Lapush is an American rock band, formed in 2002 in St. Charles, Missouri. After releasing several singles and one EP independently, Lapush signed to New York-based label, 456 (

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

) in 2005. The label is co-owned by

Carson Daly Carson Jones Daly (born June 22, 1973) is an American television host, radio personality, Television producer, producer, and celebrity, television personality. Prior to 2003, Daly was a VJ (media personality), VJ on MTV's ''Total Request Live'', ...

and Jonathan Rifkind. Their music features a melding of American and European influences. The band's discography consists of two studio albums, one EP and 10 singles. Lapush made their network television debut on ''

Last Call with Carson Daly ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with ''Th ...

'' on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

(December 2005) performing two songs; ''Quit You Now'' and ''Tout Le Monde''. Their debut album, '' Someplace Closer To Here'', reached No. 15 on the Alternative/Specialty Albums Chart.FMQB
/ref> The second single from that record, ''

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

'', reached No. 15 on the Alternative/Specialty Singles Chart and also appeared in the television show ''Moonlight'' on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

.CBS.com
/ref>

History

Lapush formed in St. Charles,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, in 2002 by brothers Thom Donovan and Stephen Donovan. Thom previous played guitar in the band Stir and Stephen played bass in the band Flynova. The original Lapush lineup consisted of: Thom Donovan (guitar and vocals), Stephen Donovan (guitar and vocals), Kevin Bachmann (bass), Casey Bazzell (keyboards and vocals) and Brett Voelker (drums). The band was named after

La Push, Washington La Push is a small unincorporated community situated at the mouth of the Quillayute River in Clallam County, Washington, United States. La Push is the largest community within the Quileute Indian Reservation, which is home to the federally recog ...

; a small community in Washington state. The name La Push is an infusion of the French la bouche, meaning "mouth", into Chinook Jargon. It describes the town's location at the mouth of the river. Instead of separating 'La Push', the band would simply combine the two into one word, 'Lapush'. The band played their first show October 2003 and quickly became a top draw in the local St. Louis music scene. Early shows included a sold-out performance at

The Pageant The Pageant (also called The Pageant Concert Nightclub) is a popular American nightclub in St. Louis, Missouri. Built as a dedicated nightclub, The Pageant first opened its doors on October 19, 2000. It was named for a "long-gone Pageant movie ...

opening for

The Urge The Urge is an alternative rock band based in St. Louis, Missouri. Their music combines several genres, including hardcore punk, Heavy metal music, heavy metal, ska, reggae, funk, rock music, rock, and rhythm and blues. Consistent touring throu ...

, as well as sold-out concerts at

Mississippi Nights Mississippi Nights was a music club in St. Louis, Missouri. It opened on October 11, 1976 and was located at 914 N 1st Street, on the western bank of the Mississippi River, four blocks north of the Gateway Arch in Laclede's Landing. Concerts at ...

and Creepy Crawl. Lapush released a self-titled EP in 2004 which sold out of its initial pressing. The band began receiving airplay on

KEXP KEXP-FM (90.3 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys for the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is owned by the non-p ...

(

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

), Indie 103.1 (

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Q101 Q101 may refer to: * Archive Series No. 2: Live in Chicago Q101, a live broadcast 'studio' album released by Violent Femmes in 2006 * CKMQ-FM, Merritt, British Columbia, Canada * KQDJ-FM, Valley City, North Dakota * WKQX (FM), an alternative rock ...

(

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

), 105.7 The Point (

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

) as well as

XM Satellite Radio XM Satellite Radio (XM) was one of the three satellite radio (SDARS) and online radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Holdings. It provided pay-for-service radio, analogous to subscription cable television. Its s ...

. The band toured regionally and developed a following in neighboring college towns including

Columbia, MO Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

and

Lawrence, KS Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas and Wakarusa Rivers. As of the 2020 census, ...

. During this period, Lapush opened for several national acts including;

Matt Nathanson Matthew Adam Nathanson (born March 28, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter whose work is a blend of Folk music, folk and rock and roll music. In addition to singing, he plays acoustic (sometimes a 12-string) and electric guitar, and has play ...

and

Nikka Costa Domenica "Nikka" Costa (born 4 June 1972) is an American singer whose music combines elements of pop, soul, and blues. She also had a career as a child singer starting in the early 1980s. She is the daughter of music producer Don Costa. Early l ...

