The Amps

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The Amps
Kim Deal playing guitar with The Amps.jpg
Background information
Origin Dayton, Ohio
Genres Pop, Rock[1]
Years active 1995–1996
Labels 4AD Records
Elektra
Associated acts The Breeders
Pixies
Guided By Voices

The Amps were a band from Dayton, Ohio. Formed by Kim Deal in 1995 after her group the Breeders went on hiatus, they released the album Pacer later that year.

Kim Deal originally intended to play all of the instruments herself, but eventually she recruited Jim Macpherson, the drummer from the Breeders, and Luis Lerma and Nate Farley, two friends from Dayton, to play on the album and tour. The Amps continued as a group until mid-1996, when Deal reformed the Breeders.

Contents

Background and Formation[edit]

From 1986 to 1992, Kim Deal was a member of the Pixies,[2] and from 1989 onwards, the Breeders.[3] In August 1993, the Breeders released their second album, Last Splash,[4] which went platinum in the USA,[5] gold in Canada,[6] and silver in the UK.[7] The other members of the group at that time were Kelley Deal (Kim's twin sister), Josephine Wiggs, and Jim Macpherson.[8] By the autumn of 1994, after two years of straight touring and recording, and culminating in the Lollapalooza tour, the band members were exhausted; they decided to take some time off from the Breeders, but this hiatus ended up being longer than expected.[8] Kelley was arrested on drug charges in late 1994 and spent time in and out of rehabilitation, while Wiggs became involved in some musical projects in New York, including collaborations with members of Luscious Jackson.[8][9]

Meanwhile, Kim Deal was very eager to continue recording and performing.[9] At first, she envisioned her next album as being a solo record, on which she would play all of the instrument parts.[10] However, when she was recording initial demos for the project, she asked Kelley to be involved, to distract the latter from her drug difficulties.[10][11] Since Kelley now also had some involvement in the project, Kim Deal decided not to make it a solo one after all.[10] Deal was joined by Macpherson on drums, musician Luis Lerma on bass, and Nate Farley on guitar.[11][12] Later, Kelley had to drop out of the project, due to her ongoing rehabilitation.[10][13] For fun, Deal began calling herself Tammy Ampersand, and the group, Tammy and the Amps.[10] This later became simply the Amps.[10]

Members[edit]

Discography[edit]

Album[edit]

Title Release date Label
Pacer 1995 4AD/Elektra

Single[edit]

Year Title Album Label
1995 "Tipp City" Pacer 4AD/Elektra

Notes[edit]

References[edit]