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The Van Pelt

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The Van Pelt
The Van Pelt performing in 1997 in Glasgow; left to right: Maryansky, Leo, O'Brien, Yasuda
The Van Pelt performing in 1997 in Glasgow; left to right: Maryansky, Leo, O'Brien, Yasuda
Background information
OriginNew York City, United States
GenresIndie rock, emo, post-hardcore
Years active1993–1997, 2009, 2014, 2017–present
LabelsSudden Shame, Whirled, Gern Blandsten, Air King Alliance, Red Cars Go Faster, La Castanya, Gringo, Spartan
MembersChris Leo (1993-1997, 2017-present)
Brian Maryansky (1993-1997, 2017-present)
Neil O'Brien (1993-1997, 2017-present)
Sean Greene (1996-1997, 2017-present)
Past membersBarry London (1993-1995)
Toko Yasuda (1993-1996)
WebsiteGern Blandsten profile

The Van Pelt is an American indie rock band from New York City that were active from 1993 to 1997, and have reformed several times since.[1]

History

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1993-1997: Formation, Thieves, Sultans, and disbandment

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The band originally formed in 1993 at New York University, with Chris Leo (formerly of Native Nod and brother of Ted Leo) on vocals and guitar, David Baum on guitar, Barry London on bass, and Neil O'Brien on drums. Their musical influences included Television, Lungfish,[2] Superchunk,[3] Seam, Codeine, and Slint.[4]

A seven-song demo was recorded with Geoff Turner at WGNS studio in DC, and a split single with Radio to Saturn featuring "His Saxophone Is My Guitar" was released on Sudden Shame Records. London soon left the group, and Toko Yasuda joined the band in 1995 to record their first album Stealing From Our Favorite Thieves in 1996 with Alap Momin at Sweetwood Sound. Baum & Yasuda would leave the group within the year, Yasuda joining Blonde Redhead. Brian Maryansky and Sean Greene would join in late 1996 for the writing, recording of and Sultans Of Sentiment in 1997. "Sultans" & "Thieves" both were released by Gern Blandsten Records. Greene would soon leave the band and Toko Yasuda returned to tour and record the Speeding Train EP on Art Monk Construction Records.

The Van Pelt disbanded in 1997, with Chris and Toko forming a new band called The Lapse that year, and Brian later joining Jets to Brazil in 1998.

2009-present: Reunions, Imaginary Third, and Artisans

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The band reunited in 2009 for two shows, playing one show on June 20 at the Blackcat in Washington, D.C., with Frodus, and another on June 21 at Kung Fu Necktie in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

In February 2014, it was announced that the band would be issuing a record of previous unreleased material recorded around 1996 and 1997,[5] as well as reforming to play at the All Tomorrow's Parties Jabberwocky festival in London.[6] The album, Imaginary Third, was released in April 2014.[7]

On December 6, 2022, the band announced via Instagram that a fourth studio album, entitled Artisans & Merchants, would be released the next year.[8] This album marked the first new recordings by the band since the 90s. The record was released by Spartan Records in North America, Gringo Records in the UK, and La Castanya in Europe and the rest of the world.[9] The first single from the album, "Punk House", was released on January 20, 2023, alongside worldwide pre-orders for the album.[10][11][12] A second and third single, "Image of Health" and "Grid", were released prior to the album's release on March 17, 2023.

Discography

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Albums

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EPs

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  • The Van Pelt (1997, Art Monk Construction)

Singles

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  • Split with Radio To Saturn (1994, Sudden Shame)
  • Split with (Young) Pioneers (1995, Whirled)
  • Split with Chisel (1997, Air King Alliance)
  • Same As Stone 7" (2005, recorded in 1993, Red Cars Go Faster)
  • "Punk House" (2023)
  • "Image of Health" (2023)
  • "Grid" (2023)

References

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  1. ^ "The Van Pelt Announce First New Album In 26 Years". Stereogum. 2023-01-19. Retrieved 2023-11-01.
  2. ^ Adams, Gregory (April 6, 2023). "The Van Pelt: "Skill does not write a good song. Louie Louie is better than any song Joe Satriani's written, but the more skillful you are, the easier it is to execute your vision"". Guitar World. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  3. ^ "The Van Pelt on Twitter". Twitter. February 16, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2023. A band that definitely influenced us has a new album out today and it's hitting home!
  4. ^ "The Van Pelt on Twitter". Twitter. June 28, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2023. Thanks, not sure about whether we influenced that band, but I am sure we were drawing on some influences like [[Seam (band)|]], Codeine, Slint...
  5. ^ "Chris Leo's the Van Pelt Unearth 'Imaginary Third'". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  6. ^ "James Blake joins Neutral Milk Hotel to headline first Jabberwocky festival - Events - All Tomorrow's Parties". Archived from the original on 2014-03-03. Retrieved 2014-02-28.
  7. ^ "The Van Pelt – Imaginary Third (2014, Pistachio Green, Vinyl)". Discogs.com. 19 April 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  8. ^ "The Van Pelt on Instagram: "It's been 25 years since we last released new material[...]"". Instagram. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  9. ^ The Van Pelt / New Album Coming 2023, 6 December 2022, retrieved 2022-12-17
  10. ^ band member
  11. ^ Sacher, Andrew (19 January 2023). "The Van Pelt detail first album in 26 years (watch the "Punk House" video)". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  12. ^ "The Van Pelt on Instagram: ""Artisans & Merchants" is our first new album in 26 years[...]"". Instagram. Retrieved 2023-01-19.
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