About The Drums
The Drums is an American indie pop band from New York City. The band was initially formed by Jonathan Pierce and Jacob Graham as Goat Explosion, and later added Adam Kessler and Connor Hanwick. Graham exited the band in 2016. Since then, the band has operated as a solo project of sole remaining member Jonathan Pierce.
Founding members Jonathan Pierce and Jacob Graham became friends as children, having met at Bible camp. Some years later, they formed a short-lived electro-pop group initially named Goat Explosion, eventually renamed Elkland. They released one album, Golden, in 2005 and garnered interest with the single "Apart".
In 2008, Pierce and Graham came up with the concept for The Drums, and Pierce moved to Kissimmee, Florida, where Graham resided at the time, so that they could more readily collaborate. They then moved to Brooklyn, in the spring of 2009, where drummer Connor Hanwick and former Elkland guitarist Adam Kessler joined the band to complete their live sound. The band had their first gig within a week of arriving in Brooklyn at Cake Shop NYC as part of the NYC Pop Fest. In October 2009, the band released their first EP, Summertime!.
In December 2009, the band was shortlisted as one of the 15 music acts for the BBC Sound of 2010. Subsequently, they placed at No. 5 in this list on 4 January 2010. In NME's first issue of 2010 they were named number 1 in the magazine's top tips for the year as well as in Clash Magazine's Tips for 2010. The Drums were also voted "Best Hope for 2010" in Pitchfork's 2009 Readers' Poll. They won the Hall Radar Award for 2010 and were the most Shazamed band of 2009.
In February 2010, the band played venues around the UK on the 2010 NME Awards Tour alongside the Maccabees, Bombay Bicycle Club and the Big Pink, going on to play support band for Florence and the Machine's 2010 Cosmic Love tour. In June 2010 they played as one of the support bands for Kings of Leon in Hyde Park, London.
On May 7, 2010, they appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, where they performed "Best Friend". Their debut album was officially released on June 7, 2010, on Moshi Moshi and Island Records. The album contained the singles "Let's Go Surfing", "Best Friend," "Me and the Moon" and "Forever and Ever, Amen" as well as "Down By The Water", which had previously been released as part of the band's Summertime! EP. On September 16, 2010, it was announced on the band's Facebook page and website that guitarist Adam Kessler had left the band.
Map & Directions To Venue
