The Impossibles
Encyclopedia
The Impossibles were a rock music
band from Austin, Texas
on the Fueled by Ramen
label. They originally played ska punk
prior to their first break-up but transitioned to a more indie rock
/alternative
sound upon reuniting.
Lead singers Rory Phillips
and Gabe Hascall were also in the Fueled by Ramen group, Slowreader, following the band's second, and presumably, final break-up.
In their time together, The Impossibles played shows with Less Than Jake
, Sugarcult
, The Toadies, Recover
and others.
cartoon of the same name
. They also took to wearing matching baseball jerseys as "their version of Kiss
' make-up."
Their music was described as a cross between Operation Ivy
and Weezer
, with notable influences also including Avail
and Nirvana
. They recorded a demo tape and a split seven inch with Austin pop punk band Dynamite Boy
, and they gained the attention of Less Than Jake
drummer Vinnie Fiorello
who signed them to his start-up label Fueled by Ramen
. Their first release on the label was actually a re-release of their self-titled debut CD, which had previously been self-released under the Red Five Records label.
During this time, their music found its way onto compilations from labels large and small, including Moon Ska, Asian Man, Drive Thru, and many, many others.
In 1997, the band found themselves at a crossroads. Their popularity was growing and a tour with Mu330 had gone well, but college and relationships were pulling them in different directions. They announced their intention to disband in late 1997, but did not play their "final" show until Super Bowl
Sunday, 1998 along with Less Than Jake
and Riverfenix (later Fenix*TX) at Liberty Lunch in Austin, Texas. The Back for the Attack EP which came out about that time was then considered to be their swan song.
and began work on their debut full length, Three Hundred.
During this time, Fueled by Ramen released posthumous albums compiling previous releases as well as unreleased tracks for both the Impossibles and Animal Chin. The Impossibles release was titled Anthology. It contained the full length and EP, as well as songs recorded before, in between, and after both. Due to royalty-related issues, later pressings removed the cover of Michael Jackson's "Ben" and Irving Berlin's "White Christmas." The version without the covers is titled Anthology '94 - '98.
The Stereo toured the country twice, and response was increasingly favorable, but tensions arose and Rory was released from the band at the end of their fall 1999 tour.
Rory found himself sharing a small one bedroom apartment in Austin with Gabe Hascall, and they reconnected as songwriters. They recorded acoustic demos (some of which would later evolve into Slowreader songs) and decided they'd try to reunite the Impossibles. Both Craig and Pat jumped at the idea, even though Craig was playing bass and writing songs in the band Cruiserweight
at the time.
In 2001, while recording songs for an EP, tensions with drummer Pat Elliot began to mount, and eventually he was asked to leave the band. While they continued to tour and support the new EP, they were increasingly unhappy with the fans' reaction to their new material and the complaints over their growing aversion to ska. Ultimately, they decided to break up again, playing two final shows in one day at Emo's in June 2002.
and Gabe Hascall subsequently put their focus back towards the acoustic songwriting that had helped them reconnect, and they recorded and toured as Slowreader.
During this time Rory more seriously put his focus on producing and recording other bands. He recorded, produced, and co-wrote demo songs with Dan Keyes of Recover under the name American Express, which would later come to be known as Young Love
.
His latest project is The Artificial Heart
, which evolved from earlier projects the20goto10 and Nineteen Ninety Now and features songs written for both.
Gabe had started a band called the Record Heat in 2003 and moved to California to pursue it, but has since moved back to Austin and began playing and recording as a solo performer.
Craig currently plays with Rory in The Artificial Heart.
Beginning in early 2010, there has been an increased internet presence consisting of a Twitter account and an official Facebook fanpage. This, combined with speculation of album reissues through Paper + Plastick
have fueled rumors of some kind of reunion.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band from Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
on the Fueled by Ramen
Fueled by Ramen
Fueled by Ramen is an American record label which operates as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, and is distributed by Atlantic Records. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida, is based in New York City...
label. They originally played ska punk
Ska punk
Ska punk is a fusion music genre that combines ska and punk rock. It achieved its highest level of commercial success in the United States in the late 1990s. Ska-core is a subgenre of ska punk, blending ska with hardcore punk.The characteristics of ska punk vary, due to the fusion of contrasting...
prior to their first break-up but transitioned to a more indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
/alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
sound upon reuniting.
Lead singers Rory Phillips
Rory Phillips
Rory Allen Phillips is a founding member of punk-ska band, The Impossibles. Phillips also started The Stereo with Jamie Woolford of Animal Chin in 1999, and Slowreader with Impossibles bandmate Gabe Hascall in 2001...
and Gabe Hascall were also in the Fueled by Ramen group, Slowreader, following the band's second, and presumably, final break-up.
