The Innocence Mission is an American
indie folk
Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s among musicians from indie rock scenes influenced by folk music. Indie folk hybridizes the acoustic guitar melodies of traditional folk music with contemporary instrumentation.
The genre has its ...
band formed in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...
in 1986. The band is composed of Karen Peris (née McCullough), her husband (and fellow guitarist) Don Peris, and Mike Bitts (on bass guitar). Although all members of the band have contributed to their music, Karen Peris is their main writer.
History
The band members met in 1980 during a Catholic school production of ''
Godspell
''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hymn ...
''. Before being signed to a record label, the band was originally called ''Masquerade'' and played covers at local clubs, events and at
Lancaster Catholic High School
Lancaster Catholic High School is a Catholic co-educational high school located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg secondary schools.
Academics
Timothy Hamer has been the school's pre ...
(the alma mater of the band members). By 1986, the band had changed its name to ''The Innocence Mission'' and began to write original music. They released a self-funded EP titled ''Tending the Rose Garden'' in 1986, of which only 1,000 copies were produced. The song "Shadows" from the EP was recorded by
Amy Grant
Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...
on her 1988 album ''
Lead Me On.
Their
self-titled debut album was released in 1989 on
A&M Records
A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
and was produced by
Larry Klein
Larry Klein (born March 17, 1956) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is based in Los Angeles.
He began his career as a bassist, playing with jazz artists Willie Bobo, Freddie Hubbard, Carmen McRae, Joe Henderson, Bobby ...
, then-husband of
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
. Recorded in Mitchell's Los Angeles studio, the album spent 10 weeks on the
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
charts, peaking at #167 in 1990. Klein also produced their 1991 follow up, ''
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used ...
.''
Their third A&M album, ''
Glow'' (1995), was produced by
Dennis Herring
Dennis Herring is an American record producer, engineer, mixer, and musician. Herring has produced for The Hives, Elvis Costello, Counting Crows, Modest Mouse, Camper Van Beethoven, and Jars of Clay. The producer owns a 24-track recording st ...
, who had previously produced two records for
Camper Van Beethoven
Camper Van Beethoven is an American rock band formed in Redlands, California in 1983, later based in Santa Cruz and San Francisco. Their style mixes elements of pop, ska, punk rock, folk, alternative country, and world music. The band init ...
. This album is a departure from Klein's heavier production style. Herring's lighter touch gave more emphasis to the group's guitar work and to Karen's vocals and lyrics. ''Glow'' contains songs that appear on the soundtracks of the films ''
Empire Records
''Empire Records'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Allan Moyle, starring Anthony LaPaglia, Maxwell Caulfield, Debi Mazar, Rory Cochrane, Johnny Whitworth, Robin Tunney, Renée Zellweger, and Liv Tyler. The fil ...
'' and ''
Dream for an Insomniac
''Dream for an Insomniac'' is a 1995 (released in 1996) romantic comedy film written and directed by Tiffanie DeBartolo and starring Ione Skye, Jennifer Aniston, Mackenzie Astin and Michael Landes.
Plot synopsis
Frankie ( Ione Skye) works at her ...
'', as well as the television series ''
Party of Five
''Party of Five'' is an American television teen and family drama created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox for six seasons from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000. The series featured an ensemble cast led by Sc ...
''. The album's second track, "Bright as Yellow," peaked at #33 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks.
After the band completed the recording of a follow-up album to ''Glow'', A&M Records was bought by
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
. The group decided to mutually part ways with the label, shortly before it was merged with other companies to form
Interscope-Geffen-A&M
Interscope Geffen A&M Records (IGA), is an American umbrella label owned by Universal Music Group, consisting of record labels Interscope Records, Geffen Records, and A&M Records.
History
Interscope Geffen A&M Records was established in 1999, ...
.
1999's ''
Birds of My Neighborhood'' inaugurated The Innocence Mission as they are today, following three albums as a quartet that drew comparisons to
The Sundays
The Sundays were an English alternative rock band, formed in the late 1980s, which released three albums throughout the 1990s.
