Midtown is an American pop punk band from

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Midtown was formed in November 1998 by three Rutgers University students, but quickly became a quartet. The group released three full-length studio albums and three extended plays before disbanding in 2005. In early 2014, Midtown reunited to play three shows, the first as a secret show at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, and the two remaining at the Skate And Surf Festival. They reunited for more shows in 2022 as openers on My Chemical Romance's reunion tour.

History

Midtown was formed in 1998 by Rutgers University students

Gabe Saporta Gabriel Eduardo Saporta (born October 11, 1979) is an Uruguayan-American musician and entrepreneur. From the years 2005 until 2015, he was the lead vocalist and founder of the electropop band Cobra Starship. On November 10, 2015, after nearly te ...

(vocals/bass), Rob Hitt (drums), and Tyler Rann (guitar/vocals). The group added Heath Saraceno on guitar/vocals, and used its roots in the New Jersey punk scene to develop a sound that combined elements of pop punk and punk rock. Midtown began recording shortly after its formation. The band's first EP, ''The Sacrifice of Life'', was released by Pinball Records in 1999, followed by a debut album, ''

Save the World, Lose the Girl ''Save the World, Lose the Girl'' is the debut studio album by American rock band Midtown. Forming in 1998, Midtown released ''The Sacrifice of Life EP'' in 1999, and was signed to Drive-Thru Records shortly afterwards. They went to California ...

'', released in early 2000 by the American independent record label Drive-Thru Records. The band was then upstreamed to major label MCA Records for its following album, ''

Living Well Is the Best Revenge ''Living Well Is the Best Revenge'' is the second studio album by American rock band Midtown. Following the conclusion of the touring cycle of their debut album '' Save the World, Lose the Girl'' (2000), the group went to California to work on the ...

'' (2002). Midtown's next album, ''

Forget What You Know ''Forget What You Know'' is the third studio album by American rock band Midtown. Following the release of '' Living Well Is the Best Revenge'' (2002), MCA was merged into Geffen Records, and the band was not picked up by the latter label. The ...

'' (2004), was produced while the band was not under contract with a record label and was later picked up by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. This was the band's final studio album; they disbanded shortly after its release in 2005. Former frontman

then became the lead singer of the

alternative dance Alternative dance (also known as indie dance or underground dance in the U.S.) is a musical genre that mixes alternative rock with electronic dance music. Although largely confined to the British Isles, it has gained American and worldwide expos ...

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

band

Cobra Starship Cobra Starship was an American dance-pop band founded in 2005 by Gabe Saporta (ex- Midtown), and headquartered in New York City. He recorded the first album as a solo project, ''While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets''. Saporta later enliste ...

, which disbanded in November 2015. Former guitarist Heath Saraceno joined the band Senses Fail in 2005 but decided to leave them in 2009 to pursue personal endeavors. Tyler Rann went on to sing for Band of Thieves with some friends but eventually left the music business and now works in the fashion/clothing industry.

Brief reunions

On February 17, 2014, Gabriel Saporta announced that Midtown has reunited and performed at the Skate and Surf Festival. On March 9, 2022, My Chemical Romance announced that Midtown would be a supporting act for the US leg of their reunion tour in fall 2022.

Members

– lead vocals, bass guitar (1998–2005, 2014, 2022) * Tyler Rann – vocals, guitars (1998–2005, 2014, 2022) * Heath Saraceno – vocals, guitars (1998–2005, 2014, 2022) * Rob Hitt – drums, percussion (1998–2005, 2014, 2022)

Discography

Studio albums *''

'' (2000) *''

'' (2002) *''

'' (2004) EPs *''The Sacrifice of Life'' (1999) *''Donots vs. Midtown Split 7"'' (2000) *'' Millencolin/Midtown Split'' (2001) *''New.Old.Rare.'' (2002) Compilation appearances *'' Rock Music: A Tribute to Weezer'' (2002; "Susanne" by Weezer) *''Picking Up the Pieces'' (2003; acoustic version of "Living in Spite") *''Liberation (Songs to Benefit PETA)'' (2003; "This House Is Not a Home") *'' Punk Goes Acoustic'' (2003; acoustic version of "Knew It All Along") *'' Punk Goes 80s'' (2005; cover of " Your Love" by The Outfield)

Post-Midtown projects

became the new project of Midtown's bassist and lead singer,

. Their first single, "

Bring It (Snakes on a Plane) "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)", also referred to as "Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)", is the debut single by Cobra Starship, released in 2006 as the main single from the soundtrack to the film '' Snakes on a Plane''. In addition to Cobra Starship vo ...

", was featured on the soundtrack for the movie '' Snakes on a Plane''. Their first album, '' While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets'' came out October 2006, their second album '' ¡Viva La Cobra!'' came out on October 23, 2007, their third album, ''

Hot Mess ''Hot Mess'' is the third studio album by the American musical ensemble Cobra Starship, released through Fueled by Ramen and Decaydance Records on August 11, 2009. The album is the follow-up to 2007's ''¡Viva la Cobra!''. It debuted at #4 on t ...

'', came out on August 11, 2009, and their fourth album, '' Night Shades'', came out on August 29, 2011. The band ultimately broke up on November 10, 2015. * Heath Saraceno played guitar and shared vocal duties in the New Jersey-based rock band Senses Fail until leaving the band after the 2009 Warped Tour. He and Senses Fail drummer, Dan Trapp, have a side-project called The Jettonnes. * Rob Hitt works for Crush Management and also has a record label, I Surrender Records. He shares the label with friend, Ted DiBiase, and has signed I Am The Avalanche, Four Year Strong, Valencia, and Dragonette. * Tyler Rann works in the fashion/clothing industry.

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups disestablished in 2005 Musical groups reestablished in 2014 Pop punk groups from New Jersey Musicians from New Jersey Drive-Thru Records artists MCA Records artists Columbia Records artists Musical quartets