Amateur | ms

Amateur is

1) The solo project of Toronto, Canada's Tristan Murphy. A brilliantly talented young man of infinite potential, he spins out blissful baroque pop songs as if it were his born duty. Ranging in influences from Zach Condon and Owen Pallett to Jamie Stewart, his softmore release "Doubtfully Yours" has captivated the hearts of many. Simultaneously playing a pocket-trumpet, an accordion, and his own true gorgeous voice, Tristan creates romantic soundscapes that take you on a sensual trip through the parisian streets of his heart. http://www.myspace.com/amateurity


2)A funk rock band from Lowell, MA. The band grew out of a short-lived but infamous group called Groovebox. Groovebox contained future Amateur members Mark Henderson, Luke Boilon and Enrique Vargas as well as future Quarter Mile Hero member Seth Bourque. The band members all attended UMass Lowell as students in its music department.

Luke met fellow UMass Lowell music major Mike Matta, a Connecticut native fond of Primus and Victor Wooten, and the two decided to form a funk-rock band. Mark and Enrique signed on as well on vocals and drums respectively.

The band played several shows on the UMass Lowell campus as well as local music venue and coffee shop, the Sugar Shack. Unfortunately, Luke decided that UMass Lowell wasn't for him and he moved back to California at the end of the 2002 fall semester.

Enter Rick Kwan, a wholesome Asian boy with a Gibson SG. Rick settled into the band quickly, helping craft many new songs and working with the band as they recorded their only studio effort, Choose Your Own Adventure.

The album consisted of 4 originals and remixes of three of the album tracks and one non-album track titled "...but It's Not a Trap."

The band continued to play locally and write new material, much of it captured on two performances from WUML's Live from the Fallout Shelter. With graduation looming, Amateur decided to disband before the band naturally dissolved. They played their final show on November 13, 2004 with Failed Silence and Bling Kong.

Mark Henderson went on to perform with No Pilots, No Demos, the Musical Theatre, Javelin and Vent as well as releasing solo material under the Wicked Bad Scumbag moniker. Enrique Vargas went on to perform with H.T.D. and currently sings in Los Bungalitos. Luke Boilon resides in San Francisco and performs withSterling Says. Mike Matta moved to Los Angeles and currently works as a producer. Rick Kwan went on to assistant engineer albums by My Morning Jacket, Scarlet Johansson and Glenn Branca and currently works as a freelance audio engineer based out of Brooklyn.


3) The Lo-Fi project of a kid somewhere in America.
His music can be found here: http://harmonicanadianreckords.bandcamp.com/ .