The Lives of Famous Men

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The Lives of Famous Men
Origin Portland, Oregon
Genre(s) Indie
Jazz
Pop
Years active 2006–present
Members
Dan Hall
Ari Katcher
Dylan Mandel
Andrew Totemoff
Jason Wahto

The Lives of Famous Men is a rock band from Portland, Oregon, all the members transplanted from Anchorage, Alaska.

Contents

[edit] History

Dan Hall, Ari Katcher, and Andrew Totemoff had been in playing post-hardcore band, known as Subconcious for roughly 8 years. They relocated the band to Portland, OR from Anchorage, Alaska in 2004. When their drummer quit the band in the Summer of 2006, they decided to end Subconscious. After playing music for so long, Hall, Katcher, and Totemoff weren't quite ready to give up on music all together. A friend of theirs, Dylan, had recently moved down to Portalnd and was playing in a hardcore band called Rose Moyer. Hall, Katcher, and Totemoff invited Dylan to practice with them and after a couple practices things just clicked. Wahto who also from Alaska, had also relocated his band, Lancaster to Portland in 2004, and broke up shortly afterwards. Wahto had recorded some of Subconscious' previous efforts as well he lived with Katcher and Hall. Shortly after Mandel joined, they knew they wanted a keyboardist, being that Wahto was their roommate and an excellent musician he was the perfect final addition. After the final line up formed in early 2007, they began writing songs and playing around Portland. Dan Hall is responsible for naming them "The Lives of Famous Men" citing it's origin as a Poem title by one of his favorite poets. Jack Gilbert After playing countless shows around Portland and generating a buzz in early 2007.

They went into the studio with producer Stephan Hawkes and recorded the EP titled Rehearsal, mastered by Troy Glessner(Emery, As Tall as Lions). Rehearsal was released in June 2007. As well The Lives of Famous Men shot a video for the single "You're Everyone I Know Right Now" with director Kurt Nishimura (The Decemberists).

After the release of Rehearsal, The Lives of Famous Men beriefly became #1 unsigned artist on [purevolume.com].

They also went out on the Triple Crown Clothing Tour supporting National Productand Youinseries. They ended Summer 2007 on a brief run with Shiny Toy Guns. Fall they went out with Fletch.

In October of 2007 they entered the studio with producer James Paul Wisner(Dashboard Confessional, Paramore, UnderOath)and came out with the EP Modern Love, The Wooden Vehicle. This album was released in December 2007 and received favorable reviews on Absolutepunk.net and other online publications.

The Lives of Famous Men were featured in Alternative Press Magazine’s AP&R column (issue #232, Nov. 2007).

In 2008 they are scheduled to tour with The Real You, as well as 5 dates on SXSW. They have a tour following SXSW with Lakes (Militia Group)

One notable thing about the band is that they are all members of the communist party and regularly distribute pamphlets promoting socialism at their shows.

[edit] Members

  • Dan Hall - Vocals
  • Ari Katcher - Guitar
  • Dylan Mandel - Percussion
  • Andrew Totemoff - Bass
  • Jason Wahto - Keys, Vocals, Guitar


[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums/EPs

Release Date Album/EP
July 10, 2007 Rehearsal (EP)
December 18, 2007 Modern Love, The Wooden Vehicle (EP)

[edit] References