The Whigs
| The Whigs | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Athens, Georgia, United States |
| Genres | Garage rock revival |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | ATO Records (US) Kartel (UK & Europe) |
| Website | TheWhigs.com |
| Members | |
| Parker Gispert Julian Dorio Timothy Deaux |
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| Past members | |
| Hank Sullivant | |
The Whigs are an American garage rock band from Athens, Georgia, consisting of lead singer and guitarist Parker Gispert, drummer Julian Dorio and bassist Timothy Deaux.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Formed in Athens, Georgia in 2002, The Whigs have released three studio albums and have toured the world with acts such as Kings of Leon, The Black Keys, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Drive By Truckers, Hold Steady, Band of Skulls, Dead Confederate, Wax Fang, and 22-20s. They have become Late Night television regulars, having appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show With David Letterman twice, Late Night With Conan O'Brien, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, and Jimmy Kimmel Live. [1]
[edit] Early days (2002-2004)
The band was formed in 2002 by Parker Gispert, Julian Dorio, and original bass player Hank Sullivant. Gispert and Dorio both attended The Westminster Schools in Atlanta together, but didn't start playing together until they were both at the University of Georgia in Athens. After 6 months of playing and writing together, the pair hooked up with Sullivant whom they met through mutual friends.[2]
The trio played their first gig together at the DT's Down Under Club in Athens in May 2002[3] and started setting up gigs in New York once a month.[4] Soon the band were sharing stages with bands such as Franz Ferdinand, Drive By Truckers and The Killers. Following a negative experience during a "development deal" with major label RCA Records in 2004,[5] the Whigs opted to record and release their first album independently.
[edit] Give Em All a Big Fat Lip (2005-2006)
In July 2005, the band recorded their first album, Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip at Ross Crane House, a fraternity house in downtown Athens with engineer Billy Bennett.[6] They used equipment purchased on eBay, which they resold after recording was finished to help offset the cost of production. The album was released independently in December 2005 and in April 2006 saw the band described by Rolling Stone Magazine as "perhaps the best unsigned band in America."[7] Following this media exposure, in July 2006, The Whigs were signed to ATO Records by Jonathan Eshak who had earlier seen the band play at the Pianos venue on Ludlow Street in New York,[8] and Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip was re-released on September 19, 2006.
The band appeared at Summerfest and Voodoo Experience following the re-release of Fat Lip.
Founding member Hank Sullivant left the band in late 2006 to tour with MGMT and later pursue his solo project Kuroma. Both parties remain on good terms as Kuroma supported the band at a show in Athens in 2010 and Sullivant stepped in to play at a show in Memphis.[9]
[edit] Mission Control (2007-2008)
The band's second album Mission Control was recorded at Hollywood's Sunset Sound/Sound Factory during the summer of 2007 with producer Rob Schnapf with temporary bassist Adam Suanders from local Athens band The Pendletons. In between the recording of the album and its release on January 22, 2008, the band recruited Timothy Deaux.[10] Following the album's release, the band toured the US with Kings of Leon, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Tokyo Police Club, Band of Skulls, Wax Fang, Tulsa, Dead Confederate, Jason Isbell, and the Dead Trees. They also appeared at several festivals including Sasquatch!, Bumbershoot and SXSW.
The summer of 2008 marked the band's first European tour, where they performed at Belgium's Rock Werchter Festival, England's 02 Wireless Festival, Scotland's T in the Park Festival and Ireland's Oxygen Festival. The tour also included a performance with Kings of Leon and MGMT at Le Zenith in Paris, France along with stops in Germany and Italy.
Towards the end of 2008 the band toured with Toadies, Tokyo Police Club, The Kooks and Kings of Leon, and ended the year with a New Year's Eve gig in their home state of Georgia with Band of Horses.
[edit] In the Dark (2009-2011)
The band spent 2009 writing new songs for their next album whilst continuing to tour with Kings of Leon and undertaking several headline tours with support from bands such as Dead Confederate, The Features and Trances Arc, featuring Dorio's brother.
