- The Unicorns
Infobox Musical artist
Name = The Unicorns
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Background = group_or_band
Years_active = 2000–2004
Genre =Indie pop ,Baroque Pop
Origin =Montreal ,Quebec ,Canada
Label =Caterpillars of the Community ,Alien8 Recordings
Associated_acts =Th' Corn Gangg , Islands
Past_members =Nicholas Thorburn
Alden GingerJamie Thompson The Unicorns were an
indie pop band fromMontreal ,Canada , formed in December2000 by Nicholas "Nick Diamonds" Thorburn andAlden Penner , who were later joined byJamie Thompson .History
The Unicorns were originally formed in December
2000 byNicholas Thorburn (stage name Nick "Neil" Diamonds, as well as a host of other aliases) andAlden Penner (stage name, Alden Ginger;Elvis Presley 's fiancée when he died wasGinger Alden ). They were later joined by drummerJamie Thompson (stage name J'aime Tambeur).The band self-released their debut album "
Unicorns Are People Too " in March 2003 through their own record label Caterpillars of the Community, with a limited press run of 500 copies.In October of the same year they went back into the studio, recording several new songs as well as reworking a number of songs from their debut. The resulting second album, "
Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? ", recorded by Mark Lawson in Montreal, was released in November 2003 on the label Alien8 Recordings. It was a notable departure for a label that has traditionally released albums by Avant-Garde and highly experimental artists such asAcid Mothers Temple and noise pioneerMerzbow .The album received glowing reviews from "
The Village Voice ", "NME ", online magazine Pitchfork and numerous other publications around the world, and it quickly earned the band a fanatical following on the indie-rock circuit. The band toured constantly for thirteen months following its release, initially supporting fellow Canadian bandHot Hot Heat across North America before proceeding to play to sold-out crowds in Australia, Europe and the UK, as well as touring several more times across the U.S. and Canada.In November 2004, a split 7" between the Unicorns and noise artists, Man Is The Bastard, for release on
Kitty Play Records was announced by the bands website and Pitchfork media but it was never finished. [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/33885/The_Unicorns_Plan_Split_SevenInch_Tour_Australia#33885]The band's hectic touring schedule took its toll, however, and by the time of their Australian tour in December 2004 they were showing signs of exhaustion, playing reportedly lukewarm shows and verbally clashing with audience members. On
December 28 ,2004 , a short message appeared on the Unicorns' website reading "THE UNICORNS ARE DEAD, (R.I.P.)", leading fans to speculate as to whether they had broken up.In early February 2005 Pitchfork reported that The Unicorns had split. Also the website [http://www.solidpr.com/ Solid PR] issued a press statement on the band's behalf confirming the claims of break-up.
Thorburn and Thompson continued to collaborate together as
Th' Corn Gangg (a pop/hip-hop project) and Islands (a pop project). However, onMay 28 ,2006 , Jamie Thompson announced his departure from Islands.cite news|first = Amy|last = Phillips|url = http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/news/06-05/30.shtml#islands|title = J'Aime Tambeur Quits Islands|work = Daily Music News|publisher = Pitchfork|date =May 30 ,2006 |accessdate = 2006-06-03]Penner released a 7" on the
Melbourne -basedArt School Dropout label. The A-side, "The Ghost of Creaky Crater ", was recorded in Melbourne onDecember 19 ,2004 while The Unicorns were touring the country. The release was limited to a hundred copies. Penner performed under the name Dub Intefadah and scored the soundtrack for the Indie feature film The Hamster Cage. Alden recently formed a new band called Clues, with Brendan Reed (formerly of theArcade Fire and Les Angles Morts), and Bethany Or, of the band Shanghai Triad. They made their debut atPop Montreal in October 2007. [ [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/46151-former-unicorn-drops-clues-with-new-band Pitchfork: Former Unicorn Drops Clues With New Band ] ]Members
*
Nicholas Thorburn - stage name "Nick 'Neil' Diamonds"
*Alden Penner - stage name "Alden Ginger"
*Jamie Thompson - stage name "J'aime Tambeur"Discography
Albums
*"Three Inches of Blood" (Early split Demos)
*"Unicorns Are People Too " (Caterpillars of the Community, March 2003) - limited to 500 copies
*"Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone? " (Alien8, November 2003; Black/Pink vinyl released March 2004)ingles/EPs
*"The Unicorns: 2014 b/w Emasculate the Masculine" (
March 23 ,2004 ) 7" onSuicide Squeeze Records
*"" - EPUnreleased tracks
*"Haunted House"
*"Abominable Snowman"
*"Livin' in the Country"
*"The Adventures of Bayou Billy"
*"Hanz"
*"I Do It (For Your Love)"
*"Bad Mind"ee also
*
List of bands from Canada
*Th' Corn Gangg
*IslandsReferences
External links
;Official sites
* [http://www.theunicorns.net/ The Unicorns] Dead link|date=January 2008|url=http://www.theunicorns.net/
* [http://www.secretunicornsforum.com/ Secret Unicorns Forum] — fansite which became official after the break-up
* [http://www.secretunicornsforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2262 "The Unicorns Story: After the Unicorns..."]
* [http://www.audiojunkies.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=61&Itemid=63 Audiojunkies Interview with The Unicorns]
* [http://www.shzine.com/interview-unicorns.php"SHZine" interview with Nicholas Diamond & Alden Ginger (April 2003)];Fansites
* [http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~abatko/unicorns/ Alex Batko: The Unicorns]
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