Representative Albums: "Thunder, Lightning, Strike," "Proof of Youth," "Step and Repeat"
Biography
The Go! Team is a six-piece group from Brighton, England, whose sound is a stunning blend of indie rock guitars, police show themes, hip-hop beats, and schoolyard chants built on samples and then augmented by live instrumentation. The founder and leader of the team is Ian Parton, who provides guitar and sculpts their sound. The rest of the group includes Sam Dook on guitar, banjo, and drums, Chi "Ky" Fukami Taylor on drums, Jaime Bell on bass, Ninja on vocals, and Kaori Tsuchida on drums, guitar, keyboards, and melodica. Their first release, 2000's Get It Together, was primarily a solo effort by Parton that gained support from John Peel and others, but legal problems prevented a timely follow up. By the time of 2003's Junior Kickstart single, the group had been assembled (and included Silke Steidinger, who was left in fall of 2005) and signed to Memphis Industries. Thunder, Lightning, Strike was released in 2004 and quickly became a sensation in the U.K., where it was nominated for the Mercury Prize, and in the U.S. where the band became an MP3 blog darling. A bidding war ensued in the U.S., with Columbia winning, but before the album could gain release, many of the samples had to be replaced (which didn't affect the quality of the record at all). The group followed up the album with two U.K. singles, 2005's Bottle Rocket and 2006's Lady Flash, and extensive world touring. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide
The Go Team was founded in 1985. As Vail describes:
“
The Go Team was about process. Sometimes we'd deliberately leave stuff out to incite participation in the listener. Donna Parker Pop, our first K release, featured all instrumentals but included the statement 'Make up your own words and sing along' - and people did. We recorded with some of those people later. . . . On the one hand we were trying to demystify music and encourage people to play songs in public -- if they wanted to. On the other hand, we actually liked what we sounded like, and we hated most of the pro-sounding jam bands/shredding metal-punk bands that played parties in Olympia. We embraced chaos and rejected mastery.[1]
”
The Go Team released several cassettes and 9 singles on the independent labelK Records. The records were often collaborations with other musicians and the musical style varied from single to single. Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Billy Karren, The Legend!, Dave Nichols of The Canannes, Donna Dresch of Team Dresch , Lois Maffeo, Rich Jensen, and Jeffery Kennedy were some of the artists the duo worked with. Billy "Boredom" Karren was one of the rotating musicians who played with The Go Team, and it was in this band that he and Vail played together for the first time, later collaborating in several other bands like Bikini Kill, The Frumpies, the upallnighters, and Spray Painted Love. They toured the West Coast as a two piece, adding Billy Karren for two U.S. tours.
Tobi Vail went on to form Bikini Kill with Kathleen Hanna, Kathi Wilcox and occasional Go Team member, Billy Karren. Presently, she plays with the band Spider and the Webs. Calvin Johnson currently records as a solo artist and with The Hive Dwellers, and continues to operate K records.
Discography
Singles
"Sand/Jigsaw" (January 1989)
"Outside/Stay Ready" (February 1989) with Billy Karren, Louise Olsen, Dave Nichols
"Breakfast In Bed/Safe Little Circles" (March 1989) with The Legend!
"Milquetoast Brigade/She Was Sad" (April 1989) with Jeffery Kennedy
"Ribeye/935 Patterson" (May 1989)
"Go Team Call/Three Ways To Sunday" (June 1989) with Quang H., Billy Karren, Brad Clemmons
"Scratch It Out/Bikini Twilight" (July 1989) with Tamra Ohrmund, Louise Olsen, Donna Dresch, Kurt Cobain
"Tummy Hop/Maverick Summer" (August 1989) with Brad Clemmons
"The Pines Of Rome" (September 1989) with Brad Clemmons
Cassettes
Recorded Live At The Washington Center For The Performing Arts
