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Koester

About Me

"Losers Weepers" is the third CD from Koester. Sonically, it is both innovative and direct. Lyrically, it is damn good, if not even better. The songs stake out new musical territory, while echoing the best of American rock music: Bob Dylan & the Meat Puppets, Harry Nilsson & Spoon, Townes Van Zandt & Grandaddy.
Brooklyn based Koester is fronted by singer/ songwriter Steve Koester, formerly of Punchdrunk and currently moonlighting with Maplewood. Alan Weatherhead -- known for his work with Sparklehorse, The Comas & Camper Van Beethoven -- once again produces and plays pedal steel, moog and strings. Miguel Urbiztondo again mans the drum kit, while Tim Buckley handles guitars & backing vocals and John Daniels plays bass.
Koester has released two highly acclaimed CDs on Pitch-a-tent Records, David Lowery’s label out of Athens, GA. Oh! Turpentine (2000) and The High Highs, The Low Lows (2002) both received rave reviews and placed in the top 50 on the CMJ college radio charts. The band has honed its slow-burning live show over the past several years, playing with the likes of Sparklehorse, The Wrens, Crooked Fingers, The Hold Steady and a host of others.
PRESS:
"Koester, the spacey, soulful ensemble led by Steve Koester. . . provides relief to anyone who may need a shot of psychedelic salvation." The New Yorker
"Lets just get this on the table right away: One Day You Too Will Bleed is perhaps one of the best break-up songs of all time. . . From top to bottom, The High Highs The Low Lows is a fresh breath. CMJ New Music Monthly
"...[The High Highs is] one of the best records of 2002." Disclaimer
"The grandeur of stylaphone, moog, space boxes, and revved up guitar is balanced by Koester's rich voice and steelcrafted lyrics- whimsy, though not kitsch, at ease alongside melancholy." Village Voice
". . .examine(s) the disharmonic convergence between reality and bullshit in this 21st century." NY Press
"Strips away all pretense and sounds like he's speaking straight from the soul." Nude As The News
"Take time with this one [Oh! Turpentine] - it gets better with every listen. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED." 3WK.com
"An excellent, spacey folk-rock album." The Onion
"Stories from the heartland battle the modern heart for attention." Time Out NY

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 04/05/2005
Band Website: http://www.koesterrock.com
Band Members: Steve Koester, Miguel Urbiztondo, Alan Weatherhead, Tim Buckley, John Daniels. Fellow travelers have included Charles Bissell, Galen Polivka, Kevin Whelan, Judd Counsell.
Influences: Meat Puppets, Townes Van Zandt, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, James Wright, Al Green & Willie Mitchell, Grandaddy, Richard & Linda Thompson, Stereolab, Otis Redding, Leonard Cohen, Tom Verlaine, Pedar Hedman & Tweaker, T Rex, Maki, The Wrens, George Harrison, Plastic Ono Band, Harry Nilsson, Eric Dolphy, Tom Petty, Spoon, Bee Gees, Jayhawks, Crooked Fingers, The Band, Bill Withers, Wilco, Missy Elliot, Sylvia Plath, Fleetwood Mac, Alan Ginsburg, Green Bay Packers, Pere Ubu, John Coltrane, The Replacements, Stevie Miller Band, Robert Lowell, The Staple Singers, Freaks and Geeks, Violent Femmes, Basho, The Meters, Mary Karr, Acetone, Ali Farka Toure, and so on.
Sounds Like: Townes Van Zandt in a spaceship
Record Label: Pitch-a-Tent Records
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Two Dark Birds at Mercury Lounge on March 1

Hosted By:Two Dark BirdsWhen:Sunday, March 01, 2009Where:Mercury Lounge217 East Houston StNew York10002Description:Do You Like Good Jambs?Click Here To View Event
Posted by on Sat, 28 Feb 2009 18:15:00 GMT

Two Dark Birds Debut Available Now, Midwest Tour Dates, Etc.

Hello Everybody-We’re pleased to announce that after years of joyous labor, the Two Dark Birds debut CD is now available for your purchasing pleasure. Big Takeover calls it "one of this year&rsq...
Posted by on Sat, 29 Mar 2008 11:09:00 GMT

Two Dark Birds Tour Dates & CD Release

A Blog Post from Steve's new band "Two Dark Birds". Please befriend us at http://www.myspace.com/twodarkbirdshello everyone -we're gearing up for the two dark birds debut cd release on march 25. meanw...
Posted by on Sun, 09 Mar 2008 13:46:00 GMT

"losers, weepers" ukelele remix

a friend of ours name of karinne runs an excellent website called "fancy stitch machine" http://www.fancystitchmachine.org/. she's a renaissance woman of sorts (no she doesn't go to tho...
Posted by on Thu, 23 Aug 2007 09:18:00 GMT

my mother the stereo + goldrush joe

some people have been asking: "hey koester, where's the new record at?" this is a valid question as it's been about 3 yrs since "the high highs, the low lows" was released. but the answer is rather co...
Posted by on Fri, 30 Jun 2006 13:10:00 GMT

Vfib Recordings Quarterly Compilation

the good folks at v-fib recordings have posted their first quarterly compilation: http://vfibrecordings.com/ in addition to featuring a couple koester tracks, the comp has an outstanding mix of tu...
Posted by on Wed, 01 Mar 2006 09:10:00 GMT

"Cut Down to Size" at Sundance w/ SherryBaby

If you are lucky enough to be at Sundance this winter, check out Laurie Collyer's new film "SherryBaby" starring Maggie Gyllenhall. The Koester song "Cut Down to Size" is featured. The film is pretty ...
Posted by on Sun, 15 Jan 2006 14:02:00 GMT

see video for "one day you too will bleed"

do you like moving images coordinated with sounds? check out the video for "one day you too will bleed" from "the high highs, the low lows" (PAT 2002) here: http://www.koesterrock.com/video.html ...
Posted by on Mon, 19 Dec 2005 11:02:00 GMT

"what it is to fly" released in deutschland

a recent koester song has just been released on tapete record's compilation called "wide awake". the german compilation also includes songs by eels, damien rice, aimee man, badly drawn boy & maplewood...
Posted by on Thu, 20 Oct 2005 13:57:00 GMT