Biography
In 1989 Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer launched the Posies from Bellingham, Washington, a power pop outfit that would earn extensive critical acclaim across the 1990s. Working out of Auer’s parents’ basement, the pair assembled a demo that reached PopLlama Records in Seattle; the label’s enthusiastic response led directly to the release of the Posies’ debut album, Failure. Geffen’s DGC imprint subsequently signed the band, issuing three further records that earned strong notices from reviewers yet failed to register with mainstream listeners. After the third album underperformed relative to other DGC acts from the Seattle area, the label ended its relationship with the group. The Posies issued one last album, Success, on PopLlama before disbanding in 1998.
Stringfellow and Auer had already joined Alex Chilton’s Big Star in the early 1990s, and both musicians simultaneously developed independent projects. Following the Posies’ split, Stringfellow formed the short-lived power pop band Saltine, which issued only a single EP before dissolving. He also performed with Twin Princess alongside Seattle artist Bootsy Holler, the Orange Humble Band, Lagwagon, Scott McCaughey’s the Minus 5, Chariot, the Disciplines, and R.E.M., contributing to the latter’s 2001 album Reveal during occasional studio and touring appearances. Additional studio work paired him with singer-songwriters Brendan Benson, Michael Cerveris, and Mark Lassiter.
Stringfellow maintained his creative partnership with Auer while advancing a solo career that began with the 1997 release This Sounds Like Goodbye. Four years later came Touched, followed in 2004 by Soft Commands, an album tracked across multiple studios worldwide. The Sellout Cover Sessions, Vol. 1 appeared in 2008, showcasing an assortment of cover material. The Posies reconvened for their seventh studio album, Blood/Candy, in 2010, after which Stringfellow delivered his fourth solo effort, Danzig in the Moonlight, in 2012. A 2014 compilation titled I Never Said I’d Make It Easy gathered covers, rarities, and outtakes spanning his solo years.
Stringfellow and Auer had already joined Alex Chilton’s Big Star in the early 1990s, and both musicians simultaneously developed independent projects. Following the Posies’ split, Stringfellow formed the short-lived power pop band Saltine, which issued only a single EP before dissolving. He also performed with Twin Princess alongside Seattle artist Bootsy Holler, the Orange Humble Band, Lagwagon, Scott McCaughey’s the Minus 5, Chariot, the Disciplines, and R.E.M., contributing to the latter’s 2001 album Reveal during occasional studio and touring appearances. Additional studio work paired him with singer-songwriters Brendan Benson, Michael Cerveris, and Mark Lassiter.
Stringfellow maintained his creative partnership with Auer while advancing a solo career that began with the 1997 release This Sounds Like Goodbye. Four years later came Touched, followed in 2004 by Soft Commands, an album tracked across multiple studios worldwide. The Sellout Cover Sessions, Vol. 1 appeared in 2008, showcasing an assortment of cover material. The Posies reconvened for their seventh studio album, Blood/Candy, in 2010, after which Stringfellow delivered his fourth solo effort, Danzig in the Moonlight, in 2012. A 2014 compilation titled I Never Said I’d Make It Easy gathered covers, rarities, and outtakes spanning his solo years.
Albums
Singles