. Unable to commit to the band's touring schedule, Stephen Donovan and Casey Bazzell left the group late 2004. Thom Donovan took over singing full-time and the band carried on as a trio. By early 2005 Lapush signed to 456 (

), a New York-based indie label co-owned by

and Jonathan Rifkind. Someplace Closer To Here (2005)
Lapush began recording '' Someplace Closer To Here'' in 2004. The album was produced and mixed by Thom Donovan in the band's rehearsal space using the minimal amount of recording equipment the band owned. The band thought they were simply recording demos. Those "demos" were eventually released as the bands nationally distributed debut album. '' Someplace Closer To Here'' was released on June 5, 2005. The album features 3 singles, ''Say Something'', ''Quit You Now'' and ''Aurora''. ''Aurora'' would go to No. 15 on the Alternative/Specialty Singles Chart. The album would follow suit on the Alternative/Specialty Albums Chart. The band continued to play across the country; including shows with

Hot Hot Heat Hot Hot Heat is a Canadian indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, formed in 1999. The band was signed by Seattle label Sub Pop in 2001 and released its first EP, ''Knock Knock Knock'', and first full-length album, '' Make Up the Break ...

and

The Sounds The Sounds are a Swedish indie rock band. Formed in Helsingborg in 1998, the group's musical style has been compared to new wave acts such as Blondie, The Cars, the Epoxies and Missing Persons. Their debut album, '' Living in America'', was r ...

. Lapush also performed a DJ set at Hiro Ballroom in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

with

Andy Rourke Andrew Michael Rourke (born 17 January 1964) is an English musician, best known as the bassist of the Smiths. He is known for his melodic approach to bass playing. Career Rourke's father was Irish while his mother was English. He received an a ...

from

The Smiths The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...

. Thom Donovan performed a DJ set with

Kasabian Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and occasional vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff, and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karlof ...

after a sold-out show in St. Louis. In December 2005, Lapush would make their network television debut, performing 2 songs on ''

'' on

. Music from '' Someplace Closer To Here'' has appeared in several television shows including, ''Moonlight'' (

), ''

Laguna Beach Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservation efforts, and a ...

'' (

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

), '' The Hills'' (

), ''

College Life ''College Life'' is a reality television program on MTV created by David Wexler about the day-to-day lives of eight University of Wisconsin-Madison freshmen, filmed on the campus of the University but without the cooperation thereof (a disclaime ...

'' (

), ''

The T.O. Show ''The T.O. Show'' is an American reality television series that premiered on VH1 on July 20, 2009. It follows Owens and his friend (Monique Jackson) and publicist (Kita Williams) as they re-evaluate Owens' personal life, while battling the two s ...

'' ( VH1) as well as the Clear Pictures indie film, ''Outpatient''. '' Someplace Closer To Here'' was also listed at No. 18 on ''PlaybackSTL'' Magazine's Top Albums of 2005. Press Reviews for ''Someplace Closer To Here''
If Lapush hailed from England, no one would be the least bit surprised at the band's debut, ''Someplace Closer To Here'', which recalls the romanticism of

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...

, the insistent groove of

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

, the drama of

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

, or the expansive bombast of

The Verve The Verve were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Wigan in 1990 by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bass guitarist Simon Jones (musician), Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboard player Simo ...

. Savvy listeners would nod and smile at the lush production, the eclectic arrangements, and the gauzy vocals and tip their bowlers once more at the cleverness of another handful of talented Brits. The trouble is that Lapush, who sound every bit as good as the bands noted above, did not burst from a posh London studio, but from a basement in St. Louis, MO. — ''Amplifier Magazine'' There's something eternally attractive about the rock trio format — some of rock & roll's finest and most powerful bands have consisted of nothing more than a guy singing and playing guitar with a bass player and drummer alongside him. That's the format used by the St. Louis-based trio Lapush, but if you're expecting something like either the Jam's taut mod-pop attack or Cream's elephantine, bluesy swagger, think again: these guys specialize in a medium-tempo, sometimes rather mopey version of the rock trio approach that puts mood over hooks and doesn't hesitate to add a few quirky electronic keyboards to the mix. Singer Thom Donovan comes across as something kind of like an enervated Bono, letting his voice fall into a croak at times but rarely pushing himself to emotional extremes. As a guitarist he's more interesting than flashy — ''Tout le Monde'' features what is probably the best six-note guitar solo ever recorded. Throughout the album there are hints of an extensive 1980s record collection; apart from the Bono influence, there's ''Quit You Now'', which sounds suspiciously like an Echo & the Bunnymen outtake circa 1984. You'll find yourself being quietly enchanted over and over again. Recommended. — Rick Anderson, ''All Music Guide'' Modern Blues (2007)
By late 2006, drummer Brett Voelker left the band and was replaced by Neil Bardon. '' Modern Blues'', the band's second album, was released on May 30, 2007. Brad Booker from Stir recorded drums on ''Modern Blues'' prior to Neil Bardon joining the band.

Richard Fortus Richard Fortus (born November 17, 1966) is an American guitarist. He has been a member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he has recorded one studio album, since 2001. Fortus has also collaborated extensively with The Psychedelic Fur ...

performed cello on the album's closing track, ''All The Lost Souls''; a track Donovan penned after reading

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ath ...

book, ''

The Ancestor's Tale ''The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life'' is a science book by Richard Dawkins and Yan Wong on the subject of evolution, which follows the path of humans backwards through evolutionary history, describing some of humanity's co ...

