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* Matthew Bennet – lead guitars
* Matthew Bennet – lead guitars
* [[Billy Mohler]] – drums, production
* [[Billy Mohler]] – drums, production
* Ian Sterling Smith - keyboards, guitar, and shakerbitch <small>(during live performances)</small>


== Notes ==
== Notes ==

Revision as of 14:25, 11 May 2010

This article is about an American rock band. For the documentary film, see The War Tapes.
War Tapes

War Tapes is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 2006. The band has played shows and toured across the US and in the UK with The Smashing Pumpkins, Tiger Army, Shiny Toy Guns, Moving Units, The Bravery, Longwave, VNV Nation and The Unseen. Their songs "Dreaming Of You" and "The Night Unfolds" were featured on Last Call with Carson Daly, the song "Mind Is Ugly" was featured on a Season 5 episode of the MTV series The Hills, and the band also performed on the season 2 finale of the ABC Family show Greek. They define their sound as: "Heart-Quaking Doom Pop" and they released their first full length album, The Continental Divide in May 2009.

History

Formation and debut EP (2006–2008)

The band is composed of brother and sister Neil and Becca Popkin, Matthew Bennet, and William Mohler. Neil and Becca originally hail from Boston, Matt was born in Hawaii, and William was born on Southern California. The band was formed in Downtown Los Angeles in 2004 (according to their myspace page), and they made their live debut in 2006. The band played anywhere they could get booked, including warehouse parties and small punk clubs, and also some higher profile venues like The Wiltern, the Bowery Ballroom and The Warfield. The band arguably played its biggest show in San Francisco in 2007, opening for the reformed Smashing Pumpkins. According to Neil, it also It also marked a turning point in the band. He stated: "...To see how hard they worked and how much they rehearsed, we decided we needed to step it up, and that's when our sound got heavier and darker."[1] After more touring and shows the band released a six song, self-titled EP at the end 2008.

The Continental Divide & acoustic EP (2009)

War Tapes closed out the year with more live performances in the Los Angeles area and in early 2009, they completed work on their debut LP, The Continental Divide. Four songs off of their EP were remixed and remastered for The Continental Divide. The entire record was written and recorded in Los Angeles, mostly at Regime Studios. William also serves as the band's producer. In the 11 weeks leading up to the release, the band debuted one new song on their myspace page every Sunday at midnight. The record was released on May 26, 2009. The band then held two CD release parties, one at Club Moscow in Hollywood, CA, and another in Orange County, California. The album has received several positive reviews from websites including: Ripplemusic[2], Indiemusicnews[3], Indieblips[4], Shakefire.com[5], and Post-Punk.com[6].

Although The Continental Divide has been out less than a year, Neil has stated that a second album's worth of material is already completed. [7] Also on Friday, September 4, 2009, Neil announced the next War Tapes album will be called Demon Nation. It has a tentative release date of Spring/Summer 2010.

On November 20, 2009, the band released a new EP entitled Turtles, featuring acoustic versions of songs from their previous releases plus a cover of "Illusion" by VNV Nation. Between December 1st and December 31st proceeds from the album went to charity.

Tour with VNV Nation and television appearances (2009)

War Tapes accompanied futurepop band VNV Nation on a 23-date tour across North America. The first show was held at the Nokia Theatre in L.A. on June 26, 2009 and it ended at the Marquee in Phoenix, Arizona on July 30, 2009.

The songs "Dreaming Of You" and "The Night Unfolds" featured on Last Call With Carson Daly, and the song "Mind Is Ugly" was featured on the MTV series The Hills, in the Season 5 episode entitled "Play Mates Bring The Drama". The band also performed on the ABC Family television series Greek in the season 2 finale "World's End" on June 15, 2009.

Musical style

War Tapes define their sound as "Heart-Quaking Doom Pop", at times being compared to The Cure, Depeche Mode, Joy Division and She Wants Revenge. However, the band themselves have stated they are inspired more by bands that they don't actually sound like.[8] Becca is a classically trained pianist and guitarist. William was trained in jazz bass and guitar, while Matt played in several shoegaze and punk bands before joining War Tapes. Becca and William had also never played (bass and drums, respectively) in a band before booking their first gig in 2006. Neil states that although he did musical theatre back in High School, his voice was still highly undeveloped upon the bands inception. He took vocal lessons and continuously practiced to improve.[9]

Band members

  • Neil Popkin – vocals, rhythm guitar
  • Becca Popkin – bass, backing vocals, piano
  • Matthew Bennet – lead guitars
  • Billy Mohler – drums, production
  • Ian Sterling Smith - keyboards, guitar, and shakerbitch (during live performances)

Notes

  • On the band's Youtube channel [10], they have a series called "Top 5", where each of the band members discuss various things they love, usually to extremely humorous results. Some of the topics covered include: Breakfast Cereals, Dogs, Television Shows, Pieces of Musical Equipment, Professional Athletes, and Dream Cars. The videos also typically end with what could be considered Neil's catchphrase: "YA' HEARD IT HERE, FOLKS!"
  • The group also has a very dedicated fan base. Fans regularly post on The band's Myspace, Twitter and Facebook accounts, drive and fly across states to see shows, and even make their own t-shirts and jewelry.
  • The band contributed to the album "New Tales To Tell: A Tribute To Love And Rockets", with a cover of the song: "Love Me".
  • Every Friday for the month of September, 2009, the band hosted free, all ages shows at their rehearsal space in Downtown L.A. for the first 25 people to show up. Each show they played newer, unheard, and unreleased material in adddition to their more well known songs.
  • The Band's street team, called The Silhouettes, have their own myspace page where exclusive content is posted for them to see, and the Silhouettes themselves can have their videos, photos, and all other media posted on the site for the other members as well.

Discography

Studio albums

  • 2009: The Continental Divide[10]
  • TBA: Demon Nation

EPs

  • 2008: War Tapes[11]
  • 2009: Turtles

Music videos

  • "Mind Is Ugly"
  • "Dreaming Of You"
  • "The Night Unfolds"
  • "Illusion"

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]
  3. ^ [3]
  4. ^ [4]
  5. ^ [5]
  6. ^ [6]
  7. ^ [7]
  8. ^ [8]
  9. ^ [9]
  10. ^ "The Continental Divide > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  11. ^ "War Tapes > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
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