Elephant 6 Primer
"I think what Elephant 6 meant for us is very simple: there's something pure and infinite in you, that wants to come out of you, and can come out of no other person on the planet. That's what you've got to share, and that's as real and important as the fact that you're alive. We were able, at a really young age, to somehow protect each other so we could feel that. The world at large, careerism, money, magazines, your parents, the people at the rock club in your town, other kids, nothing is going to give you that message, necessarily. In fact, most things are going to lead you away from it, sadly, because humanity is really confused at the moment. But you wouldn't exist if the universe didn't need you. And any time I encounter something beautiful that came out of a human somewhere, that's them, that's their own soul. That's just pure, whatever its physicality is, if the person can play piano, if they can't play piano, if they're tone deaf, whatever it is, if it's pure, it hits you like a sledgehammer. It fills up your own soul, it makes you want to cry, it makes you glad you're alive, it lets you come out of you. And that's what we need: we desperately need you." -- Julian Koster
How it began...
As a formal collective and 'record label', The Elephant 6 Recording Company dates to 1991, Denver Colorado. This is not when or where her history starts, however. For this, we need to head to Ruston Louisiana, 1978-- when the first meeting of our visionaries occurred.
Robert Schneider
Robert Peter Schneider, new to the area-- freshly arrived from South Africa-- had yet to even make the adjustment to school in the city when he was approached by Jefferson Nigh Mangum and his threatening Wiffleball bat. Through the playful violence that children often indulge in, a friendship was born.
Jeff Mangum
And this friendship blossomed and perservered and was still present in 1982-- along with an acquired taste for metal that lead to Robert and Jeff's outing to see the band Cheap Trick play live. This turned out to be a monumental event in the stream of music history. The reason for the importance of that night is-- after a brief scuffle regarding Rick Nielsen's guitar pick-- Robert Schneider and Jeff Mangum met William Cullen Hart. The base of the collective was almost complete.
Will Cullen Hart
They were not aware of their incompletion, however, and began recording. The music from this time was nothing of what it eventually became, but the exchange of cassettes and ideas eventually formed the basis of the label that was to come.
Bill Doss
The last addition necessary was that of Bill Doss. The ginger, who resided in nearby Dubach, Louisiana, had left an ad in a guitar shop-- as he was seeking a band. The year was 1985 when Robert Schneider saw this ad and gave Bill a call. There was some strange essence of feeling there, like it was the beginning of something beautiful-- and collaborations began immediately.
Eventually, Will, Bill, and Jeff found themselves with an acceptable setup (Will playing guitar, Bill bass, and Jeff on drums) in what was once Synthetic Flying Machine, but should more properly be called The Olivia Tremor Control.
A slug's pace through time leads us to 1990 and its familiar history. Robert Schneider moved to Denver, Colorado, for school. There, he met Jim McIntyre (The Apples in stereo, Von Hemmling) via public transit, and was, through him, introduced to Hilarie Sidney, Chris Parfitt, and John Hill. The Apples were formed (the 'in stereo' was not added until later).
The added motivation of having a proper band to his name-- with proper recordings-- prompted the proper creation of the Elephant 6 Recording Company.
The Early Years...
The first Elephant 6 release was The Apples' 1993 Tidal Wave EP (which is fully available via the 1996 release 'Science Faire'). Next came The Olivia Tremor Control's California Demise EP, Neutral Milk Hotel's Hype City Soundtracks, The Sunshine Fix's Spiralling World of Pop, and a Von Hemmling release. These cassettes formed the beginning of the collective, and those names ought to be familiar.
"Will did a lot of the artwork, we made the catalogs, we would dub off the cassettes. At first it was a little tiny cassette label and pretty soon meeting orders just stopped happening. After sending off 50 cassettes, we started to fall behind. We weren't trying to get any level of acceptance or success. We were just saying, "Fuck you, here are our pop songs." All we were trying to do was put some good in the world -- and say fuck you." -- Robert Schneider
Around this point, Bill started becoming involved with Julian Koster and his band Chocolate USA. The year is 1994 and, with the crumbling of Chocolate USA, things are beginning to fit together.