The band's beginnings came with the meeting of singer Harriet Wheeler and guitarist David Gavurin while attending ...
and
10,000 Maniacs
10,000 Maniacs is an American alternative rock band that was founded in 1981. They have released nine studio albums, six EPs, and five live albums. They achieved their most significant success between 1987 and 1993, when they released four album ...
. When drummer Steve Brown left, Karen Peris (guitars, piano, pump organ, accordion, voice), Don Peris (guitars, drums, voice) and Mike Bitts (upright bass) forged ahead with an orchestral and sometimes cinematic folk-pop sound, a sound rich in atmosphere, innately sad, but ultimately hopeful. The album was followed by the release of ''
The Lakes of Canada
''The Lakes of Canada'' is a rare promotional item self-released by the Innocence Mission in 1999. The title track is taken from the album '' Birds of My Neighborhood''.
Sufjan Stevens covered "The Lakes of Canada" on a May 2007 broadcast of ' ...
'' EP, which contains a remix of "Snow" by Icelandic electronic group
GusGus
GusGus is an electronic music band from Reykjavík, Iceland. Although initially a film and acting collective, the group is mostly known for its electronic music. The group's discography consists of eleven studio albums.
History
GusGus was ...
, the band's only remix thus far.
The 2000 release, ''
Christ Is My Hope
Christ Is My Hope is the third EP by the American alternative rock band the Innocence Mission.
A collection of newly recorded spiritual music ("O Lord of Light", "O Sacred Head Surrounded", "Beautiful Saviour"), folk songs ("500 Miles
"500 ...
'', featuring folk songs and hymns that had inspired them over the years, was independently distributed by their own label, LAMP, with all proceeds from sales of the record being donated to hunger relief charities. An exclusive one-album deal signed with independent label WhatAreRecords? saw ''
Small Planes'' following a year later.
Their first album on Badman Records in the US and Agenda in Europe, ''
Befriended
''Befriended'' is the sixth full-length studio album by American alternative rock band the Innocence Mission. The album was released on 25 August 2003 in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Agenda and on 2 September 2003 in the United States and Ca ...
'', was released in 2003 and was followed a year later by a collection of lullabies, standards, traditional and classical songs called ''
Now the Day Is Over
''Now the Day Is Over'' is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band The Innocence Mission, released by Badman Recording Co. on November 9, 2004. A collection of standards, traditional and classical works performed as lullabies, ...
''. Recorded over two weeks in August 2004, the album contained their well-known cover of
Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...
's "
Moon River
"Moon River" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 movie ''Breakfast at Tiffany's (film), Breakfast at Tiffany's'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original ...
." Badman Records acquired license to re-master and re-issue the then-out-of-print ''Birds of My Neighborhood'' album in 2006. The label re-issued ''Now the Day is Over'' in 2022 with new artwork.
''
We Walked in Song'' was released in 2007 and included the song "Brotherhood of Man", which appeared in two acclaimed films: the documentary ''
The Human Experience
''The Human Experience'' is a 2008 documentary produced by Grassroots Films and directed by Charles Kinnane. The film tells the story of brothers Clifford and Jeffrey Azize and their travels as they search for answers to the question, "What does i ...
'' and the short film
Weathered', starring
Tony Hale
Anthony Russell Hale (born September 30, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his role in the Fox comedy series ''Arrested Development'' as Buster Bluth. Hale played Gary Walsh on the HBO comedy ''Veep'' from 2012 until its ...
and
Nicole Parker
Nicole Frances Parker (born February 21, 1978) is an American actress. She is best known for her work on Fox's sketch comedy show '' Mad TV'' (2003–2009, 2016), which she was a regular cast member. In July 2009, Parker concluded her run as El ...
, which also featured a new version of the song "Our Harry". Also on this album are "Happy Birthday" and closing song "Over the Moon", both of which are featured in the
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and thr ...
film ''
Fireflies in the Garden
''Fireflies in the Garden'' is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by Dennis Lee and starring Willem Dafoe, Ryan Reynolds, and Julia Roberts. It premiered at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival and was released theatrically in ...
