- Fun (band)
-
fun. 
Lead singer Nate Ruess at Electric Ballroom, Camden, London.Background information Origin New York, New York, U.S. Genres Indie pop
Pop rockYears active 2008–present Labels Fueled by Ramen Records/Nettwerk Records (US)
Hassle Records (UK)Associated acts The Format
Steel Train
Anathallo
Paramore
Panic! at the DiscoWebsite ournameisfun.com Members Nate Ruess
Andrew Dost
Jack AntonoffFun (stylized fun.) is an American indie pop band based in New York, New York that was formed by Nate Ruess, formerly of The Format. After the 2008 breakup of The Format, Ruess left Arizona to develop his career in New York City.[1] Ruess then formed Fun with Andrew Dost of Anathallo and Jack Antonoff of Steel Train.[2] Fun recorded their debut album, Aim and Ignite in August 2008 with producer Steven McDonald and arranger Roger Joseph Manning Jr., the former keyboardist of Jellyfish.[3]
Fun made its first single, "At Least I'm Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)" available as a free download by signing up for the band's mailing list."[4] In addition, the band announced that if Fun's Facebook page reached 40,000 fans by December 1st, a new Christmas single, "Believe In Me," would be released for free download. This goal was met, and Fun did indeed release the single for free.[5]
In February 2010, Fun supported Jack's Mannequin on their headline tour, along with Vedera which was followed by their first UK appearances in March. Their current touring band also includes Rob Kroehler, Emily Moore, Nate Harold, and Jon "Jonny Thunder" Goldstein.[6]
In April 2010, Fun supported Paramore's headline tour. Other support for the tour includes Relient K and Harriet Ellis of Summer Beats hosted by Sprint Mobile.[7] The band then embarked on a full UK tour in May.
In September 2011, Fun announced they would support Janelle Monáe on The Campus Consciousness Tour.
Contents
History
In February 2008, The Format split, and Nate Ruess immediately asked Andrew Dost, of Anathallo, and Jack Antonoff, of Steel Train, to join his new project. Dost had previously toured with The Format, providing various instrumentation, and Ruess knew Antonoff after The Format toured with Steel Train.[8] The three began working together in New Jersey within a week, with Ruess singing melodies for the other two to provide music for.[3] The first song the band recorded a demo of was "Benson Hedges," which was then made available for free in Spin's September 20, 2008 article on the band.[9]
Fun approached Steven McDonald, who had previously produced The Format's Dog Problems with Ruess, to produce their debut album. McDonald, who also played bass guitar on the album, was enthusiastic about the project, at one point saying, "I can’t believe what we’re working on here. This crushes anything I’ve ever done."[3]
Recording took place in the Fall of 2008, and the band's first single, "At Least I'm Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)" was made available as a free download on the band's MySpace page on April 6, 2009.[4]
Fun began its first North American tour on November 8, 2008 with Jack's Mannequin.[10] The debut album Aim and Ignite was released on August 25, 2009.[11] In reviewing the album, The Washington Post called some of the arrangements "theatrical, much like those on Panic! at the Disco's 2005 debut".[12]
Fun and Relient K opened up for Paramore on their Spring Tour 2010.
On August 4, 2010, Fun announced that they had signed with label Fueled by Ramen.[13]
On 14 August 2010, it was announced via the Official Paramore Fan Club that fun. would be opening for Paramore on their November UK tour.[14]
In 2010 Fun's single, "Walking the Dog," was used in a commercial for the travel site Expedia.com.[15]
In 2010, Will Noon (formerly of Straylight Run) will play drums with Fun on tour, according to Noon's twitter page.[16]
To celebrate the Paramore UK tour and the band’s new single ‘Walking The Dog’, Hassle Records gave away a free download of an acoustic version of the track.[17] Click here [17] to download the track.
On 12/02/10, Nate Ruess announced at a live show in Washington, D.C. that after the current tour the band will be returning home to begin work on a new album.
On April 27, 2011 a YouTube video of the band performing a new song entitled "Carry On" was uploaded.[18]
On May 17, 2011, the band released "C'mon" as a joint single with Panic! at the Disco, who they opened for on their 2011 Vices and Virtues Tour.
