The Van Pelt is an American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

that were active from 1993 to 1997, and have reformed briefly several times since then. The band formed in 1993 at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, with Chris Leo (formerly of

Native Nod Native Nod was an American emo band formed in the early 1990s and based in the New York metropolitan area. During their short stint as a group, they released nine songs, divided amongst three seven-inch EPs, ''Bread'', ''Answers'', and ''Lower G ...

and brother of

Ted Leo Theodore Francis Leo is an American singer and musician. He is the frontman and lead guitarist of the rock group Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, and in 2013, he and Aimee Mann formed the indie rock duo The Both. Early life Born in South Bend, I ...

) on

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, David Baum on

, Barry London on bass, and Neil O'Brien on

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 ...

. A seven song demo was recorded with Geoff Turner at WGNS studio in DC, and a split single with Radio to Saturn featuring "His Saxophone Is My Guitar" was released on Sudden Shame records. London soon left the group, and Toko Yasuda joined the band in 1995 to record their first album ''Stealing From Our Favorite Thieves'' in 1996 with Alap Momin at Sweetwood Sound. Baum & Yasuda would leave the group within the year, Yasuda joining

Blonde Redhead Blonde Redhead is an American alternative rock band composed of Kazu Makino (vocals, keys/rhythm guitar) and twin brothers Simone and Amedeo Pace (drums/keys and lead guitar/bass/keys/vocals, respectively) that formed in New York City in 1993. ...

. Brian Maryansky & Sean Greene would join late 96 for writing, recording of and ''Sultans Of Sentiment'' in 1997. "Sultans" & "Thieves" were released by Gern Blandsten records. Greene would soon leave the band & Toko Yasuda returned to tour & record the Speeding Train ep on Art Monk Construction Records. The Van Pelt disbanded in 1997, with Chris and Toko forming a new band called

the Lapse The Lapse was an American indie band formed in late 1997. The band was first signed to Gern Blandsten, then Southern Records. A larger deal with Matador Records fell through in 2001. The Lapse was the duo of then boyfriend/girlfriend Chris Leo (ex-N ...

that year, and Brian later joining the band

Jets to Brazil Jets to Brazil was an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, USA. They formed in 1997 and were active until 2003. History Jets to Brazil was founded by Blake Schwarzenbach, the former frontman of Jawbreaker, and Jeremy Chatelain, w ...

in 1998. The band reunited in 2009 for two shows, playing one show on June 20 at the Blackcat in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

with

Frodus Frodus (a.k.a. Frodus Conglomerate International, Frodus Sound Laboratories, FCI, Frodus Escape Plan, Frodus Deposit Insurance Corporation) was an American post-hardcore band formed in 1993 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist/guitarist Shelby Cinca ...

, and another on June 21 at Kung Fu Necktie in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. In February 2014, it was announced that the band would be issuing a record of previous unreleased material recorded around 1996 and 1997, as well as reforming to play at the

All Tomorrow's Parties "All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. Inspiration for the song came from Reed's observation of Andy Warh ...

Jabberwocky festival in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The album, '' Imaginary Third'', was released in April 2014. On December 6, 2022, the band announced via Instagram that a fourth studio album, entitled ''Artisans & Merchants'', would be released in March 2023. This album marks the first new recordings by the band since the 1990s. The record will be released by Spartan Records in North America, Gringo Records in the UK and La Castanya in Europe and the rest of the world. The first single from the album, ''Punk House'', was released on January 20, 2023, alongside worldwide pre-orders for the new album.

Discography

Albums

* '' Stealing From Our Favorite Thieves'' (1996) * '' Sultans Of Sentiment'' (1997) * '' Imaginary Third'' (2014, La Castanya) * ''Tramonto - Live in Ferrara 12.08.2014'' (2016,

Gringo Records Gringo Records is a British independent record label based in Nottingham, England, which was founded in 1996. It is known for releasing experimental rock and its DIY ethic. History The label formed in Colchester in 1996 from involvements in t ...

/ Flying Kid) * ''Artisans & Merchants'' (2023,

Spartan Records Spartan Records was founded by John T. Frazier in Seattle, Washington in January 2007. It is currently home to the bands Schematic, Barren Womb, Ourlives, Shy, Low, and several others. Prior to founding Spartan, Frazier was the director of mar ...

/ Gringo Records / La Castanya)

EPs

* ''Split 7" with Radio To Saturn'' (1994) * ''Split 7" with Young Pioneers'' (1995) * ''Split 7" with Chisel'' * ''Speeding Train'' (EP, Art Monk Construction, 1997) * ''Same As Stone 7"'' (2005)

References

External links

Gern BlandstenSouthern RecordsGringo Records
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Pelt, The Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups from New York City American art rock groups American post-hardcore musical groups American emo musical groups