Pavement

Pavement is an American indie ^{indie rock} /alternative rock band. Although they experienced only moderate commercial success, they achieved a significant cult following In their initial ten-year career, they released five full length records, and a slew of EPs. The group remained signed to an independent label throughout their entire career. The group disbanded in 1999, but after a nine year hiatus a reunion was announced in late 2009.

 
Beginnings and Slanted and Enchanted

Pavement formed in Stockton, California in 1989 as a studio project of guitarists and vocalists Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg, known originally only as "S.M." and "Spiral Stairs", respectively. Their debut EP ^{Extended play} s were extremely lo-fi ^{lo-fi music} releases titled Slay Tracks (1933-1969), Demolition Plot J-7, and Perfect Sound Forever ^{Perfect Sound Forever (EP)} . They were recorded at Louder Than You Think, the home studio of Stockton local and former hippie Gary Young who also played drums on the recordings. Upon first hearing the duo's songs, Young was quoted as saying, "this Malkmus idiot is a complete songwriting genius". After the release of Slay Tracks, a new drummer, Jason Fawkes,

Pavement's most obvious influence during this time was English rock band The Fall ^{The Fall (band)} , although Kannberg stated in a 1992 interview that he preferred The Replacements ^{The Replacements (band)} to The Fall. The Fall's primary member, Mark E. Smith, would often angrily claim through the years that Pavement was a "rip-off" of his band and that they didn't "have an original idea in their heads". However, some of the other members of The Fall have been quoted as saying they liked the band.

Around 1992 Pavement became a full-time band, with the addition of bassist Mark Ibold—who had been one of the band's first fans—and extra percussionist Bob Nastanovich to help Young keep time. Their debut album, Slanted and Enchanted, was released commercially in 1992 after copies had been circulated on cassette tape for nearly a year. Though the percussive influence of The Fall was still pervasive (as was that of English post-punk band Swell Maps), many of the songs also exhibited a strong sense of melody. Later the same year, the band released the EP ^{Extended play} Watery, Domestic, which represented a balance between their earlier and later styles.


Gary Young's departure and Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain

During the Slanted & Enchanted tour Gary Young's eccentric behaviour included his handing out cabbage and mashed potatoes to fans at the door of the venue, doing handstands, running around the venue and stage while the rest of the band was playing and drunkenly falling off his drum stool. At the end of a 1993 tour of Australia, Japan, and Europe, Young left Pavement. The group subsequently held a meeting in a hotel room in Copenhagen during which Malkmus, Kannberg and Ibold remained silent while Nastanovich (Young's best friend at the time) argued with the drummer and informed him that his antics were unnecessary. According to the band, Gary Young quit and was replaced by Steve West ^{Steve West (Pavement)} (a fellow museum security guard at the Whitney Museum of American Art along with Malkmus and David Berman). West's debut performance was at a Drag City festival in Chicago, 1993.

Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain was released in 1994. The record was more indebted to the classic rock tradition than their debut. The single "Cut Your Hair" was the band's closest brush with the mainstream, and briefly enjoyed airplay on alternative rock radio and MTV. Pavement performed the song on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ^{The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992 TV series)} .

The lyrics from another single from the album, "Range Life", criticized alternative rock stars The Smashing Pumpkins and the Stone Temple Pilots. Malkmus has insisted over the years that the line is meant to be light-hearted and is sung from the point of view of the aging hippie character in the song—later live versions of the track had the singer substituting "The Spice Girls", "The Counting Crows", or others for "Stone Temple Pilots". In response Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan threatened to drop his band from their slot headlining the 1994 Lollapalooza Festival ^Lollapalooza if Pavement was allowed to play. Corgan and Malkmus would trade barbs through the press for several years afterwards.

Wowee Zowee and Brighten the Corners

The next album Wowee Zowee, released April 11, 1995, covered a wide range of styles including punk, country and balladry across its 18 tracks, which often avoided conventional song structures. On the Slow Century DVD, Malkmus attributed his odd choice of singles to his pot ^Marijuana smoking, stating that "I was smoking a lot of grass back then but to me they sounded like hits." Although Malkmus has said in recent interviews that the album is the last "classic Pavement record", Kannberg has voiced regrets about Wowee Zowee. "We made some mistakes on that record... we were kind of pressured into putting out a record a little faster than we were ready to. I mean, I'm totally into the record. It's just if we had another six months to think about it, it would've been much different."

During the tour for the album, Nastanovich stated on the Slow Century DVD, the band would often not work out a setlist before shows, opting for drug and alcohol fueled jams over hit singles. Some of these shows were held during the 1995 Lollapallooza festival, where the incoherent performances received a hostile reaction from many audiences. Footage also on Slow Century show the band being pelted with mud and rocks. The band then left the stage immediately, and dubbed themselves "The Band That Ruined Lollapallooza."

Wowee Zowee was followed up by the EP Pacific Trim, which was recorded with only Malkmus and drummers Nastanovich and Steve West. Their studio time was originally reserved for a Silver Jews recording, but frontman David Berman walked out in frustration and the trio decided not to waste prepaid recording time.

