Alternative Pop Rock with a big heart

12 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Roots Rock, POP: Folky Pop



Details:
"â¦a lively, expertly crafted composite of rock,â¦with radio-hit potential too great to measure, The Push Starsâ endless melodies are hard to shake." CMJ New Music Report


There were about seven people at the first-ever Push Stars concert at the Middle East Bakery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The stage was so small that the band had to adjust their "stage moves" in order to let people get by to use the restrooms. They got paid about fifty dollars, a falafel and a few Pabst Blue Ribbons. But they happily played anyway.

That was February 1996, and four albums and thousands of tour miles later they're still playing, only now to sold out rooms all over North America. After building a strong following in Boston and releasing the critically acclaimed "Meet Me at the Fair" in 1997, The Push Stars enjoyed some major label bidding warfare and signed a two-album deal with Capitol Records. In 1999 "After the Party" was released and received more critical praise, including the glowing New York Times' quote "...classic pop perfection..."

Chris Trapper, singer/songwriter from Buffalo, NY, first saw the tall and skinny Bostonian, Ryan MacMillan, play the drums at the same club in Cambridge earlier that winter. Ryan's drumming was so impressive that Chris asked him to quit his band that night and join his. He then asked the not as tall and skinny Dan McLoughlin, musician/recording engineer from Poughkeepsie, NY to quit his job, move to Boston and join the band, too. Both easily obliged. Why? Because the three knew they had the right chemistry after one recording session in January. When Trapper and MacMillan showed up at the studio sans bass player, McLoughlin "filled in," unwittingly making himself a member of a perfectly balanced trio of musicians. The Push Stars were born.

After relentless touring, radio play and numerous awards, The Push Stars started to gain a passionately loyal national fan base. Two of their biggest fans, fortunately, were the Farrelly Brothers. When the Rhode Island natives needed an upbeat song for their hit comedy "There's Something About Mary", they chose The Push Stars' "Everything Shines" for the movie and the soundtrack. Soon music supervisors everywhere caught on and The Push Stars' sound found its way into dozens more films and television shows, including "ER," "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Me, Myself and Irene," to name a few.

However, in the midst of all this positive growth, Gary Gersh, President of Capitol Records and the man who signed The Push Stars (and Sonic Youth, Nirvana and Counting Crows several years prior) was abruptly sent packing. What followed was a typical major label regime shift that threatened to set The Push Stars' career in a holding pattern. Anxious to keep their momentum going, the band decided to sever ties with Capitol and self-release their next album, "Opening Time" in the spring of 2001. The band hit the road in support of the album and continued to gain loyal fans and enthusiasts of their "indie" work ethic. Push Stars fans came out, as always, keeping the band in business buying every bit of merchandise for sale, while demanding new songs and plenty of encores! "Opening Time" went on to be their most popular album.

When it came time to work on their latest release, "Paint the Town," The Push Stars found a fan in producer/engineer Greg Collins (No Doubt, Matchbox Twenty, Jewel) and began recording in Los Angeles (2003). When Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty heard the results he too became a fan, so much so that he asked the band to join them on a leg of their 2003 Fall Tour. The Push Stars had yet another opportunity to win over thousands of new fans in stadiums throughout North America.

"Paint the Town," due out March 9, 2004 on 33rd Street Records, is the fourth album from The Push Stars. And, once again, they'll find themselves on the road doing what they do best. Their loyal fan base can always count on them to show up, play their hearts out and make them happy for a night on the town. And it is this inspiration that has kept the band going, whether there are seven fans in the audience or seven thousand.