Biography
During the 1990s the Posies ranked among the leading power pop groups, joining revivalists such as Matthew Sweet and Teenage Fanclub to refresh the genre’s classic elements for the alternative era by fusing luminous British Invasion-style melodies and harmonies with abrasive, grungy guitars and offbeat lyrics. Built around the core songwriting, guitar, and vocal partnership of Jonathan Auer and Ken Stringfellow, the band first attracted attention in the power pop underground via its home-recorded 1988 debut, Failure. The ornate, meticulously produced sound of the 1990 major-label release Dear 23 later yielded to a harder, guitar-driven approach on 1993’s Frosting on the Beater and 1996’s Amazing Disgrace. Although the Posies disbanded in 1998 and both Auer and Stringfellow pursued solo paths, the pair periodically reconvened the group throughout the 2000s for recordings and performances, culminating in a 30th Anniversary tour in 2018.
Jonathan Auer and Ken Stringfellow first began tracking material together inside Auer’s Bellingham, Washington residence in 1986. Two years afterward the pair issued the self-released cassette Failure, performing every instrument themselves; steeped in the style of the Hollies and Simon & Garfunkel, the recording was promptly acquired by Seattle indie PopLlama and secured the band a Geffen contract. After recruiting bassist Rick Roberts and drummer Mike Musburger, the Posies delivered their major-label bow in 1990 with Dear 23, which highlighted their growing pop sophistication through more expansive production.
When the Posies resurfaced with a new album in 1993, their native Seattle scene had erupted nationally. Although the band never aligned with any grunge template, producer Don Fleming helped them adopt a tougher sound, yielding the harder-rocking Frosting on the Beater (its title referencing masturbation). Driven by the college-radio success “Dream All Day,” the album reached listeners across power pop and alternative circles while introducing bassist Dave Fox. That same year Auer and Stringfellow backed a reunion of power pop legends Big Star—specifically Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens—a collaboration they would reprise intermittently through much of the decade.
Several years passed before Auer and Stringfellow issued a follow-up to Frosting on the Beater. Their return featured a fresh rhythm section comprising drummer Brian Young (also of Fountains of Wayne) and bassist Joe Howard (who often recorded as Joe Bass or Joe Skyward). Released in 1996, Amazing Disgrace affirmed the Posies’ status as critical favorites by rocking more aggressively than its predecessor. Geffen nevertheless provided insufficient promotion, and the band had already lost part of its alternative following from three years earlier; consequently Amazing Disgrace underperformed commercially, prompting the label to drop the group. Stringfellow issued the home-recorded solo album This Sounds Like Goodbye in 1997, yet despite the title the Posies reassembled on their original imprint PopLlama for the final release, 1998’s Success—an explicit nod to their debut.
Stringfellow subsequently toured with R.E.M. as a sideman alongside Young Fresh Fellow Scott McCaughey, with whom he also collaborated in the Minus 5; among additional projects he formed Saltine, which produced only a single EP. Auer meanwhile launched a solo career and assembled a backing band while producing releases for PopLlama. The year 2000 brought both the Geffen compilation Dream All Day and the four-disc Not Lame box set At Least, At Last collecting outtakes and demos; additionally Auer and Stringfellow reunited that summer for an acoustic Posies tour that yielded the live EP In Case You Didn’t Feel Like Plugging In. In 2001 they reconvened once more for the acoustic studio EP Nice Cheekbones and a Ph.D. and toured with Howard and drummer Darius Minwalla. The same year Stringfellow released his second solo album, Touched, incorporating songs originally slated for Saltine.
The Posies reformed in full in 2005 and issued Every Kind of Light on Rykodisc. They followed in 2010 with Blood/Candy, recorded in Spain. Omnivore Recordings presented an expanded edition of the debut Failure in 2014. After mourning the deaths of former members Darius Minwalla and Joe Skyward in 2015 and 2016 respectively, Auer and Stringfellow returned that year with Solid States. The Posies promoted the album via the unconventional “Solid States Secret Shows” tour, performing in nontraditional venues whose locations were revealed to fans only the day before each concert.
