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Spencer Krug

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Spencer Krug
Spencer Krug performing in 2009 with Sunset Rubdown.
Spencer Krug performing in 2009 with Sunset Rubdown.
Background information
Born (1977-05-04) May 4, 1977 (age 47)
Penticton, British Columbia, Canada
GenresIndie rock
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar, accordion, kick drum
Years active2002 (2002)–present
LabelsSub Pop, Absolutely Kosher, Global Symphonic, Jagjaguwar, DSA, Paper Bag Records

Spencer Krug (/ˈkruːɡ/ KROOG) (born May 4, 1977) is a Canadian musician. He is the singer, songwriter and keyboardist for the indie rock band Wolf Parade and has recorded solo under both his own name and the name Moonface. He has also performed with other Canadian bands including Sunset Rubdown, Swan Lake, Frog Eyes, Fifths of Seven, and ska band the Two Tonne Bowlers, playing various instruments. His involvement in many musical acts has garnered him a noticeably high output of work, being credited on several releases a year.[1] He is known for his distinctive voice and songwriting abilities.[2]

Overview

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Krug was born on May 4, 1977, and raised in Penticton, British Columbia,[3] where at age 12, he first began playing piano. Soon after, he picked up guitar, focusing on the two instruments. Upon leaving Penticton, he moved to Victoria, British Columbia, where he helped found the indie rock band Frog Eyes with his then-roommate, Carey Mercer.[4] Krug took part in a March 2001 recording session that would later become Frog Eyes' first LP, The Bloody Hand.[4] Shortly afterwards, however, Krug left the band and moved to Montreal where he studied creative writing and musical composition at Concordia University.[5] In April 2003 Krug formed Wolf Parade alongside fellow singer-songwriter/guitarist Dan Boeckner.[6]

Wolf Parade's first show was opening for Arcade Fire on the ’03 "Us Kids Know" tour.[6] Apologies to the Queen Mary, Wolf Parade's debut album, was produced by Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock and released on Seattle indie label Sub Pop on September 27, 2005.

Also in 2005, Krug teamed up with Beckie Foon (A Silver Mt. Zion, Saltland, Set Fire to Flames, Esmerine) and Rachel Levine (Cakelk), forming the instrumental string/piano/accordion-based trio Fifths of Seven.[7] Later that year, the band released Spry from Bitter Anise Folds.

As a side project to Wolf Parade, under the moniker Sunset Rubdown, Krug self-produced five EPs, each one focusing on specific thematic composition and instrumentation – acoustic guitar; piano and hand claps; synths and drum machines, etc. – of original songs. A handful of the songs from those EPs have been released on Spencer’s Patreon. In the mid-2005 selections from each of those EPs were compiled and released as the LP, Snake's Got a Leg. Originally a solo project, Sunset Rubdown expanded in the late 2005 and early 2006 to include Camilla Wynn Ingr (Pony Up!), Jordan Robson-Cramer (XY Lover, Magic Weapon, and Miracle Fortress) and Michael Doerksen. This new line-up released its first collaborative efforts: a 5 track self-titled EP, Sunset Rubdown, in January 2006, followed by the band's second LP, Shut Up I Am Dreaming, in May 2006. Sunset Rubdown's third LP, Random Spirit Lover, was released October 2007 on Jagjaguwar Records. Sunset Rubdown's fourth LP, Dragonslayer, was released in 2009 on Jagjaguwar Records.

Krug rejoined Frog Eyes as their keyboardist in early 2006 and helped put out The Future Is Inter-Disciplinary or Not at All and Tears of the Valedictorian.[4] Wolf Parade and Frog Eyes toured that year together, allowing Krug to participate in both bands simultaneously. Krug also recorded material for the indie rock supergroup Swan Lake alongside Frog Eyes' Carey Mercer and Destroyer's Dan Bejar. The group released their debut album, Beast Moans, on November 21, 2006, through Jagjaguwar.

In mid-2008, Krug toured with Wolf Parade in support of their second LP entitled At Mount Zoomer on June 17, 2008. On March 24, 2009, Swan Lake released their second album, Enemy Mine. In January 2010, Krug released Dreamland EP: Marimba and Shit-Drums under the Moonface name.[8] In June 2010, Wolf Parade released their third full album, Expo 86.[9] A world tour supporting the new album followed, after which the band went on indefinite hiatus.[10]

Krug's first full-length album as Moonface, Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped, was released in August 2011. Krug then teamed up with the Helsinki-based band Siinai to record his second full length Moonface album, With Siinai: Heartbreaking Bravery, which was released on April 17, 2012.[11] In a June 2012 interview, Krug stated that Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown had disbanded and would no longer be touring or releasing albums.[12] On August 27, 2013, Jagjaguwar Records announced Krug's third full length Moonface album, Julia With Blue Jeans On, which was released on October 29, 2013.[13] Krug once again collaborated with Siinai for the fourth Moonface album, My Best Human Face, which was released on June 3, 2016.[14]

