Melomane: New York-based "pop-noir"




NEWS ARCHIVE: Chart the history of Melomane PIERRE FROM MELOMANE WILL BACK UP VIC CHESNUTT FOR THREE SHOWS IN NEW YORK. Needless to say, this is a huge honor for Pierre, who is a mega-fan of Vic's music. Come see one or all of these shows featuring a great band put together by T. Griffin of T. Griffin Coraline. Monday, June 14th at Joe's Pub 7:30 Door, $20 cover. No opening act. Wednesday, June 16th at Joe's Pub 7:30 Door, $20 cover. No opening act. Friday, June 18th at Southpaw in Brooklyn 8:30 Door, $15 cover. Sue Garner opens. NEXT MELOMANE SHOW : WEDNESDAY MAY 19 SOUTHPAW, Brooklyn. CONCERTS FOR KERRY. All proceeds go to the John Kerry campaign. Take Bush down now! NEXT MELOMANE SHOW : SATURDAY MAY 29 LILLY'S BIRTHDAY BASH. LILLY'S BAR, RED HOOK, BROOKLYN. People have been writing lots of nice things about us lately. The New York Press said ... de Gaillande's corrosive, politically charged lyrics recall Elvis Costello at his peak, while the melodies pulse and subside like vintage Roxy Music... The Village Voice said: Increasingly impressive chamber pop group Melomane offers up songs as portals and frigates. Big beautifully unnerving, jangly things to climb into or float away on... All right! MELOMANE are hard at work on their third full-length album. Basic tracks were recorded at Brooklyn Broadcast Audio using free-range musicians, organic microphones, and hormone-free instruments. No baby animals were harmed. Possible titles for the new album include SKY HORSE, EVOL ROSE, and VELOUR LOSS. If you have a better idea, just say so. MELOMANE Europe Tour 11.06 Thu Solothurn, Switzerland Kufa Kofmehl, with Gabardine 11.07 Fri Zurich, Switzerland Ehrenlose Schoenau, with Gabardine 11.08 Sat Brussels, Belgium Botanique, Orangerie with Arab Strap 11.09 Sun Hasselt , Belgium Muzik-O-Drom with Arab Strap 11.10 Mon Köln, Germany Kantine 11.11 Tue Halle, Germany Objekt 5 11.12 Wed Leipzig, Germany Conne Island with HIM 11.14 Fri Freiburg, Germany Swamp 11.15 Sat Ebensee, Austria Kino 11.16 Sun Darmstadt, Germany 603 Sq M 11.17 Mon Wurtzburg, Germany AKW 11.18 Tue München, Germany Prager Frühling 11.20 Thu Berlin, Germany Kesselhaus 11.22 Sat Dresden, Germany Schoene, with The National 11.23 Sun Hamburg, Germany Knust Come to MERCURY LOUNGE OCTOBER 3rd and see Melomane with two of NYC's finest shtick-rockers, beloved faux-french yeh-yeh hipsters Les Sans Culottes and disco-pedophile scenesters Rene Risque. Definitely one for the books. Melomane is getting regular play on the web radio show THE UPPER ROOM WITH JOE Kelley. Click here to check it out. Come to MERCURY LOUNGE OCTOBER 3rd and see Melomane with two of NYC's finest shtick-rockers, beloved faux-french yeh-yeh hipsters Les Sans Culottes and disco-pedophile scenesters Rene Risque. Definitely one for the books. The MELOMANE and Eleni Mandell Joe's Pub show on August 15th was cancelled due to a supposed "blackout," but we think it had more to do with Bush's insidious attempts to suppress Gov. Howard Dean's campaign and/or undermine French people. MELOMANE played with LA-based chanteuse ELENI MANDELL on August 1 at the Derby in Los Angeles. Jack Grace (Jack Grace Band, Steak) sat in on accordion and guitar, and James Fletcher (Smile, Film Star, Spider Pie) filled on the drums. Also on the bill were the mesmerizing Richard Swift and the hooky 88's. It was a gripping spectacle, one and all were satisfied. Daria and Pierre of Melomane sang the XTC song "Ten Feet Tall" at Loser's Lounge on Friday, June 13 at Fez at 9PM. SOLRESOL was officially released in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria on April 22nd on XXS Records. Go buy one today, all you German-speaking music-lovers! MELOMANE will be touring Europe in NOVEMBER. Check here for details as they come. IN THE US, ADVANCE COPIES OF THE NEW MELOMANE CD "SOLRESOL" ARE NOW AVAILABLE ATCDBABY.COM!! SUPPLIES ARE VERY LIMITED SO GET THEM WHILE THEY LAST. Click on MUSIC to hear the track "Complicated Melody." To buy CDs by credit or debit card if you don't have a computer, call 1-800-BUY-MY-CD. BINGO PALACE, the spaghetti-western electronica project of Melomane cellist/keyboardist Frank Heer and former Melomane drummer Fa Ventillato is out now on Codek Records. You