American Music Club is a San Francisco-based band led by singer-songwriter Mark Eitzel. Although commonly lumped with other bands from the "slowcore" and "sadcore" movements, like the Red House Painters, AMC is better known for mastering the disparate strands of American music into a wholly unique synthesis all their own. This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... The term singer-songwriter refers to performers who both write and sing their own material. ... Mark Eitzel in a promotional photo. ... Sadcore is a sub genre of rock and roll that developed from the downbeat melodies and slower tempos of late 1980s indie-rock. ... Sadcore is a sub genre of rock that developed from the downbeat melodies and slower tempos of late 1980s indie-rock. ... Red House Painters is an alternative rock group formed in 1989 in San Francisco by singer/songwriter Mark Kozelek. ...

Although born in California, Eitzel spent his formative years in Great Britain and Ohio before returning to the Bay Area in 1980. After a brief stint with the punk band The Naked Skinnies he founded American Music Club in 1983 with guitarist Vudi, bassist Dan Pearson, keyboardist Brad Johnson, and drummer Matt Norelli. This lineup would change over the next several years but Eitzel always remained the core of the band in terms of its vocals, lyrics and thematic focus.

Their 1985 debut, The Restless Stranger, offers a rough outline of their increasingly eclectic sound and firmly established Eitzel's worldview, a harrowing vision of life as seen through the bottom of a shot glass. 1987's Engine honed the formula: the addition of producer Tom Mallon as a full-time member expanded the group's sonic palette.

American Music Club earned a solid cult following on the strength of 1988's California. Their next LP, 1989's United Kingdom, appeared only in the nation which lent the record its name and consisted of leftover material and live tracks. Third album by American Music Club, released in 1988. ...

In 1991 American Music Club emerged with the record that is widely considered their masterpiece, Everclear. Critical acclaim attracted the attention of several major labels. Eventually AMC -- now consisting of Eitzel, Vudi, Pearson, multi-instrumentalist Bruce Kaphan, and drummer Tim Mooney -- signed with Reprise in the U.S. and Virgin throughout the rest of the world. Everclear is the fourth album by San Francisco indie rock group American Music Club, released in 1991. ... Reprise is also the name of a record label, see Reprise Records In music a reprise is the repetition or return of the opening material later in a composition such as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though it originally (18th century) was simply any repeated section, such as... In Roman times, Vestal Virgins were strictly celibate or they were punished by death. ...

Mercury followed in 1993 and, despite positive reviews, Mercury fared poorly on the charts and earned virtually no recognition from radio or MTV. In 1994, AMC issued San Francisco, an erratic collection which balanced confessional tunes like "Fearless" and "The Thorn in My Side Is Gone" alongside slick pop constructs. Like Mercury, the record foundered commercially and American Music Club disbanded as result. Fifth album by San Francisco indie rock group American Music Club, released in 1993. ... MTV (Music Television) is a cable television network headquartered in New York City. ...

In 2003, American Music Club reunited to record a new album, Love Songs for Patriots, which is described by reviewer Mark Deming as "a stronger and more coherent effort than the group's last set, 1994's San Francisco, and while it's too early to tell if this is a new start or a last hurrah for AMC, it at least shows that their formula still yields potent results. Here's hoping Eitzel and Vudi have more where this came from." [1]

Discography

• The Restless Stranger (January 1985)
• Engine (October 1987)
• California (October 1988)
• United Kingdom (October 1989)
• Everclear (October 1991)
• Mercury (March 1993)
• San Francisco (September 1994)
• Love Songs for Patriots (September 2004)

1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Third album by American Music Club, released in 1988. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Everclear is the fourth album by San Francisco indie rock group American Music Club, released in 1991. ... 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Fifth album by San Francisco indie rock group American Music Club, released in 1993. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Official home page
• Lazy-i Interview: November 2004
• American Music Club collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive