The Lemon Twigs are an American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band from
Long Island, New York, fronted by brothers Brian (b. March 21, 1997) and Michael D'Addario (b. March 3, 1999).
Both brothers are vocalists, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists.
History
Early childhood
Brian and Michael were born two years apart from each other, both in March. Ronnie D'Addario, their father, is a musician and songwriter from Manhattan who played with Irish folk singer
Tommy Makem
Thomas Makem (4 November 1932 – 1 August 2007) was an internationally celebrated Irish folk musician, artist, poet and storyteller. He was best known as a member of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. He played the long-necked 5-string banj ...
. Susan Hall, their mother, is a neuropsychologist from Ohio who pursued acting and entertainment in her younger years. The first few years of the D'Addario brothers' lives were spent in an apartment in Flushing, Queens. The family moved to a house in the suburbs of Long Island soon after the children were born. The brothers were raised in a musical household and learned to play and sing at a very early age.
Formation and first years
Brian and Michael D'Addario had extensive stage experience as children. Brian played
Gavroche
Gavroche () is a fictional character in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo. He is a boy who lives on the streets of Paris. His name has become a synonym for an urchin or street child. Gavroche plays a short yet significant role i ...
in ''
Les Miserables'' and Flounder in ''
The Little Mermaid
"The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a ...
'' on Broadway. Michael appeared in ''
The Coast of Utopia
''The Coast of Utopia'' is a 2002 trilogy of plays: ''Voyage'', ''Shipwreck'', and ''Salvage'', written by Tom Stoppard with focus on the philosophical debates in pre-revolution Russia between 1833 and 1866. It was the recipient of the 2007 Ton ...
'', ''The Radio City Christmas Spectacular'', and the 2008 production of ''
All My Sons''. Michael also appeared in a variety of television shows and films, such as ''
John Adams
John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...
'' on HBO, ''
Are We There Yet?'' on TBS, and the 2012 films ''
People Like Us'' and ''
Sinister
Sinister commonly refers to:
* Evil
* Ominous
Sinister may also refer to:
Left side
* Sinister, Latin for the direction " left"
* Sinister, in heraldry, is the bearer's true left side (viewers' right side) of an escutcheon or coat of arms; see ...
''. The Lemon Twigs were founded by the brothers while they were both students at
Hicksville High School on Long Island, New York. The siblings both perform lead vocals, lead guitar, drums and other instruments.
Their first release was the cassette ''What We Know'', issued in a limited edition of 100 copies (with digital download) in 2015 by Winspear.
2016–2018: ''Do Hollywood''
On their first generally released album, ''
Do Hollywood
''Do Hollywood'' is the debut studio album by American rock band The Lemon Twigs. It was released on 14 October 2016 by 4AD. It was co-produced by Jonathan Rado of indie rock band Foxygen.
The album consists of 10 tracks written and performed al ...
'', each brother took the lead on vocals and guitar on the songs he composed; during live performances, this setup was preserved, with the remaining D'Addario playing the drums, and fellow schoolmates Megan Zeankowski and Danny Ayala (who have played with the D'Addarios on and off since their youth) playing bass and keyboards, respectively. Ayala also sang backing vocals. The album, produced by
Jonathan Rado
Jonathan Rado is an American musician, record producer and engineer, best known as a multi-instrumentalist in the indie rock duo Foxygen. Rado is a native of Westlake Village, California, where he formed Foxygen with his classmate Sam France in 2 ...
of
Foxygen
Foxygen is an American indie rock duo from Westlake Village, California, formed in 2005. The band consists of multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Rado and vocalist Sam France. They have released six albums and a number of self-released EPs.
History
R ...
, was recorded in the spring of 2015, with the members being only 15 and 17 at the time of its creation.
The Lemon Twigs served as opening act for fellow New York City/Long Island-based alt-rockers
Sunflower Bean
Sunflower Bean is an American rock band from Glen Head, New York and Brooklyn founded in 2013. The band consists of Julia Cumming (bass, lead vocals), Nick Kivlen (guitars, backing vocals), and Olive Faber (drums). Their most recent album ''Hea ...
on their East Coast tour in late 2016 and performed on television programs like ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...
'', ''
CBS This Morning
''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987, to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012, to September 6, 2021. The program was aired from Monday through Saturday. ...
'' "Saturday Sessions" and ''
Conan'' along the way. In early 2017 it was announced that the band would play on day one of the
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California on April 14, 2017. This performance saw the Twigs joined by one of the band's "favorite musicians ever, in the whole world", Todd Rundgren, to play "Couldn't I Just Tell You" from Rundgren's classic 1972
double album, ''
Something/Anything?
