The Ponys (band)

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The Ponys are an American indie-rock/garage rock band from Chicago, Illinois.

Their two albums, Laced with Romance (2004) and Celebration Castle (2005) have acquired praise and acclaim from various music media outlets.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early history

The Ponys was formed by singer/guitarist Jered Gummere, in early 2001. Gummere was concurrently in the punk band, Guilty Pleasures, at the time of the Ponys’ formation; but with passing time, Gummere left the Guilty Pleasures to devote himself entirely to the Ponys. Gummere quickly began to recruit members of the band. His first choice was Melissa Elias, his girlfriend; Gummere had met Elias while she was attending Illinois State University in Gummere’s hometown. But it wasn’t until Elias moved out to Chicago in 2001 for a job, that the two would become a couple. Together they experimented the indie/postpunk styles they both enjoyed so much. "Gummere met Elias in the mid-Nineties when she attended Illinois State University...though the two shared a love for the Misfits, Pavement, and Richard Hell they didn't become a couple until 2001, when Elias moved to Chicago to take a job in the photo department at Playboy" (Hoard 20).

Soon enough, the two were writing songs, and adding more members to the band. And so, the next addition to the band was the ex-Mushuganas drummer, Nathan Jerde. The Ponys were now ready to tour the Chicago club circuit. "He began writing and singing with girlfriend and bassist Melissa Elias, and after adding former Mushuganas drummer Nathan Jerde, the Ponys began playing the Windy City club circuit" (Ankeny). The Ponys would then record their first singles on Contaminated and Big Neck records. But as they continued to tour, Gummere felt their sound was lacking, as they were unable to recreate their studio-recordings live. Ian Adams, a member of Happy Supply, would join the band. "Back in Chicago, Jered was concerned about The Ponys sound. When they recorded they could over-dub guitars and keyboards to fill out the sound, but it was difficult to duplicate live. So The Ponys employed the skills of Ian Adams" (Bios). Adams had a fond passion for English pop art, and so with his presence, the band's sound changed significantly. With Adam’s addition of keyboards, a second guitar, and even a toy laser gun to the band, he transformed the band’s sound from rudimentary garage-rock noise into multifaceted, succinct art. "A veteran of twee drum-machine-driven duo Happy Supply, he had a fondness for left-field English art pop that … [changed] the group's primitive, anguished garage noise" (Mehr Sec. 3).

After releasing a few more singles, the Ponys managed to hook a deal with In the Red Records (based in Los Angeles), due to widespread circulation. The band was set to record their first album, Laced with Romance, in Detroit with producer Jim Diamond.

[edit] Laced with Romance

Their initial release, Laced With Romance, met with moderate critical success [1] [2]. The album reached media from local indie-zines (Horizontal Action) to mainstream-America music publications (Rolling Stone/Spin). "Since then critical praise has been pouring in--garage-rock zines like Horizontal Action, countercultural tastemakers like Arthur and Pitchfork, and mainstream music publications like NME and Rolling Stone have all joined the chorus" (Mehr Sec. 3). The band couldn't realize their success with such a small locally released indie album, reaching only a total sales of 10,000 albums. Gummere explains their shock, "But I didn't realize--I don't think any of us did--what it took to keep up with all [of our success]" (Mehr Sec. 3).

With the Ponys’ critical acclaim, the band began touring to support their album. The Ponys toured Europe and the UK; then followed that with an American tour, where they managed to strike up gigs with bands like the Unicorns, the Fall, and the Fiery Furnaces. But with close to 120 shows in nine months, the band was tired, and they weren’t earning enough to cover their absence from their day jobs. At this time, members considered leaving. Adams explains his frustrations:

"Another problem was that, despite all the glowing press, the Ponys weren't earning enough money on the road to cover what they were losing by missing work. We were doing all right, better than breaking even, but of course not what you'd be making at a regular job. Touring wasn't even as much fun as it might've been"

(Mehr Sec. 3)

[edit] Celebration Castle

Nevertheless, the Ponys continued onward, and began to record their second album. Comparatively to their first album, the Ponys wanted their sophomore album to be more professional, but they also wanted to record locally; so they recorded with Chicago infamous Steve Albini. Albini was a renowned professional at producing anything indie, having a reputation for working with bands like PJ Harvey, the Pixies, and Nirvana; he was a perfectionist. "Albini wants to get everything perfect on the tape - he wants it perfect - before moving on with that stuff" (Baca FF:01).

The Ponys began recording in late 2004 and were finished in merely four days. The album held a much cleaner tone than the first, but still retained the recognizable live sound that they were known for. But the band would face troubling news later that year; Ian Adams would depart the Ponys. "A few days later Adams announced he was leaving" (Mehr Sec. 3). Adams was tired of the touring and wasn’t enjoying his time with the band. The band was shocked by Adams’ decision, but supported him in it. The Ponys would continue working, and Brian Case of 90 Day Men would then replace Adams. "Ian Adams parted ways with the band, and Brian Case (90 days Men) signed on as the newest member of the Ponys" (Ankeny). Celebration Castle would be released in early 2005, and the band would begin to tour, once again.

Since recording Celebration Castle, the Ponys have left In the Red Records and signed with the New York-based indie label Matador Records. They plan to record in the fall of 2006 and release their Matador debut in 2007.[3]

[edit] Members

  • Jared Gummere - Guitar/Vocals
  • Melissa Elias - Bass/Vocals
  • Brian Case - Guitar
  • Nathan Jerde - Percussion

[edit] Discography

  • Laced with Romance (2004, In the Red Records, LP)
  • Celebration Castle (2005, In the Red Records, LP)
  • Another Wound (2005, Sweet Nothing, EP)

[edit] Citations

  1. Ankeny, Jason. “The Ponys > Biography.” AllMusic. 2005. All Media Guide. 18 May 2005.<http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=CAW020505182317&sql=11:jykcikxsbb89~T1>
  2. Baca, Recardo. “Saddling up for another lap around the track.” The Denver Post 15 October 2004: FF-01.
  3. Bios. 2005. Screaming Peach Media. 18 May 2005 < http://theponys.com/bios.html>
  4. Goldberg, Michael. “The Ponys Play with Rayguns.” Neumu. 2004. Neumu Datastream. 18 May 2005 < http://neumu.com/datastream/2004/2004-00027/2004-00027_datastream.shtml>.
  5. Hoard, Christian. “Pony Show.” Rolling Stone 5 Jun. 2005: 20.
  6. Mehr, Bob. “The First Hurdle.” Chicago Reader 31 Dec. 2004: Sec. 3.
  7. Paoletta, Michael. “Now, Hear this.” Billboard Backbeat 7 Aug. 2004.
  8. Petrusich, Amanda. “RUNNY-NOSED MIDWESTERNERS BEG MOM FOR MORE JUNK FOOD.” Village Voice 20 July 2004: 79.
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