Rainer Maria

Emo rock group

Hailing from the same Midwest "emo-core" scene that gave the world the Get Up Kids, Braid and the Promise Ring, Brooklyn, New York, by-way-of Madison, Wisconsin, trio Rainer Maria delivered shimmering, angelic pop with a dynamic and emotional bite that strongly showcased a deep affection for romantic poetry. Over the course of five albums, the group set themselves apart from the boys club of the emo scene, putting their focus on the powerful and straightforward vocals of bassist Caithlin De Marris, and delved into a layered, open chord sound that would appeal to fans of precious, intellectual, and female-fronted indie rock.

Like many of their contemporaries, Rainer Maria was the result of the implosion of another band, Madison's Ezra Pound, that featured future Rainer Maria guitarist/vocalist Kyle Fischer, as well as future Rainer Maria drummer William Kuehn. The band formed in 1993, while the two were attending college together at the University of Wisconsin, and spent their time playing basements and parties. After some convincing, Kuehn replaced then-drummer Fischer with Matt Tennessen, who would later go on to play in the band Pele. Fischer then decided to switch to guitar, and the band continued on for another year. Around the same time, Fischer met fellow poetry-enthusiast De Marris at a poetry workshop at U of W. They struck up a romantic relationship; one that would lead to the two composing the poems that would later hatch into the songs of their yet unrealized new band.

Fischer and now-drummer Kuehn decided to ask De Marris to play bass in the new project they had began after Ezra Pound had called it quits. It was a risky move, as De Marris had actually never played the bass before. In an interview with Lollipop.com, De Marris said, "I had just started learning a month before. Everything was open; no one went in with any expectations." One expectation they did have, however, was that Fisher and De Marris' interest in poetry would be reflected in the band, right down to their name. The group chose the moniker Rainer Maria, named after Rainer Maria Rilke, a late 1800's German poet and creator of the "object" poem. De Marris explained the name choice to Standford Daily, quite simply saying, "We thought it was a pretty name at the time."

Now that the band's lineup was in tact, they started playing basements and touring minimally around the Midwest, keeping their "low expectations" in check (though they did record a demo just six weeks after forming). The more the band would play out, however, the more they were being tapped to open for larger acts in Madison. This caught the attention of Polyvinyl Records (a label out of Illinois who released material by Braid and Kerosene 454) who signed the band and released their self-titled debut EP in August of 1996. In January of 1997, the band issued a single called "New York: 1955."

After releasing the single, the band decided to get into the studio and record the nine songs that they had been working on over the past few years. They traveled to Chicago's Ghetto Love studios to record what would eventually become Past Worn Searching, released on Polyvinyl Records in October of 1997. Blasting off with the emotive first track, "Tinfoil" (opening the record with the line "God damn it, am I talking about my heart like it's something you could break?") the band announced their arrival with free-flowing drums, sea-sawing dynamics, and the beautifully intertwined and poetic vocals of De Marris and Fischer.

After the albums release, the band hit the road, touring all over the United States with the similarly minded Midwest emo-proprietors Braid. Upon returning, the band hunkered down to write and record their now-anticipated second album. Though it took almost two years between releases, it was well worth the wait, as fans and critics welcomed Look Now Look Again (released in April of 1999 on Polyvinyl Records) as a triumph. More focused and melodic than their debut, the band still relied heavily on the vocal interaction between Fischer and De Marris, and as the album started to get noticed by magazines like CMJ, Magnet, Alternative Press, and SPIN, it became their early trademark. Pitchforkmedia.com, giving the album an 8.8 rating, said, "Pretty songs just don't come much prettier than the ones on this album." Following the release, Rainer Maria hit the road, and finished out the year by releasing an EP on Polyvinyl Records in November, called Atlantic.

After recording the Atlantic EP, the band made the decision to get out of the Midwest and move to New York. Kuehn explained the move to Standford Daily, saying, "[Madison] was a college town, so it was different every four years. We had all been out of school for a while, so we had seen it turn over actually twice before we decided to leave. We would see all of our friends move onto bigger and better things, get real jobs, a lot of them in New York, actually. So after watching that, we decided to move on." Also moving on were Fischer and De Marris themselves, who ended their romantic relationship after moving out to New York. The band decided to stay together, however, as Fischer explained to Prefixmag.com, "The three of are the kind of people who stick it out through problems and work toward solving them. I think a lot of bands don't do that. I remember touring with the drummer from Jawbox's band and he went up to me after show all like: 'Dude, this whole boyfriend and girlfriend in a band together thing is going to bite you in the ass. The same thing happened to me.' And I was all like, 'Whatever, dude.' I mean, we went through our (boyfriend and girlfriend) break-up and if anything it made the band better."

