Mark Eitzel (born January 30, 1959) is an American musician, best known as a songwriter and lead singer of the

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

band

American Music Club American Music Club was an American, San Francisco-based indie rock band, led by singer-songwriter Mark Eitzel. Formed in 1982, the band released seven albums before splitting up in 1995. They reformed in 2003 and released two further albums. ...

Biography

Eitzel spent his formative years in a military family living in Okinawa, Taiwan,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He moved to San Francisco in 1979, and

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

as gay in 1985. He started making music while he was a teenager in Southampton, England. His first band was a punk band called the Cowboys when he moved to Columbus, Ohio, at 19. They released one

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in 1980. His second band was called The Naked Skinnies and they released one single in 1981. He moved to San Francisco with The Naked Skinnies in 1981 where they disbanded in 1982. Eitzel formed American Music Club (AMC) in San Francisco in 1982. The band performed and created albums for twelve years. At one point, Eitzel also sang with San Francisco's

Toiling Midgets Toiling Midgets is a Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California formed in 1979 by members of San Francisco punk bands Sleepers and Negative Trend. They have been active on-and-off since 1979, with their early 1990s lineup getting most ...

, and often recorded solo work while involved in AMC. American Music Club disbanded in 1994, and Eitzel focused on his solo career, releasing ''

60 Watt Silver Lining Mark Eitzel (born January 30, 1959) is an American musician, best known as a songwriter and lead singer of the San Francisco band American Music Club. Biography Eitzel spent his formative years in a military family living in Okinawa, Taiwan, Ohi ...

'' in 1996. Also in 1996, Eitzel contributed to the

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

benefit album '' Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip'' produced by the

Red Hot Organization ''Red Hot Organization'' (RHO) is a non-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization with goals to promote diversity through equal access to healthcare through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors ...

. Following this, he released ''

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

'' in 1997, co-writing all of the songs with the

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

guitarist

Peter Buck Peter Lawrence Buck (born December 6, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He was a co-founder and the lead guitarist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.; he played the banjo and mandolin on several R.E.M. songs. Throughout his caree ...

, with whom he also toured. He followed up with ''

Caught in a Trap and I Can't Back out 'Cause I Love You Too Much, Baby #REDIRECT Caught in a Trap and I Can't Back Out 'Cause I Love You Too Much, Baby {{R from other capitalisation ...

'', assisted by

Steve Shelley Steven Jay Shelley (born June 23, 1962) is an American drummer. He is best known as the longtime drummer of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth, for whom he played from 1985 until their 2011 disbandment. Biography Shelley was born in Midland, ...

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

and the

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (Spanish language, Spanish for "I've got it"; also abbreviated as YLT) is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley ...

bass guitarist

James McNew James McNew is an American musician who has played bass in the indie rock band Yo La Tengo since their 1992 album '' May I Sing with Me''. He was previously a member of the band Christmas and was featured on their third album, ''Vortex''. McNew ...

. Eitzel released more music in 2001, beginning with a more electronic turn in ''

The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is an 1897 science fiction novel by British writer H. G. Wells. Originally serialised in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a s ...

'' on Matador Records. This was followed by two covers projects in 2002: '' Music for Courage and Confidence'', which was material written by other songwriters, and ''

The Ugly American ''The Ugly American'' is a 1958 political novel by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer that depicts the failures of the U.S. diplomatic corps in Southeast Asia. The book caused a sensation in diplomatic circles and had major political impli ...

'', an album which included reinterpretations of American Music Club songs performed with a band of traditional and non traditional Greek musicians. American Music Club reformed in 2003 for a sold out show at the

South Bank Centre Southbank Centre is an arts centre in London, England. It is adjacent to the separately owned National Theatre and BFI Southbank. It comprises the three main performance spaces – the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Purcell Ro ...

in London. In the following year, they released ''

Love Songs For Patriots ''Love Songs for Patriots'' is the eighth studio album by American indie rock band American Music Club, released on October 12, 2004, by Merge Records and Devil in the Woods in the United States and by Cooking Vinyl in Europe. American Music Cl ...

