Birdmonster is an American rock band based in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

History

Early years

Peter Arcuni, a native of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

and former editorial assistant at

Wired ''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fran ...

, formed Birdmonster in 2004 with three other local San Francisco musicians: childhood friends

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

Justin Tenuto and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

ist David Klein, and drummer Zach Winter. The band began by playing live shows, initially booking performances by offering to fill in opening act slots. They also courted

Internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitte ...

stations, like San Francisco's BagelRadio.com, whose owner convinced a booker to give the band its first high-visibility show, opening for

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (sometimes abbreviated to CYHSY) is the musical project of American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Alec Ounsworth, active since the early 2000s in and out of Philadelphia. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah have re ...

EP and ''No Midnight''

The band released their self-titled EP in December 2004 and used proceeds from its sales to tour the United States. In the summer of 2005, David Klein paid $500 to include "Resurrection Song" on a Magnet magazine sampler, which attracted music industry attention. The band received several offers for recording contracts and distribution, but turned them all down. Arcuni explained that "the numbers (risk vs. reward) didn't add up."'' The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More'' - Birdmonster (pgs. 104-106) by Chris Anderson, Hyperion, 2006 The band decided to self-release their debut album, ''No Midnight'', hiring producer Bradley Cook, who had previously worked with

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the Foo Fighters (album), epony ...

and

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line ...

. The album reportedly cost $15,000 to record. It was initially distributed through

CD Baby CD Baby, Inc. is an online distributor of independent music. The company was described as an "anti-label" by its parent company's Chief Operating Officer Tracy Maddux. The CD Baby music store was shut down in March 2020 with a statement that " ...

, but was later distributed through SpinART. The band toured the United States and Canada in support of the album.

''From the Mountain to the Sea''

In early 2008, the band began recording material for their new album at Hyde Street Studios in the Tenderloin. On August 5, 2008, the band released their follow-up album, ''From the Mountain to the Sea''. The album was released digitally by Fader Label via iTunes and

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

and was made available in stores on September 2, 2008. The album was produced and engineered by Tom Schick, who has also worked with Ryan Adams, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Norah Jones, and Rufus Wainwright. In late 2008, as part of the ''Hangin' Out on E Street'' series, the band recorded a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "The Promised Land".

References

External links

Official website

Interview
from Hate Something Beautiful
Birdmonster live on WOXY.com, June 16, 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birdmonster Indie rock musical groups from California Musical groups established in 2004