David Pajo (born June 25, 1968) is an American alternative rock musician. He has played a wide variety of music, loosely fitting into several other genres such as hardcore punk, math rock,

post-rock Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

, folk rock and indie pop. Though a multi-instrumentalist (including guitar, bass guitar, banjo and drums), he is best known for his guitar work, most notably with Slint. He is currently a member of

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

Career

A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Pajo played with three Louisville hardcore and hardcore-inflected bands in his early career. The first band in which he played was called Obscene Routine, after which he performed as guitarist in Maurice, but it was with

Solution Unknown Solution may refer to: * Solution (chemistry), a mixture where one substance is dissolved in another * Solution (equation), in mathematics ** Numerical solution, in numerical analysis, approximate solutions within specified error bounds * Solutio ...

that he made his first recording. He rose to prominence, however, for his work with the influential post-rock band Slint. Since the breakup of Slint, Pajo has seldom held positions in other bands for very long, moving from one to the other quite often. As a result, he has contributed to many line-ups, playing and recording with Will Oldham,

The For Carnation The For Carnation are a slowcore/post-rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1994. The band was formed by Brian McMahan, who is the only constant group member. McMahan's previous band Slint hinted at the distinctive sound and sombre aesth ...

, Tortoise, Stereolab, Royal Trux, King Kong,

Bush League B backdoor breaking ball :A breaking pitch, usually a Slider (baseball), slider, curveball, or cut fastball that, due to its lateral motion, passes through a small part of the Glossary of baseball (S)#strike zone, strike zone on the outside edg ...

, Zwan,

Peggy Honeywell Clare E. Rojas (born 1976), also known by stage name Peggy Honeywell, is an American multidisciplinary artist. She is part of the Mission School. Rojas is "known for creating powerful folk-art-inspired tableaus that tackle traditional gender rol ...

, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Interpol. He has also performed and released music as a solo artist using various monikers, as Aerial M, M, and most notably, Papa M. Among his 7" and splits with various bands, he has released (as Aerial M) 1997's ''Aerial M'', and (as Papa M) 1999's ''Live from a Shark Cage'', 2001's ''Whatever, Mortal'', and 2003's ''Hole of Burning Alms''. In February and March 2005, he joined his old bandmates from Slint, Britt Walford, Brian McMahan and Todd Brashear for a reunion tour, and in April released his first solo album not bearing a pseudonym, simply entitled ''Pajo''. The follow-up to ''Pajo'', entitled ''1968'', was released in August 2006. Around the middle of 2005, he helped to form the band

Dead Child Dead Child is a heavy metal band from Louisville, Kentucky. The band played its first show at Lisa's Oak Street Lounge on August 19, 2006 with Pusher, Lords, and Blade of the Ripper. During the 2005 Slint reunion tour, Pajo, Cook and McMahan deci ...

, with Todd Cook (from

Shipping News Shipping News was an American post-rock/post-hardcore band. The group formed in the fall of 1996 when members Jason Noble and Jeff Mueller, who were both in Rodan, collaborated to create music for the Chicago-based syndicated National Public R ...

Retsin Retsin was an American indie rock band founded by Tara Jane O'Neil and Cynthia Nelson. History Retsin was founded in 1993 by O'Neil, who had played with Rodan, and Nelson, a member of Ruby Falls.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discogra ...

, The For Carnation, and Aerial M—and who also played guitar on the 2005 Slint reunion tour), Michael McMahan (from The For Carnation,

Starkiller Starkiller, born Galen Marek and also known as The Apprentice, is the fictional protagonist of the '' Star Wars: The Force Unleashed'' video games and literature, part of the now non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' expanded universe; however, ...

, and Phantom Family Halo—and who also joined Slint on the reunion tour), and Tony Bailey (from Anomoanon,

The Party Girls ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

, Verktum, Lords, and Aerial M). In 2009, Pajo joined the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on the tour for their third album, ''

It's Blitz! ''It's Blitz!'' is the third studio album by American indie rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs, released on March 6, 2009, by Interscope Records. It was originally set for release on April 13, 2009. However, after being leaked to the Internet on Februar ...

'' He was confirmed to perform as Papa M at the ATP New York 2010 music festival in Monticello, New York in September 2010. In June 2010 it was announced that he would be joining the band Interpol as a tour member.Breihan, Tom (2010)
Interpol Set LP Title, Enlist Dave Pajo
, Pitchfork Media, June 4, 2010, retrieved 2010-06-06 He left the tour early on February 27, 2011. On February 12, 2015, Pajo attempted suicide after posting a lengthy suicide note on his personal blog. He survived this attempt after EMS members were able to rescue him. On May 1, 2020, it was revealed that David Pajo was a member of a recording project/band called Household Gods that also consisted of Vern Rumsey of Unwound, Conan Neutron of

Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends Conan Neutron & the Secret Friends is a rock band formed in Oakland, California in 2015 by vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Conan Neutron and intended as a vehicle for his songwriting. Featuring Melvins drummer Dale Crover on drums and Tony Ash on b ...

and Replicator and Lauren K. Newman (LKN) of Palo Verde and LKN Band. On March 25, 2021, Pajo participated in a group article for the 30th anniversary of Spiderland for '' Rolling Stone''. On October 18, 2021, it was revealed that Pajo would be playing as a member of the

on a 2022 North American Tour.