In The Dark was released March 16, 2010 in the US by ATO Records. It was recorded primarily at Chase Park Transduction in Athens in Summer 2009 by longtime friend and Athens native Ben H. Allen (Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley).[11] "Someone's Daughter" and "So Lonely" were re-recorded in the fall of 2009 with producer Jay Joyce. First single "Kill Me Carolyne" and "Automatic" were written and recorded a few days later with Kings Of Leon producer Angelo Petraglia. Both additional sessions took place in Nashville, TN.
The band made their second appearance on the Late Show With David Letterman performing "Kill Me Carolyne"[12] and also appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon where they performed "Hundred / Million".
Upon the release of "In The Dark", the band toured the US alongside Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Band of Skulls and The Hold Steady and at festivals including Mountain Jam in Woodstock and Outside Lands Festival. The band also undertook several large scale tours with Kings Of Leon in the US and the UK/Europe, including a sold out show in June at London's Hyde Park, with an estimated 65,000 attendance.[13]
In May 2010, the band embarked on a U.S.O tour, performing at military bases in Germany and the UK for soldiers and their families in an attempt to boost morale. The decision to undertake the tour was influenced by the fact the Deaux's father was in the airforce, and therefore lived in numerous countries around the world where his father was stationed.[4]
In June, the Whigs toured England with We Are Scientists[14] and returned in February 2011 to co-headline a tour with Dead Confederate along with some dates in mainland Europe, with whom they share the same label in the UK and Europe, Kartel.
As of July 2011, the Whigs are touring the United States and are also working on writing a new album. On December 15, The Whigs released a new free song called "Waiting".
[edit] Awards and accomplishments
In March 2006 Rolling Stone Magazine named the Whigs one of their 10 Artists to Watch. In September 2006, The Whigs were named "Artist of the Day" by Spin.com.[15] Dorio was awarded an Esky award in March 2007 as "Best Drummer" by Esquire magazine.[16]
It was announced in October 2007 that the band had finished their second album, entitled "Mission Control," which was released on January 22, 2008. The band appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman on January 28, in support of the album.[17] They also appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on February 20, 2008 to promote the album.
The song "Need You Need You", from Mission Control is featured in the video game Pure.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
- Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip (2005)
- Mission Control (2008)
- In the Dark (2010)
[edit] Singles
- "Like a Vibration" b/w "That's A Lot To Live Up To" (demo) (7", 2008)
- "Right Hand on My Heart" (2008) #40 Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks[18]
[edit] References
- ^ http://music.aol.com/artist/the-whigs/biography
- ^ http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2008/03/qa_with_julian_dorio_of_the_wh.php#
- ^ http://www.redandblack.com/2008/01/24/the-whigs-mission-control/
- ^ a b http://beta.tunited.com/magazine/article/371
- ^ http://www.thestoolpigeon.co.uk/features/whigging-out.html
- ^ Yarm, Mark. "The Guide." Spin Mar. 2008: 103.
- ^ "The Whigs: The next great band from R.E.M.'s hometown?" article from Rolling Stone, 2005.
- ^ http://www.rollogrady.com/interview-with-parker-gispert-of-the-whigs-3/
- ^ http://www.relix.com/news/2010/07/13/the-whigs-to-share-the-stage-with-former-member
- ^ http://tunedintomusic.wordpress.com/2008/02/21/review-the-whigs-mission-control/
- ^ http://www.munichrecords.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&category_id=1&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=277&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1
- ^ http://www.thewhigs.com/news/in-the-dark-release-date-and-david-letterman-appearance-announced
- ^ http://www.fusedmagazine.com/2010/12/06/the-whigs/
- ^ http://www.thewhigs.com/news/uk-dates-with-we-are-scientists-and-chew-lips-announced
- ^ "Artist of the Day: The Whigs" from Spin.com, 20 September 2006.
- ^ "The 2007 Esky Music Awards: Best Drummer", from Esquire Magazine, 26 June 2007.
- ^ "Late Night Whigs" from AntiMusic.com, 11 January 2008.
- ^ http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p769448/charts-awards/billboard-singles