In 2018 the Posies embarked on an international tour marking the 30th anniversary of Failure. Auer and Stringfellow were joined for these dates by the Frosting on the Beater rhythm section of bassist Dave Fox and drummer Mike Musburger. The tour coincided with Omnivore Recordings’ deluxe reissues of the band’s three Geffen albums—Dear 23, Frosting on the Beater, and Amazing Disgrace.
Jonathan Auer and Ken Stringfellow first began tracking material together inside Auer’s Bellingham, Washington residence in 1986. Two years afterward the pair issued the self-released cassette Failure, performing every instrument themselves; steeped in the style of the Hollies and Simon & Garfunkel, the recording was promptly acquired by Seattle indie PopLlama and secured the band a Geffen contract. After recruiting bassist Rick Roberts and drummer Mike Musburger, the Posies delivered their major-label bow in 1990 with Dear 23, which highlighted their growing pop sophistication through more expansive production.
When the Posies resurfaced with a new album in 1993, their native Seattle scene had erupted nationally. Although the band never aligned with any grunge template, producer Don Fleming helped them adopt a tougher sound, yielding the harder-rocking Frosting on the Beater (its title referencing masturbation). Driven by the college-radio success “Dream All Day,” the album reached listeners across power pop and alternative circles while introducing bassist Dave Fox. That same year Auer and Stringfellow backed a reunion of power pop legends Big Star—specifically Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens—a collaboration they would reprise intermittently through much of the decade.
Several years passed before Auer and Stringfellow issued a follow-up to Frosting on the Beater. Their return featured a fresh rhythm section comprising drummer Brian Young (also of Fountains of Wayne) and bassist Joe Howard (who often recorded as Joe Bass or Joe Skyward). Released in 1996, Amazing Disgrace affirmed the Posies’ status as critical favorites by rocking more aggressively than its predecessor. Geffen nevertheless provided insufficient promotion, and the band had already lost part of its alternative following from three years earlier; consequently Amazing Disgrace underperformed commercially, prompting the label to drop the group. Stringfellow issued the home-recorded solo album This Sounds Like Goodbye in 1997, yet despite the title the Posies reassembled on their original imprint PopLlama for the final release, 1998’s Success—an explicit nod to their debut.
Stringfellow subsequently toured with R.E.M. as a sideman alongside Young Fresh Fellow Scott McCaughey, with whom he also collaborated in the Minus 5; among additional projects he formed Saltine, which produced only a single EP. Auer meanwhile launched a solo career and assembled a backing band while producing releases for PopLlama. The year 2000 brought both the Geffen compilation Dream All Day and the four-disc Not Lame box set At Least, At Last collecting outtakes and demos; additionally Auer and Stringfellow reunited that summer for an acoustic Posies tour that yielded the live EP In Case You Didn’t Feel Like Plugging In. In 2001 they reconvened once more for the acoustic studio EP Nice Cheekbones and a Ph.D. and toured with Howard and drummer Darius Minwalla. The same year Stringfellow released his second solo album, Touched, incorporating songs originally slated for Saltine.
The Posies reformed in full in 2005 and issued Every Kind of Light on Rykodisc. They followed in 2010 with Blood/Candy, recorded in Spain. Omnivore Recordings presented an expanded edition of the debut Failure in 2014. After mourning the deaths of former members Darius Minwalla and Joe Skyward in 2015 and 2016 respectively, Auer and Stringfellow returned that year with Solid States. The Posies promoted the album via the unconventional “Solid States Secret Shows” tour, performing in nontraditional venues whose locations were revealed to fans only the day before each concert.
In 2018 the Posies embarked on an international tour marking the 30th anniversary of Failure. Auer and Stringfellow were joined for these dates by the Frosting on the Beater rhythm section of bassist Dave Fox and drummer Mike Musburger. The tour coincided with Omnivore Recordings’ deluxe reissues of the band’s three Geffen albums—Dear 23, Frosting on the Beater, and Amazing Disgrace.
Albums