Discography

As a part of a band

;With

: * '' Taken for Granted EP'' (1986) * '' Karen LP'' (1987) * '' Louisville Sluggers Compilation EP'' (1988) * '' Atskoo'' (1996) ;With

: * ''Fetor EP'' * ''Sicko EP'' * ''Discography'' (1994) ;With Slint: * '' Tweez'' (1989) * '' Spiderland'' (1991) * ''Slint'' (EP) (1994) ;With King Kong: * ''

Movie Star EP A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

'' (1990) * ''

Old Man on the Bridge Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

'' (1991) ;With

: * ''Fight Songs'' (April 6, 1995) ;With Will Oldham: * '' Joya'' (1997) * ''

I See a Darkness ''I See a Darkness'' is the sixth album by American musician Will Oldham, released on Palace Records on January 19, 1999 as the first album under the name Bonnie "Prince" Billy. The album features appearances from Bob Arellano, Colin Gagon, Paul ...

'' (1999) * ''

Ease Down the Road ''Ease Down the Road'' is the seventh studio album by American musician Will Oldham, and the second under his moniker Bonnie 'Prince' Billy. It was released on Palace Records on March 19, 2001. Domino Recording Company also released a UK limited e ...

'' (2001) ;With Tortoise: * '' Millions Now Living Will Never Die'' (January 30, 1996) * '' TNT'' (March 10, 1998) ;With Royal Trux: * '' 3-Song EP'' (1998) ;With Zwan: * '' Mary Star of the Sea'' (January 28, 2003) ;With

: * ''

Honey for Dinner Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primari ...

'' (May 20, 2003) ;With Household Gods: * ''

Palace Intrigue A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

'' (June 5th, 2020)

As a solo artist

;M is the Thirteenth Letter: * ''Safeless / Napoleon'' (1995) * ''Vol De Nuit / Witchazel'' (1996) ;Aerial M: * ''

Aerial M David Pajo (born June 25, 1968) is an American alternative rock musician. He has played a wide variety of music, loosely fitting into several other genres such as hardcore punk, math rock, post-rock, electronica, folk rock and indie pop. Though ...

'' (August 25, 1997) * ''

M Is M, or m, is the thirteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabe ...

'' (1997) * '' Vivea'' (1998) * '' October'' (1998) * '' Post Global Music'' (January 26, 1999) ;Papa M: * '' Travels in Constants Vol. 5'' (1999) * ''

1999 Tour Single File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoo ...

'' (1999) * ''

Live from a Shark Cage ''Live from a Shark Cage'' is the first album by Papa M, the third such pseudonym used by David Pajo (after 'M' and 'Aerial M'), released in 1999 on the Chicago-based Drag City (record label), Drag City label (see 1999 in music). The album was r ...

'' (October 25, 1999) * ''

Papa M Sings Papa is a word used in many languages as an affectionate term for father. Papa or PAPA may refer to: Geography and geology *Pápa, a town in Hungary *Papa village (Samoa), on the island of Savai'i *Papa, Scotland, various islands *Papa rock, ...

'' (2001) * '' Whatever, Mortal'' (2001) * ''

Songs of Mac A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

'' (2002) * '' Three Songs'' (2002) * ''

One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

'' (2003) * '' Two'' (2003) * '' Three'' (2003) * ''

Four 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

'' (2003) * ''

Five 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awa ...

'' (2004) * '' Six'' (2004) * ''

Hole of Burning Alms Hole of Burning Alms is a compilation album by Papa M, a moniker of American multi-instrumentalist David Pajo, collecting various singles and unreleased tracks released between 1995 and 2000. It was released in the United States by Drag City, and ...

'' (February 24, 2004) * '' Highway Songs'' (2016) * '' A Broke Moon Rises'' (2018) ;Pajo: * '' Pajo'' (June 28, 2005) * ''1968'' (August 22, 2006) * '' Scream with Me'' (February 24, 2009) ;Evila: * '' Hexes'' (December 2009)

References

External links

*
David's blog

Deathrockstar's interview

Drag City

Black Tent Press
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pajo, David American musicians of Filipino descent Living people Drag City (record label) artists 1968 births Zwan members American alternative rock musicians American rock guitarists American male bass guitarists American rock bass guitarists Math rock musicians Post-hardcore musicians Post-rock musicians Musicians from Louisville, Kentucky Rock musicians from Kentucky Slint members Guitarists from Kentucky Guitarists from Texas 20th-century American bass guitarists Tortoise (band) members The For Carnation members 20th-century American male musicians King Kong (American band) members Western Vinyl artists