Fun (band)
fun. | |
|---|---|
 Lead singer Nate Ruess at Electric Ballroom, Camden, London. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | New York, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Indie pop Pop rock |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | Fueled by Ramen Records/Nettwerk Records (US) Hassle Records (UK) |
| Members | Nate Ruess Andrew Dost Jack Antonoff |
| Website | ournameisfun.com |
Fun. (stylized fun.) is an American indie pop band based in New York City, New York that was formed by Nate Ruess, formerly of The Format. After the 2008 breakup of The Format, Ruess left Arizona to develop his career in New York City.[1] Ruess then formed Fun with Andrew Dost of Anathallo and Jack Antonoff of Steel Train.[2] Fun recorded their debut album, Aim and Ignite in August 2009 with producer Steven McDonald and arranger Roger Joseph Manning, Jr., the former keyboardist of Jellyfish.[3]
Fun made its first single, "Benson Hedges". In addition, the band announced that if Fun's Facebook page reached 40,000 fans by December 1, a new Christmas single, "Believe in Me," would be released for free download. This goal was met, and Fun did indeed release the single for free.[4]
In February 2010, Fun supported Jack's Mannequin on their headline tour, along with Vedera which was followed by their first UK appearances in March. Their current touring band also includes Rob Kroehler, Emily Moore, Nate Harold, and Jon "Jonny Thunder" Goldstein.[5]
In April 2010, Fun supported Paramore's headline tour. Other support for the tour includes Relient K and Harriet Ellis of Summer Beats hosted by Sprint Mobile.[6] The band then embarked on a full UK tour in May.
In September 2011, Fun announced they would support Janelle Monáe on The Campus Consciousness Tour. The band is well known for its hit single "We Are Young", featuring Janelle Monáe, which was also covered by the cast of the TV show Glee in its 3rd season.
History
 |
In February 2008, The Format split, and Nate Ruess immediately asked Andrew Dost, of Anathallo, and Jack Antonoff, of Steel Train, to join his new project. Dost had previously toured with The Format, providing various instrumentation, and Ruess knew Antonoff after The Format toured with Steel Train.[7] The three began working together in New Jersey within a week, with Ruess singing melodies for the other two to provide music for.[3] The first song the band recorded a demo of was "Benson Hedges," which was then made available for free in Spin's September 20, 2008 article on the band.[8]
Fun approached Steven McDonald, who had previously produced The Format's Dog Problems with Ruess, to produce their debut album. McDonald, who also played bass guitar on the album, was enthusiastic about the project, at one point saying, "I can’t believe what we’re working on here. This crushes anything I’ve ever done."[3]
Recording took place in the Fall of 2008, and the band's first single, "At Least I'm Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)" was made available as a free download on the band's Myspace page on April 6, 2009.[9]
Fun began its first North American tour on November 8, 2008 with Jack's Mannequin.[10] The debut album Aim and Ignite was released on August 25, 2009.[11] In reviewing the album, The Washington Post called some of the arrangements "theatrical, much like those on Panic! at the Disco's 2005 debut".[12]
Fun and Relient K opened up for Paramore on their Spring Tour 2010.
On August 4, 2010, Fun announced that they had signed with label Fueled by Ramen.[13]
On August 14, 2010, it was announced via the Official Paramore Fan Club that fun. would be opening for Paramore on their November UK tour.[14]
In 2010 Fun's single, "Walking the Dog," was used in a commercial for the travel site Expedia.com.[15]
In 2010, Will Noon (formerly of Straylight Run) will play drums with Fun on tour, according to Noon's twitter page.[16]
To celebrate the Paramore UK tour and the band’s new single ‘Walking The Dog’, Hassle Records gave away a free download of an acoustic version of the track.[17]
On February 12, 2010, Nate Ruess announced at a live show in Washington, D.C. that after the current tour the band will be returning home to begin work on a new album.
On April 27, 2011, a video of the band performing a new song entitled "Carry On" was uploaded to YouTube.[18]
On May 17, 2011, the band released "C'mon" as a joint single with Panic! at the Disco, who they opened for on their 2011 Vices & Virtues Tour.
On September 14, 2011, the band announced that the first single off of their next album would be called "We Are Young" and would feature Janelle Monáe.
On November 7, 2011, the band announced that their next album would be titled Some Nights and released on February 21, 2012.
On December 6, 2011, the band's song "We Are Young" was covered by the TV show Glee in the episode "Hold On to Sixteen", after the end of Sectionals in the auditorium of McKinley High. The single for the Glee version of the song hit #1 on iTunes that night. On December 12, the song was used to highlight the nominees for Game Changer of the Year at the 2011 edition of the WWE Slammy Awards.