Wolf Parade reunited in 2016, releasing a self-titled EP that May.[15] The band's fourth album, Cry Cry Cry, followed on October 6, 2017.[16] Krug's fifth full-length release as Moonface, a double album entitled This One's for the Dancer & This One's for the Dancer's Bouquet, was released on November 2, 2018, after which Krug retired the Moonface alias, citing a desire "to get personally behind [his work] in a more literal and meaningful way" by releasing music under his own name.[17][18] Wolf Parade's fifth album, Thin Mind, was released on January 24, 2020;[19] however, the album's accompanying tour was cut short by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.[20]

Krug's first album under his own name, Fading Graffiti, was announced in March 2021 and released the following month.[21] It served as the first release on Krug's personal record label, Pronounced Kroog.[21][22] His two subsequent solo albums, Twenty Twenty Twenty Twenty One and I Just Drew This Knife, followed in June 2022 and October 2023 respectively.[23][24]

After a 13-year hiatus, Sunset Rubdown announced their reunion in December 2022, and embarked on a North American tour in the spring of 2023.[25] On February 4, 2024, the group announced via Instagram that they had recorded a new album.[26]

Personal life

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Krug has lived in the Cowichan Bay area on Vancouver Island since 2016.[27][28] He and his wife had their first child, a son, in April 2020.[22]

Discography

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Main article: Spencer Krug discography

Fifths of Seven

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Frog Eyes

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Sunset Rubdown

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Moonface

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Swan Lake

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Wolf Parade

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Solo albums

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Notable contributions

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References

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  1. ^ Jessica (January 23, 2009). "Progress Report: Spencer Krug". Stereogum.com. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  2. ^ "Sunset Rubdown: Random Spirit Lover: Jagjaguwar". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on February 1, 2009. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  3. ^ Age reported in 2006: David Berry "Spencer Krug is Just Parading as a Wolf, it Seems", Vue Weekly, 2006.
  4. ^ a b c Soft Abuse Records, "Frog Eyes: Biography" Archived October 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Softabuse.com. Retrieved January 16, 2008.
  5. ^ Michael Petitti, "Third Act: Sunset Rubdown collate again to create another stunner", Tucson Weekly, October 11, 2007.
  6. ^ a b Sub Pop Records, "Wolf Parade: Biography", Subpop.com. Retrieved January 16, 2008.
  7. ^ Fifths of Seven Official Website, "Review Section" Archived December 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Fifthsofseven.com. Retrieved January 16, 2008.
  8. ^ Jagjaguwar Official Website, "JAG 146 Moonface – Dreamland EP: marimba and shit-drums", www.jagjaguwar.com. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  9. ^ Sub Pop Official Website, "Sub Pop Records : Wolf Parade : EXPO 86" subpop.com. Retrieved March 2, 2011.
  10. ^ Tom Breihan, "Wolf Parade Go on Indefinite Hiatus", Pitchfork, November 29, 2010.
  11. ^ Jagjaguwar Official Website, "Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug Announces New Moonface Album", Jagjaguwar.com, February 10, 2012.
  12. ^ "BYT Interviews: Spencer Krug (2012) – BrightestYoungThings – DC". BrightestYoungThings.com. June 29, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  13. ^ "News". Jagjaguwar.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2013. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  14. ^ "'My Best Human Face' New Album from Moonface and Siinai plus EU Tour Dates". Jagjaguwar. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  15. ^ Coutu.co, thecbp.com +. "Wolf Parade - EP 4 - Digital - Featured - Wolf Parade Online Store". wolfparade.store-08.com. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  16. ^ Sub Pop Records. "Cry Cry Cry". Sub Pop Records. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  17. ^ "Jagjaguwar::JAG294". Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  18. ^ "Jagjaguwar::Moonface". Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  19. ^ Sub Pop Records. "Thin Mind". Sub Pop Records. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  20. ^ Mims, Taylor (March 2, 2020). "Avril Lavigne, Wolf Parade & More Cancel Tours as Coronavirus Spreads". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  21. ^ a b Fu, Eddie (March 31, 2021). "Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug Announces New Album Fading Graffiti". Consequence. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  22. ^ a b Fitzmaurice, Larry (March 31, 2021). "Spencer Krug On His New Album Fading Graffiti, Becoming A Parent During COVID, And More". Stereogum. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  23. ^ Sacher, Andrew (April 13, 2022). "Spencer Krug releasing new LP 'Twenty Twenty Twenty One' (stream a track)". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  24. ^ LaPierre, Megan (August 7, 2023). "Spencer Krug Announces New Album 'I Just Drew This Knife' | Exclaim!". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  25. ^ Monroe, Jazz (December 6, 2022). "Sunset Rubdown to Reunite After 13 Years". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  26. ^ Rettig, James (February 4, 2024). "Sunset Rubdown Prep First New Album In 15 Years". Stereogum. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  27. ^ Vish Khanna (September 19, 2024). "Ep. #907: Sunset Rubdown" (Podcast). Kreative Kontrol. Event occurs at 7m 33s. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  28. ^ "Spencer Krug - Performance & Interview (Live on KEXP at Home)". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  29. ^ Daniel Gill, "Swan Lake preps debut full-length on Jagjaguwar", Force Field PR, August 6, 2006.
  30. ^ David Kennedy, "July Talk on Collaborating with Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade". CIND-FM, January 19, 2023.
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