In their time together, The Impossibles played shows with Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida. Originally formed in 1992 as a power pop trio, the band evolved into a hybrid of ska punk. Less Than Jake have also been cited as showing influences from a wide variety of genres including post-grunge, heavy metal, alternative...
, Sugarcult
Sugarcult
Sugarcult is an American rock band from Santa Barbara, California formed in 1998. The band currently consists of Tim Pagnotta , Airin Older , Marko DeSantis , and Kenny Livingston .-Formation :Tim Pagnotta met ex-drummer Ben Davis during a cigarette break at school...
, The Toadies, Recover
Recover (band)
-History:Recover comprised Dan Keyes , Robert Mann , Ross Tweedy , and Santiago "Jimmy" Vela . The four first started playing together while in high school, but didn't officially form Recover until 2000. The band recorded a four-song demo in the spring of 2000...
and others.
Early years: 1994-1998
They started as a band called the Fat Girls, with Craig's brother Brian singing lead vocals. Brian was replaced by Gabe, who had been playing bass in a hardcore band called Loophole. He started as just a singer, but began also playing guitar pretty quickly as it made him more comfortable while on stage. They rebranded themselves The Impossibles, after the Hanna-BarberaHanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
cartoon of the same name
The Impossibles (TV series)
The Impossibles was a series of animated cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera in 1966 and aired on American television by CBS. The series of shorts appeared as part of Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles.-Overview:...
. They also took to wearing matching baseball jerseys as "their version of Kiss
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
' make-up."
Their music was described as a cross between Operation Ivy
Operation Ivy (band)
Operation Ivy was an American ska punk band that formed in Berkeley, California, and was often credited with spurring the 1990s punk revival in California. It is well-known as one of the first bands to "mix" hardcore punk with elements of ska, known as ska-core...
and Weezer
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
, with notable influences also including Avail
Avail
Avail is a punk band from Richmond, Virginia. Originally from Northern Virginia, the band formed in 1987, its members including Joe Banks, Doug Crosby, Brian Stewart, and Mikey Warstler. The only original remaining member, guitar player Joe Banks, teamed up with rival band LDK's Tim Barry...
and Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
. They recorded a demo tape and a split seven inch with Austin pop punk band Dynamite Boy
Dynamite Boy
Dynamite Boy was a pop punk band from Austin, Texas. They comprised Sean Neil, Dusty Kohn, Adrian Munoz and Sam Rich. Allegedly, they disbanded in 2005 after a ten-year career, however due to recent posts on the band's MySpace this is unsure...
, and they gained the attention of Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida. Originally formed in 1992 as a power pop trio, the band evolved into a hybrid of ska punk. Less Than Jake have also been cited as showing influences from a wide variety of genres including post-grunge, heavy metal, alternative...
drummer Vinnie Fiorello
Vinnie Fiorello
Vinnie Fiorello is an American drummer, lyricist and founding member of the ska punk band Less Than Jake. As a child, Vinnie's family owned a dog named Jake who was "treated like a king" according to the band's website FAQ page. As a result, everything in the house became "Less Than Jake",...
who signed them to his start-up label Fueled by Ramen
Fueled by Ramen
Fueled by Ramen is an American record label which operates as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, and is distributed by Atlantic Records. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida, is based in New York City...
. Their first release on the label was actually a re-release of their self-titled debut CD, which had previously been self-released under the Red Five Records label.
During this time, their music found its way onto compilations from labels large and small, including Moon Ska, Asian Man, Drive Thru, and many, many others.
In 1997, the band found themselves at a crossroads. Their popularity was growing and a tour with Mu330 had gone well, but college and relationships were pulling them in different directions. They announced their intention to disband in late 1997, but did not play their "final" show until Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
Sunday, 1998 along with Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake is an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida. Originally formed in 1992 as a power pop trio, the band evolved into a hybrid of ska punk. Less Than Jake have also been cited as showing influences from a wide variety of genres including post-grunge, heavy metal, alternative...
and Riverfenix (later Fenix*TX) at Liberty Lunch in Austin, Texas. The Back for the Attack EP which came out about that time was then considered to be their swan song.
After the original break-up: 1998-2000
Rory by far was the most active member of the band after the breakup, playing bass on the Missile Command album Sexy, Sexy Confidence, and briefly forming the band Go Kappa! with Jerm Pollet. After that dissolved, he formed, played shows with, and recorded an EP with Imbroco, a band which featured the half of the band Mineral that was not in the Gloria Record. After Imbroco imploded, he shared some solo demos of some rock songs with John Janick, Jr who was running Fueled by Ramen Records, and he suggested starting a band with Jamie Woolford, formerly of Fueled by Ramen ska/punk band Animal Chin. The resulting pair called themselves The StereoThe Stereo
The Stereo is a pop rock/rock and roll band started in 1999 by former ska/punk band frontmen Jamie Woolford and Rory Phillips . The pair were initially brought together on recommendation of their record label Fueled By Ramen. The duo then recorded their first album Three Hundred, released June 1999...
and began work on their debut full length, Three Hundred.
