Wheatus

Infobox musical artist
Name = Wheatus

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Img_capt = Wheatus backstage at Southampton University (L-R):
Connie Renda, Matt Milligan, Brendan Brown, Gerard Hoffmann, Liz Brown, Kevin Garcia
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Born =
Died =
Origin = Northport, Long Island, New York, United States
Instrument =
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Genre = Powerpop
Pop punk
Alternative rock
Occupation =
Years_active = 1995–present
Label = Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Montauk Mantis
Associated_acts =
URL =
Current_members = Brendan B. Brown
Kevin Garcia
Liz Brown
Gerard Hoffmann
Matt Milligan
Missy Heselton
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =

Wheatus is an American pop punk group from Northport, New York. They are best known for their 2000 hit single "Teenage Dirtbag" which was also featured in the movie "Loser".

History

Wheatus was formed by Brendan B. Brown in 1995. Brown wrote a few songs, enlisted the help of his brother Peter on drums and Rich Liegey on bass (he was replaced by Mike McCabe after the release of their self-titled debut "Wheatus"). In 1999, they hired New York attorney Ray Maiello to shop their self produced debut album and signed with Kevin Patrick at Columbia Records; shortly thereafter, Maiello was hired as band manager.

Wheatus' first and largest hit was "Teenage Dirtbag," which charted at #2 in the UK. Their second single "A Little Respect" (an Erasure cover) also reached high chart positions, and was another top-3 hit for the band on the UK singles chart. Their third single, a double A-side of "Leroy" and "Wannabe Gangstar" (the single version of the latter featuring Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden), was recorded at Abbey Road in the famed studio 2 and was immediately at the center of a large dispute through which a SONY UK A and R representative named Ollie tried to turn them into a techno band like the Gorillas, because he liked the Gorillas. The single consequently didn't perform as well as the first 2, reaching twenty-third in the UK singles chart.

When the band began work on their second album, Liz Brown (the sister of the brothers Brown) and Kathryn Froggat (previously the band's merchandiser) teamed up for backing vocals. Shannon Harris of Relish (who had supported Wheatus on their earlier tours) signed on as keyboardist, at the request of Brendan Brown.

Due to disagreements with their record label over Brendan B Brown's refusal to lip sync on Top Of The Pops, Wheatus' second album, "Hand Over Your Loved Ones", received little or no promotion in the UK and was never even released by SONY in the USA. Consequently it did not sell well, with the single "American in Amsterdam" also failing to significantly impact the music charts (it reached number 72). In October 2004, Michael Bellar joined Wheatus on keyboard, as former keyboarder Shannon Harris had left the band earlier that year. The band re-released their second album in 2005 under the title "Suck Fony" on their own label Montauk Mantis with two new songs, "William McGovern" and the Pat Benatar cover "Hit Me with Your Best Shot." The album was originally only available from the band's website, except in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. There, a greater demand for Wheatus albums, and a greater proliferation of independent music stores, allowed the band to get a distribution contract, despite the relative obscurity of their record label. (As of April 2007, Suck Fony is available on iTunes and eMusic).

At some point in time, Wheatus was signed by Warner Bros. to perform a theme for the Warner Bros. cartoon show "Jackie Chan Adventures". The band members decided to remake one of their rather obscure songs titled "Punk Ass Bitch" for the theme ("Punk Ass Bitch" which was penned by Liegey, remains one of the most downloaded Wheatus songs according to iTunes). Their performance was later scrapped in favor of an instrumental theme for the show, but was used as the ending theme, and in a few commercial advertisements for the show, on the Warner Bros. television network.

Bassist Mike McCabe left the band in early 2005 and was replaced by Nicolas diPierro. Later that year, Michael Bellar also left and was replaced by Gerard Hoffmann. The line-up changes continued in January 2006, with the departure of diPierro from the band. He was replaced by 19-year-old rookie bassist Matt Milligan. A line-up change was announced on 2 May 2006: Drummer Pete Brown gave up being a musician to get married and live "a 'normal' life". [cite web|url=http://www.wheatus.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=3666|title=bbbsays: Pete|work=Wheatus' official forum|author=Brendan Brown|accessmonthday=May 3 |accessyear=2006] He was replaced by Kevin Garcia, leaving Brendan Brown as the only member remaining from the original line-up. The next line up change occurred only five days later, on 9 May 2006, with Kathryn Froggatt leaving the band due to pregnancy, and also to concentrate on future solo work. Kathryn was replaced by Connie Renda shortly after announcing her departure from the band, who has recently been replaced by Missy.

In February 2007, Wheatus joined the UK leg of the Get Happy Tour, along with founders Bowling For Soup and Army of Freshmen and British pop-punk outfit Son of Dork, for a 13 show tour (due to Wheatus and Son of Dork not performing at one show).

On 19 September, 2007, Liz Brown announced her departure from the band to take place after a home show in New York. Missy took a back step from her band vocal duties to concentrate on studying and now the backing vocalists are Johanna Cranitch and Georgia. Wheatus will start working on their new album on 11th October, looking to a release early 2008 and a UK tour in spring 2008.

On 1 February 2008 the band announced on their official website that they are working on new material, culminating in the announcement that the music will be available to download when finished and tentatively available in vinyl or on CD in Late 2008 [http://www.wheatus.com/ "Wheatus Official Website. Retrieved on 5 February 2008"] .

In March 2008, Wheatus performed several U.S dates, and have now announced dates for an acoustic set in October and November in the U.K. Check their official website for details.

Members

* Brendan B. Brown – vocals, guitar
* Kevin Joaquin Garcia – drums
* Matthew Milligan – bass
* Gerard Charles Hoffmann – keyboards
* Johanna Cranitch – back-up vocals
* Georgia Haege – back-up vocals
* Keecia Bailey –backing cello playermarried to
* Oliver Catt –Ukulele player

Former members

* Rich Liegey – bass
* Vanessa Jimenez – back-up vocals
* Philip Jimenez – multiple instruments
* Shannon Patrick Harris – keyboards
* Mike Joseph McCabe – bass
* Michael Bellar – keyboards
* Nicolas diPierro – bass
* Peter McCarrick Brown – drums
* Kathryn Elizabeth Froggatt – back-up vocals
* Constance Renda – back-up vocals
* Elizabeth Grace Brown – back-up vocals
* Melissa Heselton – back-up vocals

Discography

Albums

*"Wheatus" (2000) #7 UK
*"Hand Over Your Loved Ones" (2003)
*"Suck Fony" (2005 re-issue of "Hand Over Your Loved Ones" with two new tracks and altered track order)
*"TooSoonMonsoon" (2005)

ingles

iTunes exclusive EPs

* "Lemonade" (2004)
* "Live at XM" (2004)
* "The London Sun" (2006)

References

External links

* [http://www.wheatus.com/ Official Wheatus website]
*MySpace|id=wheatus|Wheatus
* [http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=crouts0 Pockets's Website]