Crooked Fingers

Crooked Fingers was an American North Carolina-based indie rock band, led by the former Archers of Loaf lead singer Eric Bachmann. The band was previously based in Seattle, Washington and Atlanta, Georgia before moving to Denver. The band released albums on WARM Records and Merge Records before going completely independent in 2008. They tended to have a rotating lineup, with Bachmann the only constant. Bachmann retired the name Crooked Fingers in January 2016 with a pair of shows in New York City and Durham, NC, playing the first two records in their entirety with a string ensemble and has since been releasing albums under his name.

History

Following the breakup of Archers of Loaf in 1998, Bachmann started work on a solo project that he named Crooked Fingers. The first release of this project, a self-titled release of various songs he had written, was released by WARM in 2000. It was followed shortly after by a second album on WARM, Bring on the Snakes.

Following the release of Bring on the Snakes, Crooked Fingers signed to Merge. Under that label, Crooked Fingers released Reservoir Songs EP in 2002, composed of cover songs of artists such as Neil Diamond and Queen. In 2003, they released Red Devil Dawn, their first full-length for Merge.

They released Dignity and Shame in 2005.

In October 2008, the band released the album Forfeit/Fortune. The band declined to sign a deal with any label, pursuing a direct-to-retail approach supported by sales at shows, the band's website, iTunes, and eMusic.

2011's "Breaks in the Armor" returned the band to Merge Records, and featured the addition of Bachmann's wife Liz Durrett to the lineup. Merge also re-released the first two Crooked Fingers records in January 2016, including numerous demos alongside the albums. This re-release, however, coincided with Bachmann's retiring of the moniker Crooked Fingers and was marked by two shows in NYC and Durham, NC, where he played the two albums in their entirety with string musicians.

Crooked Fingers toured the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, both as a solo act and with a full band. They were featured on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic and on National Public Radio's World Cafe in May 2005. On the 2005 U.S./Canada Tour, Matt Gentling, former member of Archers of Loaf, played the bass. The rotation of members in the band have included such musicians as Lara Meyerratken, R.L. Martin, Jo Jameson, Neil Swank, Barton Carroll, Kyle Johnson, and Dov Friedman. A 2008 US tour featured the musicians on Forfeit/Fortune: Miranda Brown, Elin Palmer and Tim Husmann.

Discography

Crooked Fingers has released a number of albums and EPs on different labels.

Albums

Singles and EPs
  • "Atchafalyan Death Waltz" (7") (Sub Pop, 1999)
  • "Broken Man" (7") (Red Pig, 1999)
  • Reservoir Songs EP (Merge Records, 2002)
  • "Sleep All Summer" (Live) (7") (Eastern Fiction, 2005)
  • Reservoir Songs Volume II Vinyl EP/Download Only (Foreign Leisure. 2010)
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