come back with a lot of pictures of us." On how this imaginary name became the name for the band: "I wrote it down on a blotter, an office desk when I woke up, and, I don't know, I came back to it when we were trying to think of a name and we thought we'd use that for one show then change it, 'cause who'd want that name? Who can remember that anyway?"http://www.whysanity.net/wikipedia/loveline_rilo_kiley.mp3 In 2005, Sennett told '' Planet Sound Teletext Magazine'' that the name came from a Scottish athlete. On a 2005 episode of the MSNBC entertainment show ''

MSNBC Entertainment Hot List MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

'', the female host stated that the name came from "old Scottish sports almanacs". In the interview segment that followed, Sennett stated "We just looked in there and the name of one of the star players from the turn of the century was Rilo Kiley." In an interview published in '' Q'' magazine in September 2007, Sennett stated that Rilo Kiley is named after a character he'd met in a dream who had predicted the date of Jenny Lewis' death.

Band members

* Jenny Lewis – vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass guitar (1998–2013) *

– guitar, keyboards, vocals (1998–2013) * Mike Bloom - pedal steel, guitars (2004–2005) * Pierre de Reeder – bass guitar, guitar, backing vocals (1998–2013) * Jason Boesel – drums, percussion (2001–2013) * Dave Rock – drums, percussion (1998–2001)

Discography

* '' Take Offs and Landings'' (2001) * ''

'' (2002) * '' More Adventurous'' (2004) * '' Under the Blacklight'' (2007)

Videography

* "

The Frug The Frug ( or /frug/) was a dance craze from the mid-1960s, which included vigorous dance to pop music. It evolved from another dance of the era, the Chicken. The Chicken, which featured lateral body movements, was used primarily as a change of pa ...

" (1999, directed by

Morgan J. Freeman Morgan J. Freeman (born December 5, 1969) is an American film director. In 1997, his debut feature, '' Hurricane Streets'', won three awards at the Sundance Film Festival. Early life and education Freeman was born and raised in Long Beach, ...

) * " Wires and Waves" (2001 unreleased, 2007 released, directed by Morgan J. Freeman) * "

Bulletproof Bulletproofing is the process of making an object capable of stopping a bullet or similar high velocity projectiles (e.g. shrapnel). The term bullet resistance is often preferred because few, if any, practical materials provide complete protectio ...

" (2001, directed by Liam Lynch) * "

" (2004, directed by Brian Lazzaro) * " It's a Hit" (2005, directed by Andrew Bruntel, Matt Enlow) * "

The Moneymaker "The Moneymaker" is a song by American indie rock band Rilo Kiley. It was released on July 3, 2007, as the first single from the group's fourth album ''Under the Blacklight'' (2007). The lyrics are almost certainly about sex, if not prostituti ...

" (2007, directed by Autumn de Wilde) * "Silver Lining" (2007, directed by Autumn de Wilde) * "Let Me Back In" (2013, directed by Rilo Kiley) * "Emotional" (2013, directed by Austin Nagler)

References

External links

Official site
* http://www.scenepointblank.com/news/splits/rilo-kiley-no-longer-on-hiatus-but-broken-up * * {{authority control Indie rock musical groups from California Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups disestablished in 2013 Barsuk Records artists Saddle Creek Records artists Musical groups from Los Angeles Warner Records artists 1998 establishments in California