| Heypenny | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Nashville, Tennessee, United States |
| Genres | Indie Rock |
| Years active | 2005-present |
| Website | www.heypenny.com |
Heypenny is an indie rock band based in Nashville, Tennessee.[1][2] They cite influences such as Wilco, Beatles, Coldplay, Radiohead and Elliott Smith.[3]
Contents |
Ben Elkins was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas and later attended the University of Arkansas.[1][4] However, Ben moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee where he began to play in a jam band type duo called Kingfisher. Ben was introduced to indie music by his friends and shortly thereafter he became interested in making an album with the feel of both jam and indie styles, leading to Heypenny's 2005 debut album, Use These Spoons.
While Ben Elkins played five of the tracks entirely by himself, he also elicited some help from other Chattanooga artists such as John Totten, Kevin Bevil, Jim Tate, Charles Allison, Rachel Billingsley, and others.[1] After nine months of production, the album was complete and Use These Spoons was then recognized by Chattanooga based magazine, The Pulse, as being the top local album of the year in 2005.[5] Although the album had no large-scale distribution, it sold through all its pressings through a combination of blogosphere word-of-mouth and local recognition.[6]
On June 16, 2010, Use These Spoons was re-released on iTunes.[7]
With the album completed, Ben Elkins moved to Nashville, Tennessee where he assembled the band that, along with Ben, would become Heypenny. At first, the idea was that the band would help Ben play songs from Use These Spoons; however, the band expanded to writing and performing new material.[8] [9]
On August 10, 2009 Heypenny released Cop Car EP through Guerrilla Music as a Coloring Book/EP at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville, turning the ballroom into an 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) version of their coloring book.[10] In early 2010, Heypenny performed at South by Southwest and Bonnaroo music festivals.
As of April 2010, recording of the second album was underway.[11] So far, the tracks "Parade", "You Shine", "Star for the Kidz", "Oh No", "Mr Miller", "Star", "Pretty Day", "Emperor's New Clothes", "To War the Cure", "Water", "Purple Street", and "Gimme Da Ball" have been confirmed as tracks in-progress.
On June 16, 2010, Heypenny headlined performed along with Ke$ha and Space Capone for a Nashville flood benefit concert.[12]