1997 (band)

1997 was an American pop/rock band from Chicago, Illinois, United States, who were formed in October 2005. They released three albums between 2007 and 2009, but broke up the following year.

1997
OriginChicago, Illinois, United States
GenresPop rock
Indie pop
Alternative rock
Years active2005–2010
LabelsVictory Records
Websitewww.partylikeits1997.com

History

Several of 1997's members previously played in the Chicago bands Constance, Funeral Etiquette, and October Fall.[1] Their name 1997 was discussed widely, but via the band's MySpace blog, they have rejected all claims of the name's origination. They have since stated that the name came from the younger brother of Caleb Pepp (main vocals/guitar), as a suggestion for a previous band they had started. They began practicing together in October 2005, and after strong local performances signed with Victory Records in 2006.

Victory issued their debut album, entitled A Better View of the Rising Moon, in April 2007, as the group toured the US with The Audition and The Graduate. The title of the album comes from a haiku by Mizuta Masahide:[2]

Since my house burned down,
I now own a better view
Of the rising moon.

Keyboardist/vocalist Kerri Mack left the group in April 2007 after recording the album, and was replaced with keyboardist/vocalist Alida Marroni.[1] Kerri later performed under the band name Mega Deft[3] where she performs at local clubs as well as wrote music for Tiny Riots.[4]

The group benefited heavily from online buzz and ferocious touring; it was named band of the day by SPIN on April 27, 2007,[5] and has received many reviews from press sites.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] In the fall of 2007, the group toured the US with Aiden, Still Remains, and Drop Dead, Gorgeous.[17]

The band's second album, On the Run, was released on May 27, 2008, again on Victory. The band toured in support of the album, playing several dates on the 2008 Vans Warped Tour on the Skate Ramp Stage and the Kevin Says Stage. On August 5, 2008 the band posted an entry on their MySpace Blog informing fans that Alida Marroni and Alan Goffinski had parted with the group on July 28. The first signs of trouble apparently came after the band failed to appear for a hometown show in Chicago in support of their second album. The band asked keyboard and vocalist Alida to leave the band because friendship between her and the band fell through, and boyfriend Alan Goffinski, the band's bassist, left with her.

Marroni was replaced by Arthi Meera, who, after only planning to tour with the band until they found a replacement, was made a permanent member. Matt Wysocki, the band's photographer, joined as their bassist in September 2008. Meera continues to perform around Chicago open mics[18] and has a band with her brother called "fair and kind".[18]

The band recorded their third album, titled Notes from Underground, which was released on October 13, 2009. As of that month, Wysocki was replaced by Brian Osters, and in the following month, Kevin Thomas was no longer in the band. They toured in November and December 2009. They were set to begin an extensive tour in January 2010, but Caleb Pepp announced that the band was "taking an indefinite break from playing shows" and felt that they "need to do some soul-searching and find some new ways to express" themselves.[19] In March 2010, Pepp and the band announced their break up via Myspace.

Caleb is now playing in the band Young Coconut,[18] and has released 7 solo EPs under the name &caleb.[20] Caleb, Cody, and their merchandise girl Jazmin have started an artist community called "The Lily Pad"[18] and a record label called MTFE Records.[21]

Matt Wysocki is now one half of an electronic music group called Prisms,[22] and still does photography in Los Angeles.

Members
  • Nick Coleman - Drums (2005-2010)
  • Caleb Pepp - Guitar, Vocals (2005-2010)
  • Cody Josephson - Harmonica, Guitar, Vocals (2005-2010)
  • Arthi Meera - Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals (2008-2010)
  • Brian Osters - Bass (2010-2010)
  • Kerri Leah Mack - Keyboards, Glockenspiel, Vocals (2005-2007) [23]
  • Alan Goffinski - Bass, Mandolin, Singing Saw (2005-2007)
  • Alida Marroni - Keyboards, Glockenspiel, Vocals (2006-2007)
  • Matt Wysocki - Bass, Synth, Theremin (2007-2010) / Photographer (2005-2010)
  • Kevin Thomas - Vocals, Tambourine (2005-2009)

Discography
  • A Better View Of The Rising Moon (Victory, (April 17, 2007)
  • On The Run (Victory, (May 27, 2008)
  • Notes from Underground (Victory, (October 13, 2009)

References
  1. Biography, AllMusic
  2. James Christian (24 January 2008). Philosophy: An Introduction to the Art of Wondering. Cengage Learning. p. 7. ISBN 0-495-50504-8.
  3. Kerri, Mack. "MegaDeft Myspace". Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  4. Tiny Riots. "Official Band Page".
  5. 1997 Archived July 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. SPIN, April 27, 2007. Accessed July 27, 2007.
  6. Scott Frazier, Album Review, AntiMusic.com. Accessed July 27, 2007.
  7. Album Review. Music Emissions. Accessed July 27, 2007.
  8. Paul Bruens, Album Review. Driven Far Off, April 30, 2007. Accessed July 27, 2007.
  9. Megan Rooney, Album Review Archived August 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Daily Nebraskan, April 20, 2007. Accessed July 27, 2007.
  10. Sarah Boger, Album Review Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Band Vibe, June 21, 2007. Accessed July 27, 2007.
  11. Andrew Luu, Album Review. New University Online, May 14, 2007. Accessed July 27, 2007.
  12. Jake Kilroy, Album Review Archived September 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Daily Titan, April 26, 2007. Accessed July 27, 2007.
  13. Matthew Montgomery, Album Review Archived July 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Music Geek, April 15, 2007. Accessed July 27, 2007.
  14. Nathan Blaney, Album Review Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. TransformOnline, June 1, 2007. Accessed July 27, 2007.
  15. Jessie Kelsey, Album Review Archived August 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. The Spectrum (Buffalo, NY), April 16, 2007. Accessed July 27, 2007.
  16. Paul Schultz, Album Review Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. The Trades, May 31, 2007. Accessed July 27, 2007.
  17. Tour Dates Archived 2008-02-26 at the Wayback Machine. Blistering magazine. Accessed September 27, 2007.
  18. "Young Coconut". Archived from the original on 2013-04-09. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
  19. "Featured Content on Myspace". Blogs.myspace.com. 2016-03-16. Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2016-03-27.
  20. "&caleb - Home". Andcaleb.com. 2015-02-26. Retrieved 2016-03-25.
  21. "Young Coconut". Archived from the original on 2013-04-09. Retrieved 2015-03-15.
  22. "SoundCloud - Hear the world’s sounds". Web.archive.org. November 3, 2013. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013.
  23. "Aanmelden bij Facebook". Facebook.com.
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