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All Music Guide:
With a sound that mixes 21st century indie tones and the late-'70s new wave attitude of Talking Heads or the Modern Lovers, New York City's the Virgins were formed in 2006 by lead singer/songwriter Donald Cumming. A true product of N.Y.C., Cumming grew up in Tribeca. His teen years were filled with clubbing, especially at the hipster spot Don Hill's and their very successful '80s Night. He became a model for Ryan McGinley, a photographer known for his striking portraits of N.Y.C.'s youth. When McGinley landed his debut show at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the photographs of Cumming were featured. More importantly, during a photo shoot in Mexico, Cumming met future Virgins guitarist Wade Oates. With bassist Nick Zarin-Ackerman and drummer Erik Ratensperger on board, they now had a band. The Virgins only had two loft party gigs under their belt before their monumental third show, a showcase alongside Patti Smith and Sonic Youth during Paris Fashion Week. They then hit the road, and while they were playing clubs and opening for the likes of Mark Ronson, Tokyo Police Club, and Tapes 'n Tapes, the producers of the Gossip Girl television series thought the artsy but not uptight band perfect for their show and featured the Virgins' music in an episode. Atlantic Records soon signed them and work began on the band's debut album with S*A*M & Sluggo as producers. The self-titled full-length was released in June of 2008.
Wikipedia:
The Virgins are an American band formed in 2006 in New York, consisting of Donald Cumming (vocals, guitar), Max Kamins (bass), Xan Aird (guitar), and John Eatherly (drums).
They have opened for Iggy Pop and The Stooges, Lou Reed, Sonic Youth, The Killers, Patti Smith, Kenneth Anger, Abel Ferrara, and others. They have also enjoyed several television appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and Last Call with Carson Daly.
History[edit]
Frontman Donald Cumming began writing music by himself in his New York apartment. He then recruited friends to fill out the band.
Almost immediately they made a five song EP titled The Virgins '07, compiled of the band's early recordings, and songs Donald had already recorded himself. Upon completion, Cumming passed out the EP to friends and DJs causing the music to pervade the New York club scene. Soon after, the demo came across Atlantic Records who signed Cumming before the band was fully formed. The band's debut LP came out in 2008 and the band toured for several years following its release.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).
1st record "The Virgins"[edit]
Their first full length album titled The Virgins was met with mixed success critically. To promote the record they played at the All Points West Festival, SXSW festival, Lollapalooza, Glastonbury, Leeds, Reading, and T in the Park festivals, among other major French, German, Norwegian, Swedish, Dutch, Spanish, and Italian festivals in the summer of 2009. In the fall of 2009 they were invited to perform in Moscow.
The song "Rich Girls" was number 68 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008 (although no sequential order was intended).Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).
2nd record "'Strike Gently'"[edit]
In 2012 the band announced their return with an all new line-up backing leader Donald Cumming. The band also announced that it signed with the new record label Cult Records, founded by Julian Casablancas of The Strokes. In March 2013 The band released their new album "Strike Gently" worldwide.
So far the band has supported the album with several U.S. tours as well as touring South America, and Europe.
Additionally, in support of the new album, the band made their second appearance on NBC’s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” performing the track Wheel of Fortune.
In April 2013, it was announced that The Virgins will be joining The Killers on tour in May for a series of special shows, including a date at NYC’s Madison Square Garden on May 14th.Cite error: There are <ref> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist}} template (see the help page).
Appearance[edit]
- In the movie Cop Out (2010 film) The daughter of James "Jimmy" Monroe (Bruce Willis) was planning a wedding and wanted The Virgins to play at the wedding, saying they were a little bit edgy.
