Paleface is both the guy’s name and the band’s name. And while it’s unlikely that he was born the son of Mr. and Mrs. Face, who decided that their darling infant song should be called Pale, not even Wikipedia knows what’s on his birth certificate. “I couldn’t find Paleface’s real name anywhere. And I spent some time on it,” writes blogger 365bandsin365days. “If you can find it, I will send you a present. For realz.”
I would interject at this point that perhaps the most important name, when it comes to Paleface, is Mo Samalot. She’s Paleface (the band)‘s drummer and Paleface (the guy)‘s girlfriend and since about ‘07 they’ve been performing and touring together, which breathed a lot of new life into the whole project.
The background (according to Paleface’s bio): “Paleface was schooled musically by friend Daniel Johnston and soon discovered by the legendary Danny Fields (The Stooges, The Ramones, MC5) at an NYC open mic. He has since released over a dozen records including two major label releases, and he’s collaborated and performed on three albums by The Avett Brothers. Paleface has influenced and inspired a wide range of musical acts, from electropopsters YACHT, to Grammy Award recipients Kimya Dawson (The Moldy Peaches / Juno), and Beck who calls Paleface ‘a big influence on my early work’ on Annie Leibovitz’s book, American Music. …He’s just self-released Multibean Bootleg Vol.3, a collection of raw demos, live performances and outtakes.”
Paleface and Mo return to Asheville on Friday, Dec. 13 as part of an ongoing tour in support of One Big Party, released this year on Ramseur Records. The show, at Isis Restaurant and Music Hall, is a co-bill with Barefoot Movement. Paleface goes on at 9 p.m.; both bands will perform a one-hour set. $10 advance/$12 at the door.
Band photo by Stanton Carter
