The Rentals

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The Rentals

Background information
Origin USA
Genre(s) Indie Rock
New Wave
Geek rock
Years active 1995–1999
2006–present
Label(s) Maverick
Reprise
Warner Bros. Records
Boompa Records
Associated acts Weezer
Matt Sharp
Website [1]
Members
Matt Sharp
Rachel Haden
Sara Radle
Ben Pringle
Lauren Chipman
Dan Joeright
Former members
Patrick Wilson
Rod Cervera
Tom Grimley
Petra Haden
Cherielynn Westrich
Kevin March
Mike Fletcher
Jim Richards
Maya Rudolph

The Rentals are a rock band fronted by Matt Sharp, former bass player for Weezer. The band is widely known for their mid-1990s hit single, "Friends of P". The group has released two albums, Return of the Rentals and Seven More Minutes on Maverick Records. The band quietly dissolved following the world tour for their second album, but in 2005 Sharp reformed the band with intentions of touring and recording a new record. In 2007, The Rentals released The Last Little Life EP.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Return Of The Rentals & Seven More Minutes

The group was known for their quirky Moog-driven melodies and a mix of male and female vocals. The single "Friends of P" off their first album was a modern rock radio hit, peaking at #7 on Billboard's Modern Rock Chart and #92 on the Billboard Hot 100. The accompanying music video was shot with antiquated equipment, on black and white film stock, for a total budget of less than $1,000. Upon its release, the video was added to MTV's playlist in early November of 1995.

Early the next year, "Waiting" was released as the follow-up single, and it was also chosen to be featured on the soundtrack to the MTV Films comedy Joe's Apartment. The music video that had already been shot for "Waiting" was edited together with clips of footage from the movie, and this version made its debut on 120 Minutes. The track did not do as well as "Friends of P" had previously, and received substantially less airplay at radio stations (and on MTV).

Band members on Return Of The Rentals included Patrick Wilson (also of Weezer) on drums, Rod Cervera (guitar), Tom Grimley (keyboards), Petra Haden (violin, vocals), and Cherielynn Westrich (vocals, moog). Petra's triplet sister, Rachel Haden, appears as an additional vocalist. After Sharp left Weezer, Wilson's studio replacement on the drums was Kevin March and Mike Fletcher was the band's most frequent touring drummer. Maya Rudolph, of Saturday Night Live fame, also handled keyboard and backing vocals for the group's first tours in support of its debut album. The group headlined its own club shows, and also hit larger venues as the opening act for Alanis Morissette, Garbage, Blur, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, amongst others.

Sharp reformed The Rentals in 1997 and 1998 to record their second album Seven More Minutes. He recruited Petra Haden to replace Cherielynn Westrich as the main female vocalist, and Jim Richards replaced Tom Grimley on Moog synthesizer; Kevin March was again on drums and Rod Cervera on guitar. Maya Rudolph made a guest appearance on two songs. Members of Blur, Ash, and Elastica also made guest appearances. The album was released in April 1999. It was well received by fans and critics but The Rentals' record company, Reprise and Maverick, didn't properly promote due to disagreements with Sharp on the mixing. Sharp formed a completely new line up including former Elevator Drops guitarist Josh Hager (AKA Garvy J), replacing Rod Cervara, for a brief tour of Japan. The tour in Japan consisted of an acoustic set featuring no moogs or female harmonies and then an electric set. This tour resulted in the internet-only double live album Live in Japan.

[edit] Absence

Presumably influenced by his new friend Josh Hager,[citation needed] Matt retreated with Hager and former Cake guitarist Greg Brown, to Leipers Fork, Tennessee to record a solo album of acoustic material, much like the acoustic sets in The Rentals 1999 Japanese tour. These sessions resulted in an EP and an album, 2003 and 2004, respectively. Acoustic tours in between 2002-2005 also occurred, sometimes with Hager and Brown, sometimes with just Sharp, and sometimes with the band Goldenboy.

[edit] Return

On October 24, 2005, the tenth anniversary of the band's first album's release, Matt Sharp announced he was bringing back The Rentals after a six year absence. On May 12th, 2006, the new lineup for The Rentals was announced. It includes original backup vocalist Rachel Haden, Sara Radle on vocals/multiple instruments, Ben Pringle (from Nerf Herder) on synth, Lauren Chipman on viola/vocals and Dan Joeright on drums.

The band toured North America in the summer of 2006 with Ozma, with Matt Sharp wearing the trademark horn-rimmed glasses he wore during the band's initial run.[2] Ryen Slegr of Ozma played guitar for both bands on the entire tour. The tour received rave reviews from fans[citation needed] and featured a performance of the Weezer b-side "I Just Threw out the Love of My Dreams" reprised by both Sharp and Rachel Haden. The Rentals are now in the studio working on their third album expected in 2008, and on August 14, 2007 released their first new material in 8 years, The Last Little Life EP. The latter includes a reworked version of the Rentals' classic "Sweetness and Tenderness".

The band also announced a headlining US summer 2007 tour to coincide with the release of the new EP. The band played at Spaceland every Saturday in July before embarking on a nationwide tour in August. The bands Copeland and Goldenboy were "special guests" for the tour.

[edit] Discography

Year Title Label
1995 Return Of (The Rentals) Maverick/Reprise/Warner Bros.
1999 Seven More Minutes Maverick/Warner Bros.
2007 The Last Little Life EP Boompa

[edit] Bootlegs

  • For The Ladies (Early Rentals Session)
  • Excellent Stocking Stuffer (demos and rough mixes)
  • Little Russel Street (Seven More Minutes rough mixes and demos)

[edit] External links