''. The liner notes of '' Modern Blues'' includes a dedication to Donovan's father, who died in 2006 from pancreatic cancer. The band's record label, 456 (

), had shut down and '' Modern Blues'' was released independently through their own imprint, Lapush Recordings. Music from '' Modern Blues'' has appeared in several television shows including, '' The Hills'' (

), ''

'' (

) and ''

16 And Pregnant ''16 and Pregnant'' is an American reality television series that aired from June 11, 2009, to July 1, 2014, on the cable channel MTV. It followed the stories of pregnant teenage girls in high school dealing with the hardships of teenage pregnanc ...

'' (

). In the Fall of 2008, Lapush played to their biggest hometown crowd; performing at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in front of 22,000 people for

Pointfest Pointfest is a large outdoor rock music festival held once a year by radio station KPNT in St. Louis, Missouri at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre (formerly known as Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, UMB Bank Pavilion, and Riverport Amphitheate ...

. Press Review for ''Modern Blues''
The title of the trio's latest EP doesn't refer to the musical genre, but the feeling of loss, heartbreak and bereavement. This can lead bands to write dreary, sad-sack mopers—or, in the case of Lapush, turn the hurt into something grand and uplifting. Singer and guitarist Thom Donovan wrote the album-opening ''Closer'' after the death of his father, and it's as good of a send-off as anyone could want: The spacey guitar atmospherics and the alternately sad and hopeful lyrics are enough to bring a tear to the eye of the hard-hearted cynic. — ''Riverfront Times'' Aurora - Digital Single (2008)
The band released an acoustic version of ''Aurora'' on March 12, 2008, on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

. Hiatus
The band's last performance was in March 2008 at The Duck Room in

. In July 2008, Thom Donovan performed a solo acoustic set; opening for

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band formed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in 2002. It consists of lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Ryan Tedder, lead guitarist and violist Zach Filkins, rhythm guitarist Drew Brown, bassist and cellis ...

in St. Louis, Missouri. Donovan's first solo album, '' Cast a Light'', was released on March 30, 2010. The album release was kicked off by a pair of shows at

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

in Austin, TX March 2010. Songs from the album were featured in the series finale of '' The Hills'' on

. ''September Glows'', the final track from ''Cast A Light'', received airplay on

KROQ-FM KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The stat ...

in Los Angeles. Donovan released his second solo album, "Mercury Maybe", in March 2012. His third solo album, "Canon", was released June 16, 2014. The first single, ''Shipwreck'', features a collaboration with

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

and

Ruby Amanfu A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sap ...

. He also has a small role in the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

musical drama series, ''

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

'', as the keyboardist in Avery Barkley's band. In 2012 Donovan formed

-based duo, Rossi, with Kendall Morgan. Kevin Bachmann has released two studio albums with Troubadour Dali.Euclid Records

Band members

Members * Thom Donovan - vocals, guitar, keyboards (2002-2008) * Kevin Bachmann - bass (2002-2008) * Neil Bardon - drums (2007-2008) Former members * Brett Voelker - drums (2002–2006) * Stephen Donovan - vocals, guitar (2002–2004) * Casey Bazzell - vocals, keyboards (2002-2004)

Discography

Albums

EP

Singles

{, class="wikitable" , - ! Year !! Single !! Label !! Format , - , 2009 , , Lucky One (Remixed & Remastered) , , 456,

Fontana Distribution Fontana Distribution was a division of San Francisco-based Isolation Network (now owned by the Virgin Music Group unit of the Universal Music Group since 2019). A minority stake of the company was owned by Universal Music until Ingrooves, INgroov ...

, , CD, digital download , - , 2009 , , Hideaway , , 456,

, , CD, digital download , - , 2008 , , Closer (Remixed & Remastered) , , Lapush Recordings , , digital download , - , 2008 , , Aurora (Acoustic) , , Lapush Recordings , , digital download , - , 2008 , , Leave The Light On , , Lapush Recordings , , digital download , - , 2007 , , Run , , Lapush Recordings , , CD, digital download , - , 2007 , , Closer , , Lapush Recordings , , CD, digital download , - , 2006 , , Quit You Now , , 456,

, , CD, digital download , - , 2005 , , Aurora , , 456,

, , CD, digital download , - , 2005 , , Say Something , , 456,

, , CD, digital download , - , 2003 , , Through It All , , Lapush Recordings , , CD, digital download , - , 2002 , , Quit You Now (demo) , , Lapush Recordings , , CD, digital download

References

External links

Official Lapush Website

Lapush
at MySpace
Lapush
at MTV.com Alternative rock groups from Missouri Musical groups established in 2002 Musical groups disestablished in 2008 2002 establishments in Missouri