The National Acrobat was an American

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band "whose popularity rose after its brief existence". The band was formed in late 1998 by guitarists Evan Patterson and Robby Scott, bassist Ty Kreft, vocalist Casper Adams, and drummer Phil Stosberg. Influenced by the Washington, D.C. hardcore punk scene and contemporary bands like

Deadguy Deadguy is an American metalcore band from New Brunswick, New Jersey. The band formed in 1994 and disbanded in 1997. Deadguy is considered to have played an important role in the development of the mathcore genre, their sole studio album ''Fixatio ...

, The National Acrobat "quickly earned a reputation for their engaging, humorous, and often confrontational live performances". In June 1999, The National Acrobat released its eponymous debut EP through a small record label that Kreft and Scott formed together. The band immediately embarked on an east coast and midwest American tour with Canadian post-hardcore band Dead Season. After playing in support of the record, dissent in the band's ranks resulted with the departure of the aforementioned members. Scott was replaced by Evan Patterson's elder brother Ryan (who had up until this point acted as their manager), and Kreft was replaced by Tod Depp. This new lineup recorded material for a planned split EP with Dead Season; but which was eventually released as ''The National Acrobat, for All Practical Purposes, Is Dead'' EP in May 2000. This last release featured the Patterson brothers handling bass duties, following Depp's departure, and crediting them to the common punk pseudonym Dale Nixon. For the subsequent live performances, Stephen George filled on bass, as The National Acrobat played the Midwest and Northeast with groups like

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

and Burn It Down. The band's next release was the ''It's Nothing Personal'' EP in October 2000, recorded with the assistance of members of Elliott. In December, the band released the ''Can't Stop Casper Adams'' EP. According to

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, "it was the band's defining work and sadly, their last, as internal tensions caused them to split up around the time of the EP's release".

Discography

*''The National Acrobat'' (1999) *''The National Acrobat, for All Practical Purposes, Is Dead'' (2000) *''It's Nothing Personal'' (2000) *''Can't Stop Casper Adams'' (2000) *''TNA: The Complete Recordings'' ( comp., 2004)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Acrobat American mathcore musical groups Hardcore punk groups from Kentucky Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups disestablished in 2000 Musical groups from Louisville, Kentucky 1998 establishments in Kentucky 2000 disestablishments in Kentucky