During this time, Fueled by Ramen released posthumous albums compiling previous releases as well as unreleased tracks for both the Impossibles and Animal Chin. The Impossibles release was titled Anthology. It contained the full length and EP, as well as songs recorded before, in between, and after both. Due to royalty-related issues, later pressings removed the cover of Michael Jackson's "Ben" and Irving Berlin's "White Christmas." The version without the covers is titled Anthology '94 - '98.
The Stereo toured the country twice, and response was increasingly favorable, but tensions arose and Rory was released from the band at the end of their fall 1999 tour.
Rory found himself sharing a small one bedroom apartment in Austin with Gabe Hascall, and they reconnected as songwriters. They recorded acoustic demos (some of which would later evolve into Slowreader songs) and decided they'd try to reunite the Impossibles. Both Craig and Pat jumped at the idea, even though Craig was playing bass and writing songs in the band Cruiserweight
Cruiserweight (band)
Cruiserweight was an American rock band from Austin, Texas. The band consisted of vocalist Stella Maxwell, guitarist Urny Maxwell, bassist David Hawkins, and drummer Yogi Maxwell. The band's sound was defined by poppy female vocals, as well as fast, sometimes aggressive instrumentals, while still...
at the time.
Reunion: 2000-2002
They began practicing and writing songs together and recorded the album Return. Their new material retained the quiet/loud dynamic, heavy choruses, and vocal interplay that marked their previous releases, while ditching the ska guitar parts they felt they had grown out of. They played a sold-out reunion show at Emo's in March 2000 and toured the country in support of the new release.In 2001, while recording songs for an EP, tensions with drummer Pat Elliot began to mount, and eventually he was asked to leave the band. While they continued to tour and support the new EP, they were increasingly unhappy with the fans' reaction to their new material and the complaints over their growing aversion to ska. Ultimately, they decided to break up again, playing two final shows in one day at Emo's in June 2002.
After the second break-up: 2002-present
Rory PhillipsRory Phillips
Rory Allen Phillips is a founding member of punk-ska band, The Impossibles. Phillips also started The Stereo with Jamie Woolford of Animal Chin in 1999, and Slowreader with Impossibles bandmate Gabe Hascall in 2001...
and Gabe Hascall subsequently put their focus back towards the acoustic songwriting that had helped them reconnect, and they recorded and toured as Slowreader.
During this time Rory more seriously put his focus on producing and recording other bands. He recorded, produced, and co-wrote demo songs with Dan Keyes of Recover under the name American Express, which would later come to be known as Young Love
Young Love (band)
Young Love is an American dance-rock band formed in 2005 in New York City, New York. Dan Keyes handles the majority of the production and songwriting in addition to providing lead vocals...
.
His latest project is The Artificial Heart
The Artificial Heart
The Artificial Heart is an Austin, Texas based band featuring Rory Phillips and Craig Tweedy, both formerly of The Impossibles. It also currently features Scott Clapsaddle on guitar.-History:...
, which evolved from earlier projects the20goto10 and Nineteen Ninety Now and features songs written for both.
Gabe had started a band called the Record Heat in 2003 and moved to California to pursue it, but has since moved back to Austin and began playing and recording as a solo performer.
Craig currently plays with Rory in The Artificial Heart.
Beginning in early 2010, there has been an increased internet presence consisting of a Twitter account and an official Facebook fanpage. This, combined with speculation of album reissues through Paper + Plastick
Paper + Plastick
Paper + Plastick is an indie record label, founded by Vinnie Fiorello, best known as the drummer for ska punk band Less Than Jake, but also co-founder of the label Fueled By Ramen.-History:Announced on March 21, 2008, the label launched on May 30, 2008....
have fueled rumors of some kind of reunion.
Original members
- Gabe Hascall — vocals, guitar
- Rory Phillips — vocals, guitar
- Craig Tweedy — bass guitar
- Pat Elliott — drums
Touring/fill-in
- Jimmy Vela — drums
- Kemble Walters — drums
- Ian Richardson — drums
- Craig Motaro — bass
Discography
- The Impossibles (November 25, 1997)
- Back for the Attack (EP) (February 2, 1998)
- Anthology '94-'98 (May 11, 1999)
- Return (June 13, 2000)
- 4 Song Brick Bomb (EP) (June 12, 2001)
External links
- The Impossibles at eMusicEMusiceMusic is an online music and audiobook store that operates by subscription. It is headquartered in New York City with an office in London and owned by Dimensional Associates. As of September 2008 eMusic has over 400,000 subscribers....