have to check this out. It features Quentin, Daria, and Jesse from Melomane, as well as Gerald Menke on pedal steel, and it is an indescribable musical journey. Go to the Bingo Palace CD Release Party on Saturday June 7 at Growing Studio in Brooklyn! APOLOGIES TO ANYONE WHO CAME TO SIN-E ON MARCH 28. WE HAD TO CANCEL BECAUSE KENNY ATE SOME LEFT-OVER SQUID AND GOT ILL. UPCOMING SHOWS: SATURDAY APRIL12, SQUEALING PIG, PROVINCETOWN, MA TUESDAY, APRIL 15, SIN-E THE MELOMANE TOUR WAS A SUCCESS. WE PLAYED GREAT SHOWS WITH SUCH GREAT ACTS AS JOHN WESLEY HARDING, ELENI MANDELL, FASTBALL, VIC THRILL, SKELETON KEY, AND THE RANDYS, AND MET BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE FROM AUSTIN TO COLUMBUS. NOW WE ARE BACK IN NEW YORK AND OUR COUNTRY IS IN A VERY SAD PLACE, WAGING A USELESS WAR AGAINST IRAQ FOR ALL THE WRONG REASONS. ALL WE CAN DO IS URGE PEOPLE TO VOTE IN TWO YEARS AND TAKE BUSH AND HIS GANG OF IMPERIALIST HENCHMEN OUT OF OFFICE IN 2004. THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT. BEING IN A BAND ISN'T REALLY THAT IMPORTANT. NOTHING IS REALLY VERY IMPORTANT WHEN THIS HORRIBLE MAN AND HIS TEAM OF GREEDY IMPERIALISTS IS DESTROYING THE VERY FOUNDATIONS OF OUR COUNTRY. INNOCENT IRAQIS AND UNWILLING AMERICAN SOLDIERS ARE DYING BECAUSE OUR PRESIDENT IS A USELESS IDIOT. ARE YOU READING THIS? ARE YOU PISSED OFF? SO AM I. TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK BECAUSE I CARE. - PIERRE The winter edition of ZING MAGAZINE features a compilation CD with a track from Solresol entitled Aria in D. It features tracks by such rising stars of the New York Scene as Northern State, Dopo Yume, and Melomane. Buy one for each member of the family! The song "Stay Awake" from Resolvo was garageband.com's TRACK OF THE DAY in the "electronic" category on January 5th. Click on this link to go download the song and support MELOMANE. MELOMANE are profoundly disturbed by the recent elections and do not accept the supposed mandate handed over to the Republican Party by their recent victories in the House and Senate. Pierre would like to see mandatory voting for all US citizens. Let's see how that shifts the balance of power. If we are obligated to pay taxes, say the pledge of allegiance, take a driver's test to have a license, and pay tolls to drive on the highways, then we should be obligated to vote. At least then we would see what the American population REALLY wants. Obviously, those in power don't want this to happen. Wake up America! Read alternative news sources. Question legislation. Make your voice heard. And VOTE! Three songs from Resolvo are featured in Spinster, a short film by Hilary Downes. Spinster features the songs Mosaic, Morocco, and Just Because. Come to VILLAGE UNDERGROUND on Tuesday, February 18 to see MELOMANE play with Gavin DeGraw, a recent signing on J Records. Show starts at 8PM. (Recently moved from WARSAW venue.) MELOMANE are planning their March Midwest/Southwest tour. Dates are filling in. Keep checking the "Shows" page for info. Pierre will be joining Paolo Davanzo, AKA the Polyester Prince on the Super Super 8 Traveling Film Festival in Texas and Louisiana from January 11 to 21. Go to "Shows" for info, and "Links" to visit the Polyester Prince website. We had a great show at Joe's Pub and two great shows in Massachusetts in November. We are taking a break in December to fine-tune our new creations and to enjoy our families at home and abroad. Look out for the return of power-twang crunch-pop trio MORNING GLORIES, featuring Pierre and Kenny of MELOMANE on bass and drums and Christian Gibbs on guitar. MORNING GLORIES play at NORTHSIX on DECEMBER 7. Spinster will be a part of the LA SHORTS FESTIVAL from October 14-20. It will be screening in the Arc Light Theater, program 70, on Sunday Oct. 20th at 5:30pm. www.lashortsfest.com Melomane has recently teamed up with Activaire, a company that provides mp3 compilations of new music to retail fashion outlets in New York and beyond. Melomane's music can heard at the following locations: Stuart Moore; NYC, SF, North Beach Emporio Armani; Madison Ave Issey Miyake; Tribeca Check out PHOQUE, the new project featuring Veev la Vieve on vocals. Click here for photos from the BMI Songwriters Acoustic Roundup on July 26 