The Format
was an indie pop band formed by Arizona natives Nate Ruess and Sam Means. The band announced a hiatus on February 4, 2008. [1] Their style can be considered a mixture of indie, alternative, punk and folk music, with elements of 1960s and 1970s pop music. [2] Though Means and Ruess are the foremost members of the band, they have toured and recorded with Mike Schey, Mark Buzard, Don Raymond, and—for the DVD recording and summer 2007 tour—The Honorary Title's current drummer and The Format alumnus Adam Boyd. The Format chose their name to make fun of the music industry's inclination towards a cookie-cutter "format" for a hit.
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THE FORMAT TICKETS
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History
Before forming The Format in 2001,
[3] Means and Ruess, who have been friends since grade school,
[4] had been part of the band Nevergonnascore and released the EP "The Byron Sessions" as well as the band This Past Year, which had generated some record label interest but not a deal.
[5]
Despite some critique from the mainstream music industry, the duo's first single, aptly titled "
The First Single" from their five song demo,
EP
, became locally popular on
Phoenix radio station
KEDJ and led to the duo signing with
Elektra Records in 2002. Their first studio album,
Interventions + Lullabies
, was released in October 2003 and was very successful around the
Phoenix area. Despite the lack of support and marketing from their record company (no video, no major promotions, no push for radio play outside of Phoenix), the band's fan base grew due to word of mouth, the Internet, and extensive touring. The album sold over 100,000 copies in the US.
By the end of 2004, exhausted from their intense touring schedule, Means settled down in Arizona and married his longtime girlfriend, Anita. Ruess, however, was dealing with a series of relationship problems and drinking to excess. Their return to the recording studio the following year provided an outlet for his frustrations and, ultimately, his stormy former relationship served as a basis for many of the song on The Format's second album,
Dog Problems
. (The couple got dogs at one point during their on-again-off-again relationship, and when it was ultimately over, Ruess had three dogs to look after.)
[6]
After Elektra folded, The Format released a second EP,
Snails
with sister label
Atlantic Records in April 2005. As they began to work on their second full-length album, they drew on the influences of 1970s pop music, including
Harry Nilsson,
ELO and
The Beach Boys, and decided to collaborate with
Redd Kross founder
Steven Shane McDonald whom they brought on as record producer.
But Atlantic Records executives were not impressed by the 1970s-pop-influenced demos and released The Format from its contract. Upon completing the album,
Dog Problems
, Ruess and Means, with help from their management company, decided to release it themselves through their newly established imprint label: The Vanity Label.
[7] Two months prior to the album's release, an
MP3 version was leaked to the internet. In response, The Format decided to make the album immediately available digitally for only $7.99 via the
Nettwerk Music Store, which led to the sale of over 2,000 digital copies prior to the album's official release.
Dog Problems
was released in stores on
July 11,
2006. The day the album was released, an episode of
MTV's
My Super Sweet 16
featuring The Format aired, on which they performed at a birthday-graduation party for Priya and Divya Kothapalli.
Following the release of
Dog Problems
, The Format gained more national attention than ever before in the band's history. Their second release received high marks from various publications, even topping some Best of 2006 lists.
In 2006 The Format toured near constantly, supporting their own album
Dog Problems
as well as supporting
The All American Rejects in September in the UK.
In 2007, The Format played a show in
Tokyo, Japan, was featured on
Last Call with Carson Daly
twice, co-headlined with
Guster on their Campus Consciousness tour,
and toured with
Reubens Accomplice,
Piebald,
Limbeck,
Steel Train, and
The Honorary Title.
The Japanese edition of
Dog Problems
, featuring a cover of
Jellyfish's "Glutton of Sympathy" as a bonus track, was released on
January 24,
2007.
On
June 25,
2007, celebrating the one year anniversary of
Dog Problems
, The Format offered the album in its entirety, including the liner notes in PDF form, for free on their official website. The offer was valid from
June 25 to
July 16,
2007. As of
July 10,
2007, 36,000 people had downloaded the album.
