Heypenny
Encyclopedia
Heypenny is an indie rock
band
based in Nashville, Tennessee
. They cite influences such as Wilco
, Beatles, Coldplay
, Radiohead
and Elliott Smith
.
and later attended the University of Arkansas
. 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.
, as being the top local album of the year in 2005.
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.
On June 16, 2010, Use These Spoons was re-released on iTunes
.
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.
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 feet (2.4 m) version of their coloring book. In early 2010, Heypenny performed at South by Southwest
and Bonnaroo music festivals.
On June 16, 2010, Heypenny headlined performed along with Ke$ha and Space Capone for a Nashville flood benefit concert.
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
based in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. They cite influences such as Wilco
Wilco
Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup has changed frequently, with only singer Jeff Tweedy and bassist John...
, Beatles, Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
and Elliott Smith
Elliott Smith
Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided for a significant portion of his life in Portland, Oregon, where he first gained popularity...
.
Formation
Ben Elkins was born in Fayetteville, ArkansasFayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...
and later attended the University of Arkansas
University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas is a public, co-educational, land-grant, space-grant, research university. It is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with very high research activity. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and is located in...
. However, Ben moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
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.
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. After nine months of production, the album was complete and Use These Spoons was then recognized by Chattanooga based magazine, The PulseThe Pulse
- Radio :* The Pulse , a hot AC channel on Sirius XM Radio* The Pulse , The original Sirius incarnation on channel 9 until November 12, 2008* The Pulse of West Yorkshire, a UK radio station originally known as Pennine Radio...
, as being the top local album of the year in 2005.
Although the album had no large-scale distribution, it sold through all its pressings through a combination of blogosphere
Blogosphere
The blogosphere is made up of all blogs and their interconnections. The term implies that blogs exist together as a connected community or as a social network in which everyday authors can publish their opinions...
word-of-mouth and local recognition.
On June 16, 2010, Use These Spoons was re-released on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.
CopCar EP
With the album completed, Ben Elkins moved to Nashville, TennesseeNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
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.
On August 10, 2009 Heypenny released Cop Car EP
Cop Car EP
Cop Car is the second release and first EP release by Heypenny, released on August 9, 2009. The album is the result of a restructuring and reformation of the band after the release of Use These Spoons.-Song information:...
through Guerrilla Music as a Coloring Book/EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville, turning the ballroom into an 8 feet (2.4 m) version of their coloring book. In early 2010, Heypenny performed at South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
and Bonnaroo music festivals.
A Jillion Kicks
As of April 2010, recording of the second album was underway. 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.
Members
- Kevin Bevil - Guitar/Vocals
- DJ Murphy - Bass Guitar/Vocals
- Benjamin Elkins - Piano/Guitar/Vocals
- Aaron Distler - Drums
Band
- Kai Welch - TrumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
- Diego VasquezDiego VásquezDiego Martín Vásquez is an Argentine football goalkeeper, who currently plays for Deportes Savio. He won 5 Honduran championships with C.D. Motagua between 1997 and 2001, being the foreign player with most titles with this club. His first game in the Honduran League was on 24 August 1997 wearing...
- TromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - Joe Domojo - Tenor SaxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
- Raven Taylor - Background Vocals
- Lydia Fothergill - Background Vocals
Guest Contributors
- Max Abrams - Baritone SaxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
- Dan Burns - Snare DrumSnare drumThe snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
- Joshua Walker - Snare DrumSnare drumThe snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
- Phil Griswold - Bass DrumBass drumBass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
- Erich Wigdahl - Bass DrumBass drumBass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
- Adam Tanaka - Quads
- Jamie CampbellJamie CampbellJamie Campbell may refer to:*Jamie Campbell , East Anglian author and journalist*Jamie Campbell , Canadian sportscaster*Jamie Campbell , presenter of ITV's 24 Hours with......
- PublishingPublishingPublishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public... - Lisa McNab - UK Press
- Steve Ager - UK Radio Placement
- Guerrilla Music - LabelRecord labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...