Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie was born on the fifth floor of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City on September 17th 1969 and with the help of his parents, Jennifer and Earl Conn, was raised in a descent atmosphere of sports and athletics. Tennis was his early love, and his dream and desire was to break Bjorn Borgs’ record of 5 strait Roland Garros titles. This led to climactic jaunts in various tennis academies through the 70’s. He also lived in Dallas, Texas and Santa Fe, New Mexico where he went to high school. A bizarre skiing accident led to a knee injury which ended his tennis career at the tender age 16. In 1989, for a reason unbeknownst to him, a fresh water bass fishing expedition led him to Austin, Texas where he attempted to study (but failed miserably) at the University of Texas at Austin. He continued to walk in a cloud of haze for ten years until the dawn of the new millennium sparked his current relocation to the strange smelling region know as "Flanders" also known as Brussels, Belgium. He prefers spending his summers on the island of Aegina in the Mediterranean country of Greece, and scouring the earth for good tacos.
Brian Edward Mcbride was brought into this earth on July 6, 1970 in the hot weather environment of Irving, Texas. He spent a rather normal Texas childhood studying science, drinking cola slurpees, and being interviewed by the likes of Joan London on "Good Morning America." In 1989 he moved to Austin on a debate scholarship to begin a vast and sordid university career that to this day his writing is still under fruition. He set the all time win/loss record for individual debate in division 5-A schools. He was subsequently nicknamed "the Michael Jordan of debate. These skills soon translated into obvious coaching abilities, where he coached Northwestern University to multiple national titles, and because of this continued domination of the sport, they became infamously known as "The Borg."
Currently, he is the debate coach at the University of Southern California. On his days off he enjoys walking the earth looking for comfortable chairs and Morricone soundtracks.
SOTL'S "a meaningful moment through a meaningless process" was used for a public awareness message created for the Environmental Defense Fund by über ad agency OGILVY & MATHER
live recording of Stars of the Lid playing Arvo Parts "FRATRES"
recorded in Utrecht, the Netherlands(DEC.2007)
projections by Luke Savisky
APRESLUDES IN Csharp MAJ. directed by LUKE SAVISKY
Although it has been since the turn of the millennium that either member of Stars of the Lid has lived in Austin, the story began as such....
In 1990, Adam drunkenly wandered into the former KTSB radio station on 21st. and Speedway where Brian was rockin the airwaves with some nifty records by Rod Mckuen. He was proclaiming that his car was out of gas, and he hit a deer. It turned out that he was definitely drunk. And although there was blood on his car, Brian saw no deer. This incident was the catalyst that ignited their strange musical relationship. Originally formed in Austin, Texas on Christmas day 1992, Stars of the Lid (one of the most apropos names in all of music) have scratched out quite a niche for themselves in the amorphous world of ambient classical music. From their almost-rock beginnings to the almost-classical fugues of recent albums, Stars of the Lid have excelled at designing subtle, minimalist epics which sound like they're being played on a single multifaceted organic instrument. They offer subtle, endlessly evolving stories about the dynamics of sonic texture, at the same time seeming to offer a picture of pure, unfettered consciousness. Their music are largely beatless soundscapes composed of droning, effects-treated guitars along with piano, strings, and horns; volume swells and feedback fill the gap of rhythmic instruments, providing dynamic movement within the songs. A wise man once described SOTL as "divine classical drones without the tedious intrusion of drums, or vocals."
SIDE PROJECTS:
Adam Wiltzie has recorded and played on the first 3 full length records by Windsor for the Derby. He is 1/2 of Aix em Klemm, a project created with Bobby Donne of Labradford. He is also the man behind The Dead Texan audio video project. As a live, and studio sound engineer, Adam has worked with Labradford, The Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev, Bedhead, The Bad Livers, Sparklehorse, Low, Iron & Wine and many others.
Brian McBribe was a member of the now defunct Pilot Ships, and has released the solo record "When the Detail Lost its' Freedom' on Kranky in 2005.
THIS PAGE IS NOT MAINTAINED BY STARS OF THE LID. SO DON'T MESSAGE ME HERE. Contact Stars of the Lid at chocogus@gmail.com
I edited my profile with Thomas Myspace Editor V4.4 (www.strikefile.com/myspace)
please come play Austin again soon. last time was incredible and very influential. you guys really are making some of the most important music these days. Oh, and the teaser for the film really is a teaser. I cant wait for that. really, i cant.
You are a magnificent augmentation to my comic book reading experience. Silver surfer comics go great with you. You're also great when I only pay attention to the music. Thank you stars of the lid.
Dear SotL, Thank you for accepting me as a friend. Your music is quintessential soundtrack to my life. Thank you very much for that. With respect, Thor
November 21, 22, 23: Boston, The Regent Theatre. This year plays host to old friends, local heroes, and a special day honoring 15 years of KRANKY! Tickets are once again $75 for the entire weekend and they're now available at the Brainwashed Commerce page. See brainwavesfest. org for details on travel, accommodations, and other stuff. There's a Facebook group now for Brainwashed and a event for Brainwaves for people to post about sharing rides, rooms, or other things.
The lineup: JG Thirlwell's Manorexia • Meat Beat Manifesto • Matmos • Stars of the Lid • Little Annie • Major Stars • Silver Apples • Windy Weber and Thomas Meluch as Lambs Laughter • Reformed Faction • Andrew Liles and Jonathan Coleclough • Nmperign feat. Jason Lescalleet • Marissa Nadler • Glenn Jones • His Name Is Alive • Gary Wilson • Rivulets • Strategy • Nudge • Boduf Songs • To Kill A Petty Bourgeoisie • Lichens + DJ Steven Stapleton & a special video presenation from Greater Than One