On September 14, 2011, the band announced that the first single off of their next album would be called "We Are Young" and will feature Janelle Monáe.
On November 7, 2011, the band announced that their next album would be titled Some Nights and released on February 21, 2012.
Band members
- Current members
- Jack Antonoff – guitars, trumpet (since 2008)
- Andrew Dost – vocals, piano, guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, trumpet, flugelhorn, glockenspiel, drums, percussion (since 2008)
- Nate Ruess – lead vocals (since 2008)
- Current touring members
- Nate Harold – bass guitar (since 2009)
- Emily Moore – guitars, vocals, keyboards (since 2009)
- Will Noon – drums (since 2010)
- Former touring members
- Jon Goldstein – drums (2008–2010)
- Rob Kroehler – guitar (2008–2010)
- Michael Newsted – bass guitar (2010)
- Maggie Malyn – violin (2008)
- Evan Winiker – bass guitar (2011)
Discography
- Albums
- Aim and Ignite (Nettwerk, 2009)
- Some Nights (Fueled By Ramen, 2012)
- Live albums
- fun. Live At Fingerprints (Nettwerk, 2010)
Singles
- 2009: "At Least I'm Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)"
- 2009: "All The Pretty Girls"
- 2010: "Believe In Me"
- 2010: "Walking The Dog"
- 2011: "C'mon"
- 2011: "We Are Young"
References
- ^ Prewitt, Catherine (November 18, 2009). "Best of What's Next: fun.", Paste. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
- ^ Martin, Hannah (September 15, 2009). "A new dynamic to Fun: Nate Ruess", Boston Globe, p. G3.
- ^ a b c "About - Fun". http://ournameisfun.com/about. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
- ^ a b "Dear You: Letter from Nate + new song!". fun.'s MySpace Blog. 6 April 2009. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=402387619&blogId=481510377. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
- ^ "Believe in Me" free mp3. Retrieved June 11, 2010
- ^ The Format's Ruess talks about music and fun.. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ Paramore to tour US with fun. and Relient K. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ Introducing: Fun. Retrieved June 11, 2010.
- ^ Kiser, Matt. "Members of the Format, Steel Train, Anathallo Unite as fun.", Spin, 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- ^ Tate, Jason (8 November 2008). "Introducing: Fun - News Article". AbsolutePunk.net. http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=467591. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
- ^ "Aim and Ignite is out today! Listen to a special track now". 25 August 2009. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=402387619&blogId=507239197. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
- ^ Dunham, Nancy (September 18, 2009). "CD Review: Fun.: Aim and Ignite", The Washington Post, p. T8.
- ^ "Special Letter From Nate & Live Web Chats with fun.!". fun.'s Website. 4 August 2010. http://ournameisfun.com/news/special-letter-nate-live-web-chars-fun-566. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ Bhamra, Satvir (2010-08-14). "B.o.B and fun. to join Paramore on UK tour". Amplified.tv. http://amplified.tv/2010/08/14/b-o-b-and-fun-to-join-paramore-on-uk-tour/. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
- ^ "Expedia.com commercial featuring "Walking the Dog."!". 4 September 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B5hcH8Kr4U. Retrieved 4 September 2010.
- ^ willnoon. "will noon (willnoon) op Twitter". Twitter.com. http://twitter.com/willnoon/. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
- ^ a b Bhamra, Satvir (2010-11-15). "FREE Download: ‘Walking The Dog’ (acoustic) by fun". Amplified.tv. http://amplified.tv/2010/11/15/download-%e2%80%98walking-the-dog%e2%80%99-acoustic-by-fun-for-free/. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
- ^ now to post a comment!. "Fun - Carry On (Live @ TCNJ)". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nLY_E0PovM. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
External links
- Official site
- Fun YouTube Channel
- Fun on Myspace
- Fun coverage on Audioholic Media
- Alter The Press Interview
Categories:- Musical groups from New York
- American indie rock groups
- Independent Music Awards winners
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