The Faint is an American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band. Formed in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, the band consists of

Todd Fink Todd Fink (; born March 3, 1974 in Omaha, Nebraska) is the lead singer of the band The Faint. He attended Omaha's Westside High School. Career Fink was also one of four members of the band Commander Venus, which was started by Conor Oberst i ...

, Graham Ulicny, Dapose and

Clark Baechle Clark Alan Baechle (born April 21, 1981) is an American founding member of the Omaha-based electronic rock band The Faint, along with his brother, Todd Fink. Although he is primarily known for playing drums, he also sings backing vocals and is ...

. The Faint was originally known as Norman Bailer and included

Conor Oberst Conor Mullen Oberst (born February 15, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his work in Bright Eyes (band), Bright Eyes. He has also played in several other bands, including Desaparecidos (band), Desaparecidos, the Faint (previou ...

(of Bright Eyes, with whom The Faint toured in 2005). He quit shortly after the band was formed,The Faint // Profile
''The Faint'', (2005-01-27). Retrieved 2008-05-09. though the Faint continued to share a spot with Bright Eyes on

Saddle Creek Records Saddle Creek Records is an American record label based in Omaha, Nebraska. Started as a college class project on entrepreneurship, the label was founded by Mike Mogis and Justin Oberst in 1993 (as Lumberjack Records). Mogis soon turned over his ...

History

The band originally consisted of

(formerly Todd Baechle), and

Joel Petersen Broken Spindles was a band solely consisting of Joel Petersen of Omaha, Nebraska, who also played bass, guitar and keyboards in the Faint. The band's music ranged from instrumental electronic songs to sparse piano pieces to rock-influenced pop ...

. Growing up, Fink, Petersen, and Baechle skateboarded in their free time, until Fink developed knee problems, which shifted their hobbies towards making music.The Faint // Youtube Interview
, ''BeatLawrence Interviews the Faint'', (2007-10-21). Retrieved 2008-05-09. They signed to

and released a few singles, but were unable to establish widespread sales. After adding Matt Bowen, the Faint released ''

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

''. At the end of 1998,

Jacob Thiele Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

joined the band, and shortly thereafter, Matt Bowen was replaced by Ethan Jones. They toured the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

, playing what would become the songs that would comprise the next album, ''

Blank-Wave Arcade ''Blank-Wave Arcade'' is the second studio album by the new wave band The Faint. It was released on November 2, 1999. This album is the 28th release of Saddle Creek Records. Track listing # "Sex Is Personal" – 3:37 # "Call Call" – 2:26 # ...

'', which had a more dance and techno-influenced sound and was an underground hit.Lazy-i // Interview
, ''The Faint: men in black'', (2001-08-15). Retrieved 2008-05-09. Before recording the album, however, Jones left the band and was replaced on bass guitar by Joel Petersen, who played both bass and guitar on the album. Partway through the creation of ''

Danse Macabre The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory from the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death. The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of death, summoning represen ...

'', the Faint added Dapose, a

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

guitarist formerly of LEAD. Their next album, recorded with

Mike Mogis Mike Mogis is an American producer/mixer/engineer and multi-instrumentalist who owns ARC Studios (Another Recording Company) in downtown Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha. Mike, along with his brother A. J. Mogis, A.J. Mogis, founded Presto! Recording Stud ...

and released in 2004, was called ''

Wet from Birth ''Wet from Birth'' is the fourth studio album by the American band The Faint, released on September 14, 2004. The U.S. release uses HDCD encoding, but the package is not labeled as HDCD. Track listing In popular culture *The instrumental b ...

''. Conor Oberst claimed in an August 2020 interview with

Pitchfork Magazine ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres including pop, hip-hop, ...

that The Faint were offered a major label record deal, but turned it down out of loyalty and commitment to Saddle Creek, which at the time was still a collaborative project between members of The Faint,

Cursive Cursive (also known as joined-up writing) is any style of penmanship in which characters are written joined in a flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster, in contrast to block letters. It varies in functionality and m ...

and Bright Eyes. In May 2008, the Faint announced that they had split from Saddle Creek, and that their fifth studio album would be self-released under their own label, blank.wav. The album, entitled ''

Fasciinatiion ''Fasciinatiion'' is the fifth studio album by the American rock band The Faint The Faint is an American indie rock band. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska, the band consists of Todd Fink, Graham Ulicny, Dapose and Clark Baechle. The Faint was ori ...

'', was released on August 5, 2008, in the U.S. The first single from the album was "The Geeks Were Right", which was released on

Boys Noize Alexander Ridha (born 22 August 1982), better known by his stage name Boys Noize, is a German-Iraqi electronic music record producer, songwriter and DJ known for collaborations with artists including A$AP Rocky, Tommy Cash, and Frank Ocean (for ...

