Limbeck

All Music Guide:

Hailing from Laguna Niguel, CA, the power pop melodies of Limbeck formed at the turn of the new millennium, anxious to deliver sweet pop hooks and a solid, energetic performance. Signed to Utility Records, Limbeck issued an early 2000 split EP titled Connection, sharing props with Cali pop-punkers Home Grown. Around the same time, the guys -- singer/guitarist Robb MacLean, guitarist/singer Patrick Carrie, bassist Justin Entsminger, and drummer Matt Stephens -- were also featured in an Apple iMac commercial, playing their song "Stop Internet Romance" as the fictional band the Garage Monkeys. A year later, the full-length This Chapter Is Called Titles was released. Limbeck signed on to the roster at Doghouse Records in late 2002, and when their label debut, Hi, Everything's Great, appeared in the first half of the next year, they were found to be evolving from emo into alternative country terrain. Limbeck continued to bring their organic sunny pop almost nonstop around the country over the following year, sharing dates along the way with acts like Rocky Votolato, the Early November, and Sleep Station. Their next offering, Let Me Come Home, was issued in August 2005, boasting a sound that tapped more fully into influences like Wilco, Old 97's, and the Replacements. Stephens left the band that same year and was replaced in September by Jon Phillip, a Milwaukee native who'd formerly drummed with the Benjamins and the Obsoletes. Ever on the road, more touring followed before Limbeck entered a Kansas studio in the summer of 2006 to work again with longtime producer and friend Ed Rose (the Get Up Kids). The quartet's resulting eponymous album surfaced in April 2007.

Wikipedia:

Limbeck was an alternative country band, with pop-punk roots, hailing from Orange County, California.

Background

Originating in Laguna Niguel, California, Limbeck featured Robb MacLean on lead vocals and guitar, Patrick Carrie guitar and backing vocals, Justin Entsminger on bass, and Jon Phillip, who replaced Matthew Stephens on drums in 2005. The band's name comes from the (misspelled) name of a character on the television show Charles in Charge, Buddy Lembeck. The group claimed to be influenced by Fleetwood Mac, Wilco, The Beach Boys, Tom Petty, Ryan Adams, Beck, ELO, Big Star, Queen, The Replacements, The Beatles, Old 97's and The Flying Burrito Brothers.

While classified as indie rock due to their relatively small niche in Southern California, the band's musical style has also been described as alternative country music. Their style has been likened to that of Old 97's, Ryan Adams, and Teenage Fanclub. Their original sound was very power pop and emo inspired, as heard in their early releases, including This Chapter Is Called Titles. Slowly, the band became more and more alt. country influenced and changed their sound almost entirely with their release of Hi, Everything's Great. By the end of their time as a band, Limbeck had all but abandoned their early songs, rarely playing this material live, if ever.

The band titled the 2005 album Let Me Come Home in part as a reaction to critics frequently saying that the previous album, Hi, Everything's Great, was a "road-trip album".

The band has discussed the influence of their lengthy tours upon their music. Limbeck has toured the US several times, including as opening act for The All-American Rejects in 2003. Geography plays a role in the band's recordings: several songs name interstate highways known to Orange County and San Diego County residents, such as I-8, CA-22, and I-15.

In 2000, the band was featured in an iMac commercial. The commercial featured the iMac video editing software in which the band created a music video under the name Garage Monkeys.

As of December 2010, Limbeck has unofficially disbanded according to a string of comments posted on their Twitter page. Each of the members has since moved on to other projects: Carrie & MacLean are still in Southern California, where they've started a new group called The Young Dudes; Entsminger is playing bass for Source Victora in Phoenix, Arizona; and Jon Phillip has relocated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he's started a record label called Goodland Records. As of 2011 Jon Phillip is the new drummer of the Milwaukee band Trapper Schoepp and The Shades.