| The Hush Sound | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Lisle, Illinois, United States |
| Genres | Indie pop, alternative rock, indie rock, jangle pop |
| Years active | 2004–present (hiatus) |
| Labels | Decaydance/Fueled by Ramen |
| Associated acts | Gold Motel, Stamps, Debate Team, Until Sundown, Patrick Stump, Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Phantom Planet |
| Website | www.thehushsound.com |
| Members | |
| Bob Morris Darren Wilson Greta Salpeter Mike Leblanc |
|
| Past members | |
| Chris Faller | |
The Hush Sound was an indie quartet originating in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. Initially named "The Hush," the band later changed their name to "The Hush Sound" due to the discovery of a rapper with the same name.[1] The band consists of Bob Morris (vocals and guitar), Mike Leblanc (bass guitar and vocals), Darren Wilson (drums, percussion and vocals), and Greta Salpeter (vocals and piano). Former member Chris Faller (bass guitar) left the band in October 2008.
In 2005, the band released their first studio album So Sudden. Their second studio album, Like Vines, was released in 2006 under the independent record label, Fueled by Ramen. Their third album, Goodbye Blues, was recorded in October and November 2007 in Los Angeles and was released March 18, 2008.[2]
The Hush Sound is on hiatus. On 11 October 2010, Greta Salpeter announced via her Twitter account that the band would play a one time reunion show in Chicago on 26 December 2010.[3]
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The Hush Sound was founded by Greta Salpeter and Bob Morris. The two met when Greta was in 7th grade and while Bob was in 10th. Bob had always been a player and performer of rock music, whereas Greta was a classical pianist. The band formed in late 2004/early 2005, while writing songs they felt worthy of publication. In their early work, the band dealt mostly with acoustic music. Once the band decided that a piano and guitar were not enough for the sound it wished to achieve, the band members started searching for a drummer and a bass player willing to join their band. They soon recruited bassist Chris Faller and drummer Darren Wilson who had played in a previous band together, "Until Sundown."
By the end of March 2005, The Hush Sound took its music into the studio to record their debut full-length album. The studio was the Gallery of Carpet located in Villa Park, Ill., run by owner Brian Zieske. They named the album So Sudden; a reflection on how quickly things were moving for the band. They released their first album with no label support at the time, but nevertheless sold 300 CDs in two nights.[4]
Five months later, the band began performing live.[5] Shortly thereafter, the group gained the attention of Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz. On the day they were streaming So Sudden on purevolume, Ryan Ross formerly of Panic at the Disco discovered their page and passed it along to Pete Wentz. Wentz, liking what he heard, sent The Hush Sound an email, stating that he was interested in signing them to his Decaydance Records label.[6]
The Hush Sound was soon signed to Decaydance Records. So Sudden was re-released under that label, and the band immersed itself in writing for its second album. Like Vines was recorded in March 2006 over three weeks with producer Sean O' Keefe and co-producer Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy.
On October 23, 2008, it was announced on the band's official MySpace that bassist Chris Faller had chosen to leave the band in order to pursue other musical interests, and that Mike LeBlanc, who had toured with them previously on their "Dance Across the Country Tour," would temporarily be playing the bass in Faller's place.
On April 13, 2009, Morris announced via his Twitter that the band would be "on vacation for a little while" [7]
Both Salpeter and Morris have started or joined new projects, Salpeter with Gold Motel and Morris with Debate Team and more recently, Stamps (with former The Cab guitarist Ian Crawford). Gold Motel has released a debut album called "Summer House" while Stamps' new EP, "Tramps" was released December 14, 2010.
The band's first major tour was the 2006 "Black Clouds and Underdogs" spring arena tour with headliners Fall Out Boy and The All-American Rejects, and supporting acts Hawthorne Heights and From First to Last. Later that year on June 6, 2006, their second full length album Like Vines was released. In May 2006 the band went on tour with Fall Out Boy and The Academy Is... in the UK. In support of the new record, the band went on a summer tour with label mates Panic at the Disco. The band took a month-long break before beginning another tour with Jack's Mannequin, Copeland, and Daphne Loves Derby. Their final tour of the year took place in November, when the group embarked on their first headlining tour. They were supported by opening acts This Providence, This Is Me Smiling, and Murder By Death.
On March 7, 2007 The Hush Sound began a co-headline tour with Straylight Run, supported by Spitalfield and Pablo. The Hush Sound also toured with Boys Like Girls and headliner Hellogoodbye. Destinations included the Wiltern in Los Angeles, The Warfield in San Francisco, and other cities and venues. They have also played with Plain White T's at the DuPage County Fair in Illinois on July 26. During the load in for this show, a stagehand nearly had a hernia trying to impress Greta.
On August 12, 2007 they began a co-headlining tour with Rooney and guest Hello Stranger.
On December 27, 2007, The Hush Sound played as a supporting act at "A Very Ludo Christmas 2007", other bands that played were Nothing Still, Quietdrive and the headliners of the night, Ludo.
The Hush Sound headlined a tour which ran from February 29 until March 18, 2008.
They supported Panic At The Disco in the Honda Civic Tour along with Motion City Soundtrack and Phantom Planet. The last show of this tour was in Anaheim, California on June 14, 2008.
In the summer of 2008, they headlined the "Dance Across the Country Tour," supported by The Cab, The Morning Light, and Steel Train.
In the fall of 2008, The Hush Sound toured Japan with The Academy Is... as part of the Decaydance Fest, and Tag This Tour! with OneRepublic, Augustana, and Spill Canvas. They performed a special holiday show at Metro Chicago on December 19, 2008 (also former bassist Chris Faller's last show) with special guests Treaty of Paris and This Is Me Smiling.
On March 18, 2008, The Hush Sound released an album entitled Goodbye Blues. They recorded the album with producer Kevin Augunas, whom they met while on the SXSW tour. Morris stated on the band's official website that the band was "extremely impressed" with the "positive force" of Augunas.
| “ | You can expect some songs with balls... some songs of quirk... and some groovy tunesies. — Bob Morris | ” |
The album was released on March 18. The song "Medicine Man" can be heard in commercials for the TV series Grey's Anatomy and the TV series House while the song "Hurricane" can be heard in commercials for The Young and the Restless.
The song "Honey" was featured in the episode "All About Appearances" on the television series Privileged.
In the fall of 2008, The Hush Sound confirmed that they will be taking a hiatus to pursue other careers in music. Greta formed Gold Motel and they released their debut EP in December 2009. Their full-length was released on June 1, 2010. Bob has announced his band, Stamps the Band, which he is currently working on as of now. The band played a one time reunion show at Chicago's Metro concert hall on 26 December 2010[8]
| Title | Release date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| So Sudden | October 11, 2005 | Decaydance/Fueled by Ramen |
| Like Vines | June 6, 2006 | Decaydance/Fueled by Ramen |
| Goodbye Blues | March 18, 2008 | Decaydance/Fueled by Ramen |
| Title | Release date | Album |
|---|---|---|
| Crawling Towards the Sun | 2005 | So Sudden |
| We Intertwined | 2006 | Like Vines |
| Wine Red | 2006 | Like Vines |
| Honey | 2008 | Goodbye Blues |
| Medicine Man | 2008 | Goodbye Blues |
| Title | Release date | Label | Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snakes on a Plane: The Album | August 15, 2006 | New Line Records/Decaydance | "Wine Red" (Tommie Sunshine's Brooklyn Fire Retouch) |