History
Junior Boys formed in 1999 in
Hamilton,
Ontario,
Canada.
Originally a duo of Jeremy Greenspan and Johnny Dark, Junior Boys created a sound that would reconcile their influences. Years of collaboration followed and a
demo was produced, but after many rejections and near-misses, they were resigned to being bedroom beat constructors. Soon after, Johnny Dark left the band to pursue other interests. Eventually
KIN Records heard their demo at the end of 2002 and commissioned more work from remaining member Greenspan. Hooking up with his engineer, Matt Didemus, he began again, writing more material and pulling an album together.
The first release
Birthday/Last Exit
came in October 2003 — a four-track EP with a
remix by
Fennesz which brought them near-unanimous acclaim . The
High Come Down
EP followed in February 2004 with a
Manitoba (now Caribou) remix and word began to spread. Their debut album,
Last Exit
(recorded at the end of 2003 by Greenspan and Didemus in Hamilton), was released
September 21,
2004 on KIN Records. A reissue on Domino featured the Manitoba mix of Birthday, a
Fennesz mix of the same track, and a new track.
Junior Boys' most popular track, Birthday, was featured in
Sander Kleinenberg's high acclaimed mix CD
This Is Everybody Too.
The duo has since embarked on a number of tours with Caribou.
As of 2006, Junior Boys have reappeared with new releases. A remix of "The Loving Sounds of Static" by
Mobius Band was released on the
Ghostly International Idol Tryouts 2
compilation on
March 7,
2006. "Max", a new original song, was released on the
Paper Bag Records compilation
See You on the Moon!
on
March 21,
2006. Their second full-length album,
So This Is Goodbye
, was released in August 2006 on Domino Records.
2007 saw the Junior Boys embarking on a North American tour, and then headed to Europe for numerous festivals, continuing into the summer. The remix EP
The Dead Horse EP
was released in April containing remixes of tracks from
So This Is Goodbye
. An iTunes exclusive live EP was also released, reminiscent of a John Peel recording, with four live tracks.
Almost a year after its initial release
So This Is Goodbye
was re-released as a bonus edition including the original album, and remixes from the singles and the live tracks from the iTunes session.
On July 10, 2007, Junior Boys second album was revealed as being on the shortlist for the
2007 Polaris Music Prize. They did not ultimately win the prize.
In September 2008, Morgan Geist new album "Double Night Time" was released with five songs performed by Jeremy Greenspan.
On September 28, 2008, the duo revealed on their MySpace that they have finished recording their follow up to
So This Is Goodbye
and expect to release it early next year.
Promotions and media
In support of their 2006 album
So This Is Goodbye
, Junior Boys launched a fan-submitted video contest in conjunction with Domino Records and . Participants were invited to use any song from
So This Is Goodbye
as the soundtrack for their original video creations. The winner is to receive a $1000 in cash and prizes.
In October 2006 Junior Boys launched , an interactive
flash website based on the inspiration for the title. “It’s about dealing with the kind of goodbyes you say to things all the time that actually don’t tear you to pieces” explains Jeremy Greenspan of Junior Boys. Users are invited to post goodbye messages in the spirit of the title and to read those of others.
In December 2006 Junior Boys produced a
podcast with interview clips and tracks from
So This Is Goodbye
. The podcast will be featured as part of the Dominocast series of podcasts.
In August 2007 The song "In The Morning" off of
So This Is Goodbye
was featured in Mack Dawg Productions "Picture This" for Finnish professional snowboarder Eero Ettala's video part. "In The Morning" was also used for the "Picture This" trailer.
Discography
Albums and EPs
- Last Exit
(2004)
- So This Is Goodbye
(2006)
- The Dead Horse EP
(2007)
- Untitled Album
(2009)
Singles
- "Birthday/Last Exit" (2003)
- "High Come Down" (2004)
- "In the Morning" (2006)
- "No Kinda Man" (2008)
References