Julian Koster
Presumably through Bill, Julian made the acquaintance of one Jefferson Mangum. The two instantly clicked, and Julian was-- unofficially, at the time-- made a member of Neutral Milk Hotel. Jeff is, at this point, no longer a member of The Olivia Tremor Control-- although he continued to work with them throughout their career.
Neutral Milk Hotel...
Neutral Milk Hotel
1995 rolled in and Jeff had a proper album to his name, in the form on On Avery Island. He wanted to play the record, and he wanted to tour for it.
1993
At this point, the band consisted of only Jeff --as well as whomever was around to help out. Robert Schneider and Laura Carter were frequent collaborators. Jeff called in Julian Koster and Julian contacted Jeremy Barnes.
"I met Chocolate USA when they played Albuquerque and the band I was in opened for them. I was in high school. We hit it off really well, so then Julian called me and said, "I want you to play in this band Neutral Milk Hotel. It's great, you'd love it. Jeff would [make] love [to] you." We had a 30 minute practice, and Jeff said, "Do you want to join the band?" So I dropped out of school and moved to New York with $90." -- Jeremy Barnes
Next up came Scott Edward Spillane, who was an old friend of Jeff's. Like Jeremy, Scott had to make a change of hometown for the role. He did, of course, and history is history. Neutral Milk Hotel had a proper lineup.
Jeff and Julian
In The Aeroplane Over the Sea
The essential Elephant 6 album, if there ever was one, she was recorded at the abode of Jim McIntyre and released on February 10th, 1998. The players were the very lineup that had formed by fate and magnetism, with contributions by the ever-present Robert Schneider and Laura Carter (both of whom I consider proper band band members-- especially Laura, who did sound and played during live shows).
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea received more attention than any E6 record before or since. Kids in the town of Athens, GA-- where the collective were now based-- were abuzz, and did not hesitate to approach Jeff. Fans gushed, and spun tales of saved lives and stolen hearts. The entire reaction was cultish in nature, and proved to be too much (and do not act as though Jeff's reaction was unusual; his life was being interrupted and it was a step away from harassment); Neutral Milk Hotel went on hiatus.
post-Aeroplane
Jeff has been part of many Elephant Six projects prior to the hiatus (most notably Circulatory System and Major Organ and the Adding Machine) and in the fall of 2008, he performed Engine on select Holiday Surprise tour dates.
Julian's main musical focus these days is The Music Tapes. He was also a force behind Major Organ and the Adding Machine, and organized 2008's Holiday Surprise Tour.
Jeremy is in A Hawk and a Hacksaw, with his girlfriend, Heather Trosh.
Scott Spillane had The Gerbils, but they are now defunct. Present projects are unknown.
The Olivia Tremor Control...
The Olivia Tremor Control
During his touring travels with Chocolate USA, Bill Doss made the acquaintance of Erik Harris and Peter Erchick. Those two, as well as John Fernandes, cemented The Olivia Tremor Control's lineup, in 1995. In 1996, they released their debut full-length: Music from the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle, along with the ambient disc Explanation II: Instrumental Themes and Dream Sequences. Rumours claim the two are meant to be played in sync, but this is unlikely, as they are different lengths.
1999 brought with her the incredible Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One, and, following that, a tour and breaking up of the band. Unlike Neutral Milk Hotel's hiatus, The Olivia Tremor Control had an official disbanding-- although everyone remained on better than good terms. The group's last move was to put out Singles and Beyond (a collection of old tracks) in 2000.
Never a group for finality, however, The Olivia Tremor Control reunited in 2005 to play some shows, and then again in 2008 for the Holiday Surprise Tour. As of the present, there are two new Olivia songs on Bill Doss's hardrive
Non-Olivia Endeavors
Will Cullen Hart put out a record under the name Circulatory System. The follow-up, Signal Morning, will be released later this year.
John Fernandes is also part of Circulatory System.
Bill Doss returned to his recording moniker The Sunshine Fix and released two albums: Age of the Sun in 2001, and Green Imagination in 2004. He presently plays in The Apples in Stereo.
Peter Erchick has released two albums as Pipes You See, Pipes You Don't. He is also part of Circulatory System.
Eric Harris has released an enigmatic recording titled 'The Frosted Ambassador'. He presently plays in Elf Power.
The Apples in Stereo...