''.
On June 6, 2008, "Bright as Yellow" was played as the official
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
wake-up call for the crew of Space Shuttle mission
STS-124
STS-124 was a Space Shuttle mission, flown by Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' to the International Space Station. ''Discovery'' launched on 31 May 2008 at 17:02 EDT, moved from an earlier scheduled launch date of 25 May 2008, and landed safely at t ...
on flight day 7.
''
Street Map'' was released in December 2008 and was the second record to be distributed independently on their own LAMP label, while their eighth studio album, ''
My Room in the Trees'', was released on July 13, 2010. Their ninth studio album, ''
Hello I Feel the Same'', was released on October 17, 2015, followed by ''
Sun on the Square'' in 2018. Their next studio album, ''
See You Tomorrow'', was released on January 17, 2020.
Don Peris has recorded four solo albums: ''Ten Silver Slide Trombones'' (2001), the mostly instrumental ''Go When the Morning Shineth'' (2006), which features a vocal contribution from Karen Peris on "North Atlantic Sand", and an instrumental solo guitar album, ''Brighter Visions Beam Afar'' (2007), which raised money for local food banks. His fourth studio album, ''The Old Century'', was released on May 7, 2013. Karen Peris released her first solo album, ''Violet'', on December 3, 2012. The ten-song album was performed mainly on piano, and features six instrumental compositions. Don Peris appears as guitarist on two songs, while the couple's two children performed violin and viola on a further two songs. A version of the album containing two bonus tracks, "First Days in the City" and "Getting Here", was released in Japan through
P-Vine Records
P-Vine Records is an independent record label based in Tokyo, Japan.
History
It was started in 1976 by Blues Interactions, a firm founded in 1975 by Yasufumi Higurashi and Akira Kochi, as a record label focused on black music. The label name c ...
on May 15, 2013. Karen's second solo album, ''
A Song Is Way Above the Lawn'', was released on October 8, 2021.
Sufjan Stevens
Sufjan Stevens ( ; born July 1, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He has released nine solo studio albums and multiple collaborative albums with other artists. Stevens has received Grammy and Academy Award nomi ...
calls The Innocence Mission "moving and profound", adding, “What makes Karen Peris’ lyrics so remarkable is the economy of words, sensory language, concrete nouns – everyday objects take on tremendous meaning.”
Discography
* ''
The Innocence Mission
The Innocence Mission is an American indie folk band formed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1986. The band is composed of Karen Peris (née McCullough), her husband (and fellow guitarist) Don Peris, and Mike Bitts (on bass guitar). Although all me ...
'' (1989)
* ''
Umbrella
An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is usually mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is designed to protect a person against rain or sunlight. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used ...
'' (1991)
* ''
Glow'' (1995)
* Christ Is My Hope (2000)
* ''
Birds of My Neighborhood'' (1999)
* ''
Small Planes'' (2001)
* ''
Befriended
''Befriended'' is the sixth full-length studio album by American alternative rock band the Innocence Mission. The album was released on 25 August 2003 in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Agenda and on 2 September 2003 in the United States and Ca ...
'' (2003)
* ''
Now the Day is Over
''Now the Day Is Over'' is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band The Innocence Mission, released by Badman Recording Co. on November 9, 2004. A collection of standards, traditional and classical works performed as lullabies, ...
'' (2004)
* ''
We Walked in Song'' (2007)
* ''
My Room in the Trees'' (2010)
* ''
Hello I Feel the Same'' (2015)
* ''
Sun on the Square'' (2018)
* ''
See You Tomorrow'' (2020)
Film and television
* 2018 - ''
Irreplaceable You
''Irreplaceable You'' is a 2018 American romantic comedy-drama film written by Bess Wohl and directed by Stephanie Laing. The film stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Michiel Huisman. It was released by Netflix on February 16, 2018.
Plot
Abbie and Sam hav ...
