northern profile picture

northern

before i learned to play guitar

About Me

Northern sleeps in Maine. His songs are from New Hampshire.
Northern’s debut, Your House and Mine, is the latest impressive album to emerge from a scene so rich, Pitchfork Media was compelled to write about it. Portsmouth, NH, is home to the scene and to Chris Greiner, who started Northern in 2004 to explore his own music after years of playing sideman to others. Northern is a study in plainspoken simplicity and quiet resonance. The ten songs on Your House and Mine proceed with patient force, taking shape around Greiner’s understated vocals and the fluid arrangements that support them.
For the album Greiner layered violin, cello, vibraphone, Rhodes, organ, and pedal steel guitar over fundamental guitar, bass, and drums to provide texture and embellishment. Musicians involved in the project include his brother, John Greiner (drums), Jason Probert (bass), Nate Groth and Sidney Alexis of The Hotel Alexis (guitar), Marc McElroy of Elroy (keyboards), and Say ZuZu frontman Jon Nolan (pedal steel).
Your House and Mine is the musical culmination of Greiner’s personal history. In 2001 a chance road trip to New Hampshire from his home on Long Island extended into relocation when he fell in love with the area. Not long after arriving, he began playing bass for the Kimchee Records band Torrez, recording and touring behind their critically acclaimed 2002 album The Evening Drag. Greiner is a contributing music writer for Jam Magazine, the statewide music publication, and The Wire, a Seacoast arts weekly. Pursuing his interest in engineering, he interned with Jim Tierney at The Electric Cave recording studio, where Josh Ritter’s Golden Age of Radio was put to tape during his tenure. Northern has performed with Chris Brokaw, Unbunny, and John Vanderslice, among others.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 7/9/2005
Band Website: northernmusic.net
Band Members: pretty much always: chris greiner - guitar, vocals // sometimes or previously and hopefully once again: guy capecelatro III - guitar, backing vocals, toy piano, snare drum; tim fife - keyboard; elizabeth antalek - vocals; john greiner - drums; jason probert - bass guitar; nate groth - electric guitar; marc mcelroy - bass guitar, keyboards; jon nolan - pedal steel guitar.
Influences: yes
Record Label: none
Type of Label: None

My Blog

watery hands

My mind almost always turns toward the ocean around the dawning of a new year. I suppose the reasons are obvious - the open water signals change, movement, possibility, expansiveness, etc - though I'v...
Posted by northern on Tue, 02 Jan 2007 07:35:00 PST

"Fuckin' A, Northern. Fuckin' A!"

two fine publications recently reviewed the new EP: our favorite local paper, The Wire; and the extraordinarily beautiful webzine (?), sctas. we thank them both for their generous and thoughtful words...
Posted by northern on Sat, 21 Oct 2006 03:36:00 PST

++ new EP! new video! ++

ah yes, that's right, about the EP, there were some important details that i forgot to mention. you may wonder what it looks like. click here to see. it's available to purchase for just $5. each CD ...
Posted by northern on Mon, 22 May 2006 07:47:00 PST

new EP! new video!

hello -- the many great things that came out of last night's sotto voce show are, in fact, too numerous to elaborate on here, but i'd be remiss if i didn't mention that we've got a new four-song EP, c...
Posted by northern on Sun, 21 May 2006 02:21:00 PST