Cartel (band)

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Cartel
Origin	Conyers, Georgia, USA
Genre(s)	Power pop Alternative rock Pop punk
Years active	2003–present
Label(s)	The Militia Group Epic Records Wind-Up Records
Website	www.cartelrocks.com
Members
Will Pugh Joseph Pepper Nic Hudson Jeff Lett Kevin Sanders
Former members
Ryan Roberts Andy Lee
Notable instrument(s)
Gibson Les Paul, Fender Telecaster

Cartel is a five-member American pop punk band from Conyers, Georgia that formed in 2003. The band consists of Will Pugh (vocals and guitar), Joseph Pepper (guitar), Nic Hudson (Guitar), Jeff Lett (Bass), and Kevin Sanders (drums).They are currently working on their third album.

Contents 1 History 2 Second Album 3 Cycles 4 Members 5 Discography 5.1 Albums 6 EPs 7 Singles 8 Non-album tracks 9 External links 10 References

[edit] History

The five band members of Cartel grew up in Rockdale County, Georgia, Cartel was formed in college while they were attending Georgia State University.^[1] Eventually the band got signed to The Militia Group an independent record company in Long Beach, California, releasing their EP The Ransom and then Their first full length album Chroma. The band grew in popularity putting them on Alternative Press’s 2005 list for “Bands You Need to Know”. They were also named Yahoo! Music’s winner in the ”Who’s Next” competition. In April 2006 Cartel signed with Epic Records. In late 2006 early 2007 they began touring as support for New Found Glory with The Early November and Hit The Lights. After some local shows, they kicked off a headlining tour featuring bands Cobra Starship, Boys Like Girls, Quietdrive, New Atlantic and Permanent ME. On June 8, 2006, Ryan Roberts, the band's bass player, decided to leave the band. The band said it was an "amicable" breakup. An old friend of the band, Jeff Lett, joined as a replacement for Roberts. The band continued, re-releasing their debut album Chroma under Epic Records. The re-release is packaged with a Live album live EP, Live Dudes.

[edit] Second Album

The second album, self-titled, was recorded and produced all in an MTV experiment called “Band in a Bubble” and was sponsored by Dr. Pepper.^[2] The band had to complete a full length album all inside a building shaped as a bubble in twenty days. All while being watched by their fans 24/7 using twenty-three web cams. Dr. Pepper selected twenty-three cameras to coincide with its promotion of twenty-three flavors in its soft drink. The “Band in a Bubble” experiment was also a four part mini-series on MTV. They entered the bubble on May 24, 2007 and left twenty days later on June 12, 2007. Upon “breaking out” of the bubble the band had to put on a live concert featuring many of their new songs. The same day they “broke out” the single “Lose It” was released on iTunes and Napster. The second album was set to be released on July 24th, 2007 but was pushed back one month due to the record company not being ready.

[edit] Cycles

Cartel announced on their MySpace that they would be working on a new album during the summer of 2008 on Wind-up Records rather than Epic Records. The band also mentions “I think we've written or entertained the idea of about 30 songs at this point”. Of those 30 songs "The Perfect Mistake" has been confirmed to be coming out on the new album. Will Pugh said in an interview the third album will be coming out in spring/summer 2009. Recently the band posted a blog on myspace saying they are currently in the writing/recording stage and fans could expect an album in early fall. The album has been jokingly referred to as being named "Just us vs All the Others", a reference to The Get Up Kids song "Red Letter Day" . On July 8, the band announced via their twitter that the new album will be called "Cycles". The name of the new single is "Let's Go", which is set to be released digitally on July 28, 2009. The song is similar to those off their album, "Chroma".

[edit] Members

• Will Pugh –Vocals, Guitar Piano
• Joseph Pepper – Guitar, Backing Vocals
• Nic Hudson – Guitar
• Jeff Lett – Bass, Backing Vocals
• Kevin Sanders – Drums, Backing Vocals

Former Members

• Ryan Roberts – Bass
• Andy Lee – Guitar

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

• Chroma (2005) #140 U.S.
• Cartel (2007) #20 U.S.
• Cycles (2009)^[3]

[edit] EPs

• The Ransom EP (2004)
• Live Dudes (2006)
• Warped Tour Session (2006)

[edit] Singles

• "Honestly" (2006) #89 U.S. Hot 100; #55 U.S. Pop 100; #65 Hot Digital Songs
• "Say Anything (Else)" (2006)
• "Lose It" (2007)
• "No Subject (Come with Me)" (2007)
• "The Fortunate" (2007)
• "Let's Go" (2009)

[edit] Non-album tracks

• "Wonderwall" – released on Punk Goes '90s (2006)
• "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" – released on Kevin & Bean's Super Christmas (2008)

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Cartel's profile at MySpace
• Cartel's profile at PureVolume
• Cartel's profile at Buzznet
• Cartel Interview at StereoSubversion.com

[edit] References

v • d • e Cartel Will Pugh • Joseph Pepper • Nic Hudson • Jeff Lett • Kevin Sanders Former: Andy Lee • Ryan Roberts Studio albums Chroma • Cartel • Cycles EPs The Ransom EP • Live Dudes • Warped Tour Session Singles "Honestly" • "Say Anything (Else)" • "Lose It" • "No Subject (Come with Me)" • "The Fortunate" Related Articles "Band in a Bubble"