Fairmont (band)

Fairmont is an American indie rock band from New Jersey, fronted by Neil Sabatino. They have released ten full-length albums, as well as six EPs, and toured across the United States for over a decade of their existence.

Fairmont
Fairmont live in 2018.
Background information
OriginNorth Jersey, U.S.
GenresIndie rock, alternative rock, punk rock
Years active2001–present
LabelsReinforcement Records, Renfield Records, Go For Broke Records, Mint 400 Records
Associated actsThe Bitter Chills, Leathermouth, Mergers & Acquisitions, Pencey Prep
Websitefairmontmusic.com
MembersAndy Applegate
Matt Cheplic
Lisa Grabinski
Christian Kisala
Neil Sabatino
Past membersMike Burns
Dave Caldwell
Sam Carradori
Clancy Flynn
John McGuire
Kevin Metz
Corneilius "Corn" Moore
Bruno Rocha
Scott Wyden Kivowitz

About

Fairmont is a five-piece rock band, based in North Jersey that formed in 2001. That year, after leaving the punk rock band Pencey Prep, Sabatino signed with Reinforcement Records under the moniker Fairmont, a homage to the Minnesota city. Fairmont was initially a solo acoustic project which Sabatino compared to Dashboard Confessional, and over the years the group became a blend of indie rock and pop.[1] They draw comparison to the music of Seattle rock band Say Hi, lo-fi rock band Guided by Voices, and the lead vocalist for Death Cab for Cutie, Ben Gibbard [2]

Early years

The debut sixteen-track album, Pretending Greatness is Awaiting, was released on December 3, 2001.[3][4] Work on the second album Anomie was delayed in March 2003, as three of the members quit the night before recording began.[5] Shortly after, former Pencey Prep bassist John McGuire joined Fairmont, as did guitarist Kevin Metz.[6][1] During that year, Fairmont performed at local venues, such as Arlene's Grocery in Manhattan, New York City, with Fighting Gravity and Val Emmich.[7] By 2005, Fairmont made three tours across the United States, in addition to performing locally with Nada Surf and Ted Leo. That same year, they released their third full-length Hell is Other People, an album heavily influenced by McGuire's fondness of bands like the Replacements and Hüsker Dü.[1] The content of the album was conceptually based on Jean Paul Sartre's play, No Exit.[8] It was jointly released by Reinforcement Records and Renfield Records.[9]

Fairmont's fourth full-length Wait & Hope, an up-tempo indie rock album, was released on June 12, 2007.[10][11] It is the last to feature McGuire.[1] Longtime collaborator Teeter Sperber provided vocals for three of the songs, "Fredo", "Dahlia" and "Yearbook". In an interview with Deborah Draisin in Jersey Beat, Sabatino describes it as a "very minimal[ist] album."[1][10] Wait & Hope is also the last Fairmont album released under its previous indie labels; in 2007 Sabatino founded Mint 400 Records, and retroactively released earlier Fairmont albums.[12]

Mint 400 Records

Keyboardist Christian Kisala joined the group in 2008. After writing songs with a female counterpart in mind, Sabatino contacted friend Teeter Sperber, as well singer of The Narrative Suzie Zeldin.[1] Both would appear on the 2008 release Transcendence, which was produced by Bryan Russell.[13] The album appears at No. 52 in Gary Wien's book Are You Listening?, a comprehensive list of the top 100 albums of a decade, which was compiled from a six-month review of over 2,220 releases.[14] It was followed by a national tour supporting Life of Agony frontman Keith Caputo, starting in August 2008.[15][1] The six-track EP The Meadow at Dusk was released on 12"-vinyl in 2009, and debuted on CMJ charts at No. 176.

Fairmont in 2013; from left to right: Christian Kisala, Neil Sabatino and Sam Carradori.

In 2010, Fairmont released their sixth album Destruction Creation, and the following year Mint 400 Records compiled a retrospective collection of Fairmont's first decade of releases. The Grand and Grandiose was released in 2013, followed by a live acoustic EP in 2014. For their 2015 album 8½, Christian Kisala moved from Malletkat to Xylarimba and Vibraphone. Fairmont performed at the 2016 North Jersey Indie Rock Festival.[16] As they finished work on 2017's A Spring Widow, Kisala switched solely to Vibraphone, and the band also saw the addition of Matt Cheplic, a current member of the Bitter Chills and bassist Mike Burns who formerly played with Sabatino in the punk band Little Green Men in the 1990s. Their tenth studio album We Will Burn That Bridge When We Get To It was released in 2018, and features Lisa Grabinski on keyboards and vocals. Kisala moved to drums, while longtime drummer Andy Applegate went on medical leave. In January 2019, We Will Burn That Bridge When We Get To It debuted on the NACC radio charts at No. 143, and climbed to No. 126 in its third week; Fairmont's second release to chart on college radio charts.[17]

Additional work

Sam Carradori, Christian Kisala and Neil Sabatino also record as Ted Dancin!.[18] Christian Kisala records for Mint 400 Records as CK Vibes, and appears as commacommaspacespace on the Mint 400 Records compilation album, At the Movies. Neil Sabatino also records as Shallows, with AJ Tobey & Michael Kundrath, and as Mergers & Acquisitions with Teeter Sperber.

