Insomniac Folklore is 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

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

. The group is made up of Rev

Tyler Hentschel Tyler Benjamin Hentschel (born December 16, 1982), sometimes known as Dr Folklore, or Rev Folklore is an American performer who is best known for his work as the lead singer, guitarist, and lyricist/composer of the group Insomniac Folklore. He ...

, Adrienne Michelle and Amanda Curry with other members joining them from time to time. Hentschel is the project's only consistent member since he founded the group in 2001.

Biography

Insomniac Folklore had its start in the small town of

Roseburg, Oregon Roseburg is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is in the Umpqua River, Umpqua River Valley in southern Oregon and is the county seat and most populous city of Douglas County, Oregon, Douglas County. Founded in 1851, the population was 23,683 a ...

, when lead singer

decided to start doing acoustic

singer/songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk-acoustic tradition, although this role has transmuted thr ...

sets (then known as "The Tyler Hentschel Band") as a side project to the punk and hardcore bands he was playing in at the time. Over the years Hentschel has been joined by a rotating cast of friends and family as they released six full-length records and three E.P.s and toured the continental

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The group has become known for their somewhat unpredictable live shows and their sense of camaraderie as a group. Insomniac Folklore has toured and played with acts such as

Jason Webley Jason Webley is an American musician known for his sincere fusion of folk, experimental, and alternative music. Webley plays the guitar and accordion, sometimes providing percussion by stomping or shaking a plastic vodka bottle filled with coins. ...

Chelsea Wolfe Chelsea Joy Wolfe (born November 14, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Her work has blended elements of gothic rock, doom metal, and folk music. Raised in Northern California with a country musician father, Wolfe began writin ...

The Fall of Troy The Fall of Troy is an American rock band from Mukilteo, Washington. The band is a trio consisting of Thomas Erak (guitars, vocals, keyboards), Andrew Forsman (drums, percussion) and Tim Ward (bass, screamed vocals) who was later replaced by Fr ...

Wovenhand Wovenhand (also stylized Woven Hand) is an American rock band from Denver, Colorado, United States, led by former 16 Horsepower frontman David Eugene Edwards. Wovenhand's songs are known for their strong and unsettling Biblical references, in ...

, Unwoman,

The Locust The Locust was an American hardcore punk band from San Diego, California, known for their mix of grindcore aggression and new wave experimentation. The band has been noted for their use of insect costumes when performing live. History Prio ...

and

One-Eyed Doll One-Eyed Doll was a gothic rock duo based in Austin, Texas, which was voted the Best Punk Band in 2009, 2010 and 2011 at the Austin Music Awards at SXSW. One-Eyed Doll officially retired on May 21, 2021, after a lengthy hiatus. With a discograp ...

. Insomniac Folklore has also made appearances at

Steamcon Steamcon was one of the largest steampunk conventions/symposia in the United States. Located in the Seattle area of Washington state, Steamcon held its first symposium in 2009. Steamcon grew out of the desire of its founders to host a steampun ...

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

, Steampunk Worlds Fair, Audio Feed, and Tomfest. The name "Insomniac Folklore" is a reference to Hentschel's own battle with

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

when he started the project. Hentschel intends for the project to me more about friendship than being a "concise" band. Hentschel writes more of the material but wants everyone involved to have part of their personality in the music. Hentschel's second release, "Consumer Appreciation" gained moderate popularity in the early 2000s, but he struggled to find an audience for his music during the several years he spent living among the redwoods in Northern California. It was during this lonely period that he released the album "Smile or Die," which in 2005 was on the

HM Magazine ''HM Magazine'' is a monthly, digital and print on demand publication focusing on hard music and alternative culture of interest to Christians. It is headquartered in Houston, Texas. The magazine states that its goal is to "honestly and accurate ...

top 5 staff pics for record of the year. In 2006, Hentschel moved back to Oregon, taking up residence in Portland. The album ''Oh Well'' celebrates this transition with ditties such as "North to the Future" (a reference to the Joe Christmas album) and "It rains." This album also marked a turning point in the band, as the sound became darker and more theatrical, moving away from early influences such as The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel, and showing a deeper connection with the likes of

Nick Cave Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. Known for his baritone voice and for fronting the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Ca ...

and

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

. On May 13, 2010, ''E.P.'', was released. This is the first stand-alone EP from Insomniac Folklore. It features a full band lineup and a very raw sound. Nate and Tessa Allen from Destroy Nate Allen provided vocals on "Campfire Song." On June 13, 2010, ''L.P.'', Insomniac Folklore's largest project to date, was released, bringing together new material with fresh recordings of early favorites, and officially uniting the group of friends now known as the Portland chapter of Insomniac Folklore. In 2011, Insomniac Folklore recorded and released a new full-length album, ''A Place Where Runaways Are Not Alone''. ''Runaways'' was a concerted effort between members of the Portland and St. Louis bands, and the finished album features the work of every current member of Insomniac Folklore, and guest tracks by Daniel Otto Jack Petersen of the Horror Punk act,

Blaster the Rocket Man Blaster the Rocket Man was a Christian punk, Christian horror punk band from Indianapolis, Indiana. It formed in the early 1990s as Blaster the Rocketboy and signed with Boot to Head Records in 1994. It released two albums before signing with Jac ...

