Mark Kozelek
(born January 24, 1967 in Massillon, Ohio) is an American singer/songwriter and frontman of Sun Kil Moon and Red House Painters.
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MARK KOZELEK TICKETS
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History
Mark Kozelek was born & raised in
Massillon, Ohio. Upon relocating to
Atlanta, Georgia, he met drummer
Anthony Koutsos. After the pair moved once again to
San Francisco, California,
Red House Painters formed with the addition of guitarist
Gorden Mack and bassist
Jerry Vessel. From 1992 to 1996,
Red House Painters released a series of acclaimed albums, showcasing Kozelek's intense, highly autobiographical songs.
However, Kozelek's parting with his label
4AD Records, followed by a major label merger which left
Red House Painters' 1998 album
Old Ramon
on the shelf, proved highly frustrating and stifled the group's momentum. Kozelek opted to occupy himself with a series of idiosyncratic solo recordings as Red House Painters dissolved.
In 2000, he released the solo EP
Rock 'n' Roll Singer
, which featured three original songs as well as covers of
John Denver's "Around and Around" and three
AC/DC songs ("Rock 'n' Roll Singer," "Bad Boy Boogie" and "You Ain't Got a Hold on Me"). Two of the AC/DC cover versions on
Rock 'n' Roll Singer
were radical re-arrangements of the originals which removed the
Bon Scott-penned lyrics from their hard rock context and placed them into gentle, acoustic "folk ballad" settings.
[1]
Kozelek expanded on this idea in 2001, releasing a full-length album comprised solely of AC/DC covers titled
What's Next to the Moon
.
[2] These new arrangements sounded so unlike the originals that a
KCRW radio executive insisted that the title track was a
Leonard Cohen song.
This was not the first time Kozelek had drastically re-arranged others' material to his own ends. With
Red House Painters, he had previously done similar reconstructions with
Simon & Garfunkel's "I Am a Rock,"
The Cars' "All Mixed Up,"
Yes' "Long Distance Runaround,"
Paul McCartney's "Silly Love Songs," and even
Francis Scott Key's "
The Star-Spangled Banner."
A limited edition live recording,
White Christmas Live
, was released by the
Sub Pop label in late 2001. In addition to his solo material, it featured several
Red House Painters songs done in a stripped-down, acoustic guitar-and-vocals style, and one
a cappella rendition. An early version of his current project
Sun Kil Moon's "Lily and Parrots" is tacked on to the end as an uncredited bonus track. It also features one previously unreleased song, "Admiral Fell Promises."
Kozelek was later asked to contribute a song to the
Will Oldham (a.k.a.
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy) tribute album,
I Am Cold Rock. I Am Dull Grass
. Kozelek provided a rendition of Oldham's song "New Partner." Around this time, Kozelek commandeered a tribute album to
John Denver, entitled
Take Me Home: A Tribute to John Denver
, featuring
Will Oldham,
The Innocence Mission, and
Low to name a few. The compilation also featured Kozelek covering "Around and Around" as a duet with
Rachel Goswell.
In 2005, Sun Kil Moon released their second record on Kozelek's newly formed label,
Caldo Verde Records. Titled
Tiny Cities
, the album is comprised entirely of covers of songs by
Modest Mouse. Once again, Kozelek's cover versions varied greatly from the originals.
In 2006, Kozelek was invited by Toronto
indie rock label
Paper Bag Records to exclusively contribute to their
See You on the Moon! Songs for Kids of All Ages
compilation with his original song "Leo and Luna." Then in November 2006, Kozelek released a live album titled
Little Drummer Boy Live
. On the album's two discs, he plays songs from his solo career, covers, and material from the catalogs of both Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon.
Kozelek returned in 2008 with the release of
Sun Kil Moon's third album
April
. The album features 11 brand new recordings, including guest vocal contributions by
Ben Gibbard,
Will Oldham, and Eric Pollard.
The release of the new album also brought the re-issue of
Nights of Passed Over
, a 256-page, hard-cover book of all the lyrics to Kozelek's solo songs, Red House Painters' songs, and Sun Kil Moon's songs. It also features setlists, handwritten lyrics, and a preface by Kozelek himself. The original edition of this book was released in 2002 in
Portugal, and featured all the lyrics up to that point, printed in both English and Portuguese. The updated edition spans to his current Sun Kil Moon days, and the book also includes a 12-track bonus CD, titled
Nights LP
, featuring live and rare versions of songs dated 1996 to 2007. The edition is sold exclusively on his
label's website and is limited to 2,500 copies.
[3]
On
December 9,
2008, Kozelek and Caldo Verde Records issued
The Finally LP
, a CD collection of 10 unreleased tracks, including covers of songs by
Stephen Sondheim,
Will Oldham,
Hüsker Dü, and
Low among others, as well as two previously unreleased instrumentals. Two newly-recorded live albums,
Find Me, Ruben Olivares: Live in Spain
and
Lost Verses Live
, followed in spring 2009.
Production work
Kozelek, who acted as record producer on every album released by his bands
Red House Painters and
Sun Kil Moon as well as his solo releases, produced the debut solo album by friend and
Low singer-guitarist
Alan Sparhawk, in Sparhawk's side-project
Retribution Gospel Choir
.
Acting
Kozelek has also dabbled in acting--friend
Cameron Crowe cast him in
Almost Famous
(1999) as Larry Fellows (the bass player in
Stillwater), and
Vanilla Sky
(2001). In 2005, he appeared in
Steve Martin's film
Shopgirl
, playing a musician who befriends and mentors
Jason Schwartzman's character. Kozelek also performed "Lily and Parrots" (a Sun Kil Moon song) live in the film.
Discography
Solo
- Rock 'n' Roll Singer
EP (June 13, 2000)
- What's Next to the Moon
(January 10, 2001)
- If You Want Blood
(December 3, 2001)
- * Limited edition 2LP vinyl and rare Portuguese-only CD pressing combines "Rock 'n' Roll Singer" EP and "What's Next to the Moon."
- White Christmas Live
(December 17, 2001)
- "Duk Koo Kim" single (September 15, 2003)
- * Limited edition 10" vinyl single (limited to 2,000 copies worldwide), features acoustic studio version and live version.
- Little Drummer Boy Live
(November 28, 2006)
- White Christmas and Little Drummer Boy Live
(October 2, 2007)
- * Limited edition 4LP vinyl box set combines his two live albums.
- Nights LP
(April 1, 2008)
- 7 Songs Belfast
(July 1, 2008)
- * Limited edition live CD, given away free with orders from Caldo Verde Records' website.
- The Finally LP
(December 9, 2008)
- Find Me, Ruben Olivares: Live in Spain
(April 1, 2009)
- * Limited edition live CD, given away free with orders from Caldo Verde Records' website.
- Lost Verses Live
(May 12, 2009)
As Sun Kil Moon (2002-present)
- Ghosts of the Great Highway
(November 4, 2003) (reissued February 6, 2007)
- Tiny Cities
(November 1, 2005)''
- April
(April 1, 2008)
As Red House Painters (1989-2001)
- Down Colorful Hill
(September 15, 1992)
- Red House Painters
aka Rollercoaster
(May 25, 1993)
- Red House Painters
aka Bridge
(October 19, 1993)
- Shock Me EP
(February 28, 1994)
- Ocean Beach
(March 28, 1995)
- Songs for a Blue Guitar
(July 23, 1996)
- Old Ramon
(April 10, 2001)
References
- allmusic ((( Rock 'N' Roll Singer > Overview )))
- allmusic ((( What's Next to the Moon > Overview )))
- Sad Reminders / "Nights of Passed Over" reissue comes with 12-track bonus CD