The Velvet Teen

Infobox musical artist
Name = The Velvet Teen


Background = group_or_band
Origin = Santa Rosa, California, United States
Genre = Alternative rock Indie rock Baroque Pop
Current_members = Judah Nagler Casey Deitz Matthew Izen
Past_members = Logan Whitehurst (deceased) Josh Staples

The Velvet Teen is an Indie band from Northern California.

The Velvet Teen was founded by Judah Nagler and Logan Whitehurst as a side project from their other bands, Tin Circus and Little Tin Frog. Judah and Logan recorded the EP "Comasynthesis", which had a more prominent electronic sound, in 2000. It featured Judah doing most instrumentation and singing alone; but Logan provided live drums for some tracks and sang the song "Penning the Penultimate" himself. In 2001, they were joined by bassist/vocalist Joshua Staples and recorded another EP, "The Great Beast February", which had more of an alternative sound.

That year, they caught the eye of Slowdance Records owner, Ezra Caraeff, and were signed to the label. In 2002, they collaborated with Death Cab for Cutie's guitarist, Chris Walla, on their first full-length album "Out of the Fierce Parade". Logan Whitehurst, who was also an accomplished artist, created the etchings used as the album's artwork. Two music videos from the album ("Radiapathy" and "The Prize Fighter") were featured on Subterranean, an MTV2 program.

Their second full-length album, "Elysium", was recorded on a laptop by Judah and his brother Ephriam, and mixed at Kingsize Soundlabs in Los Angeles by Dave Trumfio and Mike Krassner. In stark contrast to their earlier work, the album does not feature any guitars at all. The album's core instrumentation is piano and string arrangements. The string and horn ensembles were arranged by Adam Theis.

Several weeks before "Elysium"'s U.S. release in the summer of 2004, Logan Whitehurst left the band, both for health reasons (in May 2004, it was discovered that ailments he was suffering were due to a cancerous brain tumor), and to follow a solo project, Logan Whitehurst & The Junior Science Club. Casey Deitz of The Americas, from Chico, California, was welcomed as the new drummer/vocalist.

In 2006, the band recorded and released their third album, "Cum Laude!", with Judah as producer and his brother Ephriam Nagler as recording engineer. "Cum Laude!" had an odd, progressive sound that was more fast and lively than any of their previous work. They supported the album on Minus the Bear's 2006 tour.

In November 2006, Josh Staples left The Velvet Teen in order to fully focus on his other band, The New Trust. Then, on December 3, 2006, after his cancer had been declared in remission, Logan Whitehurst died at his home in Los Banos, California.

On February 28, 2007, Judah posted a message on The Velvet Teen's official website confirming that the band would continue. They started touring again in the fall. Nagler took over the bass/vocal duties, and Matthew Izen of the Polar Bears and formerly of The New Trust played guitar. On July 22, 2008, it was announced on the band's website that they are currently recording.

Discography

LPs

*"Out of the Fierce Parade" (March 19, 2002)
*"Elysium" (July 20, 2004)
*"Cum Laude!" (July 25, 2006)

EPs

* "Comasynthesis EP" (March 2000)
* "The Great Beast February EP" (February 2001)
* "Immortality EP" (November 2001)
* "GyzmKid" EP (May 9, 2006)

Imports, Re-releases

* "Plus, Minus, Equals (The Great Beast February and Comasynthesis)" (July 16, 2002)
* "Out of the Fierce Parade" (Japanese version) (June 4, 2003)
* "Elysium" (Japanese version) (May 22, 2004)
* "Secrets Safe, A Buried Box" (Japanese only compilation CD) (October 29, 2004)
* "Elysium" (limited double 10" vinyl) (June 16, 2005)
* "Cum Laude!" (Japanese version) (June 28, 2006)

External links

* [http://www.thevelvetteen.com Official Website]
* [http://www.slowdance.com Slowdance Records]
* [http://soundcrank.com/Interview.aspx?interviewid=1027 Soundcrank Podcast Hosted by The Velvet Teen]
* [http://www.myspace.com/thevelvetteen The Velvet Teen on MySpace]

Source: http://www.slowdance.com