Karate (band)

Karate was an American band, formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1993 by Geoff Farina, Eamonn Vitt and Gavin McCarthy. In 1995, Jeff Goddard joined the band as bass player, and Vitt moved to second guitar. Vitt departed Karate to pursue a medical career in 1997.

The band was characterised by their love for improvised music and classic rock and their adherence to the DIY punk ethos of their youth, which made them difficult to classify, being a strange fusion of indie rock, punk, blues, jazz and post-rock.

Farina developed hearing problems due to twelve years of performance with Karate and was forced to disband the group in July 2005, quietly closing the door on a 12-year run that included 6 studio albums and almost 700 performances in 20 countries. Their final show was played in Rome, Italy, on July 10, 2005. Their music was primarily released on Southern Records.

Karate’s perfectionism and attention to detail is well known among the music scene. Their compulsive behaviour manifested also in naming their last recording, which was originally called “594” since it was believed to be a recording of their 594th show. When Gavin discovered a flyer for a forgotten early show that had somehow evaded Jeff’s memory, the band quickly changed the title to ‘595’. Finally, In 2007, the former band members decided to release the live album 595. Often, Karate was sent live material from their own performances (often from sound technicians). This happened also after their performance on May 5 at Stuk, Leuven, Belgium. Karate was so astonished by the quality of the recording they decided to release this "posthumous" live album of their 595th live performance.

On his own, Geoff Farina has also developed a solo career with three albums and a handful of EPs over the years, some released while the band was still around, and thus far one since Karate disbanded.

Discography

 * Karate LP/CD (1996, Southern Records 18534)
 * In Place of Real Insight LP/CD (1997, Southern Records 18543)
 * The Bed is in the Ocean LP/CD (1998, Southern Records 18554)
 * Unsolved CD/2xLP (October 2000/March 2001, Southern Records 18584)
 * Some Boots LP/CD (October 2002, Southern Records 18599)
 * Pockets CD/LP (August 2004, Southern Records 28114)
 * 595 CD/2xLP (October 2007, Southern Records)

EPs and 7-inch records

 * Death Kit/Nerve 7" single (1994, The Self Starter Foundation PSP1)
 * Karate/The Lune split 7" with The Lune (1995, Lonesone Pine Records LPR1)
 * song - "The Schwinn"
 * The Crownhate Ruin/Karate split 7" with The Crownhate Ruin (1995, Art Monk Construction ART11)
 * song - "Cherry Coke"
 * Operation: Sand/Empty There (1998, Southern Records 18553)
 * Cancel/Sing EP CD (2002, Southern Records 18594)
 * Concerto al Barchessone Vecchio EP (2003, Fooltribe FT02)
 * In the Fishtank 12 EP (February 2005, Konkurrent Records - Netherlands)

Related bands

 * Apology - Jeff Goddard
 * Jones Very - Jeff Goddard
 * The Lune - Jeff Goddard
 * The Secret Stars - Geoff Farina
 * Ardecore - Geoff Farina
 * Glorytellers - Geoff Farina
 * Geoff Farina & Chris Brokaw