Ladybirds (stylized as LadybiRdS) were an American pop rock band from West Chester, Pennsylvania.
Ladybirds | |
|---|---|
 Teeter Sperber of Ladybirds, in 2011. | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | West Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | Pop rock, electro, indie |
| Years active | 2005–2007 |
| Labels | Creep, Mint 400 |
| Past members | |
| Website | myspace |
History
editPrior to Ladybirds, Tyler Pursel and Teeter Sperber were recording and touring with Ley Royal Scam, a short-lived group that had a successful run opening several shows for Taking Back Sunday at the Bamboozle festival in 2005.[1] They also self-released two demos, titled Pregnancy Scare and Sophomore Slump.[2] Within that year, the members of Ley Royal Scam separated, which allowed Pursel to rejoin Gym Class Heroes.
In 2006, Pursel contacted Sperber to provide vocals for a new project; what would become Ladybirds.[1] Musical arrangements were made by Pursel, who was working on the East coast of the United States, while Sperber had relocated to Oregon, after the breakup of Ley Royal Scam.[3][1] Though Pursel initially envisioned the album to feature many vocalists, subsequent work with Sperber led them to write and record together exclusively, making Sperber the lead singer of Ladybirds.[4] Production culminated in January 2007, when Pursel and Sperber put the finishing touches on Regional Community Theater at a Creep Records basement studio in Pennsylvania.[3] The album was released by Creep Records on September 18, 2007.[4]
Promoted as "cheezpop" in the Ladybirds press release, the compositions of Regional Community Theater were likened to the Postal Service, while Sperber's singing drew comparison to Cyndi Lauper.[5][6][4] Adam Bunch of PopMatters describes the album as "a sugar-coated, dance-happy record of electronic squiggles and bleeps."[6] Appearing on the album are several lead vocalists; the Get Up Kids' Matt Pryor on "Cooper, Thanks for the Birds", Danger O's' Justin Johnson, and Fairmont's Neil Sabatino.[1] Additionally, Max Bemis of Say Anything lends vocals on "Maxim and the Headphone Life", a song described by The Fader's Meyiee Apple as "one of the more memorable tracks" on Regional Community Theater.[7] A music video for the song "The Brown and Red Divide" was released in June 2007.[8]
Personnel
edit- Tyler Pursel – arrangements
- Teeter Sperber – vocals
Discography
editAlbums
- Regional Community Theater (2007)
References
edit- ^ a b c d McClintock, J. Scott (2007), "Artist Biography", AllMusic, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ Caraeff, Ezra Ace (October 20, 2005), "Once More With Feeling-Best of the Unheard Of", The Portland Mercury, retrieved January 21, 2014
- ^ a b Olund, Paul (July 6, 2007), "Candy-coated goodness to make you smile", Today, retrieved January 22, 2014
- ^ a b c Apar, Corey (September 5, 2007), "LadybiRdS", Spin, retrieved January 22, 2014
- ^ Hasty, Katie (September 17, 2007), "LadybiRds Take Flight", Billboard, retrieved January 22, 2014
- ^ a b Bunch, Adam (August 22, 2007), "LadybiRdS: Regional Community Theatre", PopMatters, retrieved January 22, 2014
- ^ Apple, Meiyee (July 16, 2007), "Regional Community Theater", The Fader, retrieved January 23, 2014
- ^ Aubin, Paul (July 19, 2007), "Videos: Ladybirds: "The Brown and Red Divide"", Punknews.org, retrieved January 23, 2014