The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

All Music Guide:

New York-based musicians Alex Naidus (bass), Kip Berman (guitar/vocals), Kurt Feldman (drums), and Peggy Wang-East (keyboards/vocals) came together to form the Pains of Being Pure at Heart in 2007. With its wall-of-fuzz guitar stylings and sugary pop underpinnings, the band nodded to any number of old-school indie pop and shoegaze acts, most notably Black Tambourine and My Bloody Valentine. The band recorded a few tracks soon after forming, which were released as a self-titled 3" CD-R on Cloudberry Records. A self-titled EP followed soon after for Painbow. During 2008 the band released a number of limited-edition split singles on Atomic Beat Records and Slumberland. Their first album, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, was released in February of 2009 on Slumberland and the good reviews and positive press (including a spot on Late Night with Carson Daly) made them one of the most talked about bands of early 2009. After the release of the summer 2010 single Say No to Love, legendary producers Flood (Smashing Pumpkins) and Alan Moulder (My Bloody Valentine) were hired to give the band's sound a slicker, more powerful sound. The resulting album, Belong, was released by Slumberland in March of 2011.

Wikipedia:

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are an American noise pop/indie pop band from New York City. The band comprises singer and guitarist Kip Berman, drummer Kurt Feldman, Alex Naidus on bass, and Peggy Wang on keyboard and vocals. In late 2009, Christoph Hochheim joined the band as a live member. When Hochheim departed in late 2011, Connor Hanwick (of The Drums) replaced him in January 2012.

Their first album was a self-released EP, released in 2007. The release was distributed by Painbow – a record label created by the band. Their debut self-titled full-length album was released on February 3, 2009 via Slumberland Records, a personal favorite label of the band's. Their name comes from an unpublished children's story of the same title. A friend of Kip Berman wrote the story, which revolves around "realising what matters most in life – things like friendship and having a good time". The group's self-titled album peaked at number nine on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. In 2009, they released Higher Than the Stars, their second EP. The band's second record, entitled Belong, was released in 2011.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).

Formation[edit]

Kip Berman, lead singer and guitarist, grew up in Philadelphia, but moved to Portland, Oregon where he lived for several years. Berman played in numerous bands during that time. After finishing his college degree at Reed College, he moved to New York City. When working a job, he met Alex Naidus. The two bonded over their adoration for music, and their similar upbringing. Bands such as Smashing Pumpkins, The Field Mice, Black Tambourine, and Nirvana helped to establish the two as friends. Soon after, the trio played at the birthday party of friend and bandmate Peggy Wang. According to the musicians, they played "five songs in ten minutes, and the song names were longer than the songs". Using a backing track as a drummer, half of this setlist helped formulate the debut album.

In late 2007, The Pains started a MySpace page to showcase their songs. Berman noted, that at the time, the band name was all the group had. Despite this, the trio worked on numerous tracks. Songs such as "Contender", "Come Saturday", and "This Love Is Fucking Right!" would stay band favorites, winding up on the 2009 album The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Other tracks, such as "Orchard of My Eye", would be released on their first EP. It was at the time of their MySpace uploads that attention was being drawn to the act. Prominent music websites, such as Pitchfork and Stereogum, kept tabs on The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

After numerous shows around New York, the trio recruited Kurt Feldman. The drummer was, and still is, the flatmate of Berman. After playing more shows, both in and outside of the US—including regions as distant as China with promoters Split Works —the band recorded their inaugural LP.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).

Equipment[edit]

Guitar Rig & Signal Flow[edit]

A detailed gear diagram of Kip Berman's 2011 The Pains of Being Pure at Heart guitar rig is well-documented Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).