Bee and Flower is a band founded in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

in 1999 by singer-songwriter, bassist, animator, illustrator, composer and producer Dana Schechter. Schechter formed the band while being a member of

Michael Gira Michael Rolfe Gira (; born February 19, 1954) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, author and artist. He is the main force behind the New York City musical group Swans and fronted Angels of Light. He is also the founder o ...

's band

Angels of Light Angels of Light were an American folk band that was formed circa 1998 by singer-songwriter and musician Michael Gira after he disbanded Swans, the group he had founded in 1982. The band has marked a distinctly different style for Gira since he ...

. Bee and Flower's co-founding band members include

Ani Cordero Ani Cordero (born 1974) is a Puerto Rican vocalist, drummer, guitarist, and songwriter. Biography Cordero was born Ana Marieli Cordero Garcia in Boston, Massachusetts. Since 1999, she has resided in Brooklyn, New York. Cordero's work in music ...

on drums and backing vocals, Roderick Miller (Richard Ruin, Kitty Solaris) on piano and keyboards, Jon Petrow (Cordero, And the Wiremen) on viola and violin, and Lynn Wright ( James Hall, And the Wiremen) on guitar. They recorded their first

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film * Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhe ...

in 1999 with

Sam McCall Sam McCall is a fictional character from '' General Hospital'', an American soap opera on the ABC network. Created by Charles Pratt, Jr. and Robert Guza, Jr., the character made her debut on the episode airing on October 1, 2003, portrayed by K ...

. Later members include Ethan Donaldson (And the Wiremen) on drums, Joni Heine ( The Ocean) on bass, and Thomas Fietz (Richard Ruin) on drums.Sourced via published photographic images of the band's releases (not relying solely on user contributions) and releases on individual artist's pages o
Discogs
Touring members included Jeff Conaway ( The Psychic Paramount) and Rainer Baumgartner ( The Durgas) on drums, Thimo Sander (Poems for Laila) on guitar, Martin Wenk ( Calexico) on percussion, guitar and trumpet, and Simon Goff (

Aidan Baker Aidan Baker (born 1974/75) is a musician from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who has released numerous records both as a solo artist and as part of various side projects, including Nadja, ARC, Caudal and Mnemosyne. He has also written several books o ...

) on violin.

History

In 2001, the band supplied the track ''Twin Stars'' for the compilation '' This Is Next Year: A Brooklyn-Based Compilation'' released by

Arena Rock Recording Co Arena Rock Recording Company ("Arena Rock" or "ARRCO") is an independent record label based in Portland, Oregon. Albums are distributed by Redeye in the United States and Koch in Canada. Arena Rock was formed in 1995 in Brooklyn, New York, by Gr ...

. Their album ''What's Mine Is Yours'' was released in 2003.

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 dat ...

awarded it 4/5, praising Schechter's "sexy yet sophisticated performance" and attention-grabbing voice. Bee and Flower collaboratively wrote the original score for the feature film ''

A Good Night to Die ''A Good Night to Die'' is a 2003 American action comedy thriller film directed by Craig Singer and starring Michael Rapaport, Gary Stretch, Ally Sheedy, Ralph Macchio, Debbie Harry, Robin Givens, Seymour Cassel, Frank Whaley and Lainie Kazan. Ca ...

'' (2003); Dana Schechter had previously scored Singer's film ''Dead Dogs Lie'' (2001). Both films were directed by Craig Singer. A music video for "I Know Your Name", directed by Josh Graham (Neurosis, Storm Of Light) was released on Neurot's "Various Artists 1 DVD" in 2004. In 2004 the band, then consisting of just Dana Schechter and Roderick Miller, went to

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

with producer Toby Dammit (

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the " Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band The Stooges, who w ...

and

Swans Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...

