The Whigs
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| The Whigs | |
|---|---|
| Origin |  Athens, Georgia, U.S. |
| Genre(s) | Garage rock revival |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Label(s) | ATO Records |
| Website | TheWhigs.com |
| Members | |
| Parker Gispert Julian Dorio Tim Deaux |
|
| Former members | |
| Hank Sullivant | |
The Whigs are a garage rock band from Athens, Georgia.
Contents |
[edit] Career
[edit] Early Days (2002-2005)
The band was formed in 2002 by Parker Gispert, Julian Dorio, and Hank Sullivant. Early in their careers, they shared the stage with bands such as the Drive By Truckers, Jason Lowenstein, Elf Power and Franz Ferdinand. Following a negative experience with a major record label, the Whigs decided to record and release their first album independently.
[edit] Give Em All A Big Fat Lip (November 2005 / July 2006)
In the summer of 2005 the band recorded their first album, Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip, in an empty fraternity house.[1] They used equipment purchased on eBay and resold after recording was finished to help offset the cost of production. Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip was released independently in 2005. In July 2006, The Whigs signed with Dave Matthews' record label ATO Records, and Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip was rereleased on September 19, 2006. Before signing with Matthew's label, Rolling Stone called the band "perhaps the best unsigned band in America."[2]
The Whigs toured the United States with Wax Fang and the Broken West and appeared at Milwaukee's Summerfest and the New Orleans Voodoo Fest following the rerelease of Fat Lip. The band also performed at the 2007 Bonaroo Festival.
[edit] Mission Control (January 2008)
The band's second album, Mission Control, was recorded in Los Angeles during the summer of 2007 by producer Rob Schnapf and engineer Doug Boehm at Hollywood's Sunset Sound and Sound Factory. The album was released by ATO on January 22, 2008. Since its release, the band has been touring the United States with the Drive By Truckers, Kings of Leon, The Kooks, Tokyo Police Club, Wax Fang, Tulsa, Dead Confederate, Jason Isbell, Toadies, and the Dead Trees. The Whigs performed at both the 2008 Sasquatch! and Bumbershoot festivals.
In March, the Whigs performed alongside My Morning Jacket and Yo La Tengo at the Austin Music Hall as part of Austin's SXSW 2008 Festival.
The summer of 2008 marked the first European tour for the Whigs who performed at Belgium's Rock Werchter Festival, London's 02 Wireless Festival, Scotland's T in the Park Festival, and Ireland's Oxygen Festival. The tour also included a performance with Kings of Leon and MGMT @ Le Zenith in Paris, France along with stops in Germany and Milan, Italy.
On September 22nd, 2008 the Whigs performed alongside Kings of Leon to celebrate the release of their 4th studio album, "Only By The Night."
At the end of 2008 the Whigs toured with Tokyo Police Club (September), The Kooks (October), and Kings of Leon (November), and rounded out the year with a New Year's Eve gig in their home state of Georgia with Band of Horses.
[edit] Third Album (2009)
The Whigs revealed on May 30th that they would begin recording their third album in June for a likely late-2009 or early-2010 release. The band has played some potential tracks on their recent tour. They played a secret show in Athens, GA on May 28th where they premiered 11 new songs: Hundred/Million, Alone, Wrong Things, Smallest Town, Glory, In the Dark, Alabama Stars, I am for Real, Someone's Daughter, Black Lotus and I Don't Even Care About the One I Love.
[edit] Awards and accomplishments
In March 2006 Rolling Stone Magazine named the Whigs one of their 10 Artists to Watch. In September 2006, The Whigs were named "Artist of the Day" by Spin.com.[3] Dorio was awarded an Esky award in March 2007 as "Best Drummer" by Esquire magazine.[4]
It was announced in October 2007 that the band had finished their second album, entitled "Mission Control," which was released on January 22, 2008. The band appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman on January 28, in support of the album.[5] They also appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on February 20, 2008 to promote the album. The Whigs will go on tour with the Kooks in the fall of 2008.
The song "Need You Need You", from Mission Control is featured in the video game Pure.
[edit] Lineup
The Whigs lineup is as follows:
- Parker Gispert — guitar, lead vocals, keyboard
- Julian Dorio — drums
- Tim Deaux — bass
The Whigs' original bassist, Hank Sullivant, departed the Whigs in late 2006 to record an album as Kuroma and to tour extensively with MGMT.[citation needed]
The Whigs have also toured with Iron Hero frontman Sam Gunn playing bass during their 2007 spring and summer touring. Bass tracks for 2008 release Mission Control were recorded by former Pendletons front-man Adam Saunders.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
- Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip (2005)
- Mission Control (2008)
[edit] Singles
- "Like a Vibration" b/w "That's A Lot To Live Up To" (demo) (7", 2008)
- "Right Hand on My Heart" (7", 2008)
- "I Never Want to Go Home" (7" split single with We Are Scientists, 2009)
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Yarm, Mark. "The Guide." Spin Mar. 2008: 103.
- ^ "The Whigs: The next great band from R.E.M.'s hometown?"article from Rolling Stone, 2005.
- ^ "Artist of the Day: The Whigs" from Spin.com, 20 September 2006.
- ^ "The 2007 Esky Music Awards: Best Drummer", from Esquire Magazine, 26 June 2007.
- ^ "Late Night Whigs" from AntiMusic.com, 11 January 2008.
