The Format was an American indie rock band, formed by vocalist Nate Ruess and multi-instrumentalist Sam Means. Their style can be considered a mixture of indie, alternative, punk and folk music, with elements of 1960s and 1970s pop music.[3] Though Means and Ruess are the foremost members of the band, they have played, toured, and recorded with Mike Schey, Mark Buzard, Don Raymond, and for the DVD recording and summer 2007 tour, The Honorary Title's drummer Adam Boyd. The Format chose their name to make fun of the music industry's inclination towards a cookie-cutter "format" for a hit. Formed in 2002, the band announced a hiatus on February 4, 2008.[4] On February 4, 2020, they announced a return from their hiatus for a tour of special shows[5] that were later cancelled due to the pandemic.[6]
Before forming The Format in February 2002,[7] Means and Ruess, who had been friends since grade school,[8] formed the band Nevergonnascore and released the EP "The Byron Sessions" which had generated some record label interest but not a deal.[9]
The duo's first single, aptly titled "The First Single" from their five-song demo, EP, became locally popular on Phoenix radio station KEDJ and led to the duo signing with Elektra Records in 2002. Their first studio album, Interventions + Lullabies, recorded and produced by R. Walt Vincent and released in October 2003, was very successful around the Phoenix area. The band's fan base grew due to word of mouth, the Internet, and extensive touring. The album sold over 100,000 copies in the US.[9] l After Elektra folded, The Format released a second EP, Snails, with sister label Atlantic Records in April 2005. As they began to work on their second full-length album, they drew on the influences of 1970s pop music, including Harry Nilsson, Electric Light Orchestra and The Beach Boys, and decided to collaborate with Redd Kross founder Steven Shane McDonald whom they brought on as record producer.[9] But Atlantic Records executives were not impressed[citation needed] by the 1970s-pop-influenced demos and released The Format from its contract. Upon completing the album, Dog Problems, Ruess and Means, with help from their management company, decided to release it themselves through their newly established imprint label: The Vanity Label.[10] Two months prior to the album's release, an MP3 version was leaked to the internet. In response, The Format decided to make the album immediately available digitally for only $7.99 via the Nettwerk Music Store, which led to the sale of over 2,000 digital copies prior to the album's official release.[9]Dog Problems was released in stores on July 11, 2006. The day the album was released, an episode of MTV's My Super Sweet 16 featuring The Format aired, on which they performed at a birthday-graduation party for Priya and Divya Kothapalli from Nederland, Texas.
Following the release of Dog Problems, The Format gained more attention, receiving high marks from various publications[citation needed], even topping some Best of 2006 lists. During this year, The Format toured near constantly, supporting their own album Dog Problems as well as supporting The All American Rejects in September in the UK.[11]
On June 25, 2007, celebrating the one-year anniversary of Dog Problems, The Format offered the album in its entirety, including the liner notes in PDF form, for free on their official website. The offer was valid from June 25 to July 16, 2007. As of July 10, 2007, 36,000 people had downloaded the album.[13]
On February 4, 2008, The Format announced that they would be putting the band on hiatus, with Nate Ruess posting the following message on the band's website:
We have just put out word that we will not be making a new Format album. Please understand this was a tough decision and we're both upset about it. While we accept there will be false speculation as to why, understand that Sam and I remain extremely close and in fact are still passing the Twin Peaks box set back and forth in an attempt to figure out who REALLY killed Laura Palmer. We also want to thank everyone with and within the Format, particularly Mike, Don, and Marko, whom without, none of this would have ever even been fully realized. We both suggest you support their musical talents and whatever they decide to do. And lastly we want to thank the fans who made this the best 5 years of our lives.[14]
Means has completed solo work, including scoring the soundtrack to the film The Sinking of Santa Isabel,[15] as well as forming Destry with former Straylight Run singer Michelle DaRosa.[16]
When asked about the band getting back together, Ruess acknowledged that "every one of us like to remain optimistic and hopeful that it one day could happen."[17]
On February 3, 2020, the band formally re-released their 2007 concert film Live At The Mayan to streaming services and vinyl (previously only available on DVD.) The band also reunited for a live screening of the film and their first acoustic concert in over 12 years. The next day, the band announced a reunion in the spring of 2020 with concerts in Chicago, New York, and Phoenix.[19]
In March 2020, their tour (originally scheduled for March and April 2020) was postponed to July 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2020, it was postponed again to July 2021. After a third postponement to March and April 2022, the tour was ultimately cancelled.[20]
The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, and also known as Iggy and the Stooges, were an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave Alexander. Initially playing a raw, primitive style of rock and roll, the band sold few records in their original incarnation and gained a reputation for their confrontational performances, which often involved acts of self-mutilation by Iggy Pop.
Tindersticks are an English alternative rock band formed in Nottingham in 1991. They released six albums before singer Stuart A. Staples embarked on a solo career. The band reunited briefly in 2006 and more permanently the following year. The band recorded several film soundtracks, and have a long-standing relationship collaborating with French director Claire Denis.
