The Autumn Defense is an American

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 composed of multi-instrumentalists

John Stirratt John Chadwick Stirratt is an American bassist and multi-instrumentalist for Wilco and The Autumn Defense. Early career Stirratt grew up in Mandeville, Louisiana. He attended Mandeville High School and the University of Mississippi, and is a ...

and

Pat Sansone Patrick Anthony "Pat" Sansone (born June 21, 1969) is an American multi-instrumentalist in the rock bands Wilco and The Autumn Defense. Early bands Sansone was born in Meridian, Mississippi. Upon entering college at The University of South ...

History

The Autumn Defense began as a side project for

, best known for his work as bassist for

alt-country Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style f ...

bands

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently dur ...

and

Uncle Tupelo Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. Jay Farrar, Jeff Tweedy, and Mike Heidorn formed the band after the lead singer of their previous band, The Primitives, left to attend c ...

. In 1999, Stirratt began collaborating with friend

, known for his work with

Joseph Arthur Joseph Arthur (born September 28, 1971) is an American singer-songwriter and artist from Akron, Ohio. He is best known for his solo material, and as a member of Fistful of Mercy and RNDM. Arthur has built his reputation over the years through ...

and

Josh Rouse Josh Rouse (born March 9, 1972) is an American folk/roots pop singer-songwriter. Originally from Nebraska, Rouse began his recording career in Nashville in 1998 and later relocated to Spain. In 2014, Rouse won a Spanish Goya Film Award in the c ...

, to produce 1960s-style rock/pop. Their debut album ''The Green Hour'' was released on Stirratt's own Broadmoor label, with Stirratt doing the bulk of the writing while Sansone focused on the technical recording aspects. The band did some light touring around the United States in between other projects. The duo reconvened in 2002 to begin work on their follow-up album, the critically acclaimed ''

Circles A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

'' released in 2003 on the

Arena Rock Recording Co. Arena Rock Recording Company ("Arena Rock" or "ARRCO") is an independent record label based in Portland, Oregon. Albums are distributed by Redeye in the United States and Koch in Canada. Arena Rock was formed in 1995 in Brooklyn, New York, by ...

label. ''

'' saw the introduction of

as a songwriter in the project, in addition to arrangement and production duties. The band received press in ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * ' ...

'', '' No Depression'', and the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' and supported the release with a successful club tour throughout America and Europe. In 2004, after the release of ''Circles'' Sansone joined Stirratt as part of Wilco's six-man lineup, in which he still remains. Stirratt released an album with his twin sister Laurie, entitled ''Arabella'' in 2004, which featured several Autumn Defense collaborators including drummer Greg Wieczorek, bassist Brad Jones, and guitarist John Pirruccello. The album was released on Broadmoor Records. The band's third, self-titled record was released in the US January 16, 2007 on Broadmoor while Broken Horse records issued ''The Autumn Defense'' in the UK/Europe on February 25, 2008. This was their first album to feature equal songwriting and lead vocalist duties shared by both Stirratt and Sansone, which has continued ever since. The band embarked on a US tour in February and March 2007. The Autumn Defense released their fourth LP titled ''

Once Around ''Once Around'' is a 1991 American romantic comedy-drama film about a young woman who falls for and eventually marries an overbearing older man who proceeds to rub her close-knit family the wrong way, while exposing the dynamics of other family ...

'' in November 2010 on Yep Roc Records. Their fifth LP, entitled ''Fifth'' , was released on January 28, 2014 on Yep Roc, and features the core of their live touring band including drummer Greg Wieczorek, bassist James Haggerty, and John Pirruccello on guitar and pedal steel. UK based vinyl only reissue label Be With Records has re-released three of The Autumn Defense's albums on vinyl LP. The Autumn Defense (Self-Titled) in 2015, The Green Hour in 2016, and ''

'' in 2018.

Discography

* ''The Green Hour'' (CD/LP) – Broadmoor – 2001 * ''

'' (CD/LP) –

– 2003 * '' Birds, Beasts, & Flowers'' EP (split with

Hem A hem in sewing is a garment finishing method, where the edge of a piece of cloth is folded and sewn to prevent unravelling of the fabric and to adjust the length of the piece in garments, such as at the end of the sleeve or the bottom of the ga ...

) –

– 2003 * ''The Autumn Defense'' (CD) – Broadmoor – 2007 * ''

'' (CD/LP) – Yep Roc – 2010 * '' Fifth'' (CD) – Yep Roc – 2014

External links

Official band website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Autumn Defense, The Indie rock musical groups from Illinois Arena Rock Recording Company artists