With things changing within the band member's personal lives, it wasn't a surprise that Rainer Maria's music would start to evolve as well. After holing up in a converted cow barn, the band hashed out the songs that became A Better Version of Me, released in January of 2001 on Polyvinyl Records. Stepping in a more pop-rock oriented direction than their first two albums, A Better Version of Me turned it's back on the band's trademark girl/boy vocals, instead featuring De Marris front and center. This gave Fischer time to focus more energy on his swirling guitar chords, and Kuehn to again stand tall with his flexible drumming skills. Fischer explained the change to Lazy-I Zine, saying, "We already made Look Now Look Again. We're not into making the same record over and over. Moreover, the new CD marks a shift from 'us' songs to 'me' songs with a single narrator." In a review on Fakejazz.com, writer Jim Steed simply proclaimed, "This is a great pop album."

After touring the album playing over 200 shows, the band took a bit of a break. During their sabbatical, Fischer, De Marris and Joan of Arc drummer Mike Kinsella traveled to Madison to record Kyle's solo album Open Ground, released on Polyvinyl Records in February of 2002. After a tour supporting the album, Rainer Maria as a band also returned to Madison to record their follow up to A Better Version of Me at Smart Studios. Entitled Long Knives Drawn, the band delivered an aggressive album that again showcases De Marris's vocals at the height of the mix, heard especially on punk-influenced tracks like "Ears Ring." Dustedmagazine.com said, "The band's grasp of dynamics, both musical and emotional, has deepened, resulting in their most nuanced album yet." Another review on Popmatters.com said, "Play this record at high volume and it does itself plenty of justice."

After touring for Long Knives Drawn subsided, the band engaged in their longest break since forming in 1995. A live DVD/album, Anyone in Love With You (Already Knows), was released in March of 2004, but still the band kept relatively quiet. Kuehn bided his time playing drums for the New York-based post-punk trio Prosaics, whom he began playing with in 2002. They released a 5-song EP called Aghast Agape on Dim Mak records in the United States, and Matador in the United Kingdom in 2004.

Rainer Maria finally broke their silence in April of 2006, releasing Catastrophe Keeps Us Together on new label Grunion Records to lukewarm reviews.

Selected discography

Past Worn Searching, Polyvinyl, 1997.
Look Now Look Again, Polyvinyl, 1999.
Atlantic (EP), Polyvinyl, 1999.
A Better Version of Me, Polyvinyl, 2001.
Long Knives Drawn, Polyvinyl, 2003.
Anyone in Love With You (Already Knows) (live DVD/CD), 2004.
Catastrophe Keeps Us Together, Grunion, 2006.

For the Record …

Members include Caithlin De Marris, vocals, bass; Kyle Fischer, guitar, vocals; William Kuehn, drums.

Group formed in the mid-1990s; signed to Polyvinyl and released Past Worn Searching, 1997; released Look Now Look Again, 1998; moved to New York City, 2000; released A Better Version of Me, 2001; released Long Knives Drawn, 2003; released Catastrophe Keeps Us Together on new label Grunion, 2006.

Addresses: Record company—Grunion Records, 729 7th Ave., 16th Fl., New York, NY 10019, website: http://www.grunionrecords.com. Website—Rainer Maria Official Website: http://www.rainermaria.com.

Sources

Periodicals

Stanford Daily, March 1, 2001.

Online

Grunion Records, http://www.grunionrecords.com/ (June 12, 2006).

"Pitchfork Review: Look Now Look Again," Pitchforkmedia.com, http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/21239/Rainer_Maria_Look_Now_Look_Again (June 16, 2006).

"Rainer Maria," All Music Guide, http://www.allmusic.com (June 16, 2006).

"Rainer Maria," Lollipop.com, http://www.lollipop.com/archive_temp.php3?content=issue55/55-02-05.html (June 16, 2006).

"Rainer Maria," Polyvinyl Records, http://www.polyvinyl-records.com/bands/band_info.asp?bandID=15 (June 16, 2006).

"Rainer Maria—A Better Version of Me," Fakejazz.com, http://www.fakejazz.com/reviews/2001/rainermaria2.shtml (June 12, 2006).

"Rainer Maria: Lit-rock juggernauts," Prefixmag.com, http://www.prefixmag.com/features/R/Rainer-Maria/20 (June 16, 2006).

"Rainer Maria: Long Knives Drawn," Popmatters.com, http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/r/rainermaria-long.shtml (June 12, 2006).

Rainer Maria Official Website, http://www.rainermaria.com/ (June 12, 2006).

"Rainer Maria Review," DustedMagazine.com, http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/595 (June 16, 2006).