This Busy Monster was 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 formed in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington in the early 1990s. The band was composed of Christopher Possanza (vocals, guitar), Josh Rosenfeld (bass guitar), Jason Avinger (guitar, vocals) and Barrett Wilke (drums). Known for their unconventional song structures, and eclectic instrumentation (including the use of a

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

in many tracks), the band released three full-length albums, '' Like Icicles'', '' The Curious Sofa'' and ''

Fireworks Fireworks are a class of Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a l ...

'', and released many EPs. This Busy Monster are also notable for forming the record label

Barsuk Records Barsuk Records ( ) is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, that was founded by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, in 1998 to release their band's material. Its logo is a draw ...

, named after Avinger and Possanza's dog, which can be heard barking in the track "Song 69". Initially created in 1994 to release the band's material during their success in the early 1990s, Barsuk Records later became a very successful label in its own right, signing and releasing material from numerous local and internationally-known artists.

History

This Busy Monster formed in 1992, taking their name from
poem
written by

E. E. Cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...

, releasing their first tape, ''Ginger'', in early 1992, before they had officially formed the band. With the release of ''Dark Hands'' in April 1993, the group was officially formed and began playing local shows. They performed numerous shows at local Seattle venues, playing with other local bands such as Sick and Wrong and The Thingmakers, and opening for the indie band

Treepeople TreePeople is an educational and training environmental advocacy organization based in Los Angeles, California. The TreePeople organization advocates and works to support a sustainable urban ecosystems in the Greater Los Angeles area through e ...

. In 1994, the band released two

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

, "Belated" in April with the help of Egg Studios and members of the band Posies, and "Swing Dream" was released in September. The band continued playing small venues with other local acts, often with members of the yet-to-be-formed

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyboar ...

. In 1994, they also created the band's record label

. In 1995, the band went on a small tour with Built to Spill around the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

. In summer and fall, they finally gained notice from various music publications and touring with

Modest Mouse Modest Mouse is an American rock band formed in 1992 in Issaquah, Washington, and currently based in Portland, Oregon. The founding members are lead singer/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. Strongly influenced ...

. The ''Rocket'' (a Northwest music-related newspaper), the ''Seattle Weekly'' and the ''

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

Daily'' all printed good reviews, the UW Daily saying: "This four-piece blends the conventions of 'interesting' music, replete with complex structures and difficult-sounding parts, with the undeniable pop-rock sensibility. Thus, they manage to sidestep the ghettoes of prog for something altogether catchier and more satisfying but never let matters become precious or cute. They have an undeniable power when playing live that turns on tightness and the tack-sharp, vaguely dissociative lyrics and vocal lines." In 1996 and 1997, the band continued touring with Built To Spill and Death Cab for Cutie, with the latter signing to the band's Barsuk Records label. The band began recording its first full-length album, '' Like Icicles'', released in June 1998 on Barsuk Records. The band released two further albums, '' The Curious Sofa'' and ''

'', in 2000 and 2001, respectively. The current status of the band is not known, as they have been largely inactive as a group since 2001.

Band members

*Christopher Possanza — guitar, lead vocals, song-writing *Jason Avinger — guitar, back-up vocals *Josh Rosenfeld — bass guitar *Barrett Wilke — drums

Discography

All releases on

*''Like Icicles'' (

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

) *''Fireworks'' (

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

) *''The Curious Sofa'' EP.html"_;"title="Extended_play.html"_;"title="/nowiki>Extended_play">EP">Extended_play.html"_;"title="/nowiki>Extended_play">EP/nowiki>_(2000_in_music.html" "title="Extended_play">EP.html" ;"title="Extended_play.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Extended play">EP">Extended_play.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Extended play">EP/nowiki> (2000 in music">2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

History

Band members

Discography

External links

Resources