Secret Cities is an American

independent 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 from

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

, United States. Its founding members, Charles Gokey and Marie J. Parker, met at a band camp in July 2001, while in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. Although the two lived 500 km apart, in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo ( /ˈfɑɹɡoʊ/) is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 125,990, making it the most populous city in the state and the 219th-most populous city in ...

and

Williston, North Dakota Williston is a city in and the county seat of Williams County, North Dakota, United States. The 2020 census gave its population as 29,160, making Williston the sixth-largest city in North Dakota. The city's population nearly doubled between 20 ...

, respectively, the two started making music by exchanging tapes in the mail and composing using four-track recorders. They continued in this fashion until February 2004, when the pair changed their name to The Foliage and put out their first release on Fall Records, a split with In Ink Please entitled "How to Make Better Love." In July 2005 the band released a mini-LP, ''Zurich'' on Fall Records under the moniker The White Foliage. The group also added a third member, Alex Abnos, during a tour of the Midwest in that year. In 2008, after an extended hiatus, the band released the Bright Teeth EP, marking a shift toward a pop-ier, more electronic sound. The band changed its name to Secret Cities after signing to

Western Vinyl Western Vinyl is an independent record label founded in 1998 and based in Austin, Texas. The imprint was formed by Brian Sampson and Ryan Murphy originally to release their lo-fi indie rock projects as Win Foster and Havergal. Artists *Abram Sh ...

Records in 2010 where they have since released three full-length albums.

Members

*Charles Gokey:

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

concertina A concertina is a free-reed musical instrument, like the various accordions and the harmonica. It consists of expanding and contracting bellows, with buttons (or keys) usually on both ends, unlike accordion buttons, which are on the front. The ...

*Marie J. Parker: vocals, piano, guitar,

french horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

, trumpet, saxophone *Alex Abnos: drums, vocals, percussion, guitar, ukulele

Discography

As The White Foliage: *''How to Make Better Love'' Split CD with In Ink Please (Fall Records 2004) *''Zurich'' mini-LP (Fall Records 2004) *''Bright Teeth'' EP (Fall Records 2008) iTunes only. As Secret Cities: *''Pink Graffiti'' LP (

2010) *''Strange Hearts'' LP (

2011) *''Walk Me Home'' LP (

2014)

External links

Secret Cities' official website
Indie rock musical groups from North Dakota Musical groups established in 2001 Western Vinyl artists {{US-indie-rock-band-stub