Red House Painters was a slowcore band from San Francisco, CA, United State… Read Full Bio ↴Red House Painters was a slowcore band from San Francisco, CA, United States, formed in 1988 by singer/songwriter Mark Kozelek, who is currently active in the band Sun Kil Moon, with part of the original RHP line-up.

The band is described, along with Low and American Music Club, as one of the linchpins of the slowcore movement, a subgenre of Indie Rock characterized by downbeat melodies, slow tempos, and often minimalist arrangements. The genre was shaped by musical influences like Folk Rock, Contemporary Folk, and later on, Indie Folk, creating a subdued atmosphere that clashed against most of the comparatively brash Alternative Rock that was popular at the time. Kozelek used this group primarily as a vehicle for his very personal and emotional songs of despair, pain and suffering.

While in Atlanta, Kozelek became friends with Anthony Koutsos, a drummer. He then moved to San Francisco, adding guitarist Gorden Mack and bassist Jerry Vessel to complete the line-up for Red House Painters. After forming, the group played the San Francisco scene extensively, and recorded demos from 1989 to 1992, building up an impressive amount of material. Once they were signed to 4AD Records in 1992, they put out five-and-a-half LPs worth of material in two-and-a-half years--between September 1992 and March 1995, they released three LPs, one double LP, and one EP on 4AD.

Their first 4AD release was an album made up of select demos titled Down Colorful Hill. It was a compilation of haunting melodies complemented by Kozelek's eerie yet rich and emotional vocals. In 1993, the group came out with two self-titled records (now commonly referred to as "Red House Painters I" or "Rollercoaster" and "Red House Painters II" or "Bridge" (based on their cover artwork), solidifying Kozelek's reputation as a talented songwriter with their harrowing autobiographical tales of his troubled life and errant living with no punches being pulled. The music, which ran the gamut from beautiful acoustic folk-rock to intense, dissonant, lengthy soundscapes, effectively conveyed the sadness of the lyrics.

In 1994, they released an EP entitled Shock Me and in 1995, the introspective Ocean Beach, which saw Kozelek's songs becoming more acoustic-based and folk influenced, and featured far less of the lengthy, dreamlike epics of the group's first two albums. His lyrics also showed a considerable shift in tone, as he increasingly began to write about the power of memory and the significance of geography, a subject that would become an obsession in his subsequent recordings.

While Kozelek was beginning work on a solo project, he parted ways with 4AD Records after a somewhat tumultuous relationship. Entitled Songs for a Blue Guitar, which was released on Island Records subsidiary Supreme Recordings in 1996. It was more of a guitar-driven rock album that they released under the Red House Painters name to give the album more publicity. A year later, they came up with Old Ramon, arguably their most accessible, optimistic recording to date. However, major label mergers during the late 90's would leave them without a record label, and it wasn't until 2001 that they were able to release the album on Sub Pop.

Prior to the release of Old Ramon, Kozelek released a solo six-song EP entitled Rock 'n' Roll Singer in 2000. The record was comprised of three original acoustic compositions with minor full-band arrangements and three covers: two AC/DC covers from the Bon Scott era and one John Denver cover. Following the release of the first solo EP, Kozelek released his first solo album six months later. The record, entitled What's Next to the Moon, was released in January of 2001, but would greatly surprise fans. What's Next to the Moon was comprised entirely of shimmering, melancholy acoustic AC/DC covers from the Bon Scott era. The record was also greatly uncharacteristic of Kozelek (though he was prone to enjoy covering songs by his favorite artists) in that it is the shortest full length to date clocking in at just over thirty minutes. Even the first Red House Painters album with only six tracks was more than 45 minutes in length. Both solo albums were released by Badman Records.

4AD would release the best-of package, "Retrospective", on a double-disc in 1999. Kozelek subsequently organized and appeared on a John Denver tribute album, played a part in Cameron Crowe's film Almost Famous and also appeared as a rock musician in the Steve Martin vehicle Shopgirl. He contributed to both a benefit album for AIDS and an album of classic rock covers.

In 2003 Kozelek and Koutsos, along with Geoff Stanfield and Tim Mooney, reformed as Sun Kil Moon, releasing the acclaimed album Ghosts of the Great Highway on Jetset Records. In a 2005 interview with The Onion's AV Club, Kozelek confirmed that he considers Sun Kil Moon essentially the Red House Painters, but that he changed the band name to grab the interest of critics who had gotten bored with, or stopped paying attention to, the Painters. The move was successful, as Ghosts of the Great Highway would be his best-selling album yet, while garnering extremely positive reviews.

Smokey
Red House Painters Lyrics

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I'm broken down
You caved my karma in
I'm staying up
Waiting for you like a fool

You made me forget
About all the dreams I kept
I keep your glass hand

By the bed we slept

I can't erase your Smokey eyes
Your smothered face, gripping on my waist
Leaving a ghost upon the Oregon Coast
And on the floors of a crashes porch

Who can pretend
That there's a beginning without an end?
It ain't contrived all this magic in our lives
Comes down like a storm then drizzles then dies

Your soul is free
But you're the one I need
And you made your deal
But you're still my ideal

And so I wait
And so I choose this fate
And store your shape
In my electric bed

Who can pretend
That there's a beginning without an end?

It ain't contrived all the magic in our lives
Comes down like a storm then drizzles then dies

Overall Meaning

The song "Smokey" by Red House Painters is a hauntingly beautiful composition that captures the feelings of heartbreak and loss. The lyrics speak of a broken relationship where one person has caved the other's "karma in," leaving them feeling stuck and waiting for their lover to return. The singer keeps a glass hand by the bed they shared, a symbol of the love that once was. The chorus, "I can't erase your Smokey eyes, your smothered face, gripping on my waist," paints a vivid picture of the physical aspect of their relationship and how it is ingrained in their memory. The reference to the "Oregon Coast" and "crashes porch" adds a melancholy touch, suggesting that their relationship was tumultuous and had its share of ups and downs.

The second verse delves deeper into the complexity of their relationship, with the singer acknowledging that they cannot pretend that there is a beginning without an end. The magic that they once shared has fizzled out, and now all that's left is heartache. Despite this, the singer still holds on to the memory of their lover and sees them as their ideal, even though they have made a deal that has set them free. The final verse speaks of the singer's resignation to their fate and their willingness to hold on to the memory of their lover, even though they know it's over. The repetition of the chorus drives home the point that some memories are hard to forget and that love, even when it's gone, can cast a long shadow.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm broken down
I'm emotionally devastated

You caved my karma in
Your actions have caused me bad luck

I'm staying up
I'm unable to sleep

Waiting for you like a fool
I'm patiently hoping for your return despite being hurt

You made me forget
You caused me to lose sight of my goals

About all the dreams I kept
All the ambitions I had

I keep your glass hand
I have a fragile symbol that reminds me of you

By the bed we slept
Where we used to sleep together

I can't erase your Smokey eyes
I can't forget your unique and memorable appearance

Your smothered face, gripping on my waist
I still recall your lovemaking and how you held me tightly

Leaving a ghost upon the Oregon Coast
Our memory is still present in the location where we last were together