'' and toured both the United States and Europe several times. The album received glowing reviews across the world. In 2008, the band line-up changed again and the band released '' The Golden Age'' which '' Uncut'' magazine said was their best since Mercury with a 5-star album of the month review. Eitzel released a compilation album of electronic soundtrack material in 2005, ''

Candy Ass ''Candy Ass'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter and lead vocalist of American Music Club, Mark Eitzel. It was released on October 3, 2005, by Cooking Vinyl. Critical reception ''Candy Ass'' was met with "mixed or average ...

''. In 2009, '' Klamath'' was released on

Decor Records Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a creative flair, an interior d ...

. ''Uncut'' magazine said it was his best solo album yet. In 2010, the musical ''

Marine Parade Marine Parade is a planning area and residential estate located on the eastern fringe of the Central Region of Singapore. Straddling the tip of the southeastern coast of Pulau Ujong, Marine Parade serves as a buffer between the Central and ...

'' was premiered in the 2010

Brighton Festival Brighton Festival is a large, annual, curated multi-arts festival in England, first held in 1967. It includes music, theatre, dance, circus, art, film, literature, debate, outdoor and family events, and takes place in venues in the city of Brig ...

. The musical was written by

Simon Stephens Simon Stephens (born 6 February 1971) is a British-Irish playwright, musician and Professor of Scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University. Having taught on the Young Writers' Programme at the Royal Court Theatre for many years, he is ...

and Eitzel wrote all of the music and used two of the songs from ''Klamath''. It received good reviews. He also contributed a cover version of the

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the ...

song "

'S Wonderful "S Wonderful" is a 1927 popular song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics written by Ira Gershwin. It was introduced in the Broadway musical ''Funny Face'' (1927) by Adele Astaire and Allen Kearns. The song is considered a standard and has ...

" to the soundtrack of ''

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- The Movie''. The film was directed by Craig Teper, and the soundtrack was produced by

David Spelman David Spelman (born 1966 in Washington, D.C., United States) is an American, New York-based, record producer and curator working in recordings, films and live events Early life Spelman was educated at the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins Un ...

. The soundtrack also included music by the post-rock chamber ensembles Clogs (featuring Padma Newsome and

Bryce Dessner Bryce David Dessner (born April 23, 1976) is an American composer and guitarist based in Paris, and a member of the rock band the National. Dessner's twin brother, Aaron is also a member of the group. Together, they write the music in collabo ...

of The National), Redhooker, and the

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, and Jeremy Gara. The band's touring line-up includes former core ...

side project Bell Orchestre. The film had its premiere at the 2010

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

. In addition to the above albums, Eitzel has also released many mail order tour CDs, his most recent being the limited edition (500 copies) '' Brannan St.'', which is available at his concert dates and at the Decor records website. His eleventh solo

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, '' Don’t Be a Stranger'', was released in October 2012 on

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expand ...

and produced by

Sheldon Gomberg Sheldon Gomberg is an American record producer, audio engineer and bassist, who has worked with many artists including Ben Harper, Charlie Musselwhite, Warren Zevon, Rickie Lee Jones, Ryan Adams, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Five for Fighting, Mandy Moo ...

Discography

With

* ''

The Restless Stranger ''The Restless Stranger'' is the first album by American Music Club, released in 1985. It is considered to be the first slowcore album to be released. Track listing All songs written by Mark Eitzel. Tracks 13–15 are bonus tracks on the CD reis ...

'' (Grifter, 1985) * ''

Engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

'' (

Frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...

