The Decemberists Biography

The Decemberists are a five-piece progressive rock band who have been making music since 2001. They have been quoted as basing their name on the Russian Decembrist revolt and also the atmosphere of the month leading up to christmas, December. They self-released their first EP in 2001 entitled 5 Songs which was followed in 2002 by their debut album Castaways and Cutouts. 2003 was a busy year for the band with the re-release of their first album under a new label, followed by their second album, Her Majesty.

The five-piece band consists of Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conless, Nate Query, and John Moen. Meloy's girlfriend, Carson Ellis (also from the band's hometown of Portland, Oregon) is responsible for all of the band's album artwork. Interestingly the band have a self-confessed love of the french soda Orangina.

To date the band has released 4 full albums. The Decemberists have a strong online presence and sit alongside Sufjan Stevens in both there musical folk influences and the fact they lie amongst the most searched for bands online. They were allegedly also the first band to ever release a music video through BitTorrent in 2005 when they released their self-produced track, 16 Military Wives. The same year they were unlucky enough to have the band bus stolen and found themselves without any intruments or equipment. Several bands and producers came to the rescue though and provided instruments and support to help the bus-less band out.