'' - song: "Tomorrow on the Runway"
* 2012 - ''
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
''The Perks of Being a Wallflower'' is a coming-of-age epistolary novel by American writer Stephen Chbosky, which was first published on February 1, 1999, by Pocket Books. Set in the early 1990s, the novel follows Charlie, an introverted and obs ...
'' - song: "Evensong"
* 2011 - ''
Fireflies in the Garden
''Fireflies in the Garden'' is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by Dennis Lee and starring Willem Dafoe, Ryan Reynolds, and Julia Roberts. It premiered at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival and was released theatrically in ...
'' - songs: "Over the Moon" and "Happy Birthday"
* 2011 - ''
Grey’s Anatomy
''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...
'' - song: "Rain (Setting out in the Leaf Boat)"
* 2011 - ''
Alive and Ticking
''Alive and Ticking'' (german: Ein Tick anders) is a German comedy film directed by . It was released in 2011.
Plot
Eva is a 17-year-old girl with Tourette syndrome. Most of the time, she is happy, because her crazy, but loving family accepts h ...
'' - song: "Tomorrow on the Runway"
* 2009 - ''Weathered'' - songs: "Brotherhood of Man" and "Our Harry"
* 2008 - ''
The Human Experience
''The Human Experience'' is a 2008 documentary produced by Grassroots Films and directed by Charles Kinnane. The film tells the story of brothers Clifford and Jeffrey Azize and their travels as they search for answers to the question, "What does i ...
'' - songs: "Brotherhood of Man" and "Moon River"
* 1996 - ''
Dream for an Insomniac
''Dream for an Insomniac'' is a 1995 (released in 1996) romantic comedy film written and directed by Tiffanie DeBartolo and starring Ione Skye, Jennifer Aniston, Mackenzie Astin and Michael Landes.
Plot synopsis
Frankie ( Ione Skye) works at her ...
'' - song: "Keeping Awake"
* 1996 - ''
Party of Five
''Party of Five'' is an American television teen and family drama created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox for six seasons from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000. The series featured an ensemble cast led by Sc ...
'' - song: "Everything's Different Now"
* 1995 - ''
Empire Records
''Empire Records'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Allan Moyle, starring Anthony LaPaglia, Maxwell Caulfield, Debi Mazar, Rory Cochrane, Johnny Whitworth, Robin Tunney, Renée Zellweger, and Liv Tyler. The fil ...
'' - song: "Bright as Yellow"
* 1990 - ''
Beverly Hills 90210 «Pilot / Class Of Beverly Hills, Parts 1 & 2» - song "Clear to you"
Guest recordings
* 2021 - Lost Horizons, ''In Quiet Moments'' - Karen
* 2017 - Lost Horizons, ''Ojalá'' - Karen
* 2005 -
Denison Witmer
Denison Witmer is an American singer-songwriter from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States. His first release, in 1995, was a cassette titled ''My Luck, My Love''. He has since released six studio LPs; two live albums, a cover album (''Recover ...
, ''
Are You a Dreamer?'' - Don and Karen, produced and engineered by Don
* 1998 -
Natalie Merchant
Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963) is an American alternative rock singer-songwriter. She joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and was lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the group. She remained with the group for their first se ...
, ''
Ophelia
Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends up in ...
'' - Karen and Don
* 1991 -
Joni Mitchell
Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...
, ''
Night Ride Home
''Night Ride Home'' is the 14th album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, released in 1991. It was the last of four albums she recorded for Geffen Records.
Songs on the album include "Cherokee Louise" about a childhood friend who suffe ...
'' - Karen
* 1990 -
John Hiatt
John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave, blues, and country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has been awarded ...
, ''
Stolen Moments'' - Karen
References
External links
Official website for the innocence missionOfficial website for Don Peris.Badman Recording Co.KORDA RecordsThe Innocence Mission Discography 4.0A discography, news and fan site.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Innocence Mission, The
Musical groups from Pennsylvania
Culture of Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Indie Recordings albums
American indie folk groups
A&M Records artists
RCA Records artists