Genres: Alternative/Indie,Pop,Soundtracks,Rock

The Decemberists are a rock band from Portland, Oregon.  Colin Meloy, formerly of the band, Tarkio, moved to Portland, and met Nate Query and Jenny Conlee, who had played together in a band in the past. In 2001, they released a 5 Songs.  It was self-released, and the band played for hours in a neighborhood hotel to raise money for the recording studio.

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The Decemberists

When I first started writing these kind of songs that would eventually become Decemberists songs, I was writing them because I knew that nobody was listening at the time and that it wouldn’t hurt to challenge myself and get weirder and see if I could alienate more people.

The Beginning

The Decemberists are a rock band from Portland, Oregon.  Colin Meloy, formerly of the band, Tarkio, moved to Portland, and met Nate Query and Jenny Conlee, who had played together in a band in the past. In 2001, they released a 5 Songs.  It was self-released, and the band played for hours in a neighborhood hotel to raise money for the recording studio.

In 2002, they released Castaways and Cutouts, their debut full-length album, on the Hush Records label.  It was re-released in 2003 on the Kill Rock Stars label.  The album was only a moderate commercial success, but the band had begun to create a fan base.

Picking up Momentum

In 2003, after the re-release of Castaways and Cutouts, the band released their next album, Her Majesty the Decemberists, and in 2005, they released Picaresque.  The Decemberists produced a video for 16 Military Wives, a single from Picaresque.  This was their first album to reach the charts, peaking at #135 on the Billboard Top 200.

In 2005, The Decemberists left Kill Rock Stars Records and signed with Capital Records.  Their first album with Capital was The Crane Wife, released in 2006.  On the day of the release, the band appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and performed Oh, Valencia!  They immediately launched a tour, supporting the album.  NPR listeners voted The Crane Wife their favorite album of 2006.

Building a Successful Career

During the next couple of years, the band worked to promote their album and solidify their fan base.  In 2006, they took part in a mock green screen challenge with Stephen Colbert, which culminated in a guitar contest.  The Decemberists' guitarist Chris Funk represented the band; when Colbert announced he had a hand injury, he was replaced by Peter Frampton.

Adding to the publicity this brought, they completed a 5-concert tour in 2007 with a full orchestra back-up, followed by a European tour.  In 2008, they released Always a Bridesmaid, one single at a time.  They did some limited touring to promote the singles, and appeared again on Late Night with Conan O'Brien the night before the 2008 presidential election.  The album, once completely released, peaked at #14 on the Billboard Top 200.  In mid-2009, The Decemberists released The Hazards of Love, putting them back on the touring path again.

Did you know . . .

1. In 2006, the band's equipment wagon was stolen.  Fans contributed to a replacement fund, and the band auctioned an album called Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey on ebay.  

2. The Decemberists take their name from the Decemberist revolt, an 1825 revolt in Russia.

3. In 2004, The Decemberists released an eighteen-and-a-half-minute single track entitled The Tain, based on the Irish mythological epic, Tain Bo Cuailnge.

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