The Drums

The Drums biography

The Drums are an American indie pop band from Brooklyn, New York with members stemming from the short-lived band Elkland (formerly Goat Explosion). The band is currently on the Moshi Moshi/Island (UK), Universal (AU) and Frenchkiss (US) labels.

Formation

Founding members Jonathan (Jonny) Pierce and Jacob Graham became friends as children, having met at a summer camp around age 12 or 13. Some years later, they formed the short-lived electro-pop group Goat Explosion.

Soon after they formed indie pop group Elkland, which quickly gained attention and was signed by Columbia Records. Meanwhile Graham formed 'Horse Shoes,' which was signed by Shelflife Records. Elkland disbanded in May 2006, after which Jonny took a couple years off from making music. In 2008 Jonny and Jacob came up with the concept for The Drums, and Pierce moving to Kissimee, Florida, where Graham resided at the time, so that they could more readily collaborate. They then moved to Brooklyn, New York, in the spring of 2009, where they hired drummer Connor Hanwick and guitarist Adam Kessler. The band had their first gig within a week of arriving in Brooklyn. In October 2009, the band released their first album, Summertime!, with 9 songs.

Career

In December 2009 the band was shortlisted as one of the 15 music acts for the BBC Sound of 2010. Subsequently, they placed at No. 5 in this list on 4 January 2010. The Drums also appeared in Cliché Magazine's December '09/January '10 issue. The article featured an exclusive interview by Executive Editor Miguel íngel Jimenez and drummer Connor Hanwick. In NME's first issue of 2010 they were named number 1 in the magazine's top tips for the year as well as in Clash Magazine's Tips for 2010. The Drums were also voted "Best Hope for 2010" in Pitchfork Media's 2009 Readers' Poll.

In February 2010, the band played venues around the UK on the 2010 NME Awards Tour alongside The Maccabees, Bombay Bicycle Club and The Big Pink, going on to play support band for Florence and the Machine's 2010 Cosmic Love tour. In June 2010 they played as one of the support bands for Kings of Leon in Hyde Park, London.

On May 7, 2010, they appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross where they performed "Best Friend". Their debut album was officially released on June 7, 2010, on Moshi Moshi and Island Records. The album contained the singles "Let's Go Surfing," "Best Friend," "Me and the Moon" and "Forever and Ever, Amen" as well as "Down By The Water," which had previously been released as part of the band's Summertime! EP. On September 16, 2010, it was announced on the band's Facebook page and website that guitarist Adam Kessler had left the band.

After the disaster in Japan, the Drums released the single "The New World" on April 11, 2011. On May 5, 2011, it was reported by the NME that The Drums had expanded their live line-up to include Chris Stein and Myles Matheny (of Violens). In June 2011 drummer Danny Lee Allen (We Are Scientists, Youth Group) joined the band, replacing Chris Stein.

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