Nine Days (stylized as ''ninedays'') is an American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band from
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 ...
. It was formed in 1994 by John Hampson and Brian Desveaux, and released three independent albums in the 1990s before their mainstream debut album, ''
The Madding Crowd
''The Madding Crowd'' is the debut major-label album by the American rock band Nine Days, released on May 16, 2000, by Epic Records. It spawned the major hit "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" and another single, "If I Am". It peaked at number 67 on ...
'', released in 2000. The band scored a hit in the United States from the album ''The Madding Crowd'', with the single "
Absolutely (Story of a Girl)
"Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" is a song by American rock band Nine Days for the group's fourth studio album, ''The Madding Crowd'' (2000). The song was released as the lead single from ''The Madding Crowd'' in March 2000 through 550 Music and ...
", which reached number six.
History
Prior to creating the group, John Hampson and Brian Desveaux played in a heavy metal band, and were also members of a cover band with drummer Vincent Tattanelli called Wonderama. In 1993, the duo took time off from those bands and began writing more poppy songs, with a focus on strong songwriting: "If the song didn't work on acoustic guitar, then it wasn't a good song," said Desveaux.
The band's influences were
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
,
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
and
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
. They joined with bassist Nick Dimichino and recorded eight songs with a studio drummer. Tattanelli joined the new project and the band gained Jeremy Dean as keyboardist. They recorded their debut album, ''
Something to Listen To'' (1995) in nine days, which they used as their band name. The group began playing weekly at the Village Pub, which was regularly frequented by Midshipman from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, in
Port Jefferson, New York
Port Jefferson (informally known as "Port Jeff") is an incorporated village in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. Officially known as the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson, the population ...
.
They released their second album ''
Monday Songs
Monday Songs is the second album by American Rock band Nine Days. It was released in 1996, before their major-label debut album '' The Madding Crowd''. It contained 11 tracks and it was released on the label Dirty Poet Records.
It is available f ...
'' in 1996, and won several local radio contests.
After recording their third effort, 1998's ''
Three
3 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
3, three, or III may also refer to:
* AD 3, the third year of the AD era
* 3 BC, the third year before the AD era
* March, the third month
Books
* '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...
'', the band contacted producer
Pat Thrall
Patrick Thrall is an American rock guitarist. Thrall began his recording career in 1972. He played guitar, vocals, and percussion with the group Cookin' Mama, which had his brother, Preston Thrall, on percussion. They released the album ''New Day ...
to create a four-song demo to circulate among record labels. The process was exhausting for the musicians, according to Desveaux, who estimated that they performed at showcases for each major record label and were "passed up twice by each." They more frequently began performing in New York City and continued to write, with Hampson adopting an edgier songwriting style. He wrote the song "
Absolutely (Story of a Girl)
"Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" is a song by American rock band Nine Days for the group's fourth studio album, ''The Madding Crowd'' (2000). The song was released as the lead single from ''The Madding Crowd'' in March 2000 through 550 Music and ...
",
and the band recorded a three-song demo to once again shop around to labels.
They were signed by
550 Music (then known as Sony 550 Music) in February 1999, and began working on their major-label debut album with producer
Nick DiDia. ''
The Madding Crowd
''The Madding Crowd'' is the debut major-label album by the American rock band Nine Days, released on May 16, 2000, by Epic Records. It spawned the major hit "Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" and another single, "If I Am". It peaked at number 67 on ...
'' was released in May 2000, and was the band's highest-selling album, shipping over 500,000 copies in the US.
"Absolutely (Story of a Girl)" became a radio
hit single
A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...
, reaching number six on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the US and within the top ten in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
"
If I Am" was the album's second single, but performed poorer than its predecessor.
''
So Happily Unsatisfied
''So Happily Unsatisfied'' is an album that was recorded by the band Nine Days. It was intended to be the follow-up to their successful major-label debut, '' The Madding Crowd'' from 2000. The release date of the album was repeatedly delayed by ...
'', the band's follow-up and fifth album, saw a limited promotional release in November 2002 but did not see a full commercial release until 2006. The release date was repeatedly delayed by 550 Music until the band was ultimately dropped. In the interim, the album had leaked onto the internet. In 2003, the band recorded and self-released their sixth effort, ''
Flying the Corporate Jet
''Flying the Corporate Jet'' is an album by American alternative rock band Nine Days
Nine Days (stylized as ''ninedays'') is an American rock band from Long Island, New York. It was formed in 1994 by John Hampson and Brian Desveaux, and relea ...
''. Their next release was an
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. , ''
Slow Motion Life (Part One)'' (2007). ''Slow Motion Life (Part Two)'', released in 2013 (the incomplete demos), was intended to comprise the two as a full album. That year, the band released their seventh main album, ''Something Out Of Nothing'', following it up with ''Snapshots'' in 2016.
Members
* John Hampson –
lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
,
rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...
* Brian Desveaux –
lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
,
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
* Jeremy Dean –
keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
,
backing vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...
* Nick Dimichino –
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
,
backing vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...
* Vincent Tattanelli –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
,
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
Music videos
References
External links
The ''Nine Days'' Official WebsiteThe Former ''Nine Days'' Official ForumOfficial Throwbacks, Demos, and Live Recordings at ''Nine Days More''
{{Authority control
Alternative rock groups from New York (state)
Musical groups from Long Island
Musical groups established in 1994
American power pop groups
550 Music artists
Epic Records artists
1994 establishments in New York (state)