Mistle Thrush (band)
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Mistle Thrush was a female-fronted 1990s
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band based in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
. They've been described by the ''
Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...
'' as
The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
-meets-
Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English British folk rock, folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson (musician), Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Marti ...
.Sonic Youth tests new material, Tristram Lozaw, ''
Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...
'', 036, April 24, 1995.
Steve Morse of ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' wrote that Valerie Forgione, the band's singer, has "some of the most versatile pipes since the dream-pop heyday of Kate Bush" and that the "band remains a local treasure". During the band's heyday, their songs frequently charted in
CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...
's Top 200. According to the band's website, they're on hiatus but their last album was released in February 2002. In January 2011, they reunited to play their first concert since 2003. Forgione's current project is called Lovina Falls.


History

Formed in 1993 by guitarists Scott Patalano and Brad Rigney, bassist Ruben Layman, drummer Todd Demma and Forgione (ex-Funeral Party, Twelve Tone Failure), Mistle Thrush took their name from a
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...
that eats the poisonous-to-most berries of the
mistletoe Mistletoe is the common name for obligate parasite, obligate parasitic plant, hemiparasitic plants in the Order (biology), order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they ...
plant. Generally identified as
goth Goth or Goths may refer to: * Goths, a Germanic people Arts and entertainment * Gothic rock or goth, a style of rock music * Goth subculture, developed by fans of gothic rock * ''Goth'' (2003 film), an American horror film * ''Goth'' (2008 f ...
—although the term, as '' The Phoenixs Brett Milano later put it, "never quite suited them"—quickly found a home at
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
's
Bedazzled Records Bedazzled Records was an American record label, based in Washington, D.C., which existed from 1989 to 2000. It primarily featured ethereal wave, goth rock, dream pop and shoegaze bands. The label was known for its intricate packaging/graphic de ...
, who released the band's debut 7" in 1994. Later that same year, they released a 5-song CD entitled '' Agus Amàrach''. In May 1995 they advanced as far as the semi-finals of the 17th annual WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble; by the time they put out their full-length debut (1995's ''
Silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension (chemistry), suspension with water. Silt usually ...
''), Rigney had been replaced by former teenage
Boston hardcore Boston hardcore is the hardcore punk scene of Boston, Massachusetts. Beginning in the early 1980s, bands such as SSD (band), SSD, DYS (band), DYS, Jerry's Kids (band), Jerry's Kids and Negative FX formed a nascent hardcore scene in the city that w ...
semi-star Matthew Kattman (ex-Funny Wagon, Kingpin). Two years later, they released ''
Super Refraction Anomalous propagation (sometimes shortened to anaprop or anoprop) Peter Meischner (ed.), ''Weather Radar: Principles and Advanced Applications'', Springer Science & Business Media, 2005, page 144 includes different forms of radio propagation due t ...
'' on the "fake"
indie label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...
, Egg Records (bankrolled by major label Elektra).Getting a leg up
Brett Milano, ''The Phoenix'', January 17, 2002
The album landed them on the ''Boston Heralds "Local Best of 1997" list, with music critic Tristram Lozaw declaring it to be " lky smart pop with sublime sonics". The album was nominated for a Boston Music Award for Indie Label Album of the Year, with Forgione also being nominated for Outstanding Local Female Vocalist. Signing a publishing deal with Warner-Chappell Music, they ultimately used most of the advance money buying out the remainder of their 5-album contract with Egg, with whom they'd become increasingly disillusioned. During this time-period, band members involved themselves with other creative outlets since the band's recording career was effectively on hold. Forgione received positive reviews for her turn as
Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...
in the Boston Rock Opera's 2000 production of ''
Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...
''. Jim Sullivan noted in the ''Boston Globe'' that Forgione "shines during her featured numbers" and that she "belt out... hesongs in a manner far from her work with... Mistle Thrush." All of the legal wrangling involved in extracting themselves from their contract took its toll on the band and Kattman and Layman both left the band. Matthew Klain was recruited to take over on bass, and the band decided they could make do with just one guitarist. In early 2002 the band released what would be their final album, '' Drunk with You'' on new
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
indie label, Ecstatic. The album was recognized by the Boston Music Awards with a nominations for Local Album of the Year, and Local Song of the Year (for the song "Small").


Discography


Singles and EPs

*"Beside" 7" single (1994, Bedazzled) *'' Agus Amàrach'' (1994, Bedazzled)


Albums

*''
Silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension (chemistry), suspension with water. Silt usually ...
'' (1995, Bedazzled) *''
Super Refraction Anomalous propagation (sometimes shortened to anaprop or anoprop) Peter Meischner (ed.), ''Weather Radar: Principles and Advanced Applications'', Springer Science & Business Media, 2005, page 144 includes different forms of radio propagation due t ...
'' (1997, Egg) *'' Drunk with You'' (2002, Ecstatic)