Band members

Current members

  • Andy Applegate – drums (2003–present)
  • Matt Cheplic – guitar and backing vocals (2016–present)
  • Lisa Grabinski – keyboard and backing vocals (2017–present)
  • Christian Kisala – keyboard, malletkat, xylorimba, vibraphone and drums (2008–present)
  • Neil Sabatino – lead vocals and guitar (2001–present)
  • Evan Pope - rhythm guitar (2019-present)

Former members

  • Mike Burns – bass guitar (2015–2019)
  • Dave Caldwell – drums (2001–2002)
  • Sam Carradori – bass guitar and backing vocals (2008–2015)
  • Clancy Flynn – violin and viola (2008–2009)
  • John McGuire – bass guitar (2004–2007)
  • Kevin Metz – guitar (2003–2007)
  • Corneilius "Corn" Moore – drums (2002)
  • Bruno Rocha – bass (2001–2002)
  • Scott Wyden Kivowitz – keyboard (2002–2003)

Timeline

Discography
Albums
  • Pretending Greatness is Awaiting (2001)
  • Anomie (2003)
  • Hell is Other People (2005)
  • Wait & Hope (2007)
  • Transcendence (2008)
  • Destruction Creation (2010)
  • The Grand and Grandiose (2013)
  • 8½ (2015)
  • A Spring Widow (2017)
  • We Will Burn That Bridge When We Get To It (2018)
EPs
  • The Hand That Holds the Knife Must Be Cold and Steady (2002)
  • LeMal (2003)
  • Subtle Art of Making Enemies (2006)
  • The Meadow at Dusk (2009)
  • The Valentines Day EP (2010)
  • Live & Acoustic from the Forest of Chaos (2014)
Compilations
  • A Retrospective 2001-2011 (2011)
  • Demo's & Lost EP's 2001-2005 (2019)
  • Songs From The Radio (2020)
Appearing on
  • Our First Compilation (2011)
  • A Very Merry Christmas Compilation (2012)
  • Independent Clauses Presents Never Give Up, A Tribute To The Postal Service (2013)
  • Mint 400 Records Presents the Beach Boys Pet Sounds (2013)
  • Patchwork (2014)
  • Transformed: A Tribute To Lou Reed (2014) as Neil Sabatino
  • 1967 (2015)
  • In a Mellow Tone (2015)
  • 24 Hour Songwriting Challenge|The 3rd Annual 24 Hour Songwriting Challenge (2016)
  • Guitar Rebel: A Tribute to Link Wray (2016)
  • Mint 400 Records Presents Nirvana In Utero (2017)
  • At the Movies (2018)
  • NJ / NY Mixtape (2018)
  • Lamp Light The Fire: A Compilation of Quiet(ER) Songs, Vol. 3 (2020)

References
Citations
  1. Draisin 2008.
  2. Pirate! Staff 2018.
  3. Interpunk Staff 2001.
  4. Morse 2002.
  5. Eisenberg 2003.
  6. Pettigrew 2006.
  7. CMJ Staff 2003.
  8. Top40-Charts Staff 2005.
  9. AllMusic Staff 2005.
  10. Greene 2007.
  11. Dylan 2007.
  12. Parciak 2010.
  13. AllMusic Staff 2007.
  14. Wien 2011.
  15. Eisenberg 2008.
  16. Mehalick 2016.
  17. NACC Staff 2019.
  18. Mint 400 Records Staff 2011.
Bibliography
  • AllMusic Staff (2005), "Hell is Other People", AllMusic, retrieved February 24, 2014
  • AllMusic Staff (2008), "Fairmont "Transcendence" credits", AllMusic, retrieved January 24, 2019
  • CMJ Staff (August 11, 2003), "Tour Tidbits", CMJ, retrieved February 21, 2014
  • Draisin, Deborah (2008), "Jersey Beat Interview: Fairmont", Jersey Beat, retrieved February 25, 2014
  • Dylan, Nathan (July 23, 2007), "Fairmont–"Wait and Hope"", Wonka Vision, retrieved February 17, 2014
  • Eisenberg, Adam (March 7, 2003), "NewsBriefs: Chronic Chaos, Minmae, Fairmont and more...", Punknews.org, retrieved February 21, 2014
  • Eisenberg, Adam (August 3, 2008), "New Music Roundup: Coptercrash Records, Four Fingers, Keith Caputo", Punknews.org, retrieved February 25, 2014
  • Interpunk Staff (2001), "Fairmont-Pretending Greatness Is Awaiting", Interpunk, archived from the original on March 4, 2016, retrieved February 21, 2014
  • Greene, Jo-Ann (2007), "Wait & Hope Review", AllMusic, All Media Network, LLC, retrieved February 17, 2014
  • Mehalick, Mike (September 12, 2016), "Live Review: The North Jersey Indie Rock Festival", Speak Into My Good Eye, retrieved February 6, 2019
  • Mint 400 Staff (April 5, 2011), "Mint 400 Records Compilation Benefiting The Special Olympics Releasing April 12th", Mint 400 Records, archived from the original on September 24, 2015
  • Morse, Dana (2002), "Pretending Greatness is Awaiting", Punk Planet (51), p. 128, archived from the original on March 9, 2016 Alt URL
  • NACC Staff (January 8, 2019), "Top 200 Week Ending January 8th", NACC, archived from the original on January 13, 2019
  • Parciak, Brooke (2010), "How To Run a Record Label: An Interview With Neil Sabatino of Mint 400 Records", Jersey Beat, retrieved February 16, 2014
  • Pettigrew, Jason (January 31, 2006), "My Chemical Romance, Escape Artists", Alternative Press, retrieved January 28, 2019
  • Pirate! Staff (2018), "Fairmont - We Will Burn That Bridge When We Get To It", Pirate!, retrieved March 1, 2019
  • Top40-Charts Staff (January 22, 2005), "Fairmont hits the road with new CD, 'Hell Is Other People'", Top40-Charts, retrieved February 24, 2014
  • Wien, Gary (2011), "#52 Fairmont", Are You Listening?, p. 113, ISBN 9780983685708
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