Trans Am (band)

Trans Am
Trans Am in Austin, Texas, November 15, 2007
Background information
Origin	Maryland, United States
Genres	Post-rock Indie rock
Instruments	Bass guitar, synthesizer, keyboard, guitar, occasional vocals (English and German)
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Thrill Jockey
Members	Nathan Means (bass, vocals) Philip Manley (guitar) Sebastian Thomson (drums)

Trans Am is a three-piece band which originated in Bethesda, Maryland that was one of the originators of "post-rock" in the mid 1990s. Their work centers on a cerebrally robotic, usually instrumental, semi-danceable, minimalistic format, with influences including Krautrock, heavy metal, hardcore punk, synthpop, electronic music, and folk music. They are known for constant touring (with bands such as Tortoise, Pan Sonic, The Fucking Champs, and Tool), cryptic album artwork, and continual thematic re-invention.

Nathan Means (bass, keyboard, vocoder, vocals), Philip Manley (lead guitar, bass, keyboard, vocals) and Sebastian Thomson (drums, bass, keyboard, guitar, vocals) formed Trans Am in 1990 near Washington, D.C.. The band started as a HarDCore project but the sound evolved as the members finished college to include additional influences: new wave, classic rock and experimental rock. In 1995 they began recording their music, which until 1998 was almost entirely instrumental. Their sound is generally marked with acoustic and electronic drums, guitars, electronics, and a varying amount of often-heavily processed vocals. Instrumental virtuosity (especially with the drums) is a focal point. All of their albums have been released on the Chicago-based independent record label, Thrill Jockey.

Their self-titled debut, recorded after just a few rehearsals, contained instrumentals which were largely improvised versions of simple rock-oriented motifs based loosely on 1970s bands such as Boston, Bachman–Turner Overdrive and Yes. The album was produced by John McEntire of labelmates Tortoise at Chicago's Idful Studios. Afterwards, the band opened for Tortoise on a brief US tour.