Mushroom (USA) | Artist
Mushroom is an American psychedelic Krautrock band formed 1996 in San Francisco by drummer Pat Thomas. It could be more accurately described as a musicians' collective based on the large and frequently changing lineup which, in addition to Thomas, includes Michael Holt (Fender Rhodes, Mellotron), Erik Pearson (guitar, flute, saxophone, violin), Graham Connah (organ, keyboard), Patrick O'Hearn (drums, bongos, percussion), Alec Palao (bass), Dan Olmstead (lead guitar), Ned Doherty (bass), Dave Brandt (congas, bongos, djembe, gongs), Josh Pollock (guitar, vocals, electronics), and Alison Faith Levy (vocals). Pat Thomas also issues solo works and is a member of bands Absolute Gray and Birds of America. Likewise, the other members have their own solo and band projects. Mushroom's sound has been described as a "diverse and eclectic blend of jazz, space rock, R&B, electronic, ambient, Krautrock and folk music". "like Tortoise jamming with the Grateful Dead or Soft Machine exploring the Funkadelic catalog", as described by one reviewer. The band released its first recording in 1997, a 12" EP called "The Reeperbahn," described by critic Fred Mills in Magnet as a recording that "could fool a blindfolded test applicant into thinking its 25-minute psych blowout was some long lost Krautrock epic from the early '70s. Let the band's wah-wah guitar, feedback violin, volcanic bass, jazzbo percussion, and tape loops take you down the fabled motorway, never to return to the place you once knew." They have since gone on to release a total of 13 studio albums, right up to their most recent, the 2024 comeback, illuminatingly entitled Messages from the Spliff Bunker. Standout releases include The Reeperbahn EP (1997), Hydrogen Jukebox (1999), Analog Hi-Fi Surprise (1999), Foxy Music (2001), Glazed Popums (2004), Joint Happening (2007), and Messages from the Spliff Bunker (2024). Pat Thomas is also known for his work as a percussionist, record producer, music journalist and editor of Ptolemaic Terrascope. His credits as a producer of reissue recordings include albums by Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, Television, and for Omnivore Recordings, artists such as Game Theory. Thomas is the author of the book Listen, Whitey: The Sights and Sounds of Black Power, a 2012 work of African-American cultural history centering on the Black Panther Party. Singer Alison Faith Levy has several solo albums and is a member of Indie bands The Loud Family and The Sippy Cups. There was also an Irish prog-folk band named Mushroom who issued one album in 1973 entitled Early One Morning.
Artist Website: mushroom3.bandcamp.com
Featured Albums: Mushroom (USA)
Related Artists: Pat Thomas, Alison Faith Levy
