Mortimer Nova: Difference between revisions

Mortimer Nova
Mortimer Nova
Origin	Tampa, Florida, United States
Genres	Indie rock ; Acoustic rock ; Indietronic ; Anti-folk
Instrument(s)	Guitar ; vocals ; piano ; bass ; harmonica ; drums ; other/etc.
Years active	2002–2016
Labels	N/A
Website	Mortimer Nova on Bandcamp ; Mortimer Nova on Twitch

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Mortimer Nova was an experimental indie / anti-folk / indietronic group fronted by drummer/guitarist/vocalist Michael Vilches based out of the Tampa Bay area in Florida. Early Mortimer Nova began as a solo indie-folk project. Over the years, the band has acquired more musicians that have come and gone but Vilches has always remained in the band. Mortimer Nova uses an effected acoustic guitar, multi-vocal harmony, synthesized/sampled noise and a drum kit.^[1] Mortimer Nova was ranked No. 14 on Non-Hollywood's "25 Indie Music Artists Worth Paying For" poll in 2014.^[2] Michael has since donned the moniker of the band, and become a Twitch streamer. He is known well for his speedrun records, and his avid love for Scrooge McGoose.

Biography

Formation and debut

The band formed in Tampa, Florida in 2002. Vilches had already been playing solo shows for some time and decided to bring on 2 more members full-time to add a full band sound including Andrew Verastegui on lead guitar and Diego Verastegui on drums. Prior to that he had taken on guitarist Steve Martinez, formerly the drummer of Irrate. Mortimer Nova reformed in 2009 as lead guitarist A Verastegui left the band in May 2008. During August 2009, the band reformed with old drummer D Verastegui and Eric Hanson, formerly of Irrate and Faded Nimbus.^[3] Mortimer Nova stopped performing live in 2010 with the last lineup consisting of Vilches and D Verastegui. In November 2013, Mortimer Nova became active again on the website SoundCloud and ReverbNation by announcing upcoming shows.^[4] In 2014, they started performing live again with new drummer Robert Barrie and bassist Alan Thomas.

Terminal

In late 2006, Mortimer Nova recorded its first album. This was the first album recorded as a full band and included Vilches and A Verastegui on guitar and vocals and D Verastegui on drums and percussion. The band had moved in together in a townhouse in Tampa, Florida while recording the album. The album was mastered by A Verastegui and Anthony Becker. It was well received and multiple tracks from it continue to stay in circulation on satellite, internet and terrestrial radio nationally.

Terrible The Fish Has Drowned

The band reformed briefly in 2009 to record a 2nd studio album. Eric Hanson joined D Verastegui and Vilches to record a 10-song full-length album titled Terrible The Fish Has Drowned. The album features strong psychedelic overtones and uses a lot of soundscapes. The band broke up during the final mix of the tracks but Vilches still released the album the same year.

Mouth Full Of Bees

2011 saw the release of the album Mouth Full Of Bees, an experimental album made up of live performances and all acoustic renditions of previously unreleased solo material that had been recorded between 2006 and 2010. The songs included on the album were recorded originally for a 2-disc live/solo acoustic album containing a decade's worth of live material but the live tracks from 2000 to 2005 had gone missing. In 2011, the decision was made to release just the 2006–2010 recordings. There is an intro and ending track on the disc and there are no breaks in-between songs but rather filler noise, music and songs.

Flotsam

Vilches' first solo album Flotsam was released in 2012. The album combines dark electronic tracks, heavily distorted guitar tracks and ends with acoustic ballads. Even with such diversity from one track to another, the album as a whole was well received. This was also the first album recorded and mastered entirely by Vilches.

The Diary Of Valerie Hutchinson

In 2013, The Diary Of Valerie Hutchinson was released. It was scheduled to release in 2011 as the first disc on what was to be a 2-disc album called Mouth Full Of Bees but the tracks from 2000 to 2005 had gone missing. Once they were discovered, The Diary Of Valerie Hutchinson was released on its own. Just like Mouth Full Of Bees, it is made up of live recordings, demos and previously unreleased acoustic material.