Records. It was also announced that the band would tour North America with British electronic group

Ladytron Ladytron are an electronic band formed in Liverpool in 1999. The group consists of Helen Marnie (lead vocals, synthesizers), Mira Aroyo (vocals, synthesizers), and Daniel Hunt (synthesizers, guitar, vocals). Reuben Wu (synthesizers) was a ...

during the spring. Since the release of ''Fasciinatiion'', two of the band members, Clark Baechle and Todd Fink have been quietly, with little advertising, performing under the name Depressed Buttons, playing remixes of other artists, and DJing for various small clubs and venues. The band performed an original song "Teach Me Teacher" on the children's show

Yo Gabba Gabba! ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' is a Children's television series, children's Musical film, musical television series created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz (producer), Scott Schultz and developed by Kay Wilson Stallings. The series is about five cos ...

in the third-season episode "School", which originally aired September 19, 2010. On October 30, 2012, Saddle Creek Records released a deluxe edition of ''Danse Macabre'' with the original album remastered, bonus and unreleased tracks, and a DVD of archival footage, live projections from that era's tour dates, and live footage. The band announced that it would play ''Danse Macabre'' in its entirety along with fan favorites during a tour of 24 cities across North America. In 2016, Graham Ulicny (of

Reptar Reptar is a fictional character from the American animated television series ''Rugrats''. It is a green mutated ''Tyrannosaurus'' (and sometimes appears in red-violet and lilac) with rounded, blue spike-like appendages on its back, which intent ...

) replaced Jacob Thiele on keyboards. Thiele died on February 13, 2020.

Members

Current members

– vocals, keyboards, guitar (1995–present) *

– drums, percussion (1995–present) *Dapose (Michael Dappen) – guitar (2001–present) *Graham Ulicny – keyboards, vocals (2016–present)

Former members

– guitar, vocals (1995) *

Matt Bowen Matthew Jeremy Bowen (born 9 March 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australia international and Queensland State of Origin representative , he played in the National Rugb ...

– bass, keyboards (1995–1998) * Ethan Jones – bass (1998-1999) *Jacob Thiele – keyboards, vocals (1998–2016, died 2020) *

– guitar (1995–2008), bass, programming (1999-2008)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:300 PlotArea = left:80 bottom:120 top:0 right:30 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1995 till:01/01/2025 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:lines value:black legend:Studio albums Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:2 ScaleMajor = increment:4 start:1995 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1995 LineData = at:02/06/1995 color:black layer:back at:24/10/1998 color:black layer:back at:01/11/1999 color:black layer:back at:21/08/2001 color:black layer:back at:14/09/2004 color:black layer:back at:05/08/2008 color:black layer:back at:08/04/2014 color:black layer:back at:15/03/2019 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Fink text:"Todd Fink" bar:Baechle text:"Clark Baechle" bar:Petersen text:"Joel Petersen" bar:Bowen text:"Matt Bowen" bar:Oberst text:"Conor Oberst" bar:Thiele text:"Jacob Thiele" bar:Jones text:"Ethan Jones" bar:Dapose text:"Dapose" bar:Ulicny text:"Graham Ulicny" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Fink from:01/01/1995 till:end color:vocals bar:Fink from:01/01/1995 till:end color:keys width:3 bar:Fink from:01/09/1995 till:end color:guitar width:7 bar:Baechle from:01/01/1995 till:end color:drums bar:Oberst from:01/01/1995 till:01/09/1995 color:guitar bar:Oberst from:01/01/1995 till:01/09/1995 color:vocals width:3 bar:Bowen from:01/01/1995 till:01/12/1998 color:bass bar:Bowen from:01/01/1995 till:01/12/1998 color:keys width:3 bar:Petersen from:01/01/1995 till:01/06/2008 color:guitar bar:Petersen from:01/06/1999 till:01/06/2008 color:bass width:3 bar:Jones from:01/12/1998 till:01/06/1999 color:bass bar:Thiele from:01/11/1998 till:01/06/2016 color:keys bar:Thiele from:01/11/1998 till:01/06/2016 color:vocals width:3 bar:Dapose from:01/04/2001 till:end color:guitar bar:Ulicny from:01/06/2016 till:end color:keys bar:Ulicny from:01/06/2016 till:end color:vocals width:3

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Remix albums

Compilation albums

EPs

Singles

Retail singles

Promotional singles

Splits

*''Music Me All Over'' (split 7-inch) (as Norman Bailer) (Rolling Hill Records and Lumberjack) *''The Faint/Ex-Action Figures'' (split 7-inch) (1999, Saddle Creek)

Remixes

* Radio 4 - ''Dance to the Underground'' (2002 · City Slang) *

Joy Electric Joy Electric is the brand label for a series of electropop/synthpop productions by Ronnie Martin. Martin began producing music under the Joy Electric name in 1994, after the demise of Dance House Children, a band Ronnie was in with his brothe ...

