Stars Like Fleas
# Stars Like Fleas

Stars Like Fleas is a Brooklyn-based band formed by multi-instrumentalist Shannon Fields and vocalist Montgomery Knott in the winter of 1998. Frequently compared to later Talk Talk and Robert Wyatt, their music blends avant-jazz and free improvisation with electronic textures and several overdubbed murmured vocal lines.

## History

The band started in 1998. On their albums and in live performances, Fields and Knott have recruited a host of other musicians, including members and ex-members of Other Dimensions in Music, TEST, No-Neck Blues Band, Papa M, Out Hud, Gold Sparkle Band, At the Drive-In, Beirut, Tall Firs, TV on the Radio, Celebration, Fiery Furnaces, The Silent League, and Mercury Rev. In 2007 they did a Take-Away Show video session shot by Vincent Moon.

## Members

* Shannon Fields - producer
* Montgomery Knott - vocals
* Ryan Smith - piano, synthesizers, laptop, many other things
* Ryan Sawyer - drums, percussion
* Matt Lavelle - bass clarinet, flugelhorn, trumpet, cuica
* Sam Amidon - fiddle, banjo, voice
* Jon Natchez - reeds, brass, strings, keys, etc.
* Gerald Menke - pedal steel, dobro resonator, guitars
* Shelley Burgon - harp, laptop, baritone guitar
* Tianna Kennedy - cello
* Shayna Dulberger - bass
* Laura Ortman - violin

## Discography

* Took the Ass for a Drive (1999; digitally re-released by File 13 2007, downloadable at iTunes)
* Sun Lights Down on the Fence (2003, Praemedia)
* The Ken Burns Effect (2007, Talitres Records in Europe) (May 20, 2008 Hometapes, distribution via Absolutely Kosher/Misra)
