Jeremy Messersmith - ProfilesArchive

About Me

The Alcatraz Kid
Drawing from classic songsters like Brian Wilson to basement recording mavericks like Elliot Smith, Jeremy Messersmith writes small, thoughtfully crafted songs. Based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Jeremy's latest record, The Alcatraz Kid, features memorable lyrics and irresistible melodies in a bargain basement wrapper.
Originally hailing from the deserts of southern Washington State, Jeremy moved to Minneapolis in 1999 and studied music at North Central University, eventually graduating in 2002. An audit of a songwriting course sparked Jeremy's interest in songwriting and soon he began to experiment with styles and genres.
After playing in a few local bands, Messersmith started playing solo shows in the fall of 2004 and handing out free copies of his music: intriguingly packaged in a brown paper bag.
The Paper Bag soon caught the attention of Minneapolis based Princess Records, who released the long awaited full length record in Fall 2006.
Jeremy is currently touring to support The Alcatraz Kid as well as working on a follow up record with local producer Dan Wilson (Semisonic, Trip Shakespeare).
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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 10/12/2005
Band Website: jeremymessersmith.com
Influences: This is the exhaustive list in no particular order: Carman, The Beatles, Sandi Patti, Radiohead, Michael Card, Elliott Smith, Michael W Smith, The Cure, Semisonic, U2, Travis, Beck, Jimi Hendrix, Mozart, Jon Brion, Fiona Apple, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nirvana, Prince, George Lucas (Howard the Duck anyone?), Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Joni Mitchell, Johnny Cash, The Platters, Kill Bill, Star Wars(The classic trilogy obviously), Harmony Labeff, The Doves, Bob Dylan, M Ward, The Shins, Dan Wilson, The Lord of the Rings, Carole King, Philip K. Dick, Snow Crash, The Gaithers, Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, No Logo, The Wind-up Bird Chronicles, Norwegian Wood, anything by Haruki Murakami, Oldboy, The Matrix (The first one. The only one that should have been made), Chuck Norris, Bruce Lee, John Lennon, Batman, Dave Pedde, The Foundation Trilogy, Django Reinhardt, The Rosenberg Trio
Sounds Like: .. Well, I thought it might be fun to simply list what other people have said about me:Paul Simon The Beatles Elliot Smith Howie Day Dan Wilson Brian Wilson The Decemberists RadioheadThat's all I can think of right now.
Record Label: Princess Records
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

A Tale of Christmas Woe

I have a cat. His name is Mr. Nakata. At first glance, you may find him to be a high maintenance cat. He talks a lot. He demands a lot of attention. He also likes to eat tofu, garbanzo beans, and just...
Posted by Jeremy Messersmith on Wed, 19 Dec 2007 04:01:00 PST

I sang backup for Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.

To be honest, so did about 1,000 other sweaty people crammed into First Avenue. Great show.If my musical career goes according to plan, my live shows will soon end up looking this this - http://youtub...
Posted by Jeremy Messersmith on Mon, 19 Nov 2007 07:04:00 PST

My Wii has been burgled

I came home from work last night to find the screen ripped off the kitchen window.And with that I became a burglary statistic. We lost a laptop and some coffee(huh?) and my Nintendo Wii. I was so clos...
Posted by Jeremy Messersmith on Wed, 17 Oct 2007 09:39:00 PST

ZOMG New Radiohead!

I don't use l33tspeak all that often, but radiohead just became the nerd band of the century by releasing their new record online. You can download it (for any price you want!) over at inrainbows.com....
Posted by Jeremy Messersmith on Wed, 10 Oct 2007 07:50:00 PST

Home Sweet Home

I've been back from the tour for a couple of weeks now and I can't believe how homesick I was or how good it feels to be back in Minneapolis. I've been playing a lot of piano lately, so I'm hoping the...
Posted by Jeremy Messersmith on Thu, 30 Aug 2007 01:35:00 PST

Pittsburgh

I have one question for everyone:What's up with Pittsburgh?Feel free to comment here. :)
Posted by Jeremy Messersmith on Thu, 09 Aug 2007 08:12:00 PST

NYC blew my mind. And my knee.

New York City is an interesting place. Every time I go there, I can't help feeling that I just arrived off the bus from the farm. Maybe you have to live there for awhile to get used to it, but I end u...
Posted by Jeremy Messersmith on Tue, 07 Aug 2007 06:51:00 PST

Sweet Tea

On my way down to South Carolina I played a show in Athens, GA. I wasn't really sure what to expect from Athens, but it surprised me as being a cool little college town. The people are friendly and th...
Posted by Jeremy Messersmith on Thu, 02 Aug 2007 08:16:00 PST

The Curse of Colonel Sanders

My journey through the south continues. I was born in South Carolina, but I have no real memory of the place. Coming back to the land of my birth produces some odd feelings, probably best summed up wi...
Posted by Jeremy Messersmith on Tue, 31 Jul 2007 07:50:00 PST

Life on the Road

So it turns out that being on the road is a little boring. It involves a lot of driving and just sitting around. I keep trying to read or do something interesting in the car, but apparently my stomach...
Posted by Jeremy Messersmith on Mon, 30 Jul 2007 07:10:00 PST