Kleenex Girl Wonder (or Kleenexgirlwonder or Kleen Ex-Girl Wonder in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
) is an
indie rock
Indie rock is a Music subgenre, 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 mu ...
band, originally from the suburbs of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
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but now based in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
The band's central and sole consistent member since its inception is Graham Smith (born July 14, 1979).
The original backing band consisted of neighborhood friends from his hometown of
Downers Grove, Illinois
Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. It is a south-west suburb of Chicago. The village is located between I-88 and I-55. ...
. This lineup consisted of Adam Blake (guitar), Rafeeq Hasan (bass), Quinn Goodwillie (guitar), Christian Goodwillie (bass) and Jeff Giba (drums).
The band of the past decade largely featured Smith on bass and vocals, Thayer McClanahan on guitar, and Matt LeMay on drums. Upon LeMay's departure following the completion of Vana Mundi (2018), the band brought in Adam Russin on drums to complete the current active trio.
After 2003, Smith released some albums under his own name, as well as some credited to both his given name and KGW. It is assured by numerous sources that no ill will or misdirection was meant by this.
All significant and currently available albums are listed in the discography below, with accreditation delineated as necessary.
Discography
* ''Porno Movie'' (1994) √KG0-3
* ''I'm Thinking Metric'' (1995) √KG0-2
* ''Miss Pregnant Wetnuts'' (1995) √KG0-69
* ''Old Timer Loose in Mustard Springs'' (1995, unreleased) √KG0-1
* ''Sexual Harassment'' (1996) √KG001
* ''Graham Smith Is the Coolest Person Alive'' (1997) √KG002
* ''AGAS EP'' (1998) √KG00333
* ''Ponyoak'' (1999) √KG003
* ''Ponyoak Bonus EP'' (1999) √KG00366
* ''Smith'' (2001) √KG004
* ''Why I Write Such Good Songs EP'' (2002) √KG0045
* ''After Mathematics'' (2002) √KG005
* ''Final Battle'' (as Graham Smith) (2004) √KG006
* ''CMYK'' (4-album box set) (2006) √KG007 (also distilled as a single release, ''November Brain'' - these releases generally credited to Graham Smith & KGW, also sometimes as Graham Smith with Herbs or just Herbs)
* ''Yes Boss'' (2008) (as Graham Smith & KGW) √KG008
* ''Mrs. Equitone'' (2009) (as KGW) √KG009
* ''Accept the Mystery'' (2010) (as Graham Smith) √KG010
* ''Secret Thinking'' (2011) √KG011
* ''Let it Buffer'' (2013) √KG012
* ''The Comedy Album'' (2016) √KG013
* ''Vana Mundi'' (2018) √KG014
* ''White Lacuna'' (2018) √KG015
References
External links
*
Kleenex Girl Wonder music site
Indie rock musical groups from Illinois
Alternative rock groups from Chicago
{{US-indie-rock-band-stub