In an auspicious moment of internet matchmaking, John found Ben on a Myspace search engine whilst browsing for fellow Daniel Johnston fans. That was back in August 2006. Though they wouldn’t meet formally until December that year, by February 2007 they had a drummer and performed their debut concert as a weekend headliner in Brooklyn.
Their first studio recording, Ben’s "Pity the Fool", was engineered by Harris Karlin in April 2007. The results are shrouded in mystery.
In August we brought Nelson in to rock the traps, and he is doing great!
The Cigs went into Monsterland recording studios September 5th 2007 and laid basic tracks for an upcoming album.
At this juncture in history, as we see the collapse of MTV and the recording industry in general, THE CIGARETTES are bolstered with high confidence that the public conscience will return to the appreciation of fine melodies and well crafted song in the new century.
"First of all, I love the name. I don’t smoke, but still it’s a cool band name. The music is reminiscent of the 1960s or early 70s and I dig that dude. Actually for some reason their song “Pity the Fool” reminds me of an old TV show theme song. Which one? No particular one... just reminds me of that style of song. Having said that, I mean that as a compliment... this is quality stuff. The harmonies and melodies are perfect together and make you feel like you’ve suddenly gone back in time. It also has an Elvis Costello feel to it.
It’s happy music with a style that you don’t get to hear very often these days. It’s refreshing to hear bands keeping this kind of music alive. It’s the harmonies that make the songs and I can’t get enough of ’em. After reading the band’s bio, they really sum it up the best... they are bringing the appreciation of a well-crafted music back. I was trying to find the words to put down that would express what I was thinking this entire time that I’ve been trying to write this blog entry - and that’s it. The Cigarettes’ music is just really well crafted and catchy music with crazy good melodies and harmonies... and it’s fun to boot."
"THE CIGARETTES are bolstered with high confidence that the public conscience will return to the appreciation of fine melodies and well crafted song in the new century."
best thing anyone could ever say in a bio. plus the music kicks my behind. L.
This is really cool! I'll be in New York at least one weekend in October, maybe two (maybe three...), here's hoping y'all have a show booked while I'm there! (If not, I'd still like to see you, Ben)
PS my old art teacher is Daniel Johnstons childhood friend.