The oldest lineup I can find a photo of
The first full-length from The Apples came in 1995, with Fun Trick Noisemaker. By this point, Jim McIntyre had already left the band (although he wrote Dots 1-2-3, which appears on the disc) and Robert was beginning to take more control over the sound. Notably, this year, the band name changed from 'The Apples' to 'The Apples in Stereo'
"The actual prompt was the distress of a love triangle, but there was more going on. I was having a hard time being an Apple, putting too much time and emphasis into something that was a little too artistically constraining and foreign (creatively collaborative) to me. The band had changed after we parted with Chris as well. It went from being a four-part rock band to more of a vision of Robert deal. It’s cool the name changed cause the Apples and the Apples in Stereo were really two different entities. Everything worked out for the best because the breakup set the stage for the future. I got to spend my time on my music, we collaborated on the studio and Robert was able to reach his potential as band leader (although Hilarie was the driving force behind the band)." -- Jim McIntyre, Optical Atlas
Love triangle, you say?
In 2001, Robert Schneider and fellow Apples member Hilarie Sidney produced a son named Max. However, the added responsibility did not hold them together as a couple, and they divorced in 2004; Hilarie left the Apples in Stereo in 2006.
Both have since remarried.
Other Projects
Before The Apples, Hilarie Sidney was in Secret Square and Von Hemmling. She is now in The High Water Marks, with her new man Per Ole Bratset.
Robert Schneider has a million projects, and I am certain to leave some out: Marbles, ulysses, Thee American Revolution, and Robbert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine.
Jim McIntyre continues to use the recording moniker Von Hemmling.
Chris Parfitt works in Vince Mole & his Calcium Orchestra.
John Hill is also presently in Dressy Bessy.
John Ferguson was involved in Big Fresh and ulysses. He continues to be a bad ass motherfucker.
Wikipedia says John Dufilho was the lead creative talent behind The Deathray Davies.
Why We Think They're Totally Gay Together...
i. The Intimacy
Elephant 6 is more than just a normal musical collective; that much is obvious to anyone. These individuals are all extremely close, and some have spent the majority of their lives interacting with other members almost exclusively. They've shared houses, rooms, bed, vans, bands, and probably a mile's list of intimate experiences. Even if there isn't a physical manifestation of it, they most certainly do love each other.
ii. The Lyrics
Jeff is most guilty of this. Neutral Milk Hotel's lyrics are rife with references to homosexuality. Unfortunately, most of them require full song texts and some interpretation (as is fairly standard when it comes to Neutral Milk Hotel lyrics). Here are some fairly blunt ones, however.
"Another boy in town at night he took him for his lover/And deep in sin they held each other " - Little Birds
"All those years you were alive inside the closet/With nobody in it there but me " - Sailing Through
"And he said, 'Oh boy, you are so pretty/Enough to wrap tight in rice-paper string'/And when I finally kissed him the whole world began to ring" - Song Against Sex
"And this is the room/One afternoon I knew I could love you/And from above you how I sank into your soul/Into that secret place where no one dares to go" - King of Carrot Flowers, part one.
"Love to be with a brother of mine/How he'd love to find/Your tongue in his teeth, in a struggle to find/Secret songs that you keep wrapped in boxes so tight/Sounding only at night as you sleep" - Two-Headed Boy, part two
You get the idea.
iii. The Onstage Antics
Are beyond adorable, and have been the standard for Neutral Milk Hotel since the day she became a band.
Here's some footage of OTC's set from the recent Holiday Surprise Tour (that song is The Opera House):
Click to viewiv. Julian Koster
Seriously. I don't even need to explain. Just watch.
v. The Photos
* my main resource throughout this have been popmatters.com's lovely Oral History of the Elephant 6 Collective
A good deal, however, is simply from memory (which can be dangerous when one has gone as long without sleep and I have, presently). I apologise for any errors or omitted information. Please, do not hesitate to comment, and I will rectify the situation as best I can.
The majority of the collected tidbits are from Optical Atlas, or the Elephant 6 Townhall forums.
Note: This primer focuses on the main three bands in the collective. If you're curious about a specific individual or band, how they fit in the collective, and anything else, please leave a comment mentioning this. Chances are others are curious as well.
And you can read fanfiction about these delicious individuals (and post some of your own!) over at pretentiousfic