My Favorite are an

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

formed in

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

in 1991, later of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. After releasing two full-length albums, the original band split in 2005, but reformed in 2014.

Formation and original era

My Favorite formed on Long Island in 1991, and eventually migrated to the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The "classic" lineup consisted of founder and principal songwriter Michael Grace Jr., vocalist Andrea Vaughn, guitarist Darren Amadio, bassist Gil Abad and drummer Todd "Todbot" Karasik. An even earlier incarnation featured Amadio on bass and current

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

member

Captain Kirk Douglas "Captain" Kirk Douglas (born September 30, 1973) is an American guitarist and singer who performs with the hip hop band The Roots. He joined The Roots in 2003. His first album with The Roots was 2004's ''The Tipping Point'', where he split gui ...

on guitar (two tracks featuring Douglas were included on the 2014 reissue/compilation ''Love at Absolute Zero/Death in Suburbia''). Their main influences included

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 ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

, New Order and various singles from influential labels like

Factory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

, Rough Trade, Cherry Red and

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...

. In negotiating these influences and impulses, they were contemporaries of

Magnetic Fields A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to ...

and

Belle and Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" come ...

, two bands they performed alongside in New York. The band released two full-length albums ('' Love at Absolute Zero'' and '' The Happiest Days of Our Lives: The Complete Joan of Arc Tapes''), and several EPs and limited-edition, vinyl-only singles. They also made two music videos. Late in their original career, My Favorite found popularity in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, where they were the focus of a feature on that country's national

Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...

. They performed at three influential festivals and had many smaller, but enthusiastically received performances in cities like

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

and

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Reception

My Favorite were frequently discussed in the indie music press of the time in the context of new wave retroism, but were more accurately thought of in the tradition of romantic, lyric-driven post-rock and roll melancholia, strands of which originated with artists like the

Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabri ...

and certain glam rock artists before reaching their apex in the post-punk period. They were featured in the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

'', ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'', '' Daily News'' and ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'', and were interviewed on indie programs such as ''

New York Noise ''New York Noise'' is a one-hour indie-rock music video television program which aired from 2003–2009 on NYC Media in New York and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut. It was created, produced, and edited by Shirley Braha and funded by Ne ...

''.

Breakup

My Favorite broke up on September 14, 2005, when Vaughn left the band.

Other projects

In 2006, the remaining five members of My Favorite joined forces with vocalists Lisa Ronson (daughter of

guitarist

Mick Ronson Michael Ronson (26 May 1946 – 29 April 1993) was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session music ...

) and Erin Dermody to form a new band called

the Secret History ''The Secret History'' is the first novel by the American author Donna Tartt, published by Alfred A. Knopf in September 1992. Set in New England, the campus novel tells the story of a closely knit group of six classics students at Hampden Colle ...

. Karasik also played for New York post-punk band

Bell Hollow Bell Hollow were a post-punk revival band based in Brooklyn, New York, composed of Nick Niles (vocals/keyboards/guitar), Greg Fasolino (guitar), Christopher Bollman (bass) and Todd Karasik (drums). The band's music was often categorized as a blen ...

from 2006 until their 2008 split, and appeared on their 2007 album ''Foxgloves'' (which also featured My Favorite singer Vaughn on backing vocals). Vaughn recorded vocals for the French band Bagatelle's debut EP, ''Rendez-Vous Transatlantique'', which was released in 2013 by La Nageuse Records. In 2014, Vaughn, Amadio and Karasik reunited to form the Chandler Estate with long-time friends and collaborators Tara Emelye Needham (Mad Planets, the Reverse) and Bryce Edwards (Boycrazy). In 2015, they played their first show at the NYC Popfest and released four-song EP ''Infrastructure'' on Jigsaw Records.

Reformation

In 2014, Grace reassembled My Favorite (minus Vaughn) to perform at the NYC Popfest. On October 7, 2014, they released their first new single in 10 years, "Second Empire"/"Dance With a Stranger", on London's Where It's At Is Where You Are label. The current incarnation, relying more heavily on drum machines and sequencers, includes Grace, Abad and Brondo, with Jaime Babic and Joseph Babic replacing Vaughn and Amadio, respectively. In 2022 they released the new EP "Tender Is The Nightshift: Part 1", the first three-part series.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Love at Absolute Zero'' CD (1999, Double Agent) * '' The Happiest Days of Our Lives: The Complete Joan of Arc Tapes'' 2CD (2003, Double Agent)

Singles and EPs

* ''Brighton Riot'' cassette EP (1992, self-released) * ''The Last New Wave Record'' 7-inch EP (1994, Swing Set Records) * "Working Class Jacket" split 7-inch single with Mad Planets (1995, Harriet Records) * ''The Informers & Us'' 7-inch EP (1995, Harriet) * "Modulate" split 7-inch single with Boyracer (1996, A Turntable Friend) * ''Joan of Arc Awaiting Trial'' CD EP (2000, Double Agent) * ''A Cult of One'' CD EP (2001, Double Agent) * '' The Kids Are All Wrong'' CD EP (2002, Double Agent) * "The Happiest Days of My Life" CD single (2005, Hungry Audio) * ''Intercontinental Pop Exchange No. 7'' split CD EP with Entre Rios (2005, Endearing Records) * "Second Empire"/"Dance With a Stranger" 7-inch single (2014, Where It's At Is Where You Are) * "Christine Zero" 7-inch single (2016, Death Party Records) * ''Tender Is the Nightshift: Part 1'' 12-inch EP (2022, Happy Happy Birthday to Me records, Where It's At Is Where You Are)

Compilation albums

* ''My Favorite'' promo CD (2004, Media Creature Music) *''Love at Absolute Zero/The Happiest Days of Our Lives'' LP (2014, Cloudberry Records/La Kalsa)

References

External links

Band HomepageDouble Agent RecordsAn Interview with My Favorite's Michael Grace, Jr.
(2004) {{Authority control American pop music groups Musical groups from Long Island