. On November 3, 2011, the band released a music video for the song "Useless," filmed by Emily Kathryn Curry. The band's most recent E.P., ''The Scariest Thing in the Dark'' (2012), features songs by both the Portland and St. Louis bands, as well as spoken word tracks by Tyler and Daniel Otto Jack Petersen. Insomniac Folklore has been associated with both the

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

and

Steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or ...

movements. They have been featured on Sepiachord for the songs "Kids", "Useless" and "The Scariest Thing in the Dark". On November 5, 2013, the band's website announced a new album in the works entitled, "Everything Will Burn" would be recorded during the winter of 2013. The album has since been delayed and is now scheduled for a 2016 release.

Members

The only constant member of the band since the beginning is Tyler Hentschel. Every other position in the band has been filled by several of other musicians. Dennis Childers joined the band as part-time bass player in 2007. Dennis has also played with

Yum Yum Children The Yum Yum Children, also known as YMYM FAM, are a Christian band originally from Portland, Oregon, now located in Oklahoma. Their music is similar to that of They Might Be Giants or 1970s style art rock. Background Prior to his involvement wi ...

, Flock 14, Empty Tomb &

Larry Norman Larry David Norman (April 8, 1947 – February 24, 2008) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Christian rock music and released more than 100 album ...

. In 2008, Ayden Simonatti joined the band as a bass player then moved to drums while working with Hentschel on another project as alter egos "Runes and Numerals." Around the same time, Ayden's sisters Zoe and Anavah Simonatti joined the band as backing vocalists. Ayden, Zoe and Anavah are the children of Randy and Chris Simonatti of the alternative punk group, The Clergy. Zoe and Anavah stopped being active members of the band in 2011. Wallace the Sheep joined the band shortly before summer tour of 2011.

Current members

Vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

Stomping A stomp (also referred to as a stamp) is a downwards strike with the heel of the foot from the stand-up position, and is usually directed at the head or body of a downed opponent. A stomp similar to an axe kick is referred to as an axe stomp, w ...

*Adrienne Michelle -

Puppetry Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a perform ...

, *Amanda Curry -

Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

Part time members

*Joshua Hedlund -

Accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

*Lisa Barfield -

Violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

*Ayden Simonatti -

Drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

*Dennis Childers -

*St John Van Beek -

*Danielle Maes -

Former members and contributors

*Zoe Simonatti -

*Anavah Simonatti -

*Brian Fletchner -

*Leon Goodenough -

*Tim Westcott -

Synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

Bradley Hathaway Bradley Hathaway (February 13, 1982) is an American spoken word poet, singer and songwriter from Fort Smith, Arkansas. Biography Bradley Hathaway was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas and lived there until 1997, when he moved to Alma, Arkansas, where h ...

Voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production in ...

*Ricardo Alessio -

Ironing Board Ironing is the use of a machine, usually a heated tool (an iron), to remove wrinkles and unwanted creases from fabric. The heating is commonly done to a temperature of 180–220 °Celsius (356-428 Fahrenheit), depending on the fabric. Ironing wor ...

*Kat Jones -

*Daniel Petersen -

*Nate Allen -

*Tessa Allen -

Discography

;Studio albums * '' Consumer Appreciation'' (2003) * ''

Smile or Die ''Smile or Die'' is the second studio album by American indie folk, indie-folk group Insomniac Folklore. It was recorded by Chris George and Tyler Hentschel at Full Circle Studio in Humboldt County, California and was released in September 2005. ...

'' (2005) * '' Oh Well'' (2007) * '' LP'' (2010) * '' A Place Where Runaways Are Not Alone'' (2011) * '' Everything Will Burn'' (2017) ;EPs * ''EP'' (2010) * ''Folklore, Narcissism, Destruction'' (2011) * ''The Scariest Thing in The Dark'' (2012) * ''Kill a Tree for Jesus'' (2012) ;B-side, Demo and Compilation albums * ''What a Mess Vol. 1'' (2010) * ''Alone'' (2010) * '' Sleep In Your Car'' (2014) * '' The Early Years'' (2014) ;Live albums * ''Live in Salem'' (2006) ;Singles * "Listen to Your Parents (But Don't Trust the Government)" (2013) ;Compilation albums * "Quiver Society Comp 1" (2006) * "Failing Records: A Compilation Of Portland Music Volume 4" (2007) * "Folk Family Union Volume 2" (2010) * "Eat This Comp. Volume 1" (2013
Eat this Comp. Volume 1, by Eat this Comp

Tours

* Spring 2002: West Coast Tour (with Kat Jones & MAP) * Summer 2003: "Consumer Appreciation" National Tour (solo) * Fall 2005: "North to the Future" West Coast tour * Summer 2006: "Smile or Die" West Coast Tour * Summer 2007: "Oh Well" West Coast tour * Summer/Fall 2010: "Alone" National tour (solo) * Summer 2011: "The Runaways Tour" national * Spring 2012: "Runaway Pioneers" Midwest tour (with Kevin Schlereth) * Spring/Summer 2013: "You Have Died" National tour * Fall 2013: "Going Out West" National tour (w/ Kat Jones) * Summer 2015: National Tour (duo) * Fall 2016: "Premonitions / recollections" National tour * Summer 2016: Tour of South and Midwest * Summer 2017: "Everything Will Burn" National Tour * Summer 2018: "Duo" National Tour (duo) * Summer 2019: "Summer Tour" West/Midwest (Full band tour)

References

{{Reflist 2001 establishments in Oregon American musical trios Dark cabaret musicians Gypsy punk groups Indie rock musical groups from Oregon Musical groups established in 2001 Musical groups from Portland, Oregon Steampunk music