Hopewell | |
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Hopewell, in Staten Island, New York in 2008
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Background information | |
Origin | Hopewell Junction, New York; Brooklyn, New York, United States |
Genres | Psychedelic rock |
Labels | Tee Pee Records, Star Mole (Japan), Burnt Hair, Priapus, Sunnylane |
Associated acts | The Silent League, Mercury Rev, Wounded Knees, Common Prayer, Gay for Johnny Depp, Grand Mal, Whip, Pete International Airport |
Website | Official Website |
Members |
Jason Russo Jay Green Rich Meyer Tyson Lewis Lyndon Roeller |
Past members |
Justin Russo Dalia Garih Reno Bo Phil Williams Marc Boudria |
Hopewell is an American rock band. The band was founded by Jason Sebastian Russo, of Hopewell Junction, New York. At 19, Russo joined Mercury Rev, and then struck out on his own with a band named after his hometown.
In 1995, seminal Detroit-based space rock label Burnt Hair Records released the band's first single, a split with Michigan-based drone-ambient group Windy & Carl. Hopewell's first full-length, Contact, came out on Burnt Hair in 1997. Their second release, 2001's The Curved Glass, led to European distribution, festival appearances and a John Peel session. What followed was a transition period of line-up and stylistic changes. Most notable was the loss of Dalia Garih as drummer. After regrouping, the band signed to Tee Pee Records and released Hopewell & The Birds Of Appetite, produced by Dave Fridmann of Flaming Lips fame at Tarbox Road Studios. Its follow-up, Beautiful Targets, produced by Fridmann protégé Bill Racine, was released in 2007 and its symphonic rock leanings were often compared to Mercury Rev and the Flaming Lips.
The band's 2009 release, Good Good Desperation, took them in a heavier direction, aligned by critics with Pink Floyd's Meddle and Can's Tago Mago.
A selective list of bands Hopewell has performed or toured with: My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Dandy Warhols, Nicole Atkins, The Sleepy Jackson, British Sea Power, The Comas, The Black Angels, Goldrush, Mark Gardener, Mike Watt, The Posies, The Lovetones, Garth Hudson, Adam Franklin, The Joy Formidable, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and others.