Death Vessel's Biography
Death Vessel is an neo-traditional folk band from Brooklyn, New York, signed to Sub Pop, and headed by Joel Thibodeau. Their first album, Stay Close was released on North East Indie in 2005 to critical acclaim. Born in Berlin, Germany and raised in Kennebunkport, Maine, Thibodeau moved to Boston as a teenager and later to Providence, eventually settling in Brooklyn. While in Providence he founded the band String Builder with his brother Alec and by early 2003 was playing as part of a duo with Erik Carlson, formerly of the Purple Ivy Shadows, who he had met while living in Boston. A friend from his hometown, Micah Blue Smaldone, formerly of The Pinkerton Thugs and Out Cold also played with Thibodeau at this time and the two have toured as a duo as well. With Smaldone, Todd Barneson, Brendan Skwire (of Jim and Jennie & The Pinetops), and Pete Donnelly (of The Figgs), Thibodeau began recording what would become Death Vessel's 2005 debut, Stay Close. Stay Close, was widely heralded for its solid songwriting, its musical ingenuity and for the unique quality of Thibodeau's crooning. His soprano register is exceptionally high for a male and even pre-pubescent sounding. Death Vessel has toured with Iron & Wine, Low, Jose Gonzalez, and The Books, among others. In 2006 the band was signed to Seattle's venerated Sub Pop Records and a new album is expected in early 2007.
