Elk City (band)
| Elk City | |
|---|---|
| Origin | New York City, New York, United States |
| Genres | Art pop |
| Years active | Since 1997 |
| Labels | Earworm Records, Friendly Fire Recordings, Talitres, Hidden Agenda Records, Starrysky, Warm Records |
| Associated acts | Melting Hopefuls |
| Website | elkcity |
| Members | Renee LoBue Ray Ketchem Sean Eden Carl Baggaley Martin Olson |
| Past members | Peter Langland-Hassan Barbara Endes |
Elk City is an American art-pop band from New York City, New York, formed in 1997 as a spin-off of Melting Hopefuls. The original lineup consisted of Renee LoBue, Ray Ketchem and Peter Langland-Hassan.
The band released two albums, Status and Hold Tight the Ropes, in 2000 and 2002, respectively. After the second album, Langland-Hassan left the band, which led to the inclusion of Sean Eden and Barbara Endes.
They released New Believers in 2007 under the new lineup, and it was followed by House of Tongues in 2010.
The band was formed after Langland-Hassan auditioned for Melting Hopefuls, a band that Ketchem and LoBue had been part of since 1990. The trio decided to have a fresh start with a new name for the band, rather than pretend that they were still the old one.
The name refers to Elk City, an unincorporated community in Barbour County, West Virginia. Ketchem, a West Virginia native, drove past the town's sign one day, and he thought it would make a good name. LoBue later commented that they liked that the name combined a rural element (an elk) with an urban element (a city).
When they started, the band's only instruments were an electric guitar and drums, played by Langland-Hassan and Ketchem, respectively, while LoBue and Langland-Hassan shared the lead vocals, but shortly after LoBue started playing bass on a Novation Bass Station analog synthesizer. They spent the next three years playing on small venues, working on developing their sound as they traveled together.
In 1999, the band released an extended play, Dreams of Steam, with Starrysky Records.
In early 2000, they changed the Bass Station for a Fender Rhodes Piano Bass, and later that year the band released their first full-length album, Status. It was released by Hidden Agenda Records (now Parasol Records) in the United States, and by Talitres in Europe in 2001.
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