The Posies - WikiHQ

The Posies were an American rock band. The band was formed in 1986 in Bellingham, Washington, United States, by primary songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow.

Their music has its origins in Merseybeat and the Hollies. They are influenced by Hüsker Dü, XTC, Elvis Costello and Squeeze.

The band split up in October 2021, following several allegations of sexual misconduct made against bandmember Ken Stringfellow.

History

Early years (1986–1988)

Core members Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, who met as students at Sehome High School in Bellingham, Washington, began writing songs together in late 1986 while Stringfellow was in school at the University of Washington. Their first public performance came as an acoustic duo in 1987 while Stringfellow was home in Bellingham. They recorded twelve songs in Auer's family's home studio. Though intended as demos to attract other members and form a full band, the recordings became the Posies' first self-released album, Failure.

Blood/Candy and Solid States (2010–2017)

The band released their seventh studio album Blood/Candy on September 28, 2010. The album was recorded and mixed in Spain and their hometown of Seattle, with stops in Ecuador, Canada, Paris and Los Angeles. The album release was followed by an extensive European tour in late 2010.

The reformed Big Star, which featured Auer and Stringfellow alongside musicians Jody Stephens and Alex Chilton, came to an end in March 2010 when Chilton died following a heart attack. In late 2013, the Posies played several shows, performing Amazing Disgrace in its entirety with the line-up from that era. In August 2014 the band reunited again, but with Darius Minwalla on drums and Joe Skyward on bass. Minwalla died unexpectedly at his home in Vancouver on May 21, 2015; and on March 26, 2016, Joe Skyward died after a two-year battle with cancer.

On March 3, 2016, the song "Squirrel vs. Snake" was released as a teaser for their forthcoming eighth album, and the band embarked on an extensive month-long European tour on March 29. the American release on My Music Empire followed on May 20. Drummer Frankie Siragusa, who also contributed to the engineering and mixing of the album, joined the band on tour, where they performed as a trio.

Reunion of Frosting on the Beater lineup (2018–2021)

In 2018, The Posies reunited with the Frosting on the Beater lineup, with drummer Mike Musburger and bassist Dave Fox returning, for a tour of North America and Europe.

In July 2019 interview with Houston Chronicle, Stringfellow revealed that the Posies had been working on new material.

Ken Stringfellow sexual misconduct allegations

Allegations of sexual misconduct against Stringfellow by three former girlfriends from 2015 to 2018 (Holly Muñoz, Kristine Chambers and Kristi Houk) were made public in an October 2021 article by Seattle public radio station KUOW. Stringfellow denied the allegations in a joint statement with his wife Dominique Stringfellow to the station. Auer quit the band in August 2021 after speaking with Kristine Chambers who had accused Stringfellow, and informed Stringfellow that he no longer planned to work with him.

Musical style and influences

The band has been compared to the Hollies due to their vocal harmonies and Big Star due to their songwriting.

Discography

Studio albums

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+ List of albums, with selected details and chart positions

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Title

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Details

! scope="col" colspan="3"| Peak chart positions

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUS<br />

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| NLD<br />

! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| SWE<br />

| 1990

| "Golden Blunders"