''Something/Anything?'' is the third album by American musician Todd Rundgren, released in February 1972. It was his first double album, and was recorded in late 1971 in Los Angeles, New York City and Bearsville Studios, Woodstock. Three quart ...
''. The Lemon Twigs released the ''Do Hollywood'' tracks "These Words" and "As Long As We're Together" as a double-A-side single, and made videos for both songs. The third single was the album opener, "I Wanna Prove to You", with a video directed by Nick Roney.
The band played at several major festivals in the summer of 2017, such as
Glastonbury
Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...
,
Outside Lands,
Lollapalooza,
Austin City, and the
Montreux
Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approxima ...
, in addition to opening for
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
across the United States. These 2017 shows saw the band covering songs such as "Fish and Whistle" by
John Prine
John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...
, "I Walked with a Zombie" by
Roky Erickson, "You Can't Talk to the Dude" by
Jonathan Richman, "I've Begun To Fall In Love" by
R. Stevie Moore
Robert Steven Moore (born January 18, 1952) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter who pioneered lo-fi (or "DIY") music. Often called the "godfather of home recording", he is one of the most recognized artists of the cas ...
, "Love Stepped Out" by their father
Ronnie D'Addario and "I Can Feel the Fire" by
Ronnie Wood
Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group.
Wood began his career in 1964, playing guitar with a ...
; they notably performed the latter song with Thomas Hedlund of Phoenix on drums while supporting Phoenix at the
Hollywood Bowl alongside
Mac DeMarco
MacBriare Samuel Lanyon DeMarco (born Vernor Winfield MacBriare Smith IV; April 30, 1990) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. DeMarco has released six full-length studio albums, his debut ''Rock and Roll Night C ...
. In September 2017 the band released an EP, ''Brothers of Destruction'', containing songs recorded during the ''Do Hollywood'' sessions.
2018-2019: ''Go to School''
The band's second album, ''
Go To School'', a musical about a chimpanzee raised as a human boy, was released on August 24, 2018. The album debuted at #93 on the
UK Albums chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
on September 6, 2018. The band were also announced as one of the support acts for
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...
' 2018 tour in support of their album ''
Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
''Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino'' is the sixth studio album by English rock band Arctic Monkeys, released on 11 May 2018 by Domino Recording Company. It was written by band frontman Alex Turner in 2016 on a Steinway Vertegrand piano in his ...
''.
Prior to beginning their run of shows promoting ''Go To School'', the group underwent a number of personnel changes. Both Megan Zeankowski and Danny Ayala were replaced by Daryl Johns (bass), Andres Valbuena (drums) and Tommaso Taddonio (keyboards).
2020: ''Songs for the General Public''
On March 2, 2020, the band announced that ''
Songs for the General Public'', their third studio album, was scheduled to be released on May 1, 2020. The single "The One" was released the same day. However, due to complications of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, the album's release was changed to August 21, 2020.
Collaborations
The Lemon Twigs played on
Foxygen
Foxygen is an American indie rock duo from Westlake Village, California, formed in 2005. The band consists of multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Rado and vocalist Sam France. They have released six albums and a number of self-released EPs.
History
R ...
's 2017 album "
Hang
Hang or Hanging may refer to:
People
* Choe Hang (disambiguation), various people
* Luciano Hang (born 1962/1963), Brazilian billionaire businessman
* Ren Hang (disambiguation), various people
Law
* Hanging, a form of capital punishment
Arts, e ...
", credited as playing drums, percussion, acoustic and electric guitar, bass guitar, piano and organ.
They also were players on
Weyes Blood
Natalie Laura Mering (born June 11, 1988), known professionally as Weyes Blood (pronounced ), is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She was primarily raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. She has been performing her own material under ...
's "
Titanic Rising", released in 2019 via Sub Pop records. Michael D'Addario played drums on 3 of the tracks, while Brian D'Addario played guitar, bass, piano and synthesizer on 5 tracks. He is also credited with production on "Mirror Forever" and providing the string arrangement to album opener "A Lot's Gonna Change", and instrumental closer "Nearer To Thee."
The Lemon Twigs are credited on many tracks for
Tim Heidecker
Timothy Richard Heidecker (; born February 3, 1976) is an American comedian, writer, director, actor, and musician. Along with Eric Wareheim, he is a member of the comedy duo Tim & Eric.
He has also appeared in films, including '' Bridesmai ...
's album "Fear Of Death" released on September 25, 2020 via Spacebomb records. Brian and Michael D'Addario are credited for playing bass guitar, acoustic and electric guitar, drums, vocals, and mellotron on the album.
Style
''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' characterized The Lemon Twigs as "a modern-day band combining the melodic, harmony-rich soft rock of
Wings
A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...
and
Supertramp
Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending p ...
