Aaron Deer (born November 1, 1980) is an American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist originally from

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Indiana, United States, now residing in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. He is best known for his work in the Bloomington music scene in the early 2000s, playing with bands such as

The Impossible Shapes The Impossible Shapes are an independent rock band from Bloomington, Indiana. Since forming in 1998, the band has released eight albums in North America and Europe, sharing the stage with acts such as Wilco, Guided By Voices, Interpol, Danielso ...

, John Wilkes Booze, and

The Horns of Happiness The Horns of Happiness are an independent rock band formerly of Bloomington, Indiana now residents of Oakland/Los Angeles, CA. Since forming in 2004, the band has released one full-length album, one soundtrack, and two EPs on Secretly Canadian wh ...

. In the winter of 2009, Deer relocated to California and continues work with

, Royal Geography Society, Farmer Dave Scher and Wee Giant, among others, while co-running the Magnetic South cassette label.

Career

Deer began his music career in Indianapolis, where, along with high school friends Chris Barth and Peter King, The Impossible Shapes was formed. In 1999, Deer and Barth moved to Bloomington to attend

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

and they restarted the band there. The group released their first record, "The Great Migration", in 2000 and followed with 2 subsequent releases with Indianapolis-based label Recordhead/Mr.Whiggs. In 2003, The Impossible Shapes signed with Bloomington label

Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, part of the Secretly Group. The Secretly Group includes record labels Dead Oceans and Jagjaguwar as well as a music publisher known as Secretly Publis ...

released "We Like It Wild" and toured nationally and internationally. Around the same time, John Wilkes Booze was reformed in its classic "Five Pillars of Soul" line-up. After touring the western US in 2004, John Wilkes Booze was signed to Olympia, WA-based

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in February 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but it was orig ...

. His solo debut by

'' A Sea As a Shore'' was released by

in 2004. In 2005, Deer teamed up with drummer and visual artist Shelley Harrison to form the first performance version of

touring extensively through the US, sharing the stage with acts such as

Man Man Man Man is an American experimental rock band from Philadelphia currently based in Los Angeles. Lead singer, songwriter, and lyricist Honus Honus (Ryan Kattner) is accompanied by a group of multi-instrumentalist musicians and vocalists. Histo ...

Silver Jews Silver Jews were an American indie rock band from Hoboken, New Jersey, formed in 1989 by David Berman (musician), David Berman alongside Pavement (band), Pavement members Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich. Berman was the only constant band me ...

Old Time Relijun Old Time Relijun is a band founded in Olympia, Washington, United States and a longtime member of K Records. Current members consist of Germaine Baca on drums, Aaron Hartman on upright bass, Ben Hartman on saxophones, and Arrington de Dionys ...

Danielson Famile Danielson may refer to: * Danielson (band), an American rock band. *Danielson, Connecticut, a borough in the U.S. state of Connecticut *Danielson (surname) *Danielson (crater), an impact crater in the Oxia Palus quadrangle on Mars *Danielson (footb ...

Joanna Newsom Joanna Newsom (born January 18, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. After recording and self-releasing two EPs in 2002, Newsom signed to the independent label Drag City (record label), Drag City. Her debut album, ''The Milk-Eyed ...

, and

The Dirty Projectors Dirty Projectors is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002. The band is the project of singer-songwriter David Longstreth, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The ba ...

, among others, while garnering acclaim in publications such as ''

Magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

'', Dusted and ''

Skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

'' magazines.

Discography

The Horns of Happiness

* '' A Sea As A Shore'' (2004) * '' Would I Find Your Psychic Guideline EP'' (2006) * '' What Spills Like Thread EP'' (2007) * '' Weathering Alterations Soundtrack'' (2009) * ''

EP'' (2010) * '' Be Where Your Aim is Brave & Sound Cassette'' (2011)

Royal Geography Society

* '' Golden Man LP'' (2011)

The Impossible Shapes

* '' The Great Migration'' (2000) * ''

Laughter Fills Our Hollow Dome Laughter is a pleasant physical reaction and emotion consisting usually of rhythmical, usually audible contractions of the diaphragm and other parts of the respiratory system. It is a response to certain external or internal stimuli. Laugh ...

'' (2002) * ''

Bless The Headless In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with doctrines of grace, grace, Sacred, holiness, spiritual Redemption (theology), redemption, or Will of God, divine will. Etymology and Germani ...

'' (2003) * '' The Current'' (2003) * '' We Like It Wild'' (2004) * ''

Horus Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...

'' (2005) * '' TUM'' (2006) * ''

'' (2008)

John Wilkes Booze

*''Summer of Blood'' cassette (2004) *''Five Pillars of Soul'' (2005) *''Heliocentric Views of...'' (2006)

Wee Giant

* ''Weetoww'' (2008)

Organization of Robotic Rights Reform

*''ORRR Audio Awareness Disc'' (2008)

References

External links

Aaron Deer's homepage The Horns of Happiness websiteThe Horns of Happiness official Myspace page Magnetic South websiteSecretly Canadian Records infopageReview of "A Seas As A Shore" on Dusted Magazine The Impossible Shapes websitePitchfork review 2006 Tour Press release Pop Montreal Review John Wilkes Booze website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deer, Aaron American male singer-songwriters Musicians from Indianapolis People from Marion County, Indiana Secretly Canadian artists 1980 births Living people Musicians from Bloomington, Indiana Writers from Indianapolis 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from Indiana