1997's Brighten the Corners, a shorter, mellower and more conventional record than the previous album, was produced by Mitch Easter. Malkmus stated on the Slow Century DVD that the album was an attempt to show audiences that Pavement had more mainstream and classic rock influences than it had previously portrayed. The album contained two of the band's best known singles in "Stereo" and "Shady Lane". It was the only Pavement album to include a lyric sheet except Slanted and Enchanted and sold better than its predecessors. Despite increased success, the band continued to fragment, with its members focusing more on other musical projects or on raising families.


Terror Twilight

In 1999, the band began work on its final album, Terror Twilight. Bob Nastanovich came up with the title, and has revealed the meaning of it in several interviews: "Twilight Terror is the short span between sunset and dusk; this is considered the most dangerous time in traffic, because half of the people switch on the headlights, and the other half doesn't. It's when most accidents happen." During an interview on the Slow Century documentary DVD, he said that the band was having trouble coming up with names for the record until he put forth Terror Twilight. One of the final contenders was Farewell Horizontal (also the name of a 1989 science fiction novel by K. W. Jeter), and Nastanovich said, "There was no way I was going to be on the Farewell Horizontal tour for the next year."

The band originally planned to self-produce Terror Twilight, renting out Jackpot! Studios in Portland, Oregon. The group stalled though, with Malkmus, Ibold, Nastanovich and (Jackpot! employee and future Jicks ^{Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks} bassist) Joanna Bolme usually opting to play Scrabble over getting any sort of work accomplished. Kannberg was especially frustrated over the sessions, particularly at Malkmus' refusal to include any of Kannberg's songs on the album—fan-favorite "For Sale: The Preston School of Industry" and one other song penned by the guitarist were briefly worked on during the sessions, but eventually abandoned. Godrich eventually convinced the band to move to a more "proper" 24-track studio, where he had previously worked on albums by The Beastie Boys and R.E.M. Though the producer took an immediate shine to Malkmus; Kannberg and Nastanovich were wary of him. Nastanovich believes that though Godrich "took on a pretty substantial challenge and did a good job," that he "focused his attention on Stephen" and produced them "in a way that just sort of had more disregard for the rest of us." Nastanovich also later recalled an awkward incident where it became apparent—about ten days into the sessions—that the producer didn't know the auxiliary percussionist's name. Kannberg, still disillusioned over his songs being rejected by Malkmus, said of Terror Twilight: "It was not fun to do that record from the very beginning. It was the hardest record to make."

The group's final concert together was at Brixton Academy in London on November 20, 1999. During the concert, Malkmus had a pair of handcuffs attached to his microphone stand, and at one point told that audience, "These symbolize what it's like being in a band all these years." After the concert, he confirmed to people at the after-party that Pavement was now done "for the foreseeable future." Kannberg told the singer that he needed to call the other members of the band to inform them that the band was finally breaking up, but Malkmus refused and Kannberg was left with the task of informing them.


Slow Century and Perfect Sound Forever

In 2002, Slow Century, a documentary by Lance Bangs coupled with all of the band's music videos, was released as a 2 DVD set. Included was extensive footage, both professionally shot and taped by fans on camcorders, from the band's earliest shows in 1989 forward. The three final songs from the band's final concert ("Stop Breathin'", "Conduit for Sale" and "Here") are presented at the end of the documentary. Also on the DVD is a hidden easter egg ^{easter egg (virtual)} clip from the same show, wherein Malkmus apparently jokingly talks about how the handcuffs attached to his microphone stand "represent what it's like being in a band all these years." A bonus disc with a complete concert in Seattle, Washington, from the early part of the Terror Twilight tour was included on the second disc, as well as several songs from their penultimate show.

2004 saw the publication of Perfect Sound Forever: The Story of Pavement ^{Perfect Sound Forever (book)} , a biography on the band written by Rob Jovanovic. Reviews for the book were mixed, with some saying that it contained much of the same information as the Slow Century DVD and expanded very little on it, while others called it a "fond retrospection".


Reunion

There was frequent speculation about the possibility of a Pavement reunion. In a 2006 Pitchfork Media interview, Scott Kannberg discussed the possibility of a reunion for the band's 20th anniversary in 2009. In a 2008 Entertainment Weekly article, Kannberg echoed the possibility of a 2009 reunion, and mentioned Matador Records' 20th anniversary. Mark Ibold was amiable to the idea; Malkmus, however, stated: "something small in 10 years like the Zeppelin thing ^{Ahmet Ertegün Tribute Concert} sounds good to me."

On September 15, 2009, Brooklyn Vegan reported that Pavement are scheduled to perform multiple benefit show dates in New York City's Central Park beginning on September 21, 2010. Official statements by the band, label, venue and promoter were released on September 17, 2009 confirming the reunion. The announcement included one concert in Central Park and the promise of a tour, but said that the reunion may only be a one-off event. It said, "Please be advised this tour is not a prelude to additional jaunts and/or a permanent reunion." Tickets for the first Central Park concert sold out in two minutes, leading to the announcement of three more shows at the same venue. The band since confirmed a world-wide tour which started in Auckland, New Zealand on March 1 at the Auckland Town Hall, before heading on to Australia
The band released a 'best of' compilation album in March 2010, entitled Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement.* Slanted and Enchanted (1992)
* Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (1994)
* Wowee Zowee (1995)
* Brighten the Corners (1997)
* Terror Twilight (1999)