Tilly and the Wall

Infobox musical artist |
Name = Tilly and the Wall
Background = group_or_band

---

Img_capt = Tilly and the Wall live at Debaser, Stockholm, Sweden
Years_active = 2001-present
Origin = flagicon|United States Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Genre = Indie pop
Label = Team Love Records Dew Process Moshi Moshi
Associated_acts = Park Ave.
Bright Eyes
Coyote Bones
Flowers Forever
URL = [http://www.tillyandthewall.com/ Official site]
Current_members = Kianna Alarid
Neely Jenkins
Derek Pressnall
Jamie Pressnall
Nick White

Tilly and the Wall is an indie pop group from Omaha, Nebraska. Their name originated from a children's book called "Tillie and the Wall", written by Leo Lionni. They are particularly noted for having a tap dancer, Jamie Pressnall, instead of a drummer.

History

Formation and "Wild Like Children"

The group formed in 2001 after the demise of several Omaha groups, including Conor Oberst's Park Ave., of which Neely Jenkins and Jamie Pressnall (then Jamie Williams) were members. Jamie brought along Kianna Alarid from another band that broke up called Magic Kiss. Derek Pressnall and Nick White, natives of Dunwoody, Georgia were drawn to the music scene in Omaha, Nebraska and moved. [ cite web | url=http://www.timmcmahan.com/tilly.htm | title=Tilly and the Wall: Put on your dancing shoes | publisher=Lazy-i | author=Tim McMahan | date=2003-10-29 | accessdate=2008-04-23 ] Nick White is also one of the few constants on recent Bright Eyes records and tours.

Their first show was an open-mic night at the now defunct Ranch Bowl. Their first release, "Woo!", was recorded in Conor Oberst's garage, self-published, and distributed at shows around the Omaha area. The group released a limited-pressing eponymous 7" on Rue Royale Records, followed by their debut LP, "Wild Like Children" in 2004. It was the flagship release on Oberst's Team Love label and made with the help of Presto studios. "Wild Like Children" garnered the band a substantial amount of critical acclaim and propelled them to national tours with Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley, and Of Montreal. In early 2005, Tilly and the Wall became the first "band in residence" at Omaha's Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, using the Bemis Underground's Studio T to develop their follow-up album to "Wild Like Children".

In September of that year, they released "You and I Misbehaving" as a limited-pressing 7" in the UK through indie label Trash Aesthetics. This release picked up further critical acclaim as well as support from BBC radio broadcaster Steve Lamacq. They played their first show outside of the US at the Freebutt in Brighton on February 14 2006.

"Bottoms of Barrels"

"Bottoms of Barrels", the band's follow-up to "Wild Like Children" was released on May 23, 2006. Tilly and the Wall appeared on the "Late Show With David Letterman" on October 27 2006, to perform "Bad Education". The song was not played in full due to time constraints. A number of live dates were played to support the album. The band toured with Jenny Lewis in support of her album featuring The Watson Twins, "Rabbit Fur Coat". They then went on their first headlining tour to promote "Bottoms of Barrels", with acts such as David Dondero, Now It's Overhead, and Wolf Colonel supporting them. They played the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 27, 2007. In addition to performing at 2007's Splendour in the Grass festival, Tilly and the Wall toured Australia.

Band members Jamie Williams and Derek Pressnall were married shortly after the album's release, on 12 August, 2006.

"TL-31"

On February 25, Tilly and the Wall released a video for a new song entitled "Beat Control". The digital release of the song was on March 4, with a new album track "Cacophony" appearing as a b-side. "Beat Control" would not be on the album.

"o", [ cite web | url=http://tillyandthewall.com/home/pre-order-o-today | title= Pre-Order 'o' today! | publisher=TillyandtheWall.com | date=2008-05-06 | accessdate=2008-05-07 ] Tilly and the Wall's third album, was released on June 17, 2008. cite web | url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/49432-the-new-tilly-and-the-wall-album-has-no-name | title=The new Tilly and the Wall album has no name | publisher=Pitchfork Media | date=2008-03-21 | accessdate=2008-03-29 ] Two songs they performed on their 2007 tour, "Too Excited" and "Chandelier Lake", appear on the album. The songs were played at their Daytrotter show. [ cite web | url=http://www.daytrotter.com/article/981/free-songs-tilly-and-the-wall-encore | title=Free Songs: Tilly and the Wall (Encore) | publisher=Daytrotter.com | date=2007-09-17 | accessdate=2008-03-29 ]

Tilly have recorded their own version of the ABC song for the new season of Sesame Street.

The first single from the album is "Pot Kettle Black". It was featured in the pilot episode of 90210.