at the Living Room. Pierre had some solo shows in California with his guitar and a little green pedal that makes little loops. Thanks to everyone who came to the shows and made them Californilicious. What is SPARTANS OF VICTORY 2.0? Here's what the Village Voice said: "Musical wunderkind Pierre de Gaillande has the same attitude towards bands that Mormons have towards wives: one just ain't enough. Hence his new project, Spartans of Victory, a four piece who play "real time soundtrack music." If anything like de Gaillande's other endeavors, Spartans of Victory should be lush, inventive, quirky and just the teensiest bit discomfiting." (Actually version 2.0 is a two-piece featuring Fa Ventilato on laptop and Pierre on guitar and effects.) Click here for Pierre's first-hand account of 9/11. JUNE 2002: The June 5-12th issue of the Village Voice featured a write-up on Melomane. Look for it in the "Short List" under the Regulars heading. There's a nice photo of the band featuring Paula Henderson on sax and a blurry trombone. Apologies to all those who came to the Joe's Pub show on April 8th. It was cancelled at the last minute due to unforeseen circumstaces. We are rescheduling another Joe's Pub show on July 29. Mixing of Melomane's new CD is in progress now. Tracking began at the now legendary and defunct Transporter Raum and continued at Leopard Lounge, Jimmy Lonesome's magnificent sound empire nestled in the forest near New Paltz, New York, and at Brooklyn Broadcast Studios in sultry Fort Green. PEE AIR and K-SAV recently joined forces with C Gibbs for a MORNING GLORIES reunion at NorthSix. It was a smashing success and will probably happen again soon. MAY 2002: A mystery drummer, let's call him "Joe," will be joining Melomane on drums for the May 12 show at Northsix with Kingsbury Manx while Kenny is in London on a secret mission. "Joe" has been briefed and de-briefed and will operate according to the strictest protocol. WINTER 2002: Congratulations to Kenny. He's a father. He's training Ruben Sky to be a roadie. Happy Holidays from Melomane! MELOMANE's version of "Overkill" (a cover of the Men At Work hit) from Resolvo was chosen as one of the top 10 finalists in the Shure Musical Roots Cover Song Contest out of almost 794 entries. Thanks to Colin Hay for writing such a timeless gem! MELOMANE has just returned from a three week tour in Europe. The German-speaking press reviewed Resolvo very favorably. Audiences at all of the shows came from far and wide to hear this band from New York. Melomane played packed shows in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Highlights of the tour include playing a sold out show for 1000 people at Club Fri-Son in Fribourg, Switzerland, opening for Swiss pop stars Zuriwest, and four packed shows with Friends of Dean Martinez. Other highlights include sledding in the Swiss alps, Russian dancing in a red room at the Wunderbar in Munich, eating shnitzel and drinking schnapps with the good people of XXS, learning the word "kantrie," and many, many other golden moments. Click here for tour photos. FALL-WINTER 2001: Melomane is on tour in Europe. See the EUROPEAN TOUR DATES for NOVEMBER 10 to 25. Tell your friends in Germany, Switzerland and Austria to come see the band. Read what the German-speaking press are saying about Melomane. RESOLVO is now available in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland through XXS Records. Look for it at your favorite German, Swiss, and Austrian record shops. We are pleased to announce the addition of our new trumpet player, Jesse Numan, to the Melomane enclave. You have to check this kid out. He'll be breaking them off at our next show so don't miss it. MELOMANE Resolvo has been on regular rotation on XMRadio, a satellite radio station out of Washington DC that plays the best unsigned bands from around the nation. Resolvo has also been getting play on college radio stations around the country including WFMU, WFUV, KXLU, and KCRW to name a few. Call your favorite station today and request your favorite Resolvo track! MELOMANE has begun recording a new album. They recorded basic tracks at Transporter Raum studio in New York's colorful East Village, nestled between the charming Lower East Side and the quaint West Village. Rumours