Reformation

In November 2013 show dates were announced on multiple websites for Mortimer Nova after 3 years of the band not performing. On January 21, 2014, Mortimer Nova announced the recording of a new album via social media and continued regularly updating their official website.^[5] The band's line up was updated in February 2014 to include new members Robert Barrie on drums and Alan Thomas on Bass. Live performances immediately followed as the band prepared for the next album release.^[6]

You Are Now Manually Breathing

On May 12, 2014, the album You Are Now Manually Breathing was quietly released, only being announced on Facebook^[7]^{[non-primary source needed]} and via iTunes^[8] accompanied by a message stating "no party, no show; just a cd release". The album was an all electronic album with Vilches' vocals over a variety of different electronic and synth-based styles of music. The album did not feature any of the new band members but was still released under the Mortimer Nova moniker.

A Silver Tongue for a Steel Heart

On January 1, 2015 A Silver Tongue for a Steel Heart was intended to be released as the last solo album of Mortimer Nova. Vilches had picked up local singer-songwriter Bonnie Gosack and they began working on new material immediately after this album was released. During the recording of the follow-up album, Medium, she unexpectedly died at the age of 34^[9]^{[non-primary source needed]} and the band was put on a permanent hiatus. On September 23, 2016, after over a year of silence Vilches, a post was put up on the band's ReverbNation page saying "goodbye." with a link to a previously unreleased and unfinished version of a song.^[10] The band's Facebook page has also been shut down. Since then, Medium has also appeared on the band's Bandcamp site though it was never promoted anywhere.

Medium

December 6, 2016 a 4 track EP titled Medium was posted on the BandCamp website. This album had been stopped during production and most of the recordings were scrapped as unfinished due to the untimely passing of their new lead singer. The album was self published and made available for free. BandCamp is the only place it has been made available to listen or download.

Hardware

As of July 2015, Michael Vilches uses an Epiphone Ultra-339, Yamaha APX500II, Roland XP-10, Alesis SR-15, Digitech RP-355, Behringer Eurorack UB1622FX-Pro.

Listener reviews

CD Universe :

References

External links

[Mortimer_Nova_on_Last.fm-1] "Mortimer Nova on Last.fm". May 10, 2023.

[25_Indie_Music_Artists_Worth_Paying_For-2] "25 Indie Music Artists Worth Paying For".

[Faded_Nimbus_on_Blue_Distortion-3] "Faded Nimbus on Blue Distortion". June 28, 2005.

[Mortimer_Nova_2014_shows-4] "Mortimer Nova 2014 shows".

[Mortimer_Nova_returns_-_ReverbNation-5] "Mortimer Nova returns – ReverbNation".

[Mortimer_Nova_on_BandCamp-6] "Mortimer Nova on BandCamp".

[You_Are_Now_Manually_Breathing_album_release-7] "You Are Now Manually Breathing album release". Facebook.

[No_party,_no_show,_just_a_cd_release_-_via_iTunes-8] "No party, no show, just a cd release – via iTunes". iTunes.

[Passing_of_Mortimer_Nova_lead_singer,_Bonnie_Gosack-9] "In memory of Bonnie Gosack". Facebook.

[Mortimer_Nova_says_goodbye_-_ReverbNation-10] "Mortimer Nova says goodbye – ReverbNation".