Band members

*Jamie Pressnall - tap dancer
*Derek Pressnall - vocals, guitar
*Neely Jenkins - vocals, shakers, bells, bass
*Nick White - keyboard
*Kianna Alarid - vocals, shakers, tambourine, recorder, bass

Discography

Albums

*"Wild Like Children" (2004 · Team Love Records) - CD/LP
*"Bottoms of Barrels" (2006 · Team Love Records) - CD/LP
*"o" (2008 · Team Love Records) - CD/LP

ingles & EPs

*"Nights of the Living Dead" on the compilation "Ben Eberbaugh: A Rockin' Tribute" (2003 · Die Slaughterhaus Records) - CD - UK #158cite journal
title = New Entries Spotlight
journal = ChartsPlus
issue = 369
pages= 20
accessdate = 2008-09-17
publisher = IQ Ware Ltd
location = Milton Keynes]
*"Woo!" (2003 · self-released) - EP
*"Tilly and the Wall" (2003 · Rue Royale Records) - 7"
*"You and I Misbehaving" (2005 · Trash Aesthetics) - 7"
*"Reckless" (2006 · Trash Aesthetics) - 7" - UK #235cite journal
title = New Entries Spotlight
journal = ChartsPlus
issue = 369
pages= 20
accessdate = 2008-09-17
publisher = IQ Ware Ltd
location = Milton Keynes]
*"Bad Education" (2006 · Team Love Records) - 7"
*"The Freest Man" (2007 w/ The Freest Man (CSS Remix) · Moshi Moshi Records) - 7"
*"Beat Control" (2008) w/ Cacophony - 7" and Digital Download - UK #153cite journal
title = Official Singles Chart for the week ending 20 September 2008
journal = ChartsPlus
issue = 369
pages= 1-4
accessdate = 2008-09-17
publisher = IQ Ware Ltd
location = Milton Keynes]

Videography

hortform

*"You and I Misbehaving" (2004, directed by Nik Fackler)
*"Reckless" (2006, directed by Dominic DeJoseph)
*"Bad Education" (2006, directed by Nik Fackler)
*"The Ice Storm, Big Gust, and You" (2006, directed by Kim Hager)
*"Rainbows in the Dark" (version 1) (2006, fan footage edited by Nik Fackler & Alan Tanner)
*"Sing Songs Along" (2006, directed by Kinga Burza)
*"Rainbows in the Dark" (version 2) (2006, directed by Julian Acosta)
*"The Freest Man" (2007, directed by Jacob Thiele)
*"Beat Control" (2008, directed by Cody Critcheloe & Drew Bolton of SSION)
*"Pot Kettle Black" (2008, directed by Alan Tanner)
*"Alligator Skin" (2008, directed by Whoop Dee Doo)

Longform

*"Tilly and the Wall's First Trip to Europe" (2006, directed by Rob Walters for Current TV)
*"Tilly and the Wall" (2007, directed by Rob Walters)

Trivia

*They have covered OutKast's "Hey Ya!", Journey's "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" The Violent Femmes' "Kiss Off" and Erasure's "A Little Respect"
*Kianna, Neely and Nick contributed to the Rilo Kiley song "The Absence of God" on "More Adventurous".
*Jamie's voice can be heard saying 'I'm surprised you noticed' in the song "A Man/Me/Then Jim" by Rilo Kiley on the album "More Adventurous"
*Four members contributed to Coyote Bones' "Gentleman on the Rocks" album.
*They were the first band on Team Love Records.
*Pitchfork Media mistook a "Sing Songs Along" video made by fans as the real video.
*A "tilly kid" is a fan of Tilly and the Wall. This term was coined by band member Kianna Alarid in an NPR interview.
*Of Montreal has been proclaimed the American sister band and Cansei de Ser Sexy is the Brazilian sister band.
*The song "Lost Girls" is about the work of outsider artist Henry Darger.
*Kianna, Derek and Neely perform vocals on the songs 'Living Breathing Demons', 'Fated to Fail' and 'Arlington Curse' by Coyote Bones.
*They were featured on the debut episode of the 90210, performing Pot Kettle Black and Beat Control.

ee also

*Park Ave.
*Team Love Records

References

External links

* [http://www.tillyandthewall.com Tilly and the Wall official website]
*MySpace|officialtillyandthewall|Tilly and the Wall
* [http://team-love.com Team Love Records]
* [http://www.team-love.com/headphones/artists/tillyandthewall/ Team Love Records: Tilly and the Wall]
* [http://www.moshimoshimusic.com/ Moshi Moshi Records]
* [http://www.moshimoshimusic.com/artists/tilly-and-the-wall Moshi Moshi Records: Tilly and the Wall]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:mez8b5c4zsqg~T1 Allmusic entry for Tilly and the Wall]
* [http://www.omahacityweekly.com/article.php?id=236 Omaha City Weekly article about Tilly's residency at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts]
* [http://abstractboy.org.uk/tillyandthewall.html Live Photos]
* [http://www.lasvegasmercury.com/2004/MERC-Aug-05-Thu-2004/24457265.html Las Vegas Mercury: Tap Dance Fever article 08-05-04]
* [http://www.lostateminor.com/2007/06/02/tilly-and-the-wall/ Review of their latest release, Bottoms of Barrels, and sample song]
* [http://www.upbeetmusic.com/reviews/641 Bottoms of Barrels Review on UpBeetMusic.com]

Interviews

* [http://www.timmcmahan.com/tilly.htm Lazy-i Interview: October 2003]
* [http://www.timmcmahan.com/tilly2.htm Lazy-i Interview: May 2006] with Nick White
* [http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2006/10/19/Interview%20-%20Tilly%20and%20the%20Wall-B.doc.aspx Interview with the Hook weekly: October 2006]
* [http://soundcrank.com/Interview.aspx?interviewid=1004 Soundcrank Podcast Hosted by Tilly and the Wall]
* [http://www.caughtinthecrossfire.com/music/interviews/4803 Caught In The Crossfire Interview 2007]
* [http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=2771&type=Interviews God Is In The TV Zine Interview September 2008]