Justin Moyer

Musical artist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Justin Moyer (born 1977) is an American musician, journalist, and attorney.[1] He has been a member of many Washington, D.C.–based bands on Dischord Records, including El Guapo, Supersystem, Antelope, Edie Sedgwick, and Light Beams. He was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team at The Washington Post that covered the Capitol insurrection.[2]

Born1977 (age 4849)
OriginPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
OccupationsMusician, writer, attorney
Quick facts Background information, Born ...
Justin Moyer
Moyer performing in 2012
Moyer performing in 2012
Background information
Born1977 (age 4849)
OriginPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
GenresPost-punk, indie rock, funk rock, soul rock, post-hardcore
OccupationsMusician, writer, attorney
InstrumentsVocals, bass, guitar, drums
Years active1996present
LabelsDischord, DeSoto, Mud Memory, Touch and Go, Resin, Lovitt Records, Sockets Records, Don Giovanni Records
Websitewww.mudmemory.com
Close

Bands

El Guapo/Supersystem

Moyer formed El Guapo with Rafael Cohen, now a member of !!!,[3] at Wesleyan University in 1996, when Moyer and Cohen were juniors.[4][5][6] After recording for Resin, Mud Memory, Dischord, and Touch and Go Records, the band broke up in 2006.[7]

Antelope

Moyer formed Antelope with Bee Elvy and Mike Andre in 2001.[8] After releasing an eponymous EP produced by Trans Am's Phil Manley as well as a single and full-length produced by Ian MacKaye, the band broke up in 2008.

SPRCSS

In 2006, Moyer declared the defunct New Jersey group S-Process, also known as SPRCSS, his favorite band in a blog post[9] and called for the band to reform. Partially in response to this plea, SPRCSS, which had recorded for French Kiss Records,[10] reformed in 2007 with Moyer playing guitar. After founding drummer Daneil Mazone quit the band in 2011, the band, fronted by founding guitarist Bob Doto, played additional shows with TJ Lipple on drums, and a final show at Fort Reno Park with Moyer on drums.[11] Later that year, the band digitally self-released two EPs produced by Moyer and Ian MacKaye.[12]

E.D. Sedgwick

Moyer formed Edie Sedgwick with Ryan Hicks (formerly of Bloomington, Ind.'s Panoply Academy Glee Club)[13] in 1999.[14] The duo, who wrote songs about celebrities, took its name from Andy Warhol superstar Edie Sedgwick. Moyer played bass; Hicks played drums. After releasing "First Reflections," an LP, on Moyer's Mud Memory Records[15] and recording another, the band went on hiatus in 2001 when Moyer was diagnosed with epilepsy.[16]

In 2004, Moyer relaunched Edie Sedgwick as a solo act, performing in drag accompanied only by an iPod. He released the LP "Her Love is Real But She Is Not," a well-reviewed[17] electroclash effort recorded primarily in his bedroom, on Desoto Records[18] in 2005. "I always found it strange that every musician I met would spend so much time engrossed by visual media and then write a song about class struggle or Rwandan genocide," Moyer said in 2008. "I'm more interested in making my art about Molly Ringwald or Martin Sheen than exploring these so-called weighty topics which, for better and worse, are alien to me."[19]

After releasing "Things Are Getting Sinister and Sinisterer," an LP, on Dischord in 2008,[20] Moyer again reformatted the band—he no longer performs in drag, and performs exclusively with women. Subsequent tours and videos[21] to support 2011's LP "Love Gets Lovelier Every Day" have showcased this version of the band, now called "E.D. Sedgwick" instead of "Edie Sedgwick."[22] "We Wear White," Sedgwick's most recent LP, was released in November 2012.[23]

Puff Pieces

Moyer plays guitar in Puff Pieces, a trio featuring Mike Andre of Antelope and Amanda Huron of Vertebrates. The band released a single on Lovitt Records in 2014, and a full-length in 2016.[24]

Light Beams

Light Beams, a trio featuring Moyer, bassist Arthur Noll and drummer Sam Lavine, released a cassette[25] and a split seven-inch with Ian Svenonius's solo project Escapism[26] in 2017. The trio's first full-length, "Self Help" (2020), won a Washington Area Music Association award in 2021.[27]

After adding percussionists Leah Gage and Erin McCarley, the quintet released another full-length, "Wild Life," in 2023.[28]

Discography

More information Release date, Album name ...
Release date Album name Group name Record label
1997 Untitled 7" El Guapo Red Skies at Night Records
1998 The Burden of History El Guapo Resin Records
1999 The Phenomenon of Renewal El Guapo Resin Records
2000 The Geography of Dissolution El Guapo Mud Memory Records
2001 super/system El Guapo Dischord Records
2001 First Reflections Edie Sedgwick Dischord Records/Mud Memory Records
2002 Fake French El Guapo Dischord Records
2003 Begin Live Transmission El Guapo Dischord Records
2003 s/t Antelope Dischord Records/Bug Records
2004 Crowns/The Flock Antelope Dischord Records
2005 Always Never Again Supersystem Touch and Go Records
2005 Her Love is Real But She is Not Edie Sedgwick Desoto Records
2005 Born into the World/Defcon Supersystem Touch and Go Records
2005 Miracle Supersystem Touch and Go Records
2006 A Million Microphones Supersystem Touch and Go Records
2007 Reflector Antelope Dischord Records
2008 Things are Getting Sinister and Sinisterer Edie Sedgwick Dischord Records
2011 Love Gets Lovelier Every Day Edie Sedgwick Dischord Records
2011 Songs for Isadora Edie Sedgwick and A.K. Sockets Records
2012 We Wear White E.D. Sedgwick Dischord Records
2012 Heat Wave 12" E.D. Sedgwick Dischord Records/Mud Memory Records
2014 s/t 7" Puff Pieces Lovitt Records
2016 Bland in D.C. Puff Pieces Lovitt Records
2017 Born 2 Die 7" Puff Pieces Lovitt Records
2017 Light Beams Cassette Light Beams Don Giovanni Records
2017 Escapism/Light Beams Split 7" Light Beams Lovitt Records
2020 Self Help Light Beams Don Giovanni Records
2023 Wild Life Light Beams Dischord Records/Mud Memory Records
2025 Emulate 7" Light Beams Dischord Records/Mud Memory Records
2025 Step Back 7" Light Beams Peterwalkee Records
Close

Writing

Moyer, a former private investigator,[29] is a long-time freelancer for The Washington City Paper, where he covered the 2008 election,[30] and blogs about books[31] and life as a touring musician.[32] Since 2008, he has written for The Washington Post, where he reviews books[33] and writes about poker[34] and city politics.[35]

In 2009, Moyer was criticized by conservative websites for a piece[36] on Jenna Bush.[37] His pieces about the Beatles,[38] the Google Doodle[39] and jazz[40] have also generated controversy.[41]

References

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI