The Natural History were a band composed of Tepper brothers singer–guitarist Max and bassist Julian, along with drummer Derek Vockins. After playing locally in the New York area and self-recording their own three-song EP, The Natural History caught the ear of local NYC label Startime International, whose roster includes

Brendan Benson Brendan Benson (born November 14, 1970) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He plays guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, and drums. He has released eight solo albums and is a member of the band The Raconteurs. Recording career ''One Missi ...

The Walkmen The Walkmen is an American indie rock band. Active from 2000 to 2013, they are known as part of the 2000s-era post-punk revival in New York City, particularly for their critically acclaimed single " The Rat." The band is made up of drummer Matt ...

, The French Kicks, among others.Biography page
"The Natural History"
Startime International, retrieved February 8, 2008 Recording with Greg Talenfeld at Stonehouse studio in

Nyack, New York Nyack () is a village located primarily in the town of Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, United States. Incorporated in 1872, it retains a very small western section in Clarkstown. It is a suburb of New York City lying approximately no ...

, the band released the finished product as a self-titled EP in July 2002. The EP was promoted with a year-full of touring with Enon and

Spoon A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily f ...

, whereupon the band also found time to record their debut full-length effort '' Beat Beat Heartbeat'', which was released in May 2003. In 2004, The Natural History recorded a second album called '' People That I Meet'', which was due in the spring of 2005; however, the band soon split from their record label Startime International, and the record's release was postponed indefinitely. Finally, after nearly two years of fishing for a new record label, the record was self-released by the band in November 2007. One of the songs that ended up on the album, "Don't You Ever", was covered by

on their sixth studio album ''

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga ''Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Spoon. It was first released on July 10, 2007, through Merge Records and Anti-. It received critical acclaim and appeared on several year-end album lists. The album debuted at nu ...

''. Spoon also included The Natural History's original version of the song on their EP '' Don't You Evah'', which was released on April 8, 2008. Spoon included "Don't You Evah" on '' Everything Hits at Once: The Best of Spoon'', released by

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City apar ...

in July 2019. An article written for ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'' magazine by Julian Tepper includes a Q & A with Spoon's

Britt Daniel John Britt Daniel (born April 14, 1971) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Spoon, as well as the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and singer of the band Divine Fits. Daniel also founded nume ...

, in which the Tepper brothers and Daniel recount the story behind "Don't You Evah". After '' People That I Meet'' was completed in 2004, Derek Vockins left the band to raise a family. He was replaced with drummer Tim McCoy. The band also added a second guitarist, Brooklyn based John Caselli. The newly formed quartet toured the East Coast and Midwest in the Spring of 2005, and followed up that summer with a 3 week tour of England, Norway and Sweden. The new line-up never took wings, and the band dissolved shortly after.

Band members

* Max Tepper – Guitar, vocals * Julian Tepper – Bass * Derek Vockins – Drums (2001–04) * Tim McCoy – Drums (2004–05) * John Caselli – Guitar (2004–05) * Sean Hogan – Melodica (2004–06)

Discography

Albums

* '' The Natural History'' (EP) 2002 Startime International * '' Beat Beat Heartbeat'' (LP) 2003 Startime International * '' People That I Meet'' (LP) 2007 Beat Beat Beat

Trivia

* Max and Julian Tepper are the sons of Grammy-nominated songwriter

Robert Tepper Robert Tepper (born May 30, 1950) is an American songwriter, recording artist and singer, best known for his hit song "No Easy Way Out" from the ''Rocky IV'' motion picture soundtrack. He is also known for co-writing the hit song " Into the Night ...

, who penned

Benny Mardones Ruben Armand "Benny" Mardones (November 9, 1946 – June 29, 2020) was an American pop/rock singer and songwriter who was best known for his hit single " Into the Night", which hit the top 20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart twice, in 1980 ( ...

' 1980 and 1989 hit " Into the Night", one of 10 recordings to ever ascend to the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart twice. He also had one top 40 hit as an artist, hitting #22 in 1986 with "No Easy Way Out" from the soundtrack to the 1985 film ''

Rocky IV ''Rocky IV'' is a 1985 American sports drama film written, directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to ''Rocky III'' (1982) and is the fourth installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Ca ...

''.

References

External links

Official MySpace page

Unofficial MySpace page

{{DEFAULTSORT:Natural History, The Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups from New York City