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The Whigs
The Whigs are a garage rock band from Athens, Georgia.
CareerEarly days (2002-2005)The band was formed in 2002 by Parker Gispert, Julian Dorio, and Hank Sullivant. Early in their careers, they shared the stage with bands such as the Drive By Truckers, Jason Lowenstein, Elf Power and Franz Ferdinand. Following a negative experience with a major record label, the Whigs decided to record and release their first album independently. Give Em All a Big Fat Lip (November 2005 / July 2006)In the summer of 2005 the band recorded their first album, Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip, in an empty fraternity house.[1] They used equipment purchased on eBay and resold after recording was finished to help offset the cost of production. Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip was released independently in 2005. In July 2006, The Whigs signed with Dave Matthews' record label ATO Records, and Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip was rereleased on September 19, 2006. Before signing with Matthew's label, Rolling Stone called the band "perhaps the best unsigned band in America."[2] The Whigs toured the United States with Wax Fang and the Broken West and appeared at Milwaukee's Summerfest and the New Orleans Voodoo Fest following the rerelease of Fat Lip. The band also performed at the 2007 Bonnaroo Festival. Mission Control (January 2008)The band's second album, Mission Control, was recorded in Los Angeles during the summer of 2007 by producer Rob Schnapf and engineer Doug Boehm at Hollywood's Sunset Sound and Sound Factory. The album was released by ATO on January 22, 2008. Since its release, the band has been touring the United States with the Drive By Truckers, Kings of Leon, The Kooks, Tokyo Police Club, Wax Fang, Tulsa, Dead Confederate, Jason Isbell, Toadies, and the Dead Trees. The Whigs performed at both the 2008 Sasquatch! and Bumbershoot festivals. In March, the Whigs performed alongside My Morning Jacket and Yo La Tengo at the Austin Music Hall as part of Austin's SXSW 2008 Festival. The summer of 2008 marked the first European tour for the Whigs who performed at Belgium's Rock Werchter Festival, London's 02 Wireless Festival, Scotland's T in the Park Festival, and Ireland's Oxygen Festival. The tour also included a performance with Kings of Leon and MGMT @ Le Zenith in Paris, France along with stops in Germany and Milan, Italy. On September 22, 2008 the Whigs performed alongside Kings of Leon to celebrate the release of their 4th studio album, "Only By The Night." At the end of 2008 the Whigs toured with Tokyo Police Club (September), The Kooks (October), and Kings of Leon (November), and rounded out the year with a New Year's Eve gig in their home state of Georgia with Band of Horses. 2009 activityThe Whigs spent 2009 writing new songs for their forthcoming record and touring with Kings of Leon and Dead Confederate. In January, the band opened for Kings of Leon on their North American trek highlighted by a stop at New York's Madison Square Garden. March and April saw the Whigs headline a tour with support from hometown bands Dead Confederate and Trances Arc. The band recorded in Athens at Chase Park Transduction in June while popping up for the occasional hometown surprise gig or festival appearance. In July, the Whigs did a short headlining tour in the United States. In August the Whigs opened another Kings of Leon trek which included stops at Denver's Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Edmonton's Rexall Place, Calgary's Saddledome, Vancouver's General Motors Place, San Diego's Cox Arena, and the Forum in Los Angeles. In September the Whigs opened more shows for Kings of Leon in Indianapolis and Milwaukee @ The Bradley Center. In October the band did a two and a half month headlining tour of the United States with support from the Features, The Dead Trees, Mean Creek, and also Thayer Sarranno. In the Dark (2010)The Whigs revealed on May 30 that they would begin recording their third album, In the Dark, in June for a likely late-2009 or early-2010 release. The band has played some potential tracks on their recent tour. They played a secret show in Athens, Georgia, on May 28 where they premiered 11 new songs: Hundred/Million, Alone, Wrong Things, Smallest Town, Glory, In the Dark, Alabama Stars, I am for Real, Someone's Daughter, Black Lotus and I Don't Even Care About the One I Love. On October 15, 2009, the Whigs released the title track, In The Dark, on the internet. It was verified by the Whigs that the official release date would be March 16, 2010. Awards and accomplishmentsIn March 2006 Rolling Stone Magazine named the Whigs one of their 10 Artists to Watch. In September 2006, The Whigs were named "Artist of the Day" by Spin.com.[3] Dorio was awarded an Esky award in March 2007 as "Best Drummer" by Esquire magazine.[4] It was announced in October 2007 that the band had finished their second album, entitled "Mission Control," which was released on January 22, 2008. The band appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman on January 28, in support of the album.[5] They also appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on February 20, 2008 to promote the album. The song "Need You Need You", from Mission Control is featured in the video game Pure. LineupThe Whigs lineup is as follows:
The Whigs' original bassist, Hank Sullivant, departed the Whigs in late 2006 to record an album as Kuroma and to tour extensively with MGMT.[6] The Whigs have also toured with Iron Hero frontman Sam Gunn playing bass during their 2007 spring and summer touring. Bass tracks for 2008 release Mission Control were recorded by former Pendletons front-man Adam Saunders. DiscographyStudio albums
Singles
External linksReferences
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