Piñataland Explained

Piñataland
Background:	group_or_band
Origin:	Brooklyn, New York, USA
Genre:	alternative rock chamber rock, gypsy rock
Years Active:	1998–present
Website:	http://music.pinataland.com/
Current Members:	David Wechsler, Doug Stone, and a rotating cast of other musicians.

Piñataland is a Brooklyn-based musical group created by David Wechsler and Doug Stone. Their songs are often about obscure historical events and people,^{[1] [2]} including:

• The pygmy Ota Benga ("Ota Benga's Name")
• The painter John Banvard ("The Ballad of John Banvard")
• The daredevil Sam Patch ("The Fall of Sam Patch")
• The elephant Topsy ("Coney Island Funeral")
• The spiritualist John Murray Spear ("Dream of the New Mary")
• The journalist William Cobbett's efforts to rebury Thomas Paine ("American Man")
• Edward Leedskalnin's Coral Castle ("Latvian Bride")
• The Inuit Minik Wallace ("If Ice Were Warm")

Pinataland have often performed at historical sites such as the Old Stone House (Brooklyn), the Cobble Hill Tunnel, and Green-Wood Cemetery. They have also covered historical tunes, such as President John Quincy Adams' campaign song "Little Know Ye Who's Comin'".

Discography

• Piñataland - EP (1997)
• Songs from Konijn Kok - EP (1999)
• Songs for the Forgotten Future Volume 1 (2003)
• Songs for the Forgotten Future Volume 2 (2008)
• Hymns for the Dreadful Night (2011)

External links

• • [{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p560063|pure_url=yes}} Pinataland on Allmusic]
• Pinataland: Musical History, National Public Radio
• Pinataland article in New York Observer
• Pinataland: Best dark old-weird-history orchestrette, Pinataland in Village Voice's Best of 2004

Notes and References

1. Interview with Douglas Stone, Swordfish: Justin Vellucci on Music. Originally published in Delusions of Adequacy, September 27, 2004.
2. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4286267 Pinataland: Musical History