Exquisite Corps is a Sacramento band led by singer/guitarist (and visual artist) Bryan Valenzuela that began as a chamber-rock project pairing rock songwriting with cello and violin, and later evolved into a more stripped-down, psychedelic rock 'n' roll outfit.[1][2] The band is repeatedly identified by Submerge as a local Sacramento act.[1][2]
At a glance
- Formed spring 2010 as a cello-and-guitar duo, growing into a sextet with strings.[1]
- Core founder: Bryan Valenzuela (vocals, guitar, songwriting), who relocated to Placerville for high school.[1]
- Name references the Surrealist "exquisite corpse" drawing exercise, punned on "corps" as in "Marine Corps."[3]
- Two albums: self-titled debut (2012) and Vignettes (2014).[1][2]
- Recorded at Hangar Studios (debut) and with engineer Ira Skinner (Vignettes).[1][2]
- Music published under EXCORPS MUSIC (ASCAP).[4]
Origins and members
Exquisite Corps sprang up in the spring of 2010 as a duo of Bryan Valenzuela on guitar and Krystyna Taylor (also referred to as Krystyna Ogella) on cello, before quickly expanding into a full band with a rotating cast.[1][2] By an early 2010 show the lineup also included Holly Harrison (vocal harmonies, lead melodies) and Patrick Boylan (drums).[3] Taylor also conducts the K Street Orchestra.[5]
By the 2012 debut, the ensemble had grown to a sextet: Valenzuela and Taylor joined by violinists Reylynn Goessling and Kristin Arnold, drummer Robby Dean, and bassist Nathan Webb.[1] Dean and Webb had previously played with Valenzuela in his earlier local band Call Me Ishmael.[1] Valenzuela described the band's range as spanning "anywhere from a trio up to a sextet."[2]
Violinist Reylynn Goessling departed in January 2013; her farewell show was on January 18, 2013 at TownHouse Lounge (1517 21st Street, Sacramento), with Blue Oaks and Ghost Pines also on the bill.[6]
Valenzuela grew up in Orange County and relocated with his parents to Placerville when he began high school; around that time he took up the violin at school and was drawn to chamber music, later studying music theory in college.[1] He had previously written string accompaniments for a Call Me Ishmael CD release show, and his desire to revisit that sound informed the founding of Exquisite Corps.[1] He is also a visual artist, spending mornings painting.[1]
Local status
The band is consistently framed as local: Submerge calls Exquisite Corps a "local band" from Sacramento and lists it among its favorite acts "out of Sacramento."[1][2] Valenzuela's regional roots (Placerville, within the Greater Sacramento area) and the band's Sacramento base support a local classification.[1] Evidence quote: "this band one of my favorites out of Sacramento."[2]
Sound and evolution
Early on, the band's signature was symphonic chamber rock — cello and violin crescendos swirling over melodic, melodramatic rock — a quality Submerge said set it apart in the local scene.[3][2] One writer compared the folk-macabre tone to Murder By Death and noted the cello's appeal for fans of Cursive's The Ugly Organ.[3][1] According to CBS Sacramento, the band cited Nick Cave, Led Zeppelin, the Twin Peaks soundtrack, and opera as musical influences.[5]
For the sophomore album, the band largely dropped the string section in favor of a stripped-down, pounding, sometimes psychedelic rock 'n' roll sound, a shift Valenzuela attributed partly to the practicalities of touring (string players could not always travel).[2] Much of the fuller "string" texture on the later material was achieved via organ, though the band still brought string players to bigger shows.[2] The members cited Beck and Badly Drawn Boy as inspirations for an album-to-album unpredictability.[2]
By early 2015 the band's lineup had settled around a core of vocals, guitar, bass, and drums — though keyboards and strings were sometimes still incorporated — and Sacramento News & Review described their sound as creating "dynamic, anthemic walls of sound" with "a tinge of psych-rock and blues."[7]
Releases
- Exquisite Corps (self-titled debut, 2012): a seven-song album recorded at Hangar Studios with engineer Scott McChane, with Valenzuela involved in recording and mixing.[1] The album contains 7 tracks: "Tone Poem," "Light as a Feather," "Windswept," "Carried by Waves," "Tyger Wine," "I Want What I Want," and "Selah."[8] It was released as part of the Launch Festival on July 25, 2012, with a free all-ages show in front of the MARRS Building in Midtown alongside Doom Bird, The Honey Trees and I'm Dirty Too.[1]
- Vignettes (sophomore album, 2014): a stripped-down, soulful, psychedelic rock record recorded and mixed by Ira Skinner at Alley Avenue Studios and mastered by Tony Lash at the Magic Closet.[4] The album was released on September 16, 2014 and contains 10 tracks: "Caught in a Wave," "Floodlights," "F.O.M.O.," "Broken Petals," "Ripples Repeating," "Feeling Green," "Elegant Bones," "Memento Manifesto," "Existential Workingman's Blues," and "Calm Collective Feeling."[4] Ira Skinner was chosen for his drum-engineering skill.[2] The release show was at the Witch Room on Sept. 20, 2014, for which the band brought back its full string section.[2] Submerge ranked Vignettes No. 25 on its Top 30 Albums of 2014, describing how the band "stripped down their sound, dropped a string section (mostly), to bring a driving, soulful rock album."[9] The band's music is published under EXCORPS MUSIC (ASCAP).[4]
Scene relationships and notable shows
- An early show (June 3, 2010) at Old Ironsides paired Exquisite Corps with Der Spazm; at the time, the band was described as playing its third show while already headlining.[3]
- The band was featured in the local video project Live in the City of Trees (run by photographer Wes Davis of Beatnik Studios and Devon Carsen), filmed in the century-old Maydestone Building at 15th and J streets.[10] The track "Light As a Feather" appeared via that project.[1]
- Exquisite Corps played the Jan. 27, 2012 bill at Broadacre Coffee for Terra Lopez of Sister Crayon's all-ages live-music night, alongside Garrett Pierce and a Lopez/Dani Fernandez DJ set.[11]
- The band played the Launch Festival three years running through 2012.[1]
- Engineer Scott McChane, who recorded the debut, had also worked with local acts Sister Crayon, Agent Ribbons, Chelsea Wolfe and Ellie Fortune.[1]
- Notable performances cited include a sold-out show at the Crocker Art Museum, a late-night show at the Haven Underground in Nevada City (shared with The Still Sea and Chicago's Pillars and Tongues), and a set at the now-defunct Luigi's Fungarden.[1][2]
- By 2014 the band toured regularly around California (San Diego to the Bay Area, Nevada City, Sacramento, Chico) and held a first-Thursday-of-the-month residency at LowBrau.[2] They described themselves as "super DIY," selling records from their cars, and had signed with a licensing company to place songs in commercials.[2]