Mother Falcon
| Mother Falcon | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Austin, Texas, United States |
| Genres | Symphonic rock, orchestral pop |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | Creme Fraiche, Punctum Records |
| Associated acts | The Arcade Fire, Beirut, Sufjan Stevens |
| Website | motherfalconmusic |
Mother Falcon is a symphonic rock band from Austin, Texas, known for their wide-ranging instrumentation and collaborative songwriting. Formed by bandleader Nick Gregg in 2008, the group has grown to include a collective of up to twenty musicians playing strings, horns, guitars, and percussion.
Contents
History
Nick Gregg formed Mother Falcon in 2008 with members of the Red Armada String Quartet, a high school ensemble that had studied with the noted Austin composers Graham Reynolds and Peter Stopschinski at the Austin Chamber Music Center. Additional members came from McCallum High School, Westlake High School, and the University of Texas at Austin, where Gregg graduated in architecture.
As the band grew in number, live performances could include as few as eleven and as many as twenty musicians. The core group of vocalists came to include Gregg, as well as guitarist Claire Puckett and accordionist-pianist Tamir Kalifa. Their music was reviewed positively by the local press and placed twice on the cover of the Austin Chronicle. At the 2010, 2011 and 2012 Austin Music Awards, Mother Falcon won the "Best None of The Above" award. In 2011, the group performed at the abandoned Seaholm Power Plant in Austin at the opening of the Fusebox Festival. In 2012, Mother Falcon headlined The Austin Chamber Music Festival. The band is known to perform in all black clothing with red accents, which bandleader Nick Gregg says allows audiences to focus on the music but is also an homage to the band's classical roots.[1]
The band began to garner national attention after the 2013 release of their album You Knew, including press from NPR,[2] The Daily Beast,[1] The Washington Post,[3] The New York Times,[4] and Texas Monthly.[5]
Touring and collaboration
After the release of You Knew, Mother Falcon began touring regularly.[6] While in New York in June 2013, the band collaborated with other composers and performers including Jherek Bischoff, Amanda Palmer, Raul Midon, Tony Trischka, Ben Sollee, Kelli Scarr, and Gary Lucas.
The band returned to the Northeast in January 2014, playing as a part of the Winter Jazz Festival at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City. They toured the West Coast in August 2013 and again in February 2014, and headlined the IdeaFestival in Louisville, Kentucky in September 2013. In 2015, Mother Falcon co-headlined a major American tour with Ben Sollee called The Fall Migration.[7]
Summer camp
Since 2011, Mother Falcon has hosted a summer camp[8] for middle and high-school aged musicians in Austin, Texas.
Discography
- Still Life, EP, 2010
- Alhambra, LP, 2011
- You Knew, LP, 2013
- Alive at IdeaFestival, Live Digital Album, 2013
- MF Computer, a reimagining of OK Computer by the British band Radiohead, 2014
- Dirty Summer, 7" vinyl, 2014 via Punctum Records
- Good Luck Have Fun, LP, 2015
Members
Current and former members
- Laura Andrade - Cello
- Rita Andrade - Viola
- Diana Burgess - Cello
- Kira Bordelon - Violin
- Clara Brill - Violin
- Nick Calvin - Cello
- Maurice Chammah - Violin, Piano, Vocals
- Yun Du - Violin
- Andrew Fontenot - Tenor Saxophone
- Nick Gregg - Vocals, Cello, Mandolin, Guitar, Piano
- Austin Harris - Violin
- Tamir Kalifa - Vocals, Accordion, Piano, Bouzouki
- Evan Kaspar - Pedal Steel, Percussion
- Matt Krolick - Trumpet
- Lisa Lam - Violin
- Gilman Lykken - Bassoon
- Josh Newburger - Violin
- Claire Puckett - Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Banjo
- Matt Puckett - Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Alto Saxophone, Percussion
- Dusty Rhodes - Bass
- Sterling Steffen - Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet
- Luke Stence - Bass
- Isaac Winburne - Drums and Percussion, Alto Saxophone, Piano
References
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