Mark Kozelek facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mark Kozelek
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Kozelek performing with Sun Kil Moon in 2014
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| Birth name | Mark Edward Kozelek |
| Born | January 24, 1967 Massillon, Ohio, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Caldo Verde |
Mark Edward Kozelek (born January 24, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is also a record producer and has acted in movies. Mark is best known as the main artist for the indie folk group Sun Kil Moon. He also helped start the indie rock band Red House Painters, recording six albums with them between 1988 and 2001.
Mark Kozelek met drummer Anthony Koutsos in Atlanta, Georgia. They moved to San Francisco, California and formed Red House Painters. Guitarist Gorden Mack and bass guitarist Jerry Vessel joined them. The band signed with 4AD and released four studio albums. In 1996, Kozelek mostly recorded the band's fifth album, Songs for a Blue Guitar, by himself. Their last album, Old Ramon (2001), was released after a three-year delay. During that time, Kozelek recorded an album and an EP of AC/DC cover songs.
Later, Kozelek, Koutsos, and Vessel started a new band called Sun Kil Moon. Their first album, Ghosts of the Great Highway, came out in 2003. Mark Kozelek was inspired by classical guitar music for Sun Kil Moon's fourth album, Admiral Fell Promises (2010), which he recorded mostly alone. He continued to record by himself for Among the Leaves (2012), and then Perils from the Sea and Mark Kozelek & Desertshore, both released in 2013. In 2014, Sun Kil Moon's sixth album, Benji, received great reviews. Their 2015 album, Universal Themes, featured long songs with lyrics that sounded like a continuous flow of thoughts.
Mark Kozelek has released 31 studio albums through Sun Kil Moon, Red House Painters, and his solo projects. His most recent album is All the Best, Isaac Hayes (2020). Many people say Kozelek is one of the best songwriters of his time.
Contents
Mark Kozelek's Musical Journey
Early Days and Red House Painters
Mark Kozelek was born on January 24, 1967, in Massillon, Ohio. When he was a teenager, he led a band called God Forbid. After moving to Atlanta, Georgia, he met drummer Anthony Koutsos. They then moved to San Francisco, California. There, they formed Red House Painters with guitarist Gorden Mack and bassist Jerry Vessel. From 1992 to 1996, Red House Painters released several popular albums. These albums featured Kozelek's deep and personal songs.
However, Kozelek's time with the record label 4AD ended. Then, a big record company merger caused Red House Painters' 1998 album Old Ramon to be delayed. This was very frustrating and slowed down the band's progress.
In 2000, Mark released a solo EP called Rock 'n' Roll Singer. It had three new songs and covers of songs by John Denver and AC/DC. Two of the AC/DC covers on Rock 'n' Roll Singer were very different from the originals. He changed the hard rock songs into soft, acoustic "folk ballad" versions.
Kozelek took this idea further in 2001. He released a full album of only AC/DC covers called What's Next to the Moon.
Sun Kil Moon and Other Projects
Sun Kil Moon released their first album, Ghosts of the Great Highway, in 2003. This band also included former Red House Painters members Jerry Vessel and Anthony Koutsos. New musicians Geoff Stanfield and Tim Mooney also joined. Their next album, Tiny Cities, came out in 2005 on Kozelek's new label, Caldo Verde Records. This album was made up entirely of cover songs by the band Modest Mouse. Again, Kozelek's versions were very different from the originals.
In 2006, Mark Kozelek was asked to contribute a song to a children's music album called See You on the Moon! Songs for Kids of All Ages. He wrote an original song called "Leo and Luna" for it. In November 2006, Kozelek released a live album titled Little Drummer Boy Live.
Kozelek returned in 2008 with Sun Kil Moon's third album, April. This album had 11 new songs and featured guest singers like Ben Gibbard, Will Oldham, and Eric Pollard.
A book called Nights of Passed Over was also re-released. It's a 256-page book with all the lyrics to Kozelek's solo songs, Red House Painters' songs, and Sun Kil Moon's songs. It also includes setlists and handwritten lyrics. The updated book covers his work up to his current Sun Kil Moon days. It also comes with a 12-track bonus CD called Nights LP, which has live and rare versions of songs from 1996 to 2007.
On December 9, 2008, Kozelek and Caldo Verde Records released The Finally LP. This CD collection had 10 unreleased songs, including covers of songs by Stephen Sondheim, Will Oldham, Hüsker Dü, and Low. It also had two new instrumental songs. Two new live albums, Find Me, Ruben Olivares: Live in Spain and Lost Verses Live, came out in spring 2009.
On April 23, 2010, Sun Kil Moon's fourth album, Admiral Fell Promises, was announced. It was released on July 13, 2010.
A documentary film called Mark Kozelek: On Tour was released on August 16, 2011. The movie was filmed during parts of Mark Kozelek's tours in Europe and North America in 2010 and early 2011.
Sun Kil Moon's fifth album, Among the Leaves, was released on Caldo Verde Records on May 29, 2012.