of a forthcoming 3-song EP are swirling around town like a hornet at a girl scout barbecue. To read about PEE AIR's experience of the World Trade Center attack and see first-hand pictures, click here MELOMANE Resolvo has been heralded "one of the more interesting releases of 2001" by allmusic.com, a foremost music reference guide on the web and in print. MELOMANE played a great show to a capacity crowd on Saturday, June 23 at Galapagos in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The steamy weather was the perfect backdrop for the band's display of devious artistry. Background visuals by such filmmakers as Fred Cassidy and Paolo Davanzo made it an unforgettable sonic and esthetic experience. Kings County Queens and Jerkwater rounded out the night. "Lazy Southern Song" was picked as a FEATURED SONG OF THE DAY on FRIDAY, JUNE 8th by garageband.com. The song was ranked 34 out of thousands of songs in the "Folk/Country" category (even though it's not really a folk song or a country song). Go to the site and give it a listen. You can also hear the song and download an MP3 of it at MP3.com. SPRING 2001: TUESDAYS with MELOMANE, the CD release series at LUNA LOUNGE was a resounding success. All three shows were packed with fans. There was a raffle to win a $50 Gift Certificate to Other Music. Raffle tickets were available to everyone who bought a RESOLVO CD. Anticipation ran high as the winner was picked on the final night. Unfortunately the winner's name has been lost forever because he failed to sign our mailing list. WINTER 2001: Melomane has played some great shows lately. They played to a packed house at Arlene Grocery with Ferdinand the Bull on January 30. They debuted two new songs, "Far Out" and "The Dream of Ships and Lightning." At least one person in the crowd was moved to tears. On February 7, Melomane played at the "INSIDERS" Fashion Designers' Party at The Brooklyn Loft in DUMBO, Brooklyn. This Event featured a live performance by MELOMANE, video projections and interactive art exhibits, dj's, experimental soundscapes, and fashion shows by the latest New York designers and trend-setters. The Brooklyn loft is a huge art space with an eye-popping view of the Manhatten skyline in DUMBO, located at 70 Washinton Street. To see photos of the band and various fashion-forward freaks and folks, go to eComPhoto.com/insiders. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2000: In which the lads and lady of MELOMANE butt their heads against the rock but emerge with their spirit victorious. Yes, we have been peforming often for the good citizens of New York. Perhaps too often, for they have become spoiled and complacent, like overfed bulldog pups snarling in a fetid basket by the stable door. They are no longer content to suck the marrow from the bones relinquished by the master. They would have the stew directly from the platter at the grand table now. So we must lessen the victuals and re-establish the appetite. We've been doing shows all over the city and state of New York, from the Cooler to the Catskills, from the Parkside to the seaside. Now we need to go into hiding until we strike again. SEPTEMBER 2000: Here is the second installment of the MELOMANE newsletter. What has been happening with the band, you ask? Well, we played a crazy wedding on Long Island. It was a smashing success. Producer/Engineer/Musician extraordinaire Chuck Scott filled in on drums while K-SAV was away. We played on a cliff overlooking Long Island Sound. A French girl married an Italian/Franco-American guy, so there was plenty of Eurotrash around and the food was great. We were a little worried about playing our wierd, cynical songs of heartbreak and desperation to a crowd of merry wedding guests, but they ate it up! During our version of Overkill, a middle-aged woman did a very original dance of the seven veils. The crowd was on fire, ancing through the whole show as the ocean twinkled below and the moon shone on the happy party. We ended the set with "Le Temps de L'Amour" by Francoise Hardy to please the French folks, and then threw in an encore of a karaoke version of "Brand New Cadillac" by the Clash. Afterwards, DJ Eugene of Gogol Bordello fame spun his infectious brand of alcoholic Russian gypsy music. The