Biography All Music Guide Wikipedia
Group Members: Matt Pryor
All Music Guide:
Indie rock outfit the New Amsterdams were pioneered by Get Up Kids vocalist/guitarist Matthew Pryor as a side project, and his personal emotion continued to be redefined and molded upon a musical cast of energetic pop. Joining Pryor were drummer Jake Cardwell, guitarist Alex Brahl, and Get Up Kids bassist Robert Pope. Since forming the Get Up Kids in 1996, Pryor needed another outlet for his stripped melodies to sheer off the typical emo associations found with his other band. So with grainy acoustics and lyrical dynamics, the New Amsterdams issued their debut, Never You Mind, in fall 2000.
Two years later, Pryor took a break from his bandmates to record a follow-up completed entirely by him. Para Toda Vida captured a more intimate Pryor with production work by Alex Brahl. Released in 2003, Worse for the Wear found brothers Robert and Ryan Pope joining in on bass and percussion, and Pryor then started planning his next album that fall, before leaving on tour with the Get Up Kids. Feeling alone and upset on tour, many of the songs written reflected this uncertain and bleak period of his life. After touring commitments were finished, and with the record still incomplete, he started writing with Bill Belzer and Eric McCann in September 2004. It was a much more positive environment than Pryor had been writing in, and the songs showed it.
The album, Killed or Cured, was finished, but a farewell tour with the Kids pushed its release into the next year. A lot changed in that time -- the New Amsterdams started writing new songs, Dustin Kinsey was added, and the guys decided they wanted to see through what they were working on. Killed or Cured wound up eventually getting shelved with no plans for a future release, aside from songs available for download on their website. April 2006 saw the band finally issue a new album, Story Like a Scar. It was followed in 2007 by At the Foot of My Rival.
Wikipedia:
The New Amsterdams is a Lawrence, Kansas-based American band featuring Matthew Pryor of The Get Up Kids.
History
The New Amsterdams began as a solo project to then-lead singer for The Get Up Kids, Matt Pryor. In 2000, he released his debut album Never You Mind, which was largely made up of acoustic tracks with sparse accompaniment. However, the album also featured Alex Brahl,Ed Rose, Jake Cardwell & Rob Pope providing extra instrument tracks.
Two years later in January 2002, Pryor released Para Toda Vida, this time sticking almost purely to acoustic guitar, with the exception of a few tracks utilizing harmonica and banjo as well. However, the next year the band went a step further in the release of Worse for the Wear, which utilized a full band for the first time, which at this time included Get Up Kids bandmates Ryan Pope and his brother Rob, as well as longtime friend and producer Ed Rose. The album was one of the earlier albums to be recorded at Black Lodge Studios, the recording studio renovated and co-owned by Ed Rose and the members of The Get Up Kids.
The band's next album, Killed or Cured was released in 2005. However, it was written during a turbulent time within The Get Up Kids leading up to the band's breakup. Because of this Vagrant Records, the label to which both the bands were signed, didn't want to release the album until The Get Up Kids finished their farewell tour in the summer of that year. For this reason, a portion of the album was released online for free via the New Amsterdams website. The album was released in its full version through retail channels on April 10, 2007.
In 2006, the band released the album Story Like a Scar with what is now the current lineup, including Bill Belzer on drums, Eric McCann on upright bass, and Dustin Kinsey on guitar.
In September 2007, the band released another album, At the Foot of My Rival on CD, Vinyl and Digital Download. However, after a long relationship with Vagrant Records, the band decided to release the album on Elmar, (named after Pryor's son Elliot Marshall) an offshoot of Curb Appeal Records, owned in part by former Get Up Kids bandmate Jim Suptic.
In January 2008 the band released a collection of demos and b-sides, available exclusively through their website.
In May of the same year, they went on their first European tour, starting in Amsterdam. The band planned to go into a small hiatus after that due to Matt Pryor's involvement with the Get Up Kids. In a November 2011 interview with MidcoastStation.com, Pryor said he had plans to release a New Amsterdams compilation.