Straylight Run is an indie rock band based in Baldwin, Nassau County, New York. The band released two albums, Straylight Run and The Needles the Space, as well as three EPs, Prepare to Be Wrong, About Time, and Un Mas Dos. In 2010, the band announced that they would be going on indefinite hiatus, but might reunite in the future. Two of the members, John Nolan and Shaun Cooper, previously played in Taking Back Sunday and have since rejoined the band.
The Black Mages were a Japanese instrumental rock band formed in 2002 by Nobuo Uematsu, Kenichiro Fukui and Tsuyoshi Sekito, who were three video game composers for Square and Square Enix. The band arranged Uematsu's Final Fantasy video game series-based compositions in a hard rock style often similar to progressive metal, achieved with the additional use of synthesizers. A year later the band expanded to six members with the addition of Keiji Kawamori, Michio Okamiya and Arata Hanyuda. In August 2010, Uematsu announced the band had been disbanded, but he would continue to perform rock arrangements of his music as a part of another similar band, known as the Earthbound Papas.
Interventions + Lullabies is the first album and second release by American rock band The Format. Produced and recorded by R. Walt Vincent, it was released on October 21, 2003 on Elektra Records. While the album is considered to be quite radio friendly, it did not produce any hit singles. This is possibly due to the absorption of Elektra Records into Warner Bros. Records and Atlantic Records shortly after the album's release.
Snails is the second EP and third release by American rock band The Format. The EP was created to be sold at shows while The Format were on tour with Taking Back Sunday and Jimmy Eat World. It also became available on iTunes. Physical copies of the album came with a promotional code to download 2 additional tracks from The Format's website. The EP includes two new songs and acoustic versions of three tracks from 2003's Interventions + Lullabies.
The Murder City Devils is an American garage rock band formed in 1996.
Fucked Up is a Canadian hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2001. The band consists of guitarists Mike Haliechuk and Josh Zucker, bassist Sandy Miranda, lead vocalist Damian Abraham and drummer Jonah Falco. From 2007 to 2021, the band also included guitarist and vocalist Ben Cook.
Dog Problems is the second studio album to be recorded by American rock band The Format; the album was released on July 11, 2006, through the band's label The Vanity Label. Following the release of their debut studio album Interventions + Lullabies (2003), The Format were moved from Elektra Records to Atlantic Records, who were unable to promote them, causing the band to leave the label in late 2005. The Format recorded their next album Dog Problems with producer Steven McDonald in Los Angeles, California. Dog Problems is an indie pop, indie rock and power pop album that has been compared to the work of the Cars, Ben Folds and Jimmy Eat World.
Modern Dog is a Thai rock band, formed in 1992. They issued their first album in 1994, selling 500,000 copies. The band has issued five studio albums, selling a total of 2 million copies.
The Classic Crime is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 2004. The band's current lineup consists of Matt MacDonald, Alan Clark (bass), Robert "Cheeze" Negrin (guitar), and Paul "Skip" Erickson. They have released three albums and an EP on Tooth & Nail Records, two of which, The Silver Cord (2008) and Vagabonds (2010), charted in the Billboard 200. In July 2011, the band left Tooth & Nail to produce a fourth album with the help of fan donations via Kickstarter, called Phoenix (2012). After the success they found in the crowdfunding approach with Phoenix, the band continued using Kickstarter as a means to fund their albums, subsequently releasing What Was Done: Vol. 1 in 2014, How to Be Human in 2017, Patterns in the Static in 2020, and Grim Age in 2023.
Peachcake is an American electronic group from Phoenix, Arizona.
Say Anything is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. The band was formed in 2000 by Max Bemis and his friends, and within two years, they had self-released two EPs and a full-length album.
AJJ is an American folk punk band from Phoenix, Arizona, originally formed in 2004 as Andrew Jackson Jihad. Their lyrics handle themes of shyness, poverty, humanity, religion, addiction, existentialism, and politics. Singer/guitarist Sean Bonnette and bassist Ben Gallaty co-founded the band, and have remained its only constant members throughout. The band has released eight studio albums to date, with their most recent, Disposable Everything, having been released on 26 May 2023.
Fun is an American indie pop band based in New York City. The band consists of Jack Antonoff, Andrew Dost, and Nate Ruess.
Nathaniel Joseph Ruess is an American singer and songwriter. He formed the indie pop band fun. in 2008, for which he serves as lead vocalist. He also does so for the indie rock band the Format, which was formed prior in 2002.
Aim and Ignite is the debut studio album by American indie pop band Fun. It was recorded at Appletree Studios.
Some Nights is the second and final studio album by the American pop rock group fun. It was released on February 21, 2012, through Fueled by Ramen. It was recorded in 2011 and produced by Jeff Bhasker. After signing to the new label, the band began to work on Some Nights for over nine months throughout 2011.
Andrew Paul Dost is an American musician and singer; he is a member of the indie possa nova/jazz band Metal Bubble Trio, in which he is the lead singer. He was formerly a member of the indie rock band Anathallo from 2003 to 2007, as well as the indie rock band fun. from 2008-2015.
Samuel Thomas Means is an American songwriter, producer and musician, previously songwriter of indie pop band The Format.
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