I recently had the pleasure of viewing a concert DVD of the very popular west coast band, The Decemberists, entitled A Practical Handbook it was released in 2007 on the aptly-named Kill Rock Stars label.
Front man of The Decemberists, Colin Meloy is clearly a poet not of this century. He writes and sings songs that are steeped in mythology and folklore of a very old world nature. I remember the first time I heard Colin I thought, that guy is British or at least from someplace funky like Nova Scotia. Nope, Colin Meloy is a native of Montana and The Decembrists is now headquartered in Portland, Oregon.
The concert on the DVD A Practical Handbook is a great primer on The Decemberists. A camera that appears to be on wires floats above the stage and pans around to the various member of the band, revealing the teamwork and synergy that makes The Decemberists one of the hottest bands around. The audience clearly loves the band and Meloy and they are heard singing every word, every note in clear homage to this creative body.
Current band members include Colin Meloy (lead singer, songwriter, guitar), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (Hammond organ, accordion, melodica, piano, keyboards), Nate Query (bass guitar, stringbass), Carson Ellis the graphic designer, and John Moen (drums, melodica).
Major props need to go out to Carson Ellis, a graphic designer who has created an incredible graphic identity for this eccentric band that is not of this century. In some ways you could call The Decemberists the Edward Gorey of the band world. Carson Ellis is also the girlfriend and partner of Colin Meloy, and they seem to have a solid creative and personal partnership. Kudos to this band who has promoted the feel and flavor of the band over rock star style portraits on their CD covers and other promotional materials.
