Rodan was an American

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

band from

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. The best known lineup of the band consisted of

Jeff Mueller Jeff Mueller is an American vocalist and guitarist best known as a member of the math rock bands Rodan, Shipping News and June of 44. His bands have been critically recognized for being key forerunners in the development of post-rock, math rock a ...

(guitar/vocals), Jason Noble (guitar/vocals),

Tara Jane O'Neil Tara Jane O'Neil (born November 22, 1972) (surname sometimes written as "ONeil"; sometimes credited as TJO) is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, audio recording engineer, and visual artist based out of Los Angeles, California, Unite ...

(bass/vocals), and Kevin Coultas (drums).

History

1992–1993: Formation, Aviary, early demos

Rodan formed in

, in 1992. After quickly passing through drummers Jon Cook and John Weiss, the band's roster was solidified by the addition of Kevin Coultas in 1993. In 1993, they recorded their ''Aviary'' demo, which saw limited release. Later that year, two songs from ''Aviary'', "Milk and Melancholy" and "Exoskeleton", were rerecorded and released as ''How the Winter Was Passed''.

1994: Rusty, Half-cocked

Six of the songs on the ''Aviary'' demo were re-recorded by Bob "Rusty" Weston (of

Shellac Shellac () is a resin secreted by the female lac bug on trees in the forests of India and Thailand. It is processed and sold as dry flakes and dissolved in alcohol to make liquid shellac, which is used as a brush-on colorant, food glaze and ...

fame), and released in 1994 as the album ''

Rusty Rusty may refer to something covered with rust or with a rust (color). Rusty is also a nickname for people who have red hair, have a rust-hued skin tone, or have the given name Russell. Rusty may also refer to: People *Rusty Anderson (born 1959 ...

''. The band starred in the 1994

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

road movie A road movie is a film genre in which the main characters leave home on a road trip, typically altering the perspective from their everyday lives. Road movies often depict travel in the hinterlands, with the films exploring the theme of alienatio ...

'' Half-cocked''; they also contributed music to the film's soundtrack. Although they were never signed to the label, Rodan was close to

Simple Machines A simple machine is a mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. In general, they can be defined as the simplest mechanisms that use mechanical advantage (also called leverage) to multiply force. Usually the term refer ...

, contributing to several compilations and playing at the label's Working Holiday festival. The band also had a

Peel session John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey (DJ) and radio presenter. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly fr ...

in 1995.

1995–present: Disbandment, future projects

Rodan broke up in 1995, with the members pursuing other musical interests. O'Neil joined

Retsin Retsin was an American indie rock band founded by Tara Jane O'Neil and Cynthia Nelson. History Retsin was founded in 1993 by O'Neil, who had played with Rodan, and Nelson, a member of Ruby Falls.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discogra ...

and began a solo career, Mueller joined

June of 44 June of 44 is an American rock band which was formed in 1994 from ex-members of Rodan, Lungfish, Rex, and Hoover. The band's name refers to the period during which writers Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1 ...

, Coultas and Noble joined

Rachel's Rachel's were an American chamber music group that formed in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1991. Former Rodan guitarist Jason Noble played music individually and referred to himself as Rachel's but then began collaborating with core members violist Chr ...

, and Coultas and O'Neil joined

The Sonora Pine The Sonora Pine was an American indie rock band founded by Tara Jane O'Neil active from 1995 to 1997. History O'Neil formed the band after the breakup of Rodan in 1995, in which she played bass. After moving to New York City, she began working w ...

. Mueller and Noble started

Shipping News Shipping News was an American post-rock/ post-hardcore band. The group formed in the fall of 1996 when members Jason Noble and Jeff Mueller, who were both in Rodan, collaborated to create music for the Chicago-based syndicated National Publi ...

in 1996, and continued to perform until Noble died from synovial sarcoma in 2012. In ''Fearless'', Jeanette Leech's book on the history of the post-rock genre, Rodan is discussed in the chapter on the Louisville scene. Mueller co-founded the band

in 1994. O'Neil played in the bands The King Cobra, The Naysayer, and

. Noble played in the chamber music group

which also featured contributions from Coultras and Mueller. Mueller and Noble also co-founded the band

in 1996 which was active until Noble's death in 2012. Noble was also part of the band Per Mission. In 1996, O'Neil recruited Coultras to work with her on

which disbanded the next year after releasing two albums. Weiss was part of the band Sunspring and Cook was active in the bands

Crain Crain may refer to: People * Crain (surname) Places * Crain, Yonne, a commune in the region Bourgogne, France Other * Crain (band), an indie rock band * Crain Communications, an American publishing conglomerate * ''Crain crain'', the common na ...

and Cerebellum.

August 2012: Noble's death

On August 4, 2012, Noble passed away from synovial sarcoma.

February 2013: Cook's death

Original drummer Jon Cook died in February 2013.

Band members

Core members

– bass guitar, vocals (1992–1995) *

– guitar, vocals (1992–1995) * Jason Noble – guitar, vocals (1992–1995; died 2012) * Kevin Coultras – drums, vocals (1993–1995)

Other members

* Jon Cook – drums (1992; died 2013) * John Weiss – drums (1992)

Discography

Studio albums *''

'' (1994)

Demos

* ''Aviary'' (1993; self-released cassette demo) EPs *''How the Winter Was Passed'' EP (Three Little Girls Recordings, 1993) Compilations *'' Fifteen Quiet Years'' (Quarterstick Records, 2013) *''Hat Factory '93'' (Quarterstick Records, 2019; LP/digital download) Compilation appearances *''Neither a Borrower Nor a Lender Bee'' (Bees Make Honey, year unknown) (song: "Tongue-Tied") *''The Aftereffects of Insomnia, Vol. 2'' (Three Little Girls Recordings, 1992) (song: "Shiner"

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

*''Slamdek Merry Christmas Is for Rockers'' (Slamdek Records, 1992) (song: "Toothfairy Retribution Manifesto") *'' The Machines 1990-1993'' (

Simple Machines Records A simple machine is a mechanical device that changes the direction or magnitude of a force. In general, they can be defined as the simplest mechanisms that use mechanical advantage (also called leverage) to multiply force. Usually the term refe ...

, 1993) (song: "Darjeeling") *''Omphalos'' (Richie's Lemon-Herb Media, 1993) (song: "Tooth Fairy Retribution Manifesto") *''Inclined Plane'' (Simple Machines, 1993) (song: "Darjeeling") *''Working Holiday'' (Simple Machines, 1994) (song: "Big Things, Little Things") *''The Monsters of Rock II'' (Simple Machines, 1994) (song: "Tooth Fairy Retribution Manifesto" ive *''CMJ New Music No. 10'' (College Music Journal, May 1994) (song: "Tooth Fairy Retribution Manifesto") *''Louisville Babylon'' (Analog Distillery, 1994) (song: "Who Killed Marilyn") *''Compulsiv for Two'' 7" (Compulsiv Music 1994) (song: "Shiner") *''Half-Cocked'' (Matador, 1995) (song: "Tron") *''Slamdek A to Z. The Illustrated History of Louisville's Slamdek Record Company 1986-1995'' (K Composite Media & Initial Records, 1996) (song: "Toothfairy Retribution Manifesto") *''Louisville Babylon 1994/2007'' (Double Malt Music, 2007) (song: "Who Killed Marilyn?")

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodan Musical groups from Louisville, Kentucky Math rock groups Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 American post-hardcore musical groups Quarterstick Records artists Rock music groups from Kentucky 1992 establishments in Kentucky 1995 disestablishments in Kentucky