| Paper Fleet | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Brooklyn, New York |
| Genres | Indie rock |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels | Ottomen Records |
| Associated acts | The Ottomen Johnny Kickass Bloodweiser Captain Skyhawk |
| Members | |
| Jim Campbell Josh Inman Jon Mann Handsome James Blood |
|
Paper Fleet is a rock and roll band from Brooklyn, New York.
Contents |
Paper Fleet formed in 2003 with former Ottomen member Angry Jim Campbell (Guitar/Vocals) and Josh Inman (Drums/Vocals). In 2005, bassist John TerLouw completed the original line-up. In September 2007, Jon Mann joined as a second guitarist, and Handsome James Blood of the rock group Bloodweiser was brought in on bass duties in March 2009.
The band played their first show in July 2003 with fellow NYC band caUSE co-MOTION and California's Red Pony Clock at Fort Awesome in Brooklyn.
Paper Fleet's first official release, Trapped Inside (OTTV001), was released on Ottomen Records in December 2005. The limited edition first pressing is on white vinyl and features "Be Your Man", "Sneak Out", "Sittin' In The Ocean" and "Sleepwalker". Certain early demos (CD-only) were sold exclusively at shows under the title Here I Am Again.
Trapped Inside was followed by the release of the Fleet's first full-length album, Hi, Sailor! on March 17, 2008. The album serves as the document of Paper Fleet's 2006-07 output and contains fourteen tracks, including live set mainstays "Brighton Beach" and "Cuban-Dominican".
At 12:00 Midnight on Friday, October 3, 2008, Paper Fleet remade history by officially resetting the clock on rock and roll. Following rousing sets by Division of Planes and Joe Solomon and the Eyeballs at Brooklyn bluegrass mainstay Hank's Saloon, the Fleet set the clock back over fifty years, thus enabling the history of rock to be remade and all things rock to be recreated.
For the first time, a rock band played to a captivated audience. Members of the crowd dubbed each subsequent song an instant classic, and Mann obliterated a cheap guitar in an attempt to match their unbridled enthusiasm as Inman collapsed his drums with a single, mighty push.
No plans to "re-reset" the rock clock appear on the immediate horizon, and the verdict is out on how they came by the fabled musical timepiece, but sources around the Paper Fleet camp have been overheard discussing that such an event could happen again "literally anytime".
Shattered Guitar: Hank's Saloon (October 3, 2008): photograph by John Walker.
On May 29, 2009, Paper Fleet returned to Hank's Saloon to release the Get Lost! EP to a packed crowd, kicking off a tour with Bloodweiser that would encompass the Midwest and parts of the South, taking them through thirteen states in under two weeks.
Recorded in the band's rehearsal space in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Get Lost! compiled several songs that had entered Paper Fleet's live show, including "What's Keeping Us?" and "The Beach" (aka "Lassen Uns Spielen Auf Dem Strand"), as well as the title track.
On February 4, 2011, Paper Fleet released its third EP, Baby, We Love Each Other at Brooklyn's Bruar Falls.
In August 2011, Paper Fleet re-printed a limited batch of Trapped Inside.
On October 7, 2011, Paper Fleet will release its fourth EP, Prairie Fires of the Great West at Brooklyn's Bruar Falls.
As of July 2009, Mann and Inman perform with Bloodweiser, a band created by Blood and vocalist Brett Weiser.
In November 2010, Mann started the band Captain Skyhawk with Derek Hawkins, George Garcia (ex-Ottomen) and Chuck Meyer (Little, Big).
Campbell, a freelance illustrator and comic artist, moonlights with the Meathaus comic book collective and provides album and poster art for the band. Inman, an illustrator and art student, also contributes to Paper Fleet's visual offerings.