The Court & Spark is a San Francisco-based indie rock band formed in the spring of 1998 around the nucleus of Scott Hirsch, Alex Stimmel, James Kim, and laconic lead vocalist M.C. Taylor.[LINK: http://www.tumult.net/catalog/court_thoughts.html] [1] Between 1998 and 2001 the group established itself among the leaders of the alt-country Americana scene. After Hirsch and Taylor's early and noisy participation in Exignota (or Ex-Ignota), the two (along with bassist Joe Rogers and others) found themselves in San Francisco, and formed the country-oriented group, taking cues from the classic sounds of the early country-rock era as well as incorporating more sonically progressive and multi-faceted compositions. They soon released their debut, 1999's Ventura Whites, garnering substantial praise with the independent press. With pedal steel player Tom Heyman and

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z # TAGS