As a long-time fan and friend of San Francisco’s The Court & Spark, hearing the possibility of them calling it quits kind of made my heart hurt a little bit. The drummer, James Kim, and I have been friends since 1984 and I was there when he bought his first drum kit. After short stints in several bands in high school and college, he made his way up to San Francisco with some pals from UCSB and while visiting him he gave me a cassette tape called Main Street Find, which featured six songs recorded during the summer of 1998 by their friend Jason Warriner. At the time, “alt-country” really wasn’t on my radar, but all I knew was that there were some really solid songs and, more than anything, was just happy for James to be involved with such an innovative project.
The next nine years resulted in album after album of perfectly executed Americana-flavored rock ‘n’ roll music, including four full-length albums and two EPs, as well as contributing to multiple compilations such as A Decade of Sin: 11 Years of Bloodshot Records, Nothing Left to Lose: A Tribute to Kris Kristofferson and the Noise Pop 2003 Compilation. To list all their accomplishments, endeavors and side projects would take too long, but the core of the band, M.C. Taylor (vocals, guitar), Scott Hirch (Guitar, back-up vocals) and James Kim, have supplied their talents to so many of their friend’s albums it’s safe to say that if you bought a record from an San Francisco band this decade, there’s a good chance that one of the guys in The Court & Spark had their hands in it.
So, I knew it was coming, but it was never certain until I received this email earlier this month:
Maybe you've already heard down the vibrating tracks, but for those who haven't: The Court & Spark has one more show for the foreseeable future. It's hard to say that The C&S is breaking up, as we still spend all our time together, but seeing as how we're all involved in different musical projects, it seems best to retire the C&S name for a while. We've had a good run and have had the good fortune to meet all kinds of wonderful souls as we've stumbled down the road. Thank you one and all for everything you've given us.
As for what to expect next from us…M.C. Taylor and Scott Hirsch have completed work on the Hiss Golden Messenger record. There will also be a series of live HGM releases coming up, the first of which will be a set from Big Sur in April. M.C. and Scott are also moving to the East Coast- M.C. to Chapel Hill, NC, and Scott to NYC. Keep an eye out for them wandering around. Or, just keep your eye on www.myspace.com/hissgoldenmessenger for news.
Also, Hiss Golden will be playing live on Derk Richardson's radio show on KPFA (94.1 FM) at 10 PM on Thursday, July 5th
James Kim is currently playing drums with the Kelley Stoltz band, and various other San Francisco-based projects. Tom Heyman is playing solo and as a guitarist with Chuck Prophet. Dan Carr is playing in The Parker Brothers. Patrick Main is playing with Tarnation, Oranger, and a slew of other groups. We're keeping busy.
See you down the road.
xoxo, The Court & Spark, SF
They had their last show Friday, July 6th, at Cafe Du Nord in S.F., with James’ new bandmate, Kelley Stoltz, and M.C. and Scott’s new band, Hiss Golden Messenger. Luckily for us, Terri Loewenthal—who played bass on their last U.S. tour—was there to document this momentous occasion. Check them out here.
So I would like to introduce you to a band that should have been bigger than they are, just knowing how each of their albums have touched me over the years, and how any compilation I make usually includes at least one C&S song, perhaps you might find them equally as enjoyable as I have.
Hearts (Absolutely Kosher Records 2006)
Your Mother Was The Lightening – [mp3]
Witch Season (Absolutely Kosher Records 2004)
Suffolk Down Upon the Night – [mp3]
Bless You (Absolutely Records 2001)
Fireworks – [mp3]
More info on The Court and Spark
