Artist description The Secret Songwriter Consortium presents its latest coup: Nathan Aloysius, the blood-and-guts authentic pop-prophet.

Music Style Alternative Songwriting

Musical Influences The Kinks, Robyn Hitchcock, Simon and Garfunkel, Queen, The Pixies, Belle and Sebastian

Similar Artists Belle and Sebastian, They Might Be Giants, Pavement, Robyn Hitchcock, Kurt Weill, Simon and Garfunkel, The Kinks

Artist History His first appearance, let’s see … Austin, late June, 19__. A grimy bar next to a greasy spoon. A hole-in-the-wall kind of joint, one might have said in calmer times. His voice, words clear, cut through the din of erring youth and sanguine old men. Sweet like ripe grapes. And seedless. Little did I know then that this figure and I would soon become well acquainted. One rarely expects to cross paths with genius more than once. Yet in my nomadic years toward millennium’s end, I met Nathan dozens of times, in dozens of places – the steps of the Capitol, the Jardin de Luxembourg, the Palio of Siena… I’ve never been one to assume order in chaos. So I never questioned that his seeming ubiquity – not to mention his powerful gift – was anything but many coordinates of randomness. When I saw him in Weimar, all that changed. Goethe, Liszt, Kandinsky, Nietzsche, Thackeray, Van der Velde! Caught in the dusty swirl of names and eminence, my tangled thoughts were woven into a pattern like the threads of a Persian rug: Such genius is never accidental. On that day, I made a pledge. I had to unveil the design behind the man, the words and music. My research took me around the world and back, three times over. I dug through libraries in Rome, dirty backrooms in Leipzig, posh apartments in San Francisco. Now, years later, I have succeeded. I have unraveled the enigma. Nathan’s perfection is indeed no accident. It is the product of a group of unknown membership, referred to in private documents as the Secret Songwriter Consortium. Its members are responsible for nearly every piece of music, every word, every melody, produced during the last 75 years. And unlike the parasitic beau ideal artiste, their true devotion is to the audience. Their muse isn’t the sick fanaticism of artistry, but the impassioned quest for approval. For what is true culture if not entertainment? But in modern times, these gentle people fell headlong into spiteful disillusionment. After years of creation, they found the pubic had begun to doubt the integrity of their design. The formulas that were once applauded were suddenly … base. And so began history’s most ambitious endeavor: the construction of authenticity. The Consortium aspired to fabricate originality, the raw passion and vision of a voice in the desert, then to sell that new formula to the world. Their prototype: Nathan. - Sara Grace

Group Members Nathan Aloysius and many guests, including: Captain Peabody, Chinese George, Eliza Wren, Anne Hege, and Jan Schneider

Instruments bass, drums, guitars, trumpet, vocals

Albums Bagels and Cream Cheese, Nathan and the Secret Songwriter Consortium, Legends In Our Own Minds

Press Reviews It isn't every day that someone makes an effort to get me a cd they made into my hands. I'm happy this one made it. Nathan Aloysius seems to be intent on entertaining with his quirky lyrics ... The music is straight ahead rock with no gimmicks or weird pretenses ...The vocals are great. Reviewed by Patrick Healy of KVRX Radio 4-7-00

Location Austin, TX - USA

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