Lincoln was an American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band consisting of four members: Chris Temple (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Gonzalo Martinez de la Cotera (drums),

Danny Weinkauf Danny Weinkauf (born 4 December 1963) is a Grammy-winning New York-based musician and composer. He has been the longtime bassist for They Might Be Giants (TMBG). He has recorded and toured with the band since the late 1990s. Weinkauf had previou ...

(bass), and Dan Miller (guitar). They were based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The band broke up in 1998 after releasing only one album, ''Lincoln''.

History

''Lincoln'' (self-titled album) (1997)

Formed by singer-songwriter Chris Temple, a former

landscaper Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

,Miller, Jay N. (March 21, 1998). "CD Reviews: Lincoln: Lincoln", ''

The Patriot Ledger ''The Patriot Ledger'' is a daily newspaper in Quincy, Massachusetts, that serves the South Shore. It publishes Monday through Saturday. Known for its thorough news coverage of the 26 communities south of Boston, ''The Patriot Ledger'' has won ...

'', p. 37. the band released their first and only (self-titled) album in 1997. The album was noted to show versatility in songwriting, ranging from

alt-pop Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

to country rock to synthpop.Damas, Jason. "

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

. Retrieved on 2009-09-19. The lyrics were often observations of life, ranging from relationships (and their end) in "Stop" and "Wish you Were Dead" via

hedonistic Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decre ...

car driving in "Sucker", drug habits in "Straight", the burden of keeping up appearances in "Unhappy" to an anti-anthem for Temple's hometown Carversville, Pennsylvania in "Carversville". The album got positive reviews, both from critics and fans. Gary Graff of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'' wrote that the album put Lincoln on a short list of "quirky pop groups that know how to wrap their irreverence in irresistible songs." ''

s critic wrote that "Lincoln explores the same nerdy pop domain as their mentors, They Might Be Giants, with clever lyrics and slightly skewed rock." In a positive review, ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' compared the band's songs to "long-lost '70s Top 40 hits."

Tours

On tours, Lincoln opened for

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a ...

, Susanna Hoffs and

Marcy Playground Marcy Playground is an American alternative rock band consisting of three members: John Wozniak (lead vocals, guitar), Dylan Keefe (bass), and Shlomi Lavie (drums). The band is best known for their 1997 hit " Sex and Candy". History Early ...

. (Although they toured together, Lincoln did not take its name from They Might Be Giants' album ''

''.) In a review of one of the performances, the '' Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' wrote that Lincoln "specializes more in charisma and less in invention: While lead singer Chris Temple is endearing, his band's music is mostly guitar-oriented pop. It's mostly harmless but quite memorable."Gilbertson, Jon M. (October 20, 1997). "They Might Be Giants keeps it fun", '' Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', p. 8.

Breakup

While touring with

in the fall of 1998, guitarist Miller left the band. They played at least one concert (in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

) with only the three remaining members, but then the band broke up. Dan Miller and Danny Weinkauf went on to join

. Gonzalo "Gonz" Martinez de la Cotera became drummer of

, replacing Dan Rieser, but left the band before their 2009 tour. Chris Temple went on to pursue his solo career, as he also contributed a song for the film ''

Welcome to the Dollhouse ''Welcome to the Dollhouse'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age black comedy film written and directed by Todd Solondz. An independent film, it won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival and launched the careers of Solondz and He ...

''.

Discography

* ''Lincoln'' (1997)

Touring partners

(1997) *

(1998)

References

{{reflist Alternative rock groups from New York (state) American post-grunge musical groups