Aleka's Attic
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Aleka's Attic were an alternative folk/rock band from Gainesville,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, formed by
River Phoenix River Jude Phoenix (; August 23, 1970 ā€“ October 31, 1993) was an American actor, musician and activist. Phoenix grew up in an itinerant family, as the older brother of Rain Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix, Liberty Phoenix, and Summer Phoenix. He ha ...
and Josh Greenbaum in April 1987.


History

The original line up of Aleka's Attic included River as lead singer and played
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 ...
; his younger sister
Rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...
sang, but, contrary to many incorrect reports, did not play
keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...
in the band (although she did play various
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
, such as
tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...
); Tim Hankins played the viola; Josh McKay was the
bass player A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...
; Josh Greenbaum, a friend of River's from Florida, was the drummer. Rain Phoenix would periodically attend a part of a rehearsal but officially joined about a year later. It is a common mistake that Rain started the band with River. Although she had sung along with River since they were young, she in fact, showed little interest during the first year or more of Aleka's Attic (prior to that name as well) when it was only River and Josh "Greene" (as he went by during that time) Greenbaum in the garage working on songs most of that first year plus. About choosing the band's name, "Aleka's a fictional poet-philosopher who gathered friends in his attic to discuss his ideas, when Aleka dies they form a band to share his beliefs with others through music". River was offered to sign a two-year development deal with
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
to develop the band and record a marketable
album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
, which was not accomplished in the time allotted due to River's ongoing film work schedule. So Island, retaining the option to continue or not, opted out of the deal based on the non-marketability of River's newer material. River then decided to record an album independently for the band.


The unreleased album

The release of the album, with the proposed titles ''Never Odd Or Even'' and ''Zero'', was postponed due to River's death. Though Rain spent two years weeding through unfinished tracks and mixing what was a slew of performances, no finished product was ever completed. The reason is that there has been communication problems between the Phoenix family and former members Tim Hankins and Sasa Raphael. Josh Greenbaum and Josh Mckay had readily signed a release form allowing their tracks to be used, hence the early enthusiasm about the potential release of the record. According to Greenbaum, "The reason River signed with Island in the first place was because he obviously wanted to get his music out to the world. I just want to see that happen, even if I never see a penny from it. That would make the investment of five years of my life worth it." An original track list for bootlegs of ''Zero/Never Odd Or Even'': # Alone We Elope # Below Beloved # Bliss Is... # Dog God # Get Anything # Note To A Friend # Safety Pins and Army Boots # Scales & Fishnails # Senile Felines # You're So Ostentatious In 1997, Phoenix's friend
Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Poss ...
of
R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative ...
bought the rights to all of Aleka's Attic's material from
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
. Homemade versions of an album and many other songs by the band can be found on various sites throughout the internet. In the film ''
Sneakers Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used fo ...
'', whose cast includes Aleka's Attic member River Phoenix, the character played by
Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975ā€“1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...
wears an Aleka's Attic T-shirt in one scene. In December 2018, Rain Phoenix announced on Instagram that Aleka's Attic singles would be released in 2019 with the album being released eventually.
Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...
bassist
Flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...
is appearing on two unreleased Aleka's Attic songs to mark River Phoenix's 50th birthday. In July 2020, it was reported that Aleka's Attic heavily influenced a forthcoming novel by British novelist
Guy Mankowski Guy Mankowski (born 6 January 1983) is an English writer. He is the great grandson of the author and broadcaster Harry Mortimer Batten. He was educated at St John's College, Portsmouth and Ampleforth College. He read Applied Psychology at Dur ...
, entitled "Dead Rock Stars".


Released tracks

* The group sold tapes between 1989 and 1990 with the songs "Goldmine", "Too Many Colors", "Across The Way" and "Blue Period". *"Across The Way", which was written by River and Josh McKay, was included on the 1989 PETA benefit album, ''
Tame Yourself ''Tame Yourself'' was an album released by Rhino Records on April 30, 1991, to benefit PETA. The album debuted at #184 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and peaked at #165 during its 3rd week on the chart. Track listing #"Don't Be Part of It" - Howard J ...
''. *"Note To A Friend", featuring River's friend
Michael "Flea" Balzary Michael Peter Balzary (born October 16, 1962), known professionally as Flea, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He is a founding member and bassist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Flea was born in Melbourne, Victoria; his fam ...
of the
Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...
on bass, was released on the 1996 compilation 'In Defense Of Animals: Volume II' *The song "Too Many Colors", was featured on the unreleased soundtrack of "
My Own Private Idaho ''My Own Private Idaho'' is a 1991 American independent adventure drama film written and directed by Gus Van Sant, loosely based on Shakespeare's ''Henry IV, Part 1'', '' Henry IV, Part 2'', and ''Henry V''. The story follows two friends, Mike ...
", a 1991 film starring River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves, directed by Gus Van Sant. * The songs "Where Iā€™d Gone" and "Scales & Fishnails" were released on the album "Time Gone" by Rain Phoenix in 2019. Next to this the song "Time is the Killer" by Rain Phoenix and
Michael Stipe John Michael Stipe (; born January 4, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter and artist, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of alternative rock band R.E.M. He is known for his vocal quality, poetic lyrics and unique stage presence. Poss ...
was also released on the album. * "Senile Felines" was published in 2010 on the album ''Tiny Idols Volume III'' by Snowglobe Records. * The song "In The Corner Dunce" was released in January 2019 by the label LaunchLeft. * On August 23, 2020, the label LaunchLeft released the songs "Alone U
Elope Elopement is a term that is used in reference to a marriage which is conducted in a sudden and secretive fashion, usually involving a hurried flight away from one's place of residence together with one's beloved with the intention of getting ma ...
" and "2x4" in commemoration of River Phoenix's 50th birthday.


Other tracks

* Too Many Colors - 5:24 * Goldmine - 5:26 * Where I'd Gone - 3:17 (solo version by River Phoenix) * Get Anything - 3:52 * Note to a Friend - 1:11 * Below Beloved - 3:56 * Popular Thinks (Live) - 2:13 * You're so Ostentatious - 2:42 * In The Corner Dunce - 3:41 * Scales and Fish-nails - 0:41 * Across the Way - 4:58 * Senile Felines - 4:40 * Safety Pins and Army Boots - 1:49 * Dog God - 3:28 * Bliss is... - 3:38 * Blue Period - 5:15 * Alone we Elope (Hidden Track) - 3:14


References


External links

*
Aleka's Attic Music at Myspace
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1987 Alternative rock groups from Florida Musical groups from Gainesville, Florida American folk rock groups 1987 establishments in Florida Sibling musical groups Musical groups from Florida