) to record an album. Schechter and Miller then settled in Berlin, making it the new base for the band."Interview with Dana Schechter from Bee and Flower" on
Night Seminar Music Interviews
', January 2010. (Archived on 25 January 2023.) ''Last Sight of Land'', recorded in 2004 in Berlin and released on tuition music in 2007, explores elements of traditional film scoring orchestration, with an emphasis on strings, choirs, and a large bass section. This album marked the departure of the core band from New York City to Berlin between 2004-2008. Bee and Flower have worked since this album with a number of musicians, both in the studio and in live performances, who play in notable bands, including

Thomas Wydler Thomas Wydler (born 9 October 1959), is a Swiss musician best known for being a core member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, of which he has been a drummer since 1985. Prior to joining them, he was a member of the experimental German band Die Haut. ...

(

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian rock band formed in 1983 by vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throughout its career and p ...

) and

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(

Bertrand Burgalat Bertrand Burgalat Born: July 1963 French musician, composer and producer. Background Bertrand Burgalat was born in the Corsican town of Bastia in 1963. His father, a high-ranking civil servant, was the sub-prefect of the island at the ti ...

). ''The Bridge'' (2009, Lakeshore Records), a compilation track for the official soundtrack for documentary film ''Scott Walker 30 Century Man'', was recorded in Berlin and NYC. Schechter met film director Stephen Kijak after working as an animator on the film, and was later invited to contribute a track. The album also features contributors

Damon & Naomi Damon & Naomi are an American dream pop/indie folk duo, formed in 1991 by Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang, formerly of Galaxie 500. History After Galaxie 500 completed a tour of the US supporting Cocteau Twins, guitarist and vocalist Dean Wareha ...

Laurie Anderson Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...

, Saint Etienne,

Jarboe Jarboe Devereaux, known mononymously as Jarboe (), is an American singer and musician who came to prominence as a member of the New York City experimental rock band Swans in 1985. Jarboe and Michael Gira, the founder of Swans, were the two cons ...

, and more. The band's last studio album to date, ''Suspension'', was recorded by Ingo Krauss at Candy Bomber Studios in Berlin and released in 2012. In addition to some past guest musicians such as Martin Wenk, the LP includes trumpet playing from

Paul Watson Paul Franklin Watson (born December 2, 1950) is a Canadian-American conservation and environmental activist, who founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an anti-poaching and direct action group focused on marine conservation activism. Th ...

(

Sparklehorse Sparklehorse was an American indie rock band from Richmond, Virginia, led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous. Sparklehorse was active from 1995 until Linkous' 2010 death. Prior to forming Sparklehorse, Linkous fronted local bands ...

). In 2021, Schechter stated that she was uncertain of the band's future, but would not confirm that the band has been dissolved:

I don’t think B&F ee and Flowerwill come back. It existed for 12-plus years and that was enough for it to run whatever course it could run. Despite the fact that (in my opinion) those records are really great, it wasn’t a successful band and running it took a lot of my blood, sweat and heartache, so I was ready to let it go by the end. However, we are all still friends and fans of each other’s current projects.

As of 2022, Schechter is based in Berlin.Insect Ark, Dana Schechte
biography
original page archived on 24 February 2023.

Releases

* 2001 - ''Dead Dogs Lie'', Original Film Score * 2003 - ''

'', Original Film Score * 2003 - ''D.I.Y. Or Die'' Independent Film / Interview * 2003 - ''What's Mine Is Yours'', CD (Neurot) * 2004 - ''Various Artists 1'', DVD Music Video (Neurot) * 2006 - ''What's Mine Is Yours'', CD/Russia (Soyuz) * 2007 - ''Last Sight of Land'', CD (tuition) * 2007 - ''Dust & Sparks'', 7" (Morningrise) * 2009 - ''"The Bridge" - Scott Walker 30 Century Man CD Compilation'' ( Lakeshore) * 2011 - ''Split EP w/ Keiki'', 10" (Cheap Satanism Records) * 2012 - ''Suspension'' (Cheap Satanism Records)

References

External links

*
archived
8. October 2012) {{Authority control Musical groups established in 2000 German musical groups 2000 establishments in New York (state)