Man Man is an American

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when ...

rock band from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

currently based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. Their multi-instrumental style is centered on the piano playing of lead singer, songwriter, and lyricist Honus (Ryan Kattner). Honus is accompanied by a group of multi-instrumentalist musicians and vocalists. Instruments played by the band include clavinet,

Moog Little Phatty The Little Phatty is a monophonic analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music from 2006 to 2013, preceded by the Voyager and succeeded by Voyager Old School. Its design was conceived, in part, by Robert Moog himself, and is the last instrument ...

, sousaphone,

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standar ...

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

, flute,

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave ...

, drum set,

euphonium The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" ...

Fender Jazz Bass The Fender Jazz Bass (often shortened to ''J-Bass'') is the second model of electric bass created by Leo Fender. It is distinct from the Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midrange and treble with less emphasis on th ...

Danelectro Danelectro is a brand of musical instruments and accessories, founded in Red Bank, New Jersey in 1947. The company is known primarily for its string instruments that employed unique designs and manufacturing processes. The Danelectro company was ...

baritone guitar The baritone guitar is a guitar with a longer scale length, typically a larger body, and heavier internal bracing, so it can be tuned to a lower pitch. Gretsch, Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, ESP Guitars, PRS Guitars, Music Man, Danelectro, Sch ...

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in t ...

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbr ...

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usu ...

and various percussive instruments including pots and pans, toy noisemakers, Chinese funeral horns, spoons, smashing plates, and fireworks.

History

Man Man released their debut ''

The Man in a Blue Turban with a Face ''The Man in a Blue Turban with a Face'' is the debut album by experimental rock group Man Man Man Man is an American experimental rock band from Philadelphia currently based in Los Angeles. Their multi-instrumental style is centered on the ...

'' in October 2004 on Ace Fu Records, but did not begin to tour extensively until the 2006 release of their second album '' Six Demon Bag''. In 2007, the band opened for

Modest Mouse Modest Mouse is an American rock band formed in 1992 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members are lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. Strongly influenc ...

on several U.S. tours, gaining them further public attention. Not long afterward, Nike began airing a series of commercials starring

Rainn Wilson Rainn Percival Dietrich Wilson (born January 20, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, podcaster, producer, and writer. He is best known for his role as Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom '' The Office'', for which he earned three consecutive E ...

with Man Man's "10 lb Mustache" as the background music. "10 lb Mustache", "Feathers", and "Engrish Bwudd" were featured in season 3, episode 8 of the TV show '' Weeds''. The band also recorded a cover of "Little Boxes" for the title sequence of that episode. Man Man released their third studio album '' Rabbit Habits'' on ANTI- in 2008, and embarked on a North American tour in March 2008, with

Yeasayer Yeasayer () was an American experimental rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2006. The band consisted of Chris Keating, Ira Wolf Tuton, and Anand Wilder. They announced their split on December 19, 2019. History Formation The band's thr ...

and Tim Fite splitting dates. They performed at numerous festivals including

Voodoo Experience The Voodoo Music + Arts Experience (formerly The Voodoo Music Experience), commonly referred to as Voodoo or Voodoo Fest, is a multi-day music and arts festival held in City Park in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Voodoo Experience has hosted more ...

Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...

, All Tomorrow's Parties,

Primavera Sound Primavera Sound (commonly referred to as simply Primavera) is an annual music festival held in Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain that takes place between the end of May and beginning of June. The first edition took place in 2001 in Poble Espany ...

, and the

Meredith Music Festival The Meredith Music Festival (otherwise known simply as Meredith or MMF) is a three-day outdoor music festival held every December at the "Supernatural Amphitheatre", a natural amphitheatre located on private farmland near the town of Meredith ...

that same year. Man Man released their fourth album ''

Life Fantastic ''Life Fantastic'' is the fourth album by the experimental indie rock band Man Man. The album was produced by Mike Mogis, marking the first time the band has worked with an outside producer. '' Pitchfork'' called the album "by far their most t ...

