Gatsbys American Dream | |
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Origin | Seattle, Washington, United States |
Genres | Indie rock |
Years active | 2001–2006 2010–present |
Labels | Rocketstar, LLR, Fearless, Equal Vision |
Associated acts |
Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground Search Rescue Wild Orchid Children Zero Cool Keith Ledger RedRedBlue Waxwing Surrounded By Lions The Blood Brothers Dr Manhattan Places and Numbers The Money Pit |
Website | Official Site |
Members | Nic Newsham Bobby Darling Kirk Huffman Rudy Gajadhar Kyle O'Quin Ryan Van Wieringen |
Past members | Dustin McGhye Joey Atkins Josh Berg |
Gatsbys American Dream is an American indie rock band based in Seattle, Washington, United States. Since their founding in 2001, they have released four full-length albums and one EP. They have also appeared on several compilations with original songs and covers. The band's self-titled fourth album, their second on Fearless Records, peaked at number 22 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart and number 28 on the Top Independent Albums chart.
Although Gatsbys American Dream are often considered an indie rock band, many songs show influence from alternative rock, post-hardcore and progressive rock, making them difficult classify into a single subgenre. Their music is characterized by being relatively short, fast-paced songs containing a variety of guitar riffs and vocal melodies.
The band drew their name from F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby,
The prototypes for the songs on the band's first record, Why We Fight, were (according to Bobby) written by his earlier band, One Point Two on Together Records (Killed For Less Records) out of Richmond Indiana. Scott George owner of Together Records/Killed For Less Records says One Point Two CD is still available on interpunk.com and to this date claims it to be ahead of its time and ground breaking. This band was made up of Bobby, Casey Bates, Josh Berg, and Dustin McGhie. The group later met up with the former guitarist and singer of Good for Nothing, Nic Newsham and Ryan Van Wieringen, and formed Gatsbys American Dream. Although Casey Bates never joined the band, he has remained their producer throughout the band's career.
When Acceptance guitarist Kaylan Cloyd heard a Gatsbys demo, he handed it to Darrick Bourgeois, owner of local record label Rocketstar Recordings. Shortly afterward, Gatsbys signed a two-record deal with Rocketstar and worked with producer Aaron Sprinkle to record their 2002 debut album Why We Fight. Their first show after being signed drew in a crowd in excess of 500, which was largely due to Rocketstar's extensive promotion.