On December 12, 2011, the band's song "One Foot" was available for instant streaming and free download on Nylon's website.[19]
On December 30, 2011, the song "We Are Young" was played in the TV show Chuck in the episode Chuck versus The Baby, in the final few minutes during the wrap up of the episodes story lines.
On January 27, 2012, the song "We Are Young" was featured in the Chevrolet Chevy Sonic Super Bowl XLVI commercial "Stunt Anthem," also featuring American professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek and the rock band OK Go. [20]
On February 13th, the band released an album stream on their website along with a note from Ruess thanking fans for their ongoing support. Ruess says he is "OVER THE MOON ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE ABOUT TO HEAR AND FALLING ASLEEP KNOWING THAT AS SOON AS I WAKE UP, THIS WILL NO LONGER BE A DREAM." [21]
Band members
- Current members
- Jack Antonoff – guitars, trumpet (2008-present)
- Andrew Dost – vocals, piano, guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, trumpet, flugelhorn, glockenspiel, drums, percussion (2008-present)
- Nate Ruess – lead vocals (2008-present)
- Current touring members
- Nate Harold – bass guitar (2009-present)
- Emily Moore – guitars, vocals, keyboards (2009-present)
- Will Noon – drums (2010-present)
- Former touring members
- Jon Goldstein – drums (2008–2010)
- Rob Kroehler – guitar (2008–2010)
- Michael Newsted – bass guitar (2010)
- Maggie Malyn – violin (2008)
- Evan Winiker – bass guitar (2011)
Discography
Albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Alt |
US Rock | ||
| Aim and Ignite |
|
71 | 20 | 23 |
| Some Nights |
|
— | — | — |
Live albums
- fun. Live At Fingerprints (Nettwerk, 2010)
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Alt |
US Heat |
CAN [22] |
CAN Alt [23] |
AUS [24] | ||||
| 2009 | "At Least I'm Not as Sad (As I Used to Be)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Aim and Ignite | |
| "All the Pretty Girls" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2010 | "Believe in Me" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "Walking the Dog" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Aim and Ignite | ||
| 2011 | "C'mon" (with Panic! at the Disco) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | |
| "We Are Young" (featuring Janelle Monáe) |
3 | 4 | 1 | 48 | 17 | 41 | Some Nights | ||
| "One Foot" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2012 | "Carry On" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | |||||||||
References
- ^ Prewitt, Catherine (November 18, 2009). "Best of What's Next: fun.", Paste. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
- ^ Martin, Hannah (September 15, 2009). "A new dynamic to Fun: Nate Ruess", Boston Globe, p. G3.
- ^ a b c "About - Fun". Retrieved November 24, 2009.
- ^ "Believe in Me" free mp3. Retrieved June 11, 2010
- ^ The Format's Ruess talks about music and fun.. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ Paramore to tour US with fun. and Relient K. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ Introducing: Fun. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ Kiser, Matt. "Members of the Format, Steel Train, Anathallo Unite as fun.", Spin, 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- ^ "Dear You: Letter from Nate + new song!". fun.'s MySpace Blog. April 6, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
- ^ Tate, Jason (November 8, 2008). "Introducing: Fun - News Article". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
- ^ "Aim and Ignite is out today! Listen to a special track now". August 25, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2009.
- ^ Dunham, Nancy (September 18, 2009). "CD Review: Fun.: Aim and Ignite", The Washington Post, p. T8.
- ^ "Special Letter From Nate & Live Web Chats with fun.!". fun.'s Website. August 4, 2010. Retrieved August 4, 2010.
- ^ Bhamra, Satvir (2010-08-14). "B.o.B and fun. to join Paramore on UK tour". Amplified.tv. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
- ^ "Expedia.com commercial featuring "Walking the Dog."!". September 4, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2010.
- ^ willnoon. "will noon (willnoon) op Twitter". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
- ^ Bhamra, Satvir (2010-11-15). "FREE Download: 'Walking The Dog' (acoustic) by fun". Amplified.tv. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
- ^ now to post a comment!. "Fun - Carry On (Live @ TCNJ)". YouTube. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
- ^ http://www.nylonmag.com/?section=article&parid=7290
- ^ "Chevy Sonic "Stunt Anthem"". YouTube. January 27, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2012.
- ^ http://www.ournameisfun.com/
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Fun. Australian Charts discography, Hung Medien, retrieved 26-02-2012
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help)