, the underground cool of
Big Star
Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guiar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). The group broke up in early 1975, and reorganized with a ne ...
and the
Ramones, and the theatricality of Broadway musicals." ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' cited the "humbling beauty of their songs" and their "sumptuous harmonies." The band was signed to British alternative music label
4AD
4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name "Axis" (after the Hendrix album) by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD a ...
in 2015. Their debut album, ''Do Hollywood'', was released in October 2016 to critical acclaim. A number of diverse pop music figures have publicly expressed admiration for the Twigs:
Elton John,
The Zombies
The Zombies are an English Rock music, rock band formed in the early 1960s in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group had a British and American chart-topper, hit in 1964 with "She's Not ...
,
Boy George
George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singer ...
,
Laura Marling
Laura Beatrice Marling (born 1 February 1990) is a British folk singer-songwriter. She won the Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist at the 2011 Brit Awards and was nominated for the same award at the 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 Brit Aw ...
,
Gilbert O'Sullivan
Raymond Edward "Gilbert" O'Sullivan (born 1 December 1946) is an Irish singer-songwriter who achieved his most significant success during the early 1970s with hits including "Alone Again (Naturally)", " Clair", and "Get Down".
O'Sullivan's so ...
,
Gary Brooker
Gary Brooker (29 May 1945 – 19 February 2022) was an English singer and pianist, and the founder and lead singer of the rock band Procol Harum.
Early life
Born in Hackney Hospital, East London, on 29 May 1945, Brooker grew up in Hackney ...
,
Marc Almond
Peter Mark Sinclair "Marc" Almond, (born 9 July 1957) is an English singer. Almond first began performing and recording in the synthpop/ new wave duo Soft Cell where he became known for his distinctive soulful voice and androgynous image. ...
,
Iggy Pop,
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...
,
Flea
Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...
, and
Gerard Way
Gerard Arthur Way (born April 9, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and comic book writer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and co-founder of the rock band My Chemical Romance. He released his debut solo album, ''Hesitant Alien'', ...
.
Their musical style has been described as
indie rock
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...
,
power pop
Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and c ...
,
glam rock
Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...
,
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...
,
baroque rock
Baroque pop (sometimes called baroque rock) is a fusion genre that combines rock music with particular elements of classical music. It emerged in the mid 1960s as artists pursued a majestic, orchestral sound and is identifiable for its appropria ...
,
and
art rock.
Band members
Current members
* Brian D'Addario – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, trumpet, violin (2014–present)
* Michael D'Addario – vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, percussion (2014–present)
Touring members
* Will Berman — drums, guitar, keyboards (2022–)
* James Richardson — bass, synth, vocals (2022–)
Former touring members
* Danny Ayala – keyboards, vocals, drums, guitar (2014–2017)
* Daryl Johns – bass, vocals (2018–2021)
* Tommaso Taddonio – keyboards (2018–2021)
* Andres Valbuena – drums (2018–2021)
* Megan Zeankowski – bass (2014–2017)
Discography
Studio albums
* ''What We Know'' (2015, limited-edition cassette)
* ''
Do Hollywood
''Do Hollywood'' is the debut studio album by American rock band The Lemon Twigs. It was released on 14 October 2016 by 4AD. It was co-produced by Jonathan Rado of indie rock band Foxygen.
The album consists of 10 tracks written and performed al ...
'' (2016)
* ''
Go to School'' (2018)
* ''
Songs for the General Public'' (2020)
EPs
* ''Brothers of Destruction'' (2017)
Singles
* "These Words"/"As Long as We're Together" (2016)
* "I Wanna Prove to You" (2017)
* "Night Song" (2017)
* "Why Didn't You Say That" (2017)
* "Foolin' Around"/"Tailor Made" (2018)
* "If You Give Enough" (2018)
* "Small Victories" (2018)
* "The Fire" (2018)
* "The One" (2020)
* "Moon" (2020)
* "Live in Favor of Tomorrow" (2020)
* "No One Holds You Closer (Than The One You Haven’t Met)" (2020)
Live albums
* ''The Lemon Twigs LIVE'' (2020)
References
External links
New band of the week: The Lemon Twigs(''The Guardian'', July 18, 2016)
Brian D'Addarioat IMDb
Michael D'Addarioat IMDb
* Randall Colburn
The Lemon Twigs provide a Track By Track breakdown of their new concept album, Go to SchoolRonnie D'Addario Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemon Twigs
2015 establishments in New York City
Sibling musical duos
4AD artists
Indie rock musical groups from New York (state)
American power pop groups
American art rock groups
Musical groups established in 2015
Musical groups from Long Island
People from Hicksville, New York