Pine Valley Cosmonauts (PVC) are a musical ensemble from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

History

The group was initiated by

Jon Langford Jonathan Denis Langford (born 11 October 1957) is a Welsh musician and artist based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Langford is a founder member of the punk band The Mekons, the post-punk group The Three Johns, and the alternative country ...

(also of the

Waco Brothers The Waco Brothers are an American alternative country, or country-punk rock, band based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. History The Waco Brothers was formed by Jon Langford of the Mekons. The group grew out of Langford's wish to play more ...

and

The Mekons The Mekons are a British band formed in the late 1970s as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands. The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of ...

) as a covers group, with both repertory and cast of backing members constantly shifting. The name was first used for Langford's 1995 album of

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

cover songs. In 1998, Langford enlisted the help of a number of prominent alt-country musicians (including

Neko Case Neko Richelle Case (; born September 8, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and member of the Canadian indie rock group the New Pornographers. Case has a powerful, untrained contralto voice, which has been described by contemporaries and cri ...

Alejandro Escovedo Alejandro Escovedo (born January 10, 1951) is an American rock musician, songwriter, and singer, who has been recording and touring since the late 1970s. His primary instrument is the guitar. He has played in various rock genres, including punk ...

, and

Robbie Fulks Robert "Robbie" Fulks (born March 25, 1963) is an American alternative country singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and long-time Chicago, Illinois resident. He has released 13 albums over a career spanning more than 30 years. His 2016 record ''Upl ...

) for a full-length tribute album to

Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although S ...

. The PVC served next as the backing band for

Kelly Hogan Kelly Hogan (born January 11, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, often known for her work as a member of Neko Case's backing band, as well as for her solo work. Early and personal life Hogan was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the daughter of ...

's second album, ''Beneath the Country Underdog;'' Hogan had provided vocals on the Wills tribute. Their next album, ''The Executioner's Last Songs'', was released in 2002 and is a collection of songs about death. Following this record's success, the group recorded two more albums of songs about death as benefits for the Illinois Coalition Against the Death Penalty. These albums featured such guests as

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, author, and actor. Earle began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Initially working in the country music g ...

and

Mark Eitzel Mark Eitzel (born January 30, 1959) is an American musician, best known as a songwriter and lead singer of the San Francisco band American Music Club. Biography Eitzel spent his formative years in a military family living in Okinawa, Taiwan, Ohi ...

. The group rarely performs live, though it occasionally does special performances in the Chicago area. In 2007 the group appeared as backing band on

Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () were a British rock band formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. Other singles include "Amnesia", " Enou ...

member

Danbert Nobacon Chumbawamba () were a British rock band formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. Other singles include " Amnesia", " Enou ...

's solo album ''The Library Book of the World'', as well as playing live with Nobacon. The PVC appeared at the

Old Town School of Folk Music The Old Town School of Folk Music is a Chicago teaching and performing institution that launched the careers of many notable folk music artists. Founded by Folk musicians Frank Hamilton and Win Stracke, and Dawn Greening, the School opened in the ...

(OTSFM) in Chicago, Illinois, on October 10, 2009, where the band was originally scheduled to back

Australian Aboriginal Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

singer

Roger Knox Roger Knox (born 1948) is an Australian country singer, known as the Black Elvis and the Koori King of Country. Early life Knox is from the Gamilaroi nation, part of the Aboriginal Australian community, and was born in Moree, New South Wales. ...

, but Knox's US visa was denied. Instead, the band played a number of Knox's songs accompanied by singer

Sally Timms Sally Timms (born 29 November 1959) is an English singer and lyricist. Timms is best known for her long involvement with The Mekons whom she joined in 1985.Sally Timmsat Allmusic Career Born in Leeds, in 1959,Wallenfeldt, Jeffthe Mekons in ''E ...

. A second set had the band supporting a performance by

Rosie Flores Rosie Flores (born September 10, 1950) is an American rockabilly and country music artist. Her music blends rockabilly, honky tonk, jazz, and Western swing along with traditional influences from her Tex-Mex heritage. She currently resides in Au ...

. The Knox-Langford tour finally occurred in 2012, including performances at OTSFM and the

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Hardly Strictly Bluegrass (HSB), originally Strictly Bluegrass, is an annual free and non-commercial music festival held the first weekend of October in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California. Conceived and subsidized by San Francisco ven ...

festival in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. On July 17, 2021, PVC performed at Chicago's

Hideout Inn Hideout Chicago, also known as Hideout Inn, is a music venue and former factory bar located in an industrial area between the Lincoln Park and Bucktown neighborhoods of Chicago in the Elston Avenue Industrial Corridor. It has been a key Chicago ...

to release their "The Closing Time 2020" album, a song-for-song cover of/tribute to

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 ...

's 1973 first album '' Closing Time''. The album and performances were co-produced and financed by Greg Hall's

Virtue Cider Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standards: ...

brewery, to support the

Chicago Independent Venue League (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(CIVL), a partner and predecessor of the

National Independent Venue Association The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) is an American organization of independent music venues, independent promoters and festivals, formed in March 2020 and based in New York, New York, pursuing federal support such as business recove ...

(NIVA). Guests on the album include "

Andrew Bird Andrew Wegman Bird (born July 11, 1973) is an American indie rock multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Since 1996, he has released 16 studio albums, as well as several live albums and EPs, spanning various genres including swing musi ...

Jeff Tweedy Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the singer and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, started his music career in high s ...

and Janet Bean".

Discography

Compilation contributions

* "13 Nights" - ''Down to the Promised Land: 5 Years of Bloodshot Records''- as

& the Pine Valley Cosmonauts (Bloodshot, 2000)

References

External links

Pine Valley Cosmonauts at Allmusic.comPine Valley Cosmonauts
at Bloodshot Records {{Authority control Musical groups from Chicago American alternative country groups Musical groups established in 1995 1995 establishments in Illinois Bloodshot Records artists