Compilation appearances

*''Kindred Spirits'' CD (1994, Bedazzled) (song: "Whispers") *''Soon'' CD (1994, Castle von Buhler) (song: "Beyond Reach") *''Woke Up Smiling'' CD (1995, Bedazzled) (song: "She Is a Flower") *''Wicked Deluxe'' CD (1996, Wicked Disc) (song: "51 Pegasi: Rocket Song, V.1") *''Spring Fling'' CD (1996, Pulp Magazine) (song: "Flowereyed" (demo version)) *''No Secrets'' CD (1998, Big Heavy World) (song: "51 Pegasi: Rocket Song, V.2") *''Notes from thee Real Underground Vol.1'' 3xCD, 2001, Underground, Inc./
Invisible Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be ''invisible'' (literally, "not visible"). The phenomenon is studied by physics and perceptual psychology. Since objects can be seen by light fr ...
) (songs: "Heavy-Set John", "Jody Stone") *''Maximum Wage, A Bureau of Dissonant Culture Compilation'' CD (2001, Bureau of Dissonant Culture) (song: "Drowning For William")


Noteworthy bands they've played with

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...
,
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (sometimes abbreviated to BRMC) is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. The group originally consisted of Peter Hayes (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Robert Levon Been (vocals, bass, guitar), and Ni ...
,
The Boo Radleys The Boo Radleys are an English alternative rock band who were associated with the shoegazing and Britpop movements in the 1990s. They originally formed in Wallasey, England, in 1988, with singer/guitarist Simon "Sice" Rowbottom, guitarist/songwr ...
,
The Brian Jonestown Massacre The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American Rock music, rock band led and started by Anton Newcombe. It was formed in San Francisco in 1990. The group was the subject of the 2004 documentary film called ''Dig!'', and have gained media notorie ...
, The Candy Butchers, Cranes, Cindytalk,
David J David John Haskins (born 24 April 1957, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England), better known as David J, is a British alternative rock musician, producer, and writer. He is the bassist for the gothic rock band Bauhaus (band), Bauhaus and for ...
,
The Fixx The Fixx are a rock band from London, England, founded in 1979. The band's hits include " One Thing Leads to Another", " Saved by Zero", " Are We Ourselves?", and " Secret Separation", each of which charted in the top 20 of the ''Billboard'' ...
,
Garbage Garbage, trash (American English), rubbish (British English), or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or ...
,
Gigolo Aunts Gigolo Aunts are an American power pop band, who formed in 1981. Biography Early history The band was formed by middle school students Steve Hurley, Dave Gibbs, Phil Hurley, and Paul Brouwer in 1981 in Potsdam, New York, United States, orig ...
,
Helium Helium (from ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, non-toxic, inert gas, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is ...
,
Ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern ...
, Love and Rockets, Love Spit Love, Lush,
Mercury Rev Mercury Rev is an American rock band formed in 1989 in Buffalo, New York,
with Morphine (band), Morphine, My Own Worst Enemy,
Amanda Palmer Amanda MacKinnon Palmer (born April 30, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and performance artist who is the lead vocalist, pianist, and lyricist of the duo the Dresden Dolls. She performs as a solo artist and was also a memb ...
, The Push Stars, Rockets burst from the Streetlamps,
Seven Mary Three Seven Mary Three (occasionally abbreviated to 7 Mary 3 or 7M3) is an American rock band. They released seven studio albums and one live album, and are best known for their hit single " Cumbersome". Career Formation Seven Mary Three formed in ...
,
Slowdive Slowdive (stylized in lowercase) are an English people, English rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Neil Halstead (vocals, guitars), Rachel Goswell (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Christian Savill (guitars) ...
,
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 ...
,
Splashdown Splashdown is the method of landing a spacecraft or launch vehicle in a body of water, usually by parachute. This has been the primary recovery method of American capsules including NASA’s Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Orion along with th ...
,
Spiritualized Spiritualized (stylised as Spiritualized®) are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Jason Pierce (often known as J. Spaceman), formerly of Spacemen 3. After several line up-changes, in 1999, the band centred on Pie ...
,
The Strokes The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...
,
Jen Trynin Jennifer Trynin (born 1963), is an American singer-songwriter and author from Boston, Massachusetts. Career She recorded her debut album '' Cockamamie'' in 1994 while running her own desktop publishing business. The track "Better Than Nothi ...
,
Steve Wynn Stephen Alan Wynn ( Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He was known for his involvement in the luxury casino and hotel industry, prior to being forced to step down in 2018. Early in his care ...
.After 18 Years of The Cure, Robert Smith Gets Happy, Jim Sullivan, ''The Boston Globe'', C16, November 28, 1997


References

;Other sources *Matthew Chabe
Mistle Thrush: Drunk With You
''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'', July 11, 2002 *Tristram Lozaw,
Mistle Thrush says goodbye to its Gothic-rocking roots
, ''
Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...
'', April 18, 1997


External links


Official website
* *
Boston Soundcheck Magazine
', Interview * https://lovinafalls.com Lovina Falls - Valerie Forgione's current project {{Authority control Alternative rock groups from Massachusetts American shoegaze musical groups Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups disestablished in 2002 1993 establishments in Massachusetts Underground, Inc. artists American gothic rock groups Ethereal wave musical groups