The Exit is a band from New York City whose craft blends a delicate taste of 80's dub and reggae with 90's punk and indie rock. The band's Co-Founders are Ben Brewer on lead guitar and vocals, and Gunnar Olsen on drums and vocals.
History
Brewer and Olsen met in high school and had played in several bands together. One of these bands turned into an early incarnation of 'The Exit'. It wasn't until 2000 that Brewer met Jeff DaRosa while attending school in Boston. DaRosa soon joined the group, and the band started touring in early 2001. The band has recorded 2 albums - 'New Beat' - Produced by Daniel Ray (Ramones, Misfits, Debbie Harry) on Some Records, and 'Home for an Island', originally released in 2004 on Some Records. In 2005 The Exit signed to Wind-Up Records, (it is speculated that the deal was quite substantial)and re-released 'Home for an Island', which was produced by Ron Saint Germain (Tool, Sonic Youth) and Chris Shaw (Weezer, Public Enemy, Bob Dylan). The re-release had a number of changes from the original, including the addition of three new songs.
On August 15, 2006, through a post on their MySpace blog, the band announced the departure of Jeff DaRosa. Olsen and Brewer noted the band will continue with a yet-to-be-announced lineup.
The Exit announced in the fall of 2006 they have begun writing a new record, and have been joined in the writing process by guitarist Grey McMurray, known for his ambient and orchestral work with Matmos and It's Not You it's Me. Grey McMurray was also a high school friend of Brewers'.
The band is said to be working on their third album with the addition of bass player Matt Kranz originally from Pittsburgh. During the downtime between records, Brewer founded Green Owl Records with Stephen Glicken and Ellenike Abreu. Green Owl, an indie label is the first label to deliver 100% post-consumer packaging in all of its products (amongst other environmental initiatives).
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