place went nuts. Everyone, including Eugene, was dancing like a coven of ecstatic witches.We danced until we were sore, then went down to the beach for more drunken revelry, including naked night-swimming, fire-walking, and a ukulele sing-along. We awoke the next day on the beach with hang-overs and happy hallucinations of dancing drunk gypsies. On September 18, PEE AIR went to Farm Aid as a cameraman for VH1 journalist Steffie Nelson. Together they interviewed Willie Nelson, Wavy Gravy, and a host of other personaliteies. In attendance were Neil Young, Ralph Nader, Arlo Guthrie, and Tipper Gore, among others. Check out the story and video clips on the VH1.com website.It was a great day for anti-corporate crusaders everywhere, as well as a great concert. Our upcoming shows will feature some interesting visual displays. We have some surprises in store involving film projection. You have to come see it to know what I'm talking about. The Resolvo CD release party is projected for sometime in November. Keep in touch, and keep your nose clean. SUMMER 2000: Here is the space where I tell youÝwhat's been happening with Melomane lately. We've been taking a little break for the past few weeks while various members have been travelling around the world. Kenny is always going here and there, bringing culture to the masses. When he's not creating rythmic enchantment, he works for an avant-guarde classical musical organization that brings the radical musical confabulations of the downtown New York art scene to the unwashed plebian masses of America and the outer colonies.ÝHe will soon be in Australia and parts of the wild American Heartland. As for me, I joined up with my pal and cello player Frankie the Horse in Zurich a few weeks ago.Frank went back to his serene Swiss homeland for six weeks, on a special secret diplomatic journalism assignment which I am not free to describe in these pages. Quentin likes to go to Englnd once in a while to root for his favorite football club, and Daria often skips over to Sweden to play music with God is My Co-Pilot. Brad mostly sits at home trying to figure out how to crack the Linux operating system. Anyway, I took the opportunity to travel around with my good friend Paolo Davanzo of Polyester Prince Productions for his Super Super 8 Travelling Film Festival in Europe. I acompanied silent super 8 films with my psychedelic gypsy house stylings. Using only materials I gathered in the forest, plus an accoustic-electric classical guitar, some children's musical toys and a Line-6 DL-4 Delay Modeler, I created sonic landscapes of doom, merriment, and transcendence to go along with the experimental images from around the globe being projected on the silver screen. Paolo and I travelled around Italy, Switzerland, and Germany for this guerilla film festival, and we met a lot of nice people who love super-8 films. I have to add that, although I am a card-carrying Franco-American, the people, food, and scenery of Italy never cease to amaze me. Frank the Privateman and I finally met up in Zurich and he joined me on keyboards for a heavy-mellow freak-out at the hip Kino Xenix. It was sparsely attended but those who were there will never be the same, mostly because they got to experience the American passtime known as Bingo.One week later, I returned to Zurich and Frank and I had another show, this time at the lovely lakeside venue called Seebad. We played as one-third of MELOMANE, in between sets of the ELVIS EXPLOSION, a Swiss-German two piece Elvis cover band that really gets the ladies all worked up. I played acoustic guitar through my Line 6 and Frank played a beat-up Roland keyboard from planet Rist. The Zurigos loved us. They yelled for more and they all had great things to say after the show. We were invited by the guy who books the place to come back anytime, so keep an eye open for future tour dates in Zurich. I also played music on the top of a grain silo in Basel, in a 400-yar old abandoned villa in Torino, and also a disco-mall-cafe-amphitheater in Florence. Now Melomane is back in New York ready to get busy. We are working on the artwork for our Resolvo CD, to be released on Organizer Records. See you at our next show. Watch out for our record release party sometime in October.