What happened to Falkner, Davies, Matthews, Brion, Benson, {Penn/Mann/Eshbach}

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It was so exciting in 1999, wasn't it! We realized the great Jellyfish exploded family as a single unit. Even looser connections to the world of film through Brion to Fiona Apple to that guy that made all those long movies with Seymour-Hoffman in them who also filmed that one Penn video. Falkner had that new record with his shirt open, it wasn't awful (except when he said that life can be just like a painting) but he'd grow out of it, right? It was almost a family of smart-but-not-too-smart pop. (Nestled grimly between Owsley and the Lilys, right.)

Where did they all go? Eric Matthews, who should have kept Cardinal together, claimed to be producing something but I never saw anything about it. He wanted to tour (yeah right.) Brion had that solo record which was a very boring calling card. Davies re-released the best Moles record (untune the sky) and put something bad out on Kindercore. Falkner did that kids Beatles record which is sadly his best selling thing ever, I imagine. Penn had a pretty awful 4th record, toured with his wife and a comedian, Kiss of Death style. The gorgeous Sugarplastic (not directly related but in the same 'tone zone') are also destroying their career by making themselves inordinately inaccessible-- their latest is only on 7 inch vinyl, one single at a time.

Is it all because that guy from Jellyfish went country and religious? Their spiritual leader! Any gossip?

― caspar (caspar), Friday, 23 January 2004 15:45 (twenty-two years ago)

JBR to thread!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 23 January 2004 15:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Falkner's opening forsomebody or other at the Troubadour in LA, I just heard. Check their calendar in a few days. Maybe High Llamas? Can't remember.

― wuperetta, Saturday, 24 January 2004 00:08 (twenty-two years ago)

Actually, I'm almost certain it's High Llamas, 3/6.

― wuperetta, Saturday, 24 January 2004 00:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Falkner's opening for Travis here in SF in a few days. I saw him open for Mercury Rev several years ago.

(He's utter crap, incidentally).

― Shakey Mo Collier, Saturday, 24 January 2004 00:11 (twenty-two years ago)

Christ. That's right, he's touring with Travis.

― wuperetta, Saturday, 24 January 2004 00:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Falkner recorded some of the Lilys last album and played bass with him.

― gygax! (gygax!), Saturday, 24 January 2004 00:27 (twenty-two years ago)

i haven't heard any of this new sugarplastic stuff yet! one single at a time, eh? arrrrrgh.

― aleksandr supertramp (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 24 January 2004 00:46 (twenty-two years ago)

y'know, I never heard that last Lilys album, is it any good? I was waiting for the vinyl to come out and then I just forgot about it. (I assume it was never released on vinyl).

― Shakey Mo Collier, Saturday, 24 January 2004 00:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Falkner is NOT utter crap! The songs "Author Unknown" and "Holiday" and "Revelation" are top notch power pop.

He plays with Roger Manning Jr. & Brian Reitzell in TV Eyes out in L.A., too, but I don't think they hve put anything out yet.

And the Grays album holds up well (and fetches big bucks at Amoeba.

Jon Brion still does his weekly gig at Largo (there was a red hot scene for a stretch there -- between the Monday night comedy show (which provided the aforementioned comedians that would tour with Aimee Mann and Michael Penn), and Andy Prieboy's "White Trash Wins Lotto" Musical about G'n'R, and all the Paul Thomas Anderson "regulars") -- and Brion's show was always amazing. He had a big falling out with Falkner, though, supposedly, but I never heard the story.

And Brendan Benson is doing really well... his 1st album was re-issued, and his songs turn up in lots of movies and commercials (hey, they're not playing much power pop on the radio, so he's got to get played somewhere).

I read somewhere that Gern Blandsten would be re-issuing the Cardinal album sometime this year. Nothing on their site about it, though.

Anyways, I love all this shit. Classic.

― Ben Boyer (Ben Boyer), Saturday, 24 January 2004 01:37 (twenty-two years ago)

And the Grays album holds up well (and fetches big bucks at Amoeba.

Ha! I bought that record for 88 cents in a cut-out bin on St. Mark's sometime in the late '90s. How much is it fetching now?

― aleksandr supertramp (Jody Beth Rosen), Saturday, 24 January 2004 01:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah it seems they hate each other now, all of them. I bet Eric and Richard were such jerks to each other all the time during "Cardinal', throwing feather boas over the amps and spilling martinis. "Silver Machines" is still one of the best in the league, though. And Davies is such a stellar contribution to the music world, from "Untune the Sky" to "Telegraph" (both highly recommended if you haven't already.) And the grays broke up because of Falkner and Brion fighting, right? I have heard bad gossip about Falkner being pissed at Benson for 'hardly writing' "One MIssissippi" or something after working closely on it with him.. And now I bet there some PTA/Mann thing going on now that he and Fiona split, there has to be, so I bet Penn will be removing soon from Brion and Mann. That leaves only the possibility noise rock record with Davies and Falkner, each outro will last 10 minutes and be about life being like a TENDRIL

Didn't know about the Lilys / Falkner connection, seems obvious. thanks for the hints!

― caspar (caspar), Saturday, 24 January 2004 04:45 (twenty-two years ago)

while I'm here: POX on the crew

1) falkner: author unknown
2) davies: eye camera
3) moles: rebecca ("WONDER FREEFALLS REBECCA! REBECCA!")
4) mann: pavlov's bell
5) penn: bunker hill
6) grays: both belong
7) matthews: fanfare
8) cardinal: silver machines
9) benson: sitting pretty / tea / bird's eye view
10) sugarplastic: dunn the worm

― caspar (caspar), Saturday, 24 January 2004 04:48 (twenty-two years ago)

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