June of 44 formed in 1994, after the breakup of Louisville post hardcore band
Rodan. Guitarist Jeff Mueller teamed up with guitarist Sean Meadows, bassist/trumpeter Fred Erskine (former member of DC band
Hoover), and drummer Doug Scharin, who'd played in the slowcore band
Codeine.
The band's name was inspired by the date of correspondence between erotic fiction writers Henry Miller and Anaïs Nin; furthermore June also coincided with Mueller's mother's birthday and the military service of Meadows' grandfather.
After only three-and-a-half weeks of practice, the quartet had a complete set of songs that were heavy on dynamics and atmospheres. The work resulted in the creation of shifting, dissonant and disarticulated music based on soft-to-loud dynamics, neurotic rhythm changes, angular and hypnotic guitars and lyrics shouted or half-spoken in a dramatic way.
In the summer of 1995, the group released its debut album, "Engine Takes to the Water", on
Rodan's former label Quarterstick. With their second album, 1996's "Tropics and Meridians",
June of 44 established themselves as a top-notch experimental indie band, offering a more fully realized take on the sound of their debut. In the meantime the band appeared on the benefit compilation "Lounge AX Defense and Relocation", published by Touch And Go. In 1997 the band released a three-track EP entitled "Anatomy of Sharks", further proof of the quartet's unpredictable creativity.
1998's full-length "Four Great Points" is their most experimental album, and further emphasizes Scharin's interest in electronic music and Erskine's trumpet-playing skills.
June of 44's fourth album, 1999's "Anahata", expanded on the model of its immediate predecessor, deepening the jazz influence and sampling techniques already noted.
Later that year the "In the Fishtank" EP was released on the Dutch label Konkurrent. The label offered limited free studio time to intriguing bands on tour in Europe. It was the final
June of 44 release, as the band broke up in 2000.
Meadows quickly embarked on other projects,
the Letter E, the solo project
Everlasting the Way and the Italian band
Red House Blues Revue. Scharin continued with
HiM. Erskine played trumpet in
Abilene and
HiM and joined
Sur la Mer. Mueller released solo album "Fold and Perish" in 1999, and then reunited with
Rodan guitar mate Jason Noble in the
Shipping News.
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June of 44 was an American rock band which was formed in 1994 from ex-members of Rodan, Lungfish, Codeine, Rex, The Crownhate Ruin and Hoover. The band's music is often described as 'math rock'. The band's name refers to June Miller, wife of author Henry Miller, and the year author Anaïs Nin began writing about June in her diaries.
The band toured extensively and reached as far as Australia. Often referred to as the punk rock pirates of the math rock world, June of 44 were a collective from 1994–2000. All the members were living in different cities at the time. Often cited for their artistic hand crafted record packaging, June of 44 had six releases in as many years before members went on to form HiM, Mice Parade, The Sonora Pine, Shipping News and Rachel's. This seminal band created music that ranged from experimental jazz to ambient dub to angular post punk.
1995 - Engine Takes To The Water
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