Kozelek also sang and played bass for Desertshore. This group includes Red House Painters guitarist Phil Carney and pianist Chris Connolly. More recently, Sun Kil Moon drummer Mike Stevens joined them. Kozelek first worked with Desertshore on their second album, Drawing Of Threes (released November 22, 2011). He sang and played bass on 6 of the 10 songs. He had a bigger role on their third album, Mark Kozelek & Desertshore (released August 20, 2013), where he was featured on all 10 songs. In the same year, Kozelek released Perils From the Sea, a collaboration album with Jimmy LaValle of The Album Leaf, and a covers album Like Rats.
In 2014, Sun Kil Moon released Benji, which received great praise. Many critics called it Kozelek's "most intimate work yet" and praised his songwriting. Some even called it the best album of 2014.
In September 2014, during a Sun Kil Moon concert in Raleigh, North Carolina, Kozelek had a disagreement with the audience about noise. He later said his comments were a joke. Later that month, Sun Kil Moon performed at the Ottawa Folk Festival in Ottawa, Canada. Their set overlapped with the band The War on Drugs. Kozelek complained about the noise from their stage. He then introduced his next song with a strong comment about the other band. Sun Kil Moon later released a song about this incident, and Kozelek released a second song about the disagreement.
Sun Kil Moon's sixth album of original songs, Universal Themes, was released on June 2, 2015. This album again featured drummer Steve Shelley. They released another album in 2017 called Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood. Kozelek toured Europe, the United States, and South America in 2017 and 2018 to support the album. On May 11, 2018, Kozelek released a double CD album simply titled Mark Kozelek. It was recorded in San Francisco hotels and studios between May 2017 and January 2018.
In 2016, Kozelek released a collaborative studio album with Jesu, titled Jesu/Sun Kil Moon.
In August 2022, he announced two concerts in Hungary and Slovenia. This was after almost two years without live performances.
Acting Roles
Mark Kozelek has also appeared in movies. His friend, director Cameron Crowe, cast him in his film Almost Famous (2000). In this movie, Kozelek played Larry Fellows, the bass player in the fictional band Stillwater. He also appeared in Vanilla Sky (2001) as a clubgoer. In 2005, he was in Steve Martin's film Shopgirl. He played a musician who becomes friends with and guides Jason Schwartzman's character. Kozelek also performed the Sun Kil Moon song "Lily and Parrots" live in the film.
Kozelek appeared as himself and contributed music to the soundtrack of Paolo Sorrentino's 2015 film, Youth.
Discography
Solo Albums
Studio albums
- What's Next to the Moon (2001)
- Like Rats (2013)
- Perils from the Sea (2013) (with Jimmy LaValle)
- Mark Kozelek & Desertshore (2013) (with Desertshore)
- Mark Kozelek Sings Christmas Carols (2014)
- Dreams of Childhood (2015) (with Nicolás Pauls)
- Mark Kozelek Sings Favorites (2016)
- Yellow Kitchen (2017) (with Sean Yeaton)
- Mark Kozelek with Ben Boye and Jim White (2017) (with Ben Boye and Jim White)
- Mark Kozelek (2018)
- Joey Always Smiled (2019) (with Petra Haden)
- Mark Kozelek with Ben Boye and Jim White 2 (2020) (with Ben Boye and Jim White)
- All the Best, Isaac Hayes (2020)
EPs
- Rock 'n' Roll Singer (2000)
- Down in the Willow Garden (2015)
- Night Talks (2017)
- Lovin' You (2021)
Compilations
- If You Want Blood (2001)
- Nights LP (2008)
- The Finally LP (2008)
Live albums
- White Christmas Live (2001)
- Little Drummer Boy Live (2006)
- White Christmas and Little Drummer Boy Live (2007)
- 7 Songs Belfast (2008)
- Find Me, Ruben Olivares: Live in Spain (2009)
- Lost Verses Live (2009)
- Live at Union Chapel & Södra Teatern (2011)
- Live at Lincoln Hall (2012)
- On Tour: A Documentary – The Soundtrack (2012)
- Live in Copenhagen (2012)
- Live at Phoenix Public House Melbourne (2013)
- Live at Mao Livehouse Shanghai & Beijing (2013)
- Live at Palladium: Malmö (2013)
- Live at Victoria Teatern and Stenhammarsalen (2014)
- Live at Biko (2014)
- The Kids – Live in London (2014)
Red House Painters Albums
- Down Colorful Hill (1992)
- Red House Painters aka Rollercoaster (1993)
- Red House Painters aka Bridge (1993)
- Ocean Beach (1995)
- Songs for a Blue Guitar (1996)
- Old Ramon (2001)
Sun Kil Moon Albums
- Ghosts of the Great Highway (2003)
- Tiny Cities (2005)
- April (2008)
- Admiral Fell Promises (2010)
- Among the Leaves (2012)
- Perils from the Sea (2013) (with The Album Leaf)
- Benji (2014)
- Universal Themes (2015)
- Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood (2017)
- This Is My Dinner (2018)
- I Also Want to Die in New Orleans (2019)
- Welcome to Sparks, Nevada (2020)
- Lunch in the Park (2021)
- Quiet Beach House Nights (2023)
- All the Artists (2025)
See also
In Spanish: Mark Kozelek para niños
