TILLY AND THE WALL

{{Infobox musical artist |
| Name = Tilly and the Wall
|Background = group_or_band
| Img = Tillies.jpg
| Img_capt = {From left} Nick White, Derek Pressnall, Jamie Pressnall, Neely Jenkins, Kianna Alarid of ''Tilly and the Wall''.
| Years_active = 2001-present
| Origin = Omaha, Nebraska, United States
| Genre = Indie pop
| Label = Team Love Records
| Associated_acts = Park Ave.
Bright Eyes
Coyote Bones
|URL = Official site
| Current_members = Kianna Alarid
Neely Jenkins
Derek Pressnall
Jamie Pressnall
Nick White}}
'Tilly and the Wall' is an indie pop group from Omaha, Nebraska. Their name originated from a children's book called ''Tillie and the Wall'', written by Leo Lionni. They are particularly noted for having a tap dancer, Jamie Pressnall, instead of a drummer.

Contents

History

Recent years

Band members

Discography

Albums

Singles & EPs

Videography

Trivia

See also

External links

Interviews

History

The group formed in 2001 after the demise of several Omaha groups, including Conor Oberst's Park Ave., of which Neely Jenkins and Jamie Pressnall (then Jamie Williams) were members. Jamie brought along Kianna Alarid from another band that broke up called Magic Kiss. Derek Pressnall and Nick White, natives of Dunwoody, Georgia were drawn to the music scene in Omaha, Nebraska and moved. [1]
Their first show was an open-mic night at the now defunct Ranch Bowl. Their first release, ''Woo!'', was recorded in Conor Oberst's garage, self-published, and distributed at shows around the Omaha area. The group released a limited-pressing eponymous 7" on Rue Royale Records, followed by their debut LP, ''Wild Like Children'' in 2004. It was the flagship release on Oberst's Team Love label and made with the help of Presto studios. ''Wild Like Children'' garnered the band a substantial amount of critical acclaim and propelled them to national tours with Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, and Of Montreal. In early 2005, Tilly and the Wall became the first "band in residence" at Omaha's Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, using the Bemis Underground's Studio T to develop their follow-up album to ''Wild Like Children''.
In September of that year, they released ''You and I Misbehaving'' as a limited-pressing 7" in the UK through indie label Trash Aesthetics. This release picked up further critical acclaim as well as support from BBC radio broadcaster Steve Lamacq.
They have recently been touring with Jenny Lewis in support of her album featuring The Watson Twins, ''Rabbit Fur Coat''.
They played their first show outside of the US at the Freebutt in Brighton on February 14 2006
''Bottoms of Barrels'', the band's follow-up to ''Wild Like Children'' was released on May 23, 2006. They have recently finished their first headlining tour to promote their new album alongside David Dondero, Now It's Overhead, Wolf Colonel, and many other bands.
The members have all been involved with other projects in the Saddle Creek extended family, most notably Jamie and Neely as members of Park Ave. (with Clark Baechle from The Faint and Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes), and Nick White as one of the few constants on recent Bright Eyes records and tours.

Recent years

Jamie Williams and Derek Pressnall were married August 12, 2006.
Tilly and the Wall appeared on the ''Late Show With David Letterman'' on October 27 2006, to perform "Bad Education". The song was not played in full due to time constraints.
They played the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 27, 2007.
They are going to Australia in August to play at the Splendour in the Grass festival.
On their recent tour, they have been playing a new song called 'Too Excited'.
The band has been spending the past few weeks writing their new record. Kianna has documented some of the writing process in with short video clips which can be found on the band myspace.

Band members

★ Jamie Pressnall - tap dancer

★ Derek Pressnall - vocals, guitar

★ Neely Jenkins - vocals, shakers, bells, bass

★ Nick White - keyboard

★ Kianna Alarid - vocals, shakers, tambourine, recorder, bass

Discography

Albums

★ ''Wild Like Children'' (2004 · Team Love Records) - CD/LP

★ ''Bottoms of Barrels'' (2006 · Team Love Records) - CD/LP

Singles & EPs

★ ''Woo!'' (2003 · self-released) - EP

★ ''Tilly and the Wall'' (2003 · Rue Royale Records) - 7"

★ "You and I Misbehaving" (2005 · Trash Aesthetics) - 7"

★ "Reckless" (2006 · Trash Aesthetics) - 7"

★ "Bad Education" (2006 · Team Love Records) - 7"

★ "The Freest Man" (2007 · Moshi Moshi Records) - 7"

Videography

★ "Reckless"

★ "You and I Misbehaving" (directed by Nik Fackler)

★ "The Ice Storm, Big Gust, and You"

★ "Bad Education" (2006, directed by Nik Fackler)

★ "Rainbows in the Dark"

★ "Sing Songs Along"

★ "The Freest Man"

Trivia

★ They have covered OutKast's "Hey Ya!", Journey's "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" and The Violent Femmes' "Kiss Off."

★ Four members contributed to the Rilo Kiley song "The Absence of God" on ''More Adventurous''.

★ Four members also contributed to Coyote Bones' ''Gentleman on the Rocks'' album.

★ They were the first band on Team Love Records.

★ Pitchfork Media mistook a fake "Sing Songs Along" video made by fans as the real video.

★ A "tilly kid" is a fan of Tilly and the Wall. This term was coined by band member Kianna Alarid in a NPR interview.

★ Of Montreal has been proclaimed the American sister band and Cansei de Ser Sexy is the Brazilian sister band.

See also

★ Park Ave.

★ Team Love Records

External links

★ Tilly and the Wall official website

★ Tilly and the Wall on MySpace

★ Team Love Records

★ Team Love Records: Tilly and the Wall

★ Bottoms of Barrels Review on UpBeetMusic.com

★ Team Love online store

★ Allmusic Guide Entry for Tilly and the Wall

★ Omaha City Weekly article about Tilly's residency at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts

★ Live Photos

★ Las Vegas Mercury: Tap Dance Fever article 08-05-04

★ TillyandtheWall.org · fansite

★ Review of their latest release, Bottoms of Barrels, and sample song

Interviews

★ Lazy-i Interview: October 2003

★ Lazy-i Interview: May 2006 with Nick White

★ Interview with the Hook weekly: October 2006

★ Soundcrank Podcast Hosted by Tilly and the Wall