, 1987) * ''

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

'' (Frontier, 1988) * ''

'' (

Demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

, 1989) * ''

Everclear Everclear is a line of rectified spirits (also known as grain alcohol and neutral spirit) produced by the American company Luxco. It is made from grain and is bottled at 60%, 75.5%, 94.5% and 95% alcohol by volume (120, 151, 189, and 190 U.S. ...

'' ( Alias, 1991) * '' Mercury'' (

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any re ...

, 1993) * ''

'' (Reprise, 1994) * ''

Love Songs for Patriots ''Love Songs for Patriots'' is the eighth studio album by American indie rock band American Music Club, released on October 12, 2004, by Merge Records and Devil in the Woods in the United States and by Cooking Vinyl in Europe. American Music Cl ...

'' (

Cooking Vinyl Cooking Vinyl is a British independent record label, based in Acton, London, England. It was founded in 1986 by former manager and booking agent Martin Goldschmidt and his business partner Pete Lawrence. Goldschmidt remains the current owner an ...

, 2004) * '' The Golden Age'' (

Merge Merge, merging, or merger may refer to: Concepts * Merge (traffic), the reduction of the number of lanes on a road * Merge (linguistics), a basic syntactic operation in generative syntax in the Minimalist Program * Merger (politics), the comb ...

, 2008) * ''

Atwater Afternoon ''Atwater Afternoon'' was a limited edition CD released by the band American Music Club and initially sold on the tour to promote their album '' The Golden Age''. Half of it was a recording of the band rehearsing songs for the tour and the other ...

'' (self-released, 2008) Solo * '' Mean Mark Eitzel Gets Fat'' (self-released cassette, 1982) * '' Songs of Love'' (Diablo, 1991) * ''

'' (

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

, 1996) * ''Lover's Leap USA'' (self-released, 1997) * '' Words and Music'' (1997) * ''

'' (Warner Bros., 1997) * ''

Caught in a Trap and I Can't Back Out 'Cause I Love You Too Much, Baby #REDIRECT Caught in a Trap and I Can't Back Out 'Cause I Love You Too Much, Baby {{R from other capitalisation ...

'' (Matador, 1998) * ''Live on WFMU'' (self-released, 2001) * ''Superhits International (Demos 1999)'' (self-released, 2001) * ''

'' (Matador, 2001) * '' Music for Courage and Confidence'' (

New West New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville and Athens, Georgia. It previously had offices in Burbank, California and Beverly Hills, California. From 2013 to 2018, New West's records in the U.S. were distributed b ...

, 2002) * ''

'' (Soul Sister/Tongue Master/Thirsty Ear, 2003) * ''

'' (

, 2005) * ''Demos Before Love Songs'' (self-released, 2005) * '' Klamath'' (Decor, 2009) * ''Brannan Street'' (self-released, 2010) * '' Don't Be a Stranger'' (Merge, 2012) * ''Glory'' (self-released, 2013) * ''The Konk Sessions'' (self-released, 2013) * ''Hey Mr. Ferryman'' (Merge/Decor, 2017) * ''Copenhagen'' (self-released, 2017) With Cowboys *"Supermarket"/"Teenage Life" 7" single (Tet Offensive, 1980) With The Naked Skinnies *"All My Life"/"This Is the Beautiful Night" 7" single (Naked House, 1981) With

* ''

Son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

'' (

Matador A bullfighter or matador () is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter, and describe all the performers in the activ ...

, 1992) In collaboration * ''Mark Eitzel &

: Words + Music'' (Warner Bros., 1997)

References

External links

*
American Music Club official web site
*Sean Body, ''Wish The World Away: Mark Eitzel and the American Music Club'', SAF Publishing, Ltd. (April 1999), , {{DEFAULTSORT:Eitzel, Mark 1959 births Living people American rock singers American male singer-songwriters American rock songwriters American LGBTQ musicians LGBTQ people from California Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area The Minus 5 members Singer-songwriters from California American Music Club members Merge Records artists Thirsty Ear Recordings artists Cooking Vinyl artists New West Records artists Matador Records artists