Vampire Weekend
| Vampire Weekend | |
|---|---|
Vampire Weekend performing at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in 2013
|
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | New York City, United States |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Labels | XL |
| Associated acts | Dirty Projectors, L’Homme Run, Discovery, Baio, Dams of the West, Ra Ra Riot, Chromeo |
| Website | [1] |
| Members |
Ezra Koenig Chris Tomson Chris Baio |
| Past members | Rostam Batmanglij |
Vampire Weekend is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2006. They are currently signed to XL Recordings. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, drummer and percussionist Chris Tomson and bassist and backing vocalist Chris Baio. The band's first album Vampire Weekend (2008) – which included the singles "Mansard Roof", "A-Punk", "Oxford Comma", "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" and "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance" – was acclaimed by critics for its world music influences. Their following album, Contra (2010), was similarly acclaimed and garnered strong commercial success. Their third studio album, Modern Vampires of the City (2013), won the group a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2014.
The band members met while enrolled at Columbia University, beginning with a rap collaboration between Koenig and Tomson named "L'Homme Run". They bonded over a shared love of punk rock and African music. Koenig toured with The Dirty Projectors during a period of experimentation with African music, inspiring the band to incorporate world sounds into their earliest work. The band chose the name "Vampire Weekend" from the title of a short film project Koenig worked on during the summer between freshman and sophomore years in college. While home for the summer, Koenig watched a 1980s vampire film (The Lost Boys) and was inspired to make a Northeastern version of the film in which a man named Walcott travels to Cape Cod to warn the mayor that vampires are attacking the United States. Koenig abandoned the project after two days. The band began playing shows around Columbia University, starting with a battle of the bands at Lerner Hall in 2006. After graduating from college, the band self-produced their debut album while simultaneously working full-time jobs, Tomson as a music archivist and Koenig as a middle school English teacher.
...
Wikipedia