On
February 4,
2008, The Format announced that they will be putting the band on hiatus, with Nate Ruess posting the following message on the band's website:
"ref">[8]
When asked about the band getting back together, Ruess acknowledged that "every one of us like to remain optimistic and hopeful that it one day could happen[sic]."
[9]
Ruess has formed a new band called
fun. with Andrew Dost of
Anathallo and Jack Antonoff of
Steel Train. fun. began recording their debut album in September with producer
Steven McDonald, arranger
Roger Joseph Manning Jr.; It will be released on
August 25,
2009.
[10]
Ruess currently dates
Jack Antonoff's sister, Rachel. She is a Clothing designer from NYC.
Discography
Studio albums
- Interventions + Lullabies
(Elektra, 2003)
- Dog Problems
(The Vanity Label, 2006)
Compilations
- B-Sides & Rarities
(The Vanity Label, 2007)
EPs
- EP
(Western Tread, 2002)
- Snails
(Atlantic, 2005)
- Live from the Living Room: Volume One
(The Vanity Label, 2006)
- And Now I Hope You're Alright - Live in California
(The Vanity Label, 2006)
- The Format Live: Exporting Insecurity
(The Vanity Label, 2006)
DVD
- Live at the Mayan Theatre
(The Vanity Label, 2007)
Singles
- "The First Single" (Elektra, 2003)
- "The Compromise" (The Vanity Label, 2006)
- "Time Bomb" (The Vanity Label, 2006)
- "Apeman" (The Vanity Label, 2006)
- "She Doesn't Get It" (The Vanity Label, 2006)
- "Dog Problems" (The Vanity Label, 2006)
Soundtracks
- "On Your Porch" featured on Veronica Mars and was included on Veronica Mars
: Original Television Soundtrack (Nettwerk, 2005).
- "The First Single" was featured in the second season of One Tree Hill and on the online game Dance! Online.
- "Give It Up" can be heard playing faintly in the movie National Treasure
while Ben and Abigail are inside Urban Outfitters.
- "Inches And Falling" was used as the main soundtrack for the 2006 movie Wedding Daze
.
- The single "The Compromise" is also featured on The Sims 2: Pets
, with the words being sung in simlish.
- The song "Wait, Wait, Wait" appeared briefly in the background of an episode of Malcolm In The Middle
.
- "Swans" was written especially for the film, Moving McAllister starring Jon Heder and Mila Kunis of That 70's Show
fame.
- "Let's Make This Moment A Crime" appeared in the soundtrack of Laguna Beach Episode 10: The First To Go.
- "Tune Out" is being featured on the Hollister Co. store soundtrack ("Jukebox") as of November 4, 2008.
Various Artists compilations
- Light of Day: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen
(Schoolhouse Records, 2003) - "For You"
- Listen To Bob Dylan: A Tribute
(Drive-Thru, 2005) - "Simple Twist of Fate"
- Drive-Thru Records and Purevolume.com
(Drive-Thru, 2005) - "Tie The Rope"
- Acoustic Live & Rare 2006 & Last Character Standing, Vol. V
(The Edge 103.9 fm) - "The Compromise (Acoustic)"
- A Santa Cause: It's a Punk Rock Christmas 2
(Immortal Records, 2006) - "Holly Jolly Christmas"
- For the Kids Three
- "Does Your Cat Have a Mustache?"
References
- News Roundup: Arcade Fire, Gang of Four, Radiohead, the Format
- The Format refuses to stick to a musical format
- The Format not just another emo band
- Band of the day: The Format
- Format Busters
- Bouncing back: The Format is more than just puppy chow: Duo thumbs its nose at the record industry and takes a walk with Dog Problems
- Label 'Problems' not a big deal for The Format
- News post, titled "Important." The Format's official website. Accessed February 4, 2008.
- http://streetteams.nettwerk.com/thelivingroom/dearnate/welcome.action
- http://www.myspace.com/fun