Nightcaps are an American

lounge Lounge may refer to: Architecture * Lounge, the living room of a dwelling * Lounge, a public waiting area in a hotel's lobby * Lounge, a style of commercial alcohol- bar * Airport lounge, or train lounge (e.g., AMTRAK's Acela Lounge), a premium ...

band from Seattle, Washington. The band was most active from 1995 through 2000, but they continue to play occasionally in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

. Nightcaps were an integral part of the mid-1990s

lounge music Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The rang ...

resurgence that included bands such as

Combustible Edison Combustible Edison was an American neo- lounge music group founded in the early 1990s in Providence, Rhode Island. They were one of several lounge acts that led a brief resurgence of interest in the genre during the mid-1990s. Unlike other bands ...

Squirrel Nut Zippers Squirrel Nut Zippers is an American swing and jazz band formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, by Jimbo Mathus, James "Jimbo" Mathus (vocals and guitar), Tom Maxwell (singer), Tom Maxwell (vocals and guitar), ...

and Love Jones. The Nightcaps were known as one of the few renascent lounge bands to avoid irony and

kitsch Kitsch ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as naïve imitation, overly-eccentric, gratuitous, or of banal taste. The avant-garde opposed kitsch as melodramatic and superficial affiliation with ...

. In addition to the

torch A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end, which is ignited and used as a light source. Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggling entertainment. In ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and lounge influences that typically characterized the genre's revival, Nightcaps also incorporated Wrecking Crew pop,

Memphis soul Memphis soul, also known as the Memphis sound, is the most prominent strain of Southern soul. It is a shimmering, sultry style produced in the 1960s and 1970s at Stax Records and Hi Records in Memphis, Tennessee, featuring melodic unison horn line ...

and

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

into their sound. Seattle's Nightcaps released several singles, four full-length albums (including a best-of compilation released in Japan and a live CD of the band's performance on KEXP's "Live Room") and toured extensively throughout Western United States.

History

Nightcaps were originally conceived and formed in 1994 by drummer

Dan Cunneen Dan Cunneen (aka Dan Steely) is an American musician, songwriter, disc jockey, screen printer and graphic designer originally from Portland, Oregon, United States. Cunneen is best known for his drum work with the 1980s Portland, Oregon bands Fin ...

(

Final Warning Final Warning was a Portland, Oregon-based hardcore punk band active in the Pacific Northwest from 1982 to 1986. The band was notable for their anti-war political themes and as one of the early hardcore bands to incorporate heavy metal into the ...

Obituaries An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

Zipgun ZIPGUN (stylized in all-caps) are an American punk rock band from Seattle, Washington, United States, primarily active from 1991 to 1994. The original founding members were: guitarist Neil Rogers (The Derelicts, Glazed), singer Robb Clarke (Trid ...

), vocalist Theresa Hannam, guitarist Garth Brandenburg (The Crows, Moonspinners) and bassist William "Bill" Herzog (Citizens Utilities, Joel RL Phelps,

Jesse Sykes Jesse Sykes (née Solomon) (born July 17, 1967) is an American singer and songwriter, best known for her band Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter, which was formed in 1999 with Phil Wandscher. Early life and education Sykes was born in Mount Kis ...

). In 1995 Robert Fucci replaced Herzog on

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

and the band added John Broeckel ( Death to Anders, Little Red Lung) on percussion. The first Nightcaps single, ''Gambler's Game/For Me'', was released in 1995 on the Nightcaps' label Rendezvous Recordings. (The Nightcaps released two other singles: ''I Don't Like You/Love You More'' on

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...

, in early 1996 and ''You Lied/Last of the Secret Agents'' on

Estrus Records Estrus Records is an independent record label from Bellingham, Washington that makes Surf music, surf, Garage rock, garage and trash rock music. They have released such bands as Mono Men, The Drags, The Mummies, Supercharger, Impala (band), Impa ...

in 1998). The Nightcaps' label Rendezvous Recordings entered into a manufacturing and distribution agreement with Sub Pop for their first album, ''Split'', which was released in 1997. ''Split'' contained 12 original songs written by the songwriting team of Cunneen, Hannam and Brandenburg. In 2000, the Nightcaps released their second CD, ''Get On'', on Rendezvous Recordings. With darker lyrical themes than ''Split'', the addition of keyboardist/guitarist Tor Midtskog and the return of Bill Herzog (now playing

electric bass 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 The ...

), the Nightcaps' music evolved from jazzy pop and swing to harder edged 1960s soul-rock. In 2002, the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of their

single, a re-working of the

Buzzcocks Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton, England in 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Pete Shelley and singer-songwriter Howard Devoto. They are regarded as a seminal influence on the Manchester music scene, the independen ...

tune "Love You More" appeared on a compilation by Japanese DJ Masanori Ikeda called ''Spinout 3'', released in Japan by

V2 Records V2 Records (or V2 Music; V2 being an abbreviation for Virgin 2) is a record label that was purchased by Universal Music Group in 2007 and sold to IASin 2013. In the Benelux, V2 operates separately from PIAS, as the label bought itself out from ...

. In 2003, a "Best of" retrospective titled ''I Don't Like You'', was released in Japan on the User Records label. In September 2011, the Nightcaps albums ''Split'' and ''Get On'' were released online for the first time and a new Nightcaps album, ''In the Live Room (+ the Singles)'' was released by Rendezvous Recordings.

Discography

* 1995: ''Gambler's Game/For Me'' (single) Rendezvous Recordings * 1996: ''I Don't Like You/Love You More'' (single) Sup Pop * 1997: ''Split'' (album) Rendezvous Recordings/Sub Pop * 1998: ''You Lied/Last of the Secret Agents'' (single) Estrus Records * 2000: ''Get On'' (album) Rendezvous Recordings * 2002: ''Spin Out 3'' (album) (track on compilation: "Love You More") V2 Records (Japan) * 2003: ''I Don't Like You'' (album) User Records (Japan) * 2011: ''In the Live Room (+ the Singles)'' (album) Rendezvous Recordings

References

External links

Seattle PI "Cocktail Culture" article from 1996
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nightcaps American pop music groups Musical groups from Washington (state) Lounge musicians