'' in May 2011 with producer Mike Mogis (of Bright Eyes and Monsters of Folk fame). The album featured a less "wacky" and more somber sound than previous releases. The first song written for the album "Steak Knives" was inspired by a failed relationship and the death of several close friends. It took Kattner (Honus Honus) over a year to write. Man-man-the-band-band-montreal

In 2011 and 2017, Honus released albums with the indie supergroup Mister Heavenly. Man Man's fifth studio album, ''On Oni Pond'' was released on September 10, 2013. The album was again produced by Mike Mogis. The first single, "Head On", peaked at #32 on the Billboard

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart. In 2015, Honus completed both a solo album and an album of children's music. On November 4, 2016, Honus released his solo album, ''Use Your Delusion''. On August 9, 2019, the band released a two-song single for

Sub Pop Records Sub is a common abbreviation of words beginning with the prefix "sub-". Sub or SUB may also refer to Places * Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia, IATA code SUB Computing and technology * , an HTML tag for subscript * SUB designate ...

Singles Series titled "Beached" / "Witch". Six months later in February, 2020, the band announced the release of their first studio album in seven years, '' Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between''. In 2020, they were featured in the game Cyberpunk 2077 with a previously unreleased song "So It Goes", credited in-universe as "Fingers and the Outlaws".

Members

*Honus Honus: vocals, piano, electric piano, organ, guitar, ukulele, percussion *Jazz Diesel: trap kit, percussion *Mature Kevin: marimba, bass, melodica, trumpet, clarinet, bass clarinet, percussion, backing vocals *Eggs Foster: bass, guitar, keys, organ, percussion, backing vocals, pack master, Torquoise bass *Topanga Sam: guitar, rice cooker, full-bearded vocals, Furred harp

Past members

Previous members have included, but were not limited to, Tiberius Lyn, Pow Pow ( Christopher Powell), Sweet Chestnut (Dan Scofield), Brown Sugar (Adam Schatz), Shono (Bryan Murphy), Kritter Krat/Cougar/Alejandro Borg (Russell Higbee), Turkey Moth/Giamebee (Jamey Robinson), Chang Wang (Billy Blaise Dufala), Blanco (Steven Dufala), Brett Swett, Les Mizzle (Craig Van Hise), G. Clinton Killingsworth (Sam Henderson), Liz Rywelki, King Cyrus King, Dicky Betts Jr. (Matt Gibson), Moonbeam (Evander Green), Thu Butler, Jefferson, Brown Sugar Jr. (Michael Kammers), Pee Wee Tay Tay, Shit Foot (Stephanie Smith), Sara Yurman, and Sergei Sogay ( Chris Shar).

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (2004) *'' Six Demon Bag'' (2006) *'' Rabbit Habits'' (2008) *''

'' (2011) *'' On Oni Pond'' (2013) *'' Dream Hunting in the Valley of the In-Between'' (2020)

Extended plays

*''Man Man EP'' (2004) *'' Little Torments 7"'' (2008)

Singles

*"Head On (Hold On To Your Heart)" - No. 32

*"Beached" / "Witch"New Man Man Single Release Available for Streaming & Purchase
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References

External links

Official Site

Interview with Honus Honus, Ryan Kattner, ''The Inflatable Ferret'' 10/13/11

Interview with RadioUTD

Interview with Tiny Mix Tapes' Chris Ruen

Interview with Pitchfork Media 05/22/06

NPR Broadcast of the June 30, 2006 concert in Washington, DC

Tiny Mix Tapes
article on current tour.
Set of 6 live videos at scheduletwo.com

Honus Honus interview with Ted Coe on KCSB-FM's ''The Freak Power Ticket'' 08/30/10

{{Authority control Rock music groups from Pennsylvania Musical groups from Philadelphia Musical groups established in 2003 American experimental rock groups Anti- (record label) artists