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2020}}
-{{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
+{{Notability|music|date=July 2014}}
-| name                = Mortimer Nova
+{{Infobox musical artist
-| image                 = Mortimer_nova-terminal.jpg
-| caption            = Mortimer Nova Album "Terminal"
+| name         = Mortimer Nova
-| background          = group_or_band
+| image        =
+| caption      = Mortimer Nova album ''Terminal''
-| origin              = [[Tampa, Florida]], {{nowrap|[[United States]]}}
+| origin       = [[Tampa, Florida]], {{nowrap|United States}}
-| genre               = [[Indie rock]] <br /> [[Acoustic rock]] <br /> [[Shoegaze]]
-|instrument           = [[Guitar]] <br /> [[singer|Vocals]] <br /> [[Piano]] <br /> [[Bass guitar|Bass]] <br /> [[Harmonica]] <br /> [[Drum kit|Drums]] <br /> Other/Etc.
+| genre        = [[Indie rock]] <br /> [[Acoustic rock]] <br /> [[Indietronic]] <br /> [[Anti-folk]]
+| instrument   = Guitar <br /> vocals <br /> piano <br /> bass <br /> harmonica <br /> drums <br /> other/etc.
-| years_active        = 2002–present
+| years_active = 2002–2016
-| label               = N/A
+| label        = N/A
-| website                 = [http://www.mortimernova.com/ www.mortimernova.com]
+| website      = [http://mortimernova.bandcamp.com/ Mortimer Nova on Bandcamp] <br /> [https://www.twitch.tv/mortimernova Mortimer Nova on Twitch]
 }}
-''Mortimer Nova'' is an experimental indie / indietronic group fronted by former ''Halfway There'' drummer/guitarist/vocalist Michael Vilches based out of the Tampa Bay area in Florida. Early ''Mortimer Nova'' began as a solo indie-folk project. Over the years, the band has acquired more musicians that have come and gone but Vilches has always remained in the band. The bands particular brand of music acts as flowed stoytelling without any poetic rhyme. ''Mortimer Nova'' uses an effected acoustic guitar, multi-vocal harmony, synthesized/sampled noise and a drum kit.<ref name="Mortimer Nova on Last.fm">{{cite web |url=http://www.last.fm/music/Mortimer+Nova |title=Mortimer Nova on Last.fm}}</ref>
+'''Mortimer Nova''' was an experimental indie / anti-folk / indietronic group fronted by drummer/guitarist/vocalist Michael Vilches based out of the Tampa Bay area in Florida. Early Mortimer Nova began as a solo indie-folk project. Over the years, the band has acquired more musicians that have come and gone but Vilches has always remained in the band. Mortimer Nova uses an effected acoustic guitar, multi-vocal harmony, synthesized/sampled noise and a drum kit.<ref name="Mortimer Nova on Last.fm">{{cite web |url=http://www.last.fm/music/Mortimer+Nova |title=Mortimer Nova on Last.fm|date=May 10, 2023 }}</ref> Mortimer Nova was ranked No. 14 on Non-Hollywood's "25 Indie Music Artists Worth Paying For" poll in 2014.<ref name="25 Indie Music Artists Worth Paying For">{{cite web |url=http://www.nonhollywood.com/best-indie-music.html |title=25 Indie Music Artists Worth Paying For}}</ref> Michael has since donned the moniker of the band, and become a Twitch streamer. He is known well for his speedrun records, and his avid love for Scrooge McGoose.
 ==Biography==
-===Formation and Debut===
+===Formation and debut===
-The band formed in Tampa, Florida in 2002. Vilches had already been playing solo shows for some time and decided to bring on 2 more members full-time to add a full band sound including Andrew Verastegui on lead guitar and Diego Verastegui on drums. Prior to that he had taken on guitarist Steve Martinez, formerly the drummer of ''Irrate''. ''Mortimer Nova'' reformed in 2009 as lead guitarist A Verastegui left the band in May 2008. During August 2009, the band reformed with old drummer D Verastegui and Eric Hanson, formerly of ''Irrate'' and ''Faded Nimbus''.<ref name="Faded Nimbus on Blue Distortion">{{cite web |url=http://www.bluedistortion.com/faded-nimbus/ |title=Faded Nimbus on Blue Distortion}}</ref> ''Mortimer Nova'' ended in 2010 with the lineup of Vilches and D Verastegui. In November 2013, Mortimer Nova became active again on the website ''SoundCloud'' and ''ReverbNation'' by announcing upcoming shows.<ref name="Mortimer Nova 2014 shows">{{cite web|url=http://www.reverbnation.com/mortimernova |title=Mortimer Nova 2014 shows}}</ref>
+The band formed in Tampa, Florida in 2002. Vilches had already been playing solo shows for some time and decided to bring on 2 more members full-time to add a full band sound including Andrew Verastegui on lead guitar and Diego Verastegui on drums. Prior to that he had taken on guitarist Steve Martinez, formerly the drummer of Irrate. ''Mortimer Nova'' reformed in 2009 as lead guitarist A Verastegui left the band in May 2008. During August 2009, the band reformed with old drummer D Verastegui and Eric Hanson, formerly of Irrate and Faded Nimbus.<ref name="Faded Nimbus on Blue Distortion">{{cite web |url=http://www.bluedistortion.com/faded-nimbus/ |title=Faded Nimbus on Blue Distortion|date=June 28, 2005 }}</ref> ''Mortimer Nova'' stopped performing live in 2010 with the last lineup consisting of Vilches and D Verastegui. In November 2013, Mortimer Nova became active again on the website ''SoundCloud'' and ''ReverbNation'' by announcing upcoming shows.<ref name="Mortimer Nova 2014 shows">{{cite web|url=http://www.reverbnation.com/mortimernova |title=Mortimer Nova 2014 shows}}</ref> In 2014, they started performing live again with new drummer Robert Barrie and bassist Alan Thomas.