- ''We Are Rock'' (2002 ·

BEC Recordings Tooth & Nail Records is a record label founded by Brandon Ebel in California in November 1993. The label later moved to Seattle where it is today. History Brandon Ebel and Michael Knott conceived the label as a joint venture, before Knott back ...

) *

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek), guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are compleme ...

- ''

Y Control "Y Control" is a single by Yeah Yeah Yeahs, from their debut album, ''Fever to Tell''. The song's music video was controversial for its disturbing imagery; nonetheless, it received some play on MTV and its sister station, MTV2. The song is part o ...

'' (2004 ·

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

Polydor Records Polydor Limited, also known as Polydor Records, is a British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in ...

) *

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...

- '' Meet Your Master'' (2007)

Compilation appearances

*''Nothing Left Fanzine No. 8 CD Sampler'' (1998) **Song: "Acting: On Campus Television" *''Messages: Modern Synthpop Artists Cover OMD'' (2001 · Ninthwave) **Song: "

Enola Gay The ''Enola Gay'' () is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel (United States), Colonel Paul Tibbets. On 6 August 1945, during the final stages of World War II, it became the Atomi ...

" *''

Saddle Creek 50 ''Saddle Creek 50'' is a compilation by Saddle Creek Records in honor of being the label's 50th album release. It was released in 2003 and features one album track and one non-album track by each of the bands then recording for the label. Track l ...

'' (2002 · Saddle Creek) **Songs: "Worked Up So Sexual", "Take Me to the Hospital" *'' Liberation: Songs to Benefit PETA'' (2003 ·

Fat Wreck Chords Fat Wreck Chords (pronounced "Fat Records") is an independent record label based in San Francisco focused on punk rock. It was started by NOFX lead singer Michael Burkett (better known as Fat Mike) and his wife at the time, Erin Burkett in 1990. ...

) **Song: "Agenda Suicide" *'' Lagniappe: A Saddle Creek Benefit for Hurricane Katrina'' (2005 · Saddle Creek) **Song: "Hypnotised" *'' Injustice: Gods Among Us Soundtrack'' (2013 ·

WaterTower Music WaterTower Music Inc. (formerly New Line Records from 2000 to 2010) is an American record label serving as the in-house music label run by entertainment company Warner Bros., ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The name and logo are based ...

) **Song: "This Is Is Is Is Pain"

Other projects

Vverevvolf Grehv

''Vverevvolf Grehv'' (pronounced as Werewolf Grave) is the brainchild of Dapose. The music of Vverevvolf Grehv combines the brutality of

, the tempos of

speed metal Speed metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that originated in the late 1970s from new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) roots.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' (Berg Publishers, 2007), , p. 31. It is desc ...

and the sonic decimation of

noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

with the complexities of electronic music genres such as

snare rush ''Snare rush'' is a term often used in electro culture to refer to impossibly fast rolls. A snare rush can vary in tempo considerably, from 16th notes even to 2048th notes. At that sort of speed, the effect is a buzzing sound, but with a detec ...

and IDM. He is influenced by

Merzbow is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by Masami Akita, best known for a style of harsh noise music. Since 1980, Akita has released over 500 recordings and collaborated with numerous artists. The name Merzbow comes from the German dada a ...

’s work, the writings of

Howard Bloom Howard Bloom (born June 25, 1943) is an American author. He was a music publicist in the 1970s and 1980s for singers and bands such as Prince, Billy Joel, and Styx.Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The ...

2008

Broken Spindles

Broken Spindles Broken Spindles was a band solely consisting of Joel Petersen of Omaha, Nebraska, who also played bass, guitar and keyboards in the Faint. The band's music ranged from instrumental electronic songs to sparse piano pieces to rock-influenced pop ...

'' was a band solely consisting of Joel Petersen of Omaha, Nebraska, who also played bass, guitar and keyboards in The Faint. The music of Broken Spindles ranged from instrumental electronic songs to sparse piano pieces to rock-influenced pop songs. Broken Spindles originally started in 2001 as the soundtrack for a friend's film.

References

External links

The Faint
on FreeIndie * {{DEFAULTSORT:Faint, The Conor Oberst Indie rock musical groups from Nebraska American post-punk revival music groups Musical groups from Omaha, Nebraska American remixers Astralwerks artists Saddle Creek Records artists Musical groups established in 1995 1995 establishments in Nebraska