The Greenberry Woods was a power pop quartet formed in 1989 by songwriters Matt Huseman and Ira Katz  while students at the University of Maryland

University of Maryland, College Park

The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...

. They were later joined by Huseman's twin brother Brandt Huseman on bass and drummer Miles Rosen. Named for a suburban Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 housing development, the band released only two albums before disbanding in 1996.

History

Upon graduation from the University of Maryland, the band moved to Baltimore. The band hired manager John Lay, whose previous clients included Squeeze and Robyn Hitchcock

Robyn Hitchcock

Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....

, Lay’s industry connections helped the band secure a deal with Sire Records

Sire Records

Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...

 in February 1993. Their debut album, Rapple Dapple, was released in 1994, with the single "Trampoline" receiving healthy radio airplay. Supporting tour slots with such acts as Debbie Harry

Debbie Harry

Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...

 and the Proclaimers followed. The Greenberry Woods performed at the 1994 HFStival

HFStival

The HFStival is an annual Washington, D.C. / Baltimore, Maryland rock festival. Held every summer from 1990 through 2006 by radio station WHFS, and annually since 2010 in commemoration of the now-defunct station's legacy, the HFStival was at its peak the largest yearly music festival on the East...

, May 14, 1994, RFK Stadium, Washington, DC.

When Sire merged with Elektra Records

Elektra Records

Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....

, the label’s support for the band dwindled, and tensions arose over Splitsville, the Husemans’ side project with Paul Krysiak. The individual ambitions of three songwriters took its toll on group harmony during the recording of their second album Big Money Item, and Sire released the band from its contract in 1996, leaving the Husemans free to pursue Splitsville; Katz, meanwhile, formed a new band, Wonderfool

Wonderfool

Wonderfool may refer to:*Wonderfool, an album by Dilana Smith*Wonderfool, a 1990s band formed by Ira Katz, previously with The Greenberry Woods.*The Wonderfools, a band from Norway...

, while Rosen quit music to become a mortgage broker

Mortgage broker

A mortgage broker acts as an intermediary whose brokers mortgage loans on behalf of individuals or businesses.Traditionally, banks and other lending institutions have sold their own products. However as markets for mortgages have become more competitive, the role of the mortgage broker has become...

.

External links

• [ The Greenberry Woods on allmusic.com]
• The Greenberry Woods entry in Trouser Press
• The Greenberry Woods entry on vh1.com (with Trampoline music video)
• Splitsville website
• The Pale Stars website