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All Music Guide:
Standing firmly on the middle ground between the quirky, staccato attack of Modest Mouse and the spirited, arena-ready roar of Arcade Fire, Los Angeles-based indie rock outfit Grouplove came to fruition in the late 2000s around the talents of Hannah Hooper, Christian Zucconi, Sean Gadd, Ryan Rabin, and Andrew Wessen. New Yorkers Hooper and Zucconi, through sheer kismet, forged a friendship with the latter three members while attending an art residency in Greece on the island of Crete. Before returning to their myriad homelands, the future quintet members began hashing out plans to meet up again and put some of the music they had been working on to tape, resulting in whirlwind trips to Rabins Los Angeles studio, where the five friends decided to make their relationship official. Grouploves eponymous debut EP was released by Canvasback in 2010. While touring alongside Florence + the Machine early the following year, Grouplove managed to finalize plans for their full-length album, Never Trust a Happy Song, which appeared later that fall.
Wikipedia:
Grouplove (also typeset as GROUPLOVE) is a US-based indie band that formed in 2009 by Hannah Hooper (vocals, keys), Christian Zucconi (vocals, guitar), Sean Gadd (bass, vocals), Andrew Wessen (guitar, vocals), and Ryan Rabin (drums).
Ryan Rabin produced their debut EP which was originally released independently by themselves, and was later re-released by Canvasback/Atlantic with a bonus track and their hit song, "Colours". Their debut album, Never Trust a Happy Song, was also produced by Rabin and was released worldwide on September 13, 2011.
History [edit]
Formation (2009-2011) [edit]
Grouplove formed out of a friendship between the five members of the band. Hooper met Zucconi on the Lower East Side of Manhattan after hearing, and enjoying, his music. Despite having just met, Hooper invited Zucconi to an artist residency in Crete she was leaving for later that week. It was at this retreat where they met the rest of the band, Andrew Wessen, Ryan Rabin and Sean Gadd. Rabin, an accomplished drummer and producer, grew up in Los Angeles with Wessen, a surfer and guitarist. Rabin comes from a musical family - his father is Trevor Rabin. Also at the commune was Sean Gadd, a songwriter and guitarist from London. The friendship between the members formed quickly, but the band did not form until a year later after Gadd, Zucconi and Hooper pooled their funds together and made a trip to Rabin's Los Angeles recording studio. Now formed, they played their first show at El Cid in Los Angeles on May 10, 2010. Later that year, the band went on tour with Florence and The Machine on the west coast, and then Joy Formidable on the east coast. By November, Nylon Magazine had already recognized Grouplove as one of the top ten in the "Best New Bands in 2010."
After signing with Canvasback/Atlantic Records, the band re-released their self-titled EP, Grouplove, on January 25, 2011. In 2011, the band co-headlined a cross-country tour with Foster The People, and made appearances at Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, Reading and Leeds Festivals, and Glastonbury. The band has established themselves as a formidable live act, touring nearly non-stop over the past two years. Recently the group sold out the Wiltern in Los Angeles and Terminal 5 in NYC.
Never Trust A Happy Song (2011-present) [edit]
The band released its debut album, Never Trust a Happy Song, on September 13, 2011 through Canvasback/Atlantic Records. In support of their debut album, the band went on a headlining North American Fall tour and also performed with Two Door Cinema Club as their main support. In December, the band performed at KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas, which takes place at the Gibson Amphitheatre, in Universal City. On January 3, 2012 the band kicked off their sold-out headline tour in Australia at the Factory Theatre in Sydney and continued their tour in Europe and the UK in February. The band began their US Spring 2012 tour on March 6 in Burlington, VT in support of Young The Giant. Throughout the sold-out headline tour the band had featured stops at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Sasquatch! Music Festival, and Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.
Grouplove kicked off their Close Your Eyes and Count to Tour Tour on September 25, 2012 at the Roseland theater in Portland, Oregon, traveling across the country with Alt-J and MS MR as support. Close Your Eyes and Count to Tour Tour ended on November 17, 2012 at the Wiltern in Los Angeles, California.
Chart success [edit]
Grouplove's first single, "Colours", reached number 12 on Modern Rock charts. It was also featured in Madden 12, FIFA 12, and MLB 2K12. The song was also offered as a free download on iTunes for the week beginning September 12, 2011.
In November 2011, the band’s second single "Tongue Tied" appeared in an iPod Touch commercial. The song steadily grew in popularity, and, after 26 consecutive weeks on the Modern Rock radio chart, hit #1 in June 2012. "Tongue Tied" has been RIAA certified Platinum and sold over 1,000,000 singles to date in the US, and has gone gold in Australia and Canada too. "Tongue Tied" has also recently been used and performed by the cast of Fox’s “Glee” in a May episode of the hit series.
In the voting for Australia's Hottest 100 presented by Triple J, "Tongue Tied" was voted #16th best song of 2012.
The third single off of Never Trust a Happy Song, "Itchin' on a Photograph" went to top 10 at Modern Rock radio. "Itchin' on a Photograph" was featured on the NASCAR The Game: Inside Line soundtrack.
Current members [edit]
Christian Zucconi – vocals, guitarsHannah Hooper – vocals, keyboardsAndrew Wessen – vocals, guitarsRyan Rabin – drums, otherSean Gadd – vocals, bassTelevision appearances [edit]
Grouplove has made several television appearances.
