Nerf Herder

Nerf Herder
(L-R) Steve Sherlock (drums); Ben Pringle (bass); Linus Dotson (guitar, keyboard); Parry Gripp (vocals, guitar)
Background information
Origin	Santa Barbara, California, United States
Genres	Pop punk, geek rock, alternative rock
Years active	1994–2003, 2005–present
Website	http://www.nerfherder.com/
Members	Parry Gripp Steve Sherlock Ben Pringle Linus of Hollywood
Past members	Charlie Dennis Dave Ehrlich Pete Newbury Marko 72 Justin Fisher

Nerf Herder is a pop punk band from Santa Barbara, California, formed in 1994 by Parry Gripp (vocals, guitar), Charlie Dennis (bass) and Steve Sherlock (drums). They describe themselves as a "geek rock" band, and are known for simplistic modern punk-style songs with frequently humorous, juvenile, and pop-culture-referencing lyrics.

Their 1997 single "Van Halen", a tribute to the band of the same name, received significant radio airplay and led to their first major record deal with Arista Records. They also composed and performed the theme music to the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Nerf Herder was formed in Santa Barbara in 1994 by Parry Gripp (vocals, guitar), Charlie Dennis (bass), and Steve Sherlock (drums). Charlie left the band after the release of their debut self-titled album, and was replaced first by Pete Newbury, with Dave Ehrlich also joining as a second guitarist. Newbury's tenure touring with the band was, however, short-lived. He was briefly replaced in 1999 by bassist Marko 72, and then by Justin Fisher, who played bass and keyboards on two albums (How To Meet Girls & American Cheese). More recently, former Nerf Herder members Mark De Santis and Justin Fisher joined Ridel High.

In 1999, expecting to eventually be dropped anyway, Nerf Herder asked Arista to release them from their contract, so that they could move forward with a new record, How To Meet Girls, with Honest Don's Records, a subsidiary of Fat Wreck Chords. A special EP for My Records (run by Joey Cape from Lagwagon) entitled My EP was released in 2001, and was followed in 2002 by their album American Cheese.