-===''If You Shoot for the Stars...''===
+===''Terminal''===
+In late 2006, Mortimer Nova recorded its first album. This was the first album recorded as a full band and included Vilches and A Verastegui on guitar and vocals and D Verastegui on drums and percussion. The band had moved in together in a townhouse in Tampa, Florida while recording the album. The album was mastered by A Verastegui and Anthony Becker. It was well received and multiple tracks from it continue to stay in circulation on satellite, internet and terrestrial radio nationally.
-Released in 2004, the first album fully titled ''If You Shoot for the Stars and You Fall Short, At Least You Still Made It into Space'' was the only solo album recorded by Vilches. By this point A Verastegui was already recording with Vilches and can be heard on guitar parts throughout some of the album. The album was composed entirely of one-time recordings and scratch tracks as Vilches decided to do a one time recording on all these tracks because there was more focus on the upcoming album, ''Terminal'', which would feature a full band.
+===''Terrible The Fish Has Drowned''===
-===Terminal===
+The band reformed briefly in 2009 to record a 2nd studio album. Eric Hanson joined D Verastegui and Vilches to record a 10-song full-length album titled ''Terrible The Fish Has Drowned''. The album features strong psychedelic overtones and uses a lot of soundscapes. The band broke up during the final mix of the tracks but Vilches still released the album the same year.
-In late 2006, ''Mortimer Nova'' recorded its 4th album. This was the first album recorded as a full band and included Vilches and A Verastegui on guitar and vocals and D Verastegui on drums and percussion. The band had moved in together in a townhouse in Tampa, Florida while recording the album. The album was mastered by A Verastegui.
-===Terrible The Fish Has Drowned===
+===''Mouth Full Of Bees''===
+saw the release of the album ''Mouth Full Of Bees'', an experimental album made up of live performances and all acoustic renditions of previously unreleased solo material that had been recorded between 2006 and 2010. The songs included on the album were recorded originally for a 2-disc live/solo acoustic album containing a decade's worth of live material but the live tracks from 2000 to 2005 had gone missing. In 2011, the decision was made to release just the 2006–2010 recordings. There is an intro and ending track on the disc and there are no breaks in-between songs but rather filler noise, music and songs.
-The band reformed briefly in 2009 to record a 3rd studio album. Eric Hanson joined D Verastegui and Vilches to record a 10 song full length album titled ''"Terrible The Fish Has Drowned"''. The album features strong psychedelic overtones and uses a lot of soundscapes. The band broke up during the final mix of the tracks but Vilches still released the album the same year.
-===Band Reformation===
+===''Flotsam''===
+Vilches' first solo album ''Flotsam'' was released in 2012. The album combines dark electronic tracks, heavily distorted guitar tracks and ends with acoustic ballads. Even with such diversity from one track to another, the album as a whole was well received. This was also the first album recorded and mastered entirely by Vilches.
-After a 3 year hiatus, in November 2013, show dates were announced on multiple websites for ''Mortimer Nova''. On January 21st, 2014, Mortimer Nova band announced the recording of a new album via their Facebook page.
+===''The Diary Of Valerie Hutchinson''===
-==Listener Reviews==
+In 2013, ''The Diary Of Valerie Hutchinson'' was released. It was scheduled to release in 2011 as the first disc on what was to be a 2-disc album called ''Mouth Full Of Bees'' but the tracks from 2000 to 2005 had gone missing. Once they were discovered, ''The Diary Of Valerie Hutchinson'' was released on its own. Just like ''Mouth Full Of Bees'', it is made up of live recordings, demos and previously unreleased acoustic material.
+===Reformation===
+In November 2013 show dates were announced on multiple websites for Mortimer Nova after 3 years of the band not performing. On January 21, 2014, Mortimer Nova announced the recording of a new album via social media and continued regularly updating their official website.<ref name="Mortimer Nova returns - ReverbNation">{{cite web |url=https://reverbnation.com/mortimernova/ |title=Mortimer Nova returns – ReverbNation}}</ref> The band's line up was updated in February 2014 to include new members Robert Barrie on drums and Alan Thomas on Bass. Live performances immediately followed as the band prepared for the next album release.<ref name="Mortimer Nova on BandCamp">{{cite web |url=http://mortimernova.bandcamp.com/ |title=Mortimer Nova on BandCamp}}</ref>
