War Tapes (band)
Encyclopedia
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
, She Wants Revenge
, Mark Burgess of the Chameleons, Elefant
, Jonathan Richman
, 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.
. Neil and Becca originally hail from Boston
, Matt was born in Hawaii
, and William was born on Southern California
. Recently, the band added longtime friend Ian Sterling Smith, formerly of Sleepmask, to play during live performances. 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 at the Fillmore. According to Neil, it also marked a turning point in the band. He stated: "...To see how hard they (Smashing Pumpkins) worked and how much they rehearsed, we decided we needed to step it up." After more touring and shows the band released a six song, self-titled EP at the end 2008.
Although The Continental Divide has been out for a little over a year, Neil has stated that a second album's worth of material is already completed.
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 1 and December 31 proceeds from the album went to PETA.
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.
, Depeche Mode
, and Joy Division
. However, the band themselves have stated they are inspired more by bands that they don't actually sound like. 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.
EPs
Music videos
Tiger Army
Tiger Army is an American psychobilly band that was formed in 1995 in Berkeley, California. Its constant member and lead song writer is Nick 13. The band have released a total of four studio albums.-History:...
, Shiny Toy Guns
Shiny Toy Guns
Shiny Toy Guns is an American indie rock band that formed in 2002 in Los Angeles, California. They released their first studio album We Are Pilots in 2006, after recording it two previous times. It featured three singles that peaked inside the top 30 in the Alternative Songs Chart. We Are Pilots...
, Moving Units
Moving Units
Moving Units is a dance-punk band from Los Angeles, California.-History:The band was formed in 2001 by Chris Hathwell, Blake Miller, and Johan Boegli, when Hathwell's previous band, Festival of Dead Deer, broke up. They released their debut EP, Moving Units, on Three One G in early 2002...
, The Bravery
The Bravery
The Bravery is an American rock band from New York City that consists of Sam Endicott , Michael Zakarin , John Conway , Mike Hindert , and Anthony Burulcich...
, Longwave
Longwave
In radio, longwave refers to parts of radio spectrum with relatively long wavelengths. The term is a historic one dating from the early 20th century, when the radio spectrum was considered to consist of long, medium and short wavelengths...
, VNV Nation
VNV Nation
VNV Nation are a British/Irish electronic music band originally from Dublin, Ireland and Essex, United Kingdom and now based in Hamburg, Germany. They combine elements of electro-industrial, trance, synthpop and electronic body music . The members are Ronan Harris and Mark Jackson...
, She Wants Revenge
She Wants Revenge
She Wants Revenge is an American musical duo, based in San Fernando Valley, California. The group's debut album She Wants Revenge was released in early 2006, with three singles to follow...
, Mark Burgess of the Chameleons, Elefant
Elefant
The Elefant was a "schwerer Panzerjäger" of the German Wehrmacht used in small numbers in World War II. It was built in 1943 under the name Ferdinand, after its designer Ferdinand Porsche. In 1944, after modification of the existing vehicles, they were renamed Elefant...
, Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Michael Richman is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970 he founded The Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key, generally acoustic backing...
, and The Unseen
The Unseen
The Unseen is an American punk rock band that was formed in 1993 in Hingham, Massachusetts. One of the more prominent bands to revive street punk, The Unseen were originally called The Extinct.-History:...
. Their songs "Dreaming Of You" and "The Night Unfolds" were featured on Last Call with Carson Daly
Last Call with Carson Daly
Last Call with Carson Daly is an American late night talk show that is broadcast on NBC. The show is hosted by Carson Daly, the half-hour show featuring celebrity interviews, documentary-style coverage of a topic, and musical performances. Last Call airs weeknights at 1:35 a.m. Eastern / 12:35 a.m....
, the song "Mind Is Ugly" was featured on a Season 5 episode of the MTV series The Hills
The Hills
The Hills is a reality television series which originally aired on MTV from May 31, 2006 until July 13, 2010. The show uses a reality television format, following the personal lives of several young adults living in Los Angeles, California, but tends towards a narrative format more commonly found...
, and the band also performed on the season 2 finale of the ABC Family show Greek
Greek (TV series)
Greek is an American comedy-drama television series, which follows students of the fictional Cyprus-Rhodes University , located in Ohio, who participate in the school's Greek system...
. They define their sound as: "Heart-Quaking Doom Pop" and they released their first full length album, The Continental Divide in May 2009.
Formation and debut EP (2006–2008)
The band is composed of brother and sister Neil and Becca Popkin, Matthew Bennett, and William MohlerBilly Mohler
Billy Mohler is an L.A-based songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He was raised in South Orange County and is Bill Medley's godson. He attended and graduated from Berklee College of Music where he studied electric and acoustic bass...
. Neil and Becca originally hail from Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Matt was born in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and William was born on Southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Recently, the band added longtime friend Ian Sterling Smith, formerly of Sleepmask, to play during live performances. 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 at the Fillmore. According to Neil, it also marked a turning point in the band. He stated: "...To see how hard they (Smashing Pumpkins) worked and how much they rehearsed, we decided we needed to step it up." 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, Indiemusicnews, Indieblips, Shakefire.com, and Post-Punk.com.Although The Continental Divide has been out for a little over a year, Neil has stated that a second album's worth of material is already completed.
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 1 and December 31 proceeds from the album went to PETA.
Tour with VNV Nation and television appearances (2009)
War Tapes accompanied futurepop band VNV NationVNV Nation
VNV Nation are a British/Irish electronic music band originally from Dublin, Ireland and Essex, United Kingdom and now based in Hamburg, Germany. They combine elements of electro-industrial, trance, synthpop and electronic body music . The members are Ronan Harris and Mark Jackson...
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
World's End
-In the arts:*World's End , a novel by Upton Sinclair*World's End , a novel by T. Coraghessan Boyle*World's End , a novel by Mark Chadbourn*World's End , a major event of the Wildstorm Universe...
" on June 15, 2009.
Fever Changing
On October 19, 2010 War Tapes released their EP entitled "Fever Changing" which features five brand new songs. War Tapes offers this EP for free or allows people to donate what they want for the music through the website BandCamp.com More music is in the works and War Tapes plans on releasing another EP before the end of 2010.Musical style
War Tapes define their sound as "Heart-Quaking Doom Pop", at times being compared to The CureThe Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
, and Joy Division
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...
. However, the band themselves have stated they are inspired more by bands that they don't actually sound like. Becca is a classically trained pianist and guitarist. William was trained in jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
bass and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, while Matt played in several shoegaze and punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
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.
Band members
- Neil Popkin – vocals, rhythm guitar
- Becca Popkin – bass, backing vocals, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
- Matthew Bennett – lead guitars
- Billy MohlerBilly MohlerBilly Mohler is an L.A-based songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. He was raised in South Orange County and is Bill Medley's godson. He attended and graduated from Berklee College of Music where he studied electric and acoustic bass...
– drums, production - Ian Sterling Smith - keyboards, guitar, percussion, shakerbitch (during live performances)
Discography
Studio albums- 2009: The Continental Divide
EPs
- 2008: War Tapes
- 2009: Turtles
- 2010: "Fever Changing"
Music videos
- "Mind Is Ugly"
- "Dreaming Of You"
- "The Night Unfolds"
- "Illusion"
- "Sheets Unknown"