Wild Light is an American four-piece
indie rock
Indie rock is a 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 music they produc ...
band from
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
, United States, composed of multi-instrumentalists/vocalists Tim Kile and Seth Pitman, guitarist/vocalist Jordan Alexander, and drummer Seth Kasper. The band formed in 2005 and released its first full-length album, ''Adult Nights'', in March 2009. Kile is a former member of the Canadian band,
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member ...
.
Biography
Wild Light began when Tim and Jordan began making music together in elementary school. In high school, they joined with Seth Pitman and Seth Kasper to form a band. Jordan attended
Phillips Exeter Academy in
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
, where he shared a room with
Win Butler
Edwin Farnham Butler III (born April 14, 1980) is an American-Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist. He co-founded the Montreal-based indie rock band Arcade Fire with his wife Régine Chassagne.
Early life
Butler was ...
- future lead singer of
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member ...
. Tim met Win through Jordan, and after high school Tim moved to
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
to start the first incarnation of what would become Arcade Fire with Win and
Josh Deu, the artist behind the ''Adult Nights'' cover. Tim left the group after a year, and in 2005 Kasper, Seth, Jordan and Tim reunited to form Wild Light. Through their relationship with Arcade Fire, the two bands toured extensively throughout Europe in late 2007.
In the summer of 2008, Wild Light traveled to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
and entered the
recording studio to work with producer
Rob Schnapf
Rob Schnapf is an American record producer and musician. He was the co-producer (along with Tom Rothrock) of Elliott Smith's albums ''Either/Or'', '' XO'' (on which he also played guitar on the song " Baby Britain"), ''Figure 8'' and ''From a ...
on their debut album, ''Adult Nights'' (StarTime International), which was released on March 3, 2009.
Accomplishments
2007
* In 2007, the band opened for
Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury and Jeremy Gara. The band's current touring line-up also includes former core member ...
and
LCD Soundsystem at the
Hollywood Bowl and
Shoreline Amphitheatre
Shoreline Amphitheatre is an outdoor amphitheater located in Mountain View, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The venue has a capacity of 22,500, with 6,500 reserved seats and 16,000 general admission on the lawn. When the parking lot ...
in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, as well as
Randall's Island 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 ...
. They joined Arcade Fire on their full European tour in October 2007, starting in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, and ending in mid-November with three dates at
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
's Alexandra Palace. That year, the band also released a four-song, self-titled EP.
2008
*In early 2008 they opened for
The Stills
The Stills were a Canadian rock band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 2000 and disbanded in 2011.
History
The band's original lineup consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist Tim Fletcher, guitarist Gregory Paquet, bassist Olivier Corbeil and dr ...
on a short tour, and made their debut at Austin's
South by Southwest Music Festival where they were featured on
Steve Lamacq
Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio station BBC Radio 6 Music.
Early life
He attended The Ramsey Academ ...
’s
BBC 6 Music show. In December 2008, the band won Outstanding Rock Act of The Year at the
Boston Music Awards
Founded in 1987, the Boston Music Awards are a set of music awards given annually that showcase talent in the Boston, Massachusetts, area.
Past shows have featured such notable talent as Aerosmith, Paula Cole, Esperanza Spalding, Boston, Rubyho ...
.
2009
*In early 2009, Wild Light opened for
Tapes 'n Tapes
Tapes 'n Tapes is an indie rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
History
Formed in the winter of 2003 at Carleton College, the band has released four albums. First came the self-released ''Tapes 'n Tapes EP'' in 2004, followed by the full-length ...
on its US tour. The band went on to play SXSW again in March 2009, becoming one of the festival's most notable acts of the year, according to ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
''.
*From April to May 2009, Wild Light opened for
The Killers
The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After going through a number of short-term bass players and drummers in t ...
on the first leg of their worldwide tour.
*The band also did a collaboration with The Killers on the latter's Christmas single, "
¡Happy Birthday Guadalupe!" which also features
Mariachi el Bronx. The single was released on December 1, 2009.
Discography
Albums
* ''Adult Nights'' (2009)
Singles
* "California on My Mind" (2009)
* "
Happy Birthday Guadalupe" (with
The Killers
The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After going through a number of short-term bass players and drummers in t ...
and
Mariachi el Bronx) (2009)
References
External links
Official Site
{{Authority control
American indie pop groups
Indie rock musical groups from New Hampshire
2005 establishments in New Hampshire
Musical groups established in 2005
Musical quartets