History

Band member Adam Granduciel (born Adam Granofsky in Dover, Massachusetts) moved from Oakland, California

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

 to Philadelphia in 2003, where he met Kurt Vile

Kurt Vile

Kurt Vile is a guitarist and singer born in 1980 from the Philadelphia suburb of Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. He was signed by Matador Records as a solo artist in May 2009....

 and began playing music with him. They began playing as The War on Drugs in 2005, and self-released a demo EP. While Vile and Granduciel formed the backbone of the band, they had a number of accompanists early in the group's career, before finally settling on a lineup that added Charlie Hall as drummer/organist, Kyle Lloyd as drummer and Dave Hartley on bass. Granduciel had previously toured and recorded with The Capitol Years

Capitol Years

The Capitol Years is an indie rock band founded by principal songwriter, Shai Halperin, . Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Halperin has released 2 albums of solo work as "The Capitol Years" as well as 2 albums and an EP with a full band...

, and Vile has several solo albums. The group gave away its Barrel of Batteries EP for free early in 2008. Their debut LP for Secretly Canadian

Secretly Canadian

Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana. It was started in 1996 by Chris and Ben Swanson, Eric Weddle, and Jonathan Cargill. Their first release was a re-issue of an album by June Panic...

, Wagonwheel Blues, was released in 2008.

Reviewers of the band's music make note of its Americana

Americana (music)

Americana is an amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles...

 overtones. The group's sound has been described as influenced by Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

, Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...

, and My Bloody Valentine.

The lineup underwent several changes, and by the end of 2008, Kurt Vile, Charlie Hall, and Kyle Lloyd had all exited the group. At that time Granduciel and Hartley were joined by drummer Mike Zanghi. After Zanghi's exit in 2010, Steven Urgo took over drum duties and Robbie Bennett joined on keys.

Members

Current

• Adam Granduciel (vocals, guitar, harmonica, keyboards, samplers)
• Dave Hartley (bass, guitars)
• Steven Urgo (drums, percussion, sampler)
• Robbie Bennett (keyboards, guitars)

Former

• Kurt Vile
  Kurt Vile
  Kurt Vile is a guitarist and singer born in 1980 from the Philadelphia suburb of Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. He was signed by Matador Records as a solo artist in May 2009....
  
   (guitar)
• Kyle Lloyd (drums)
• Charlie Hall (drums, organ)
• Mike Zanghi (drums, percussion, sampler)

Discography

Year	Album	Label Record label In 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,...	UK
2005	Demo EP	self-released
2007	Barrel of Batteries EP	Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana. It was started in 1996 by Chris and Ben Swanson, Eric Weddle, and Jonathan Cargill. Their first release was a re-issue of an album by June Panic...
2008	Wagonwheel Blues	Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana. It was started in 1996 by Chris and Ben Swanson, Eric Weddle, and Jonathan Cargill. Their first release was a re-issue of an album by June Panic...
2010	Future Weather EP	Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana. It was started in 1996 by Chris and Ben Swanson, Eric Weddle, and Jonathan Cargill. Their first release was a re-issue of an album by June Panic...
2011	Slave Ambient Slave Ambient Slave Ambient is the second studio album by the American indie rock band The War on Drugs, released on August 16, 2011, by Secretly Canadian...	Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian Secretly Canadian is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana. It was started in 1996 by Chris and Ben Swanson, Eric Weddle, and Jonathan Cargill. Their first release was a re-issue of an album by June Panic...	127