The Lickity-Splits began in the splendid summer of 2003 with Timmy Tumble (Tim Schreiber) on lead vocals/guitar, Andy Steck on Organ/vocals, and Aaron Jollay on Bass guitar/horns/vocals. They began practicing with Jeremy Beck (who was Andy's roommate at the time) on drums and played their first show in November 2003. For the first three years of their existence they were known by the lengthier moniker of Col. Knowledge & the Lickity-Splits before shortening their name in November 2006.
Tim had been doing a radio show on WUOG 90.5 FM Athens based around 50's & 60's R&B Doo-wop and soul, Mid-60's garage stompin' music & psych, folk-rock, etc... and had been writing many uptempo rock tunes incorporating these styles and fusing them with the heap of pop melodies he had been writing for many years. The rock & roll band was quite a change from the psychedelic genre-hopping pop Tim had been recording since the age of 16 as Cornish in a Turtleneck or the Booty-rap anthems of the Ypsilanti All-Stars back in his hometown of Ypsilanti, Michigan.
The band spent most of 2004 playing shows and recording their debut record, FALL IN LOVE ALL OVER AGAIN WITH COL. KNOWLEDGE & THE LICKITY-SPLITS. In 2005 they were signed to Alive/Bomp records in Burbank, CA who released the record and who were quite surprised that they recorded it at home on a cassette recording machine.
Check out The Lickity-Splits rockin' yo' face! The Lickity-Splits Live at the Caledonia Lounge 2/17/06!
Check out all of the amazed/encouraging/confused/compounded/comical press they attracted after their debut record was released in May of 2005.
Click Me to jettison straightaway to the Lickity-Splits Press Station!
In May 2005 they went on their first tour playing several shows up the east coast and midwest for over 3 weeks. They spent the rest of the year playing shows in Athens, Atlanta, and several other places in the southeast US as well as working up material for another record. In September of that year Jeremy Beck left the band and they recruited Mercer West. Following this Tim began planning their first west coast tour for March/April 2006.
In February 2006 the band learned that Ariel Pink, a musician many members of the Lickity-Splits liked plenty, would be touring and letting various local musicians be his backing band in every town he travelled to. They took it upon themselves to learn 9 of Ariel's tunes and performed with him on February 28th 2006 at the Drunken Unicorn in Atlanta. Later whilst on tour, they backed him up again at the SXSW festival in Austin, TX performing a brief set before a giant crowd. In Hollywood a week or so later they performed with Ariel Pink once more at an Art/Film Happening.
Several songs from the Ariel Pink performances are viewable on Youtube:
Ariel Pink w/ Col. Knowledge & the Lickity-Splits Live @ Drunken Unicorn 2/28/06 - Hardcore Pops Are Fun
Ariel Pink w/ Col. Knowledge & the Lickity-Splits Live @ SXSW March 2006 - Beverly Kills
Ariel Pink w/ Col. Knowledge & the Lickity-Splits Live @ Drunken Unicorn 2/28/06 - The Drummer
The west coast tour took them across the southern states into CA, up the coast to Seattle, WA, then back through the Rockies and plains ending in Saint Louis, MO. After their return from tour, a saxophone/keys player named Javier Morales joined the group and began playing several shows with the Splits upon their return. Andy Steck and Aaron Jollay only sporadically play with the band of late, as presently the band is going through experiments in the ever-changing line-up . Presently the band has finished a sophomore record and is shopping it to labels and giving it to friends. Present and past members are involved in other Athens-based projects. Both Tim and Aaron are part of the 20-plus-person band Dark Meat/Vomit Lasers Family band, Tim has also just finished a solo album entitled Timmy Tumble: the Prynce of Ypsilanti, Mercer and Javier are both in several Athens bands (including Mouser, Telenovela, Quiet Hooves and a host of others), and Andy and Jeremy play in a jug band called Gutshot and Thirsty.
However, very very shortly the band with be back playing lots of live shows to everyones heart's content!
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Thank you for listening/reading.