+===''You Are Now Manually Breathing''===
+On May 12, 2014, the album ''You Are Now Manually Breathing'' was quietly released, only being announced on Facebook<ref name="You Are Now Manually Breathing album release">{{cite web |url=http://www.facebook.com/mortimernova |title=You Are Now Manually Breathing album release|website=[[Facebook]] }}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=January 2020}} and via iTunes<ref name="No party, no show, just a cd release - via iTunes">{{cite web |url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/mortimer-nova/id294136292 |title=No party, no show, just a cd release – via iTunes|website=[[iTunes]] }}</ref> accompanied by a message stating "no party, no show; just a cd release". The album was an all electronic album with Vilches' vocals over a variety of different electronic and synth-based styles of music. The album did not feature any of the new band members but was still released under the Mortimer Nova moniker.
+===''A Silver Tongue for a Steel Heart''===
+On January 1, 2015 ''A Silver Tongue for a Steel Heart'' was intended to be released as the last solo album of Mortimer Nova. Vilches had picked up local singer-songwriter Bonnie Gosack and they began working on new material immediately after this album was released. During the recording of the follow-up album, ''Medium'', she unexpectedly died at the age of 34<ref name="Passing of Mortimer Nova lead singer, Bonnie Gosack">{{cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/1077392056/posts/10205630395614011/?pnref=story |title=In memory of Bonnie Gosack|website=[[Facebook]] }}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=January 2020}} and the band was put on a permanent hiatus. On September 23, 2016, after over a year of silence Vilches, a post was put up on the band's ReverbNation page saying "goodbye." with a link to a previously unreleased and unfinished version of a song.<ref name="Mortimer Nova says goodbye - ReverbNation">{{cite web |url=https://reverbnation.com/mortimernova/ |title=Mortimer Nova says goodbye – ReverbNation}}</ref> The band's Facebook page has also been shut down. Since then, ''Medium'' has also appeared on the band's Bandcamp site though it was never promoted anywhere.
+===''Medium''===
+December 6, 2016 a 4 track EP titled ''Medium'' was posted on the BandCamp website. This album had been stopped during production and most of the recordings were scrapped as unfinished due to the untimely passing of their new lead singer. The album was self published and made available for free. BandCamp is the only place it has been made available to listen or download.
+==Hardware==
+As of July 2015, Michael Vilches uses an Epiphone Ultra-339, Yamaha APX500II, Roland XP-10, Alesis SR-15, Digitech RP-355, Behringer Eurorack UB1622FX-Pro.
+==Listener reviews==
 *[http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/artist/Mortimer+Nova/a/albums.htm CD Universe] :
 ''"Recommended album if you like any of the following bands: [[The Lumineers]], [[Radiohead]], [[Grizzly Bear (band)]], [[Ugly Casanova]], [[Pinback]], [[Elliott Smith]], [[The Flaming Lips]], [[Wolf Parade]], [[Ruby Suns]], [[Of Montreal]], [[Fleet Foxes]], [[The Dodos]], [[Blonde Redhead]], [[Sunny Day Real Estate]], [[The Black Heart Procession]], [[Apples in Stereo]], [[Modest Mouse]], [[Pedro the Lion]], [[The Appleseed Cast]]."''
@@ Line 38: / Line 57: @@
 ==External links==
-*[http://www.mortimernova.com/ Website]
+*[http://mortimernova.bandcamp.com Bandcamp]
-*[http://www.michaelvilches.com/ Vilches' personal website]
 *[https://www.facebook.com/mortimernova Facebook]
-*[http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYY-HElCfmBvPzjOf2I7EHA YouTube]
+*[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYY-HElCfmBvPzjOf2I7EHA YouTube]
+*[https://play.spotify.com/artist/6m6k9RjRj1isHnrLiLMDz7 Spotify]
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140329002832/http://grooveshark.com/#!/profile/Mortimer+Nova/24290840 Grooveshark]
 *[http://www.myspace.com/mortimernova MySpace Page]
 *[https://soundcloud.com/mortimernova SoundCloud]
+*[http://www.iheart.com/artist/Mortimer-Nova-359805/ iHeartRadio]
-*[https://reverbnation.com/mortimernova ReverbNation]
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mortimer Nova}}
-[[Category:American emo musical groups]]
+[[Category:Indie rock musical groups from Florida]]
+[[Category:Musical groups established in 2002]]
 [[Category:Musical groups from Tampa, Florida]]
-[[Category:American indie rock groups]]
-[[Category:Musical groups established in 2003]]