Few bands emerge from the darkness of obscurity with the sort of intense critical acclaim that greeted The Whigs upon the release of their 2005 debut, “Give ’Em All A Big Fat Lip.”
Formed in 2002 by Westminster High School grads-turned-UGA buddies Parker Gispert (vocals, guitars) and Julian Dorio (drums), The Whigs recorded the album in an empty fraternity house using cheap equipment they bought off eBay, and then released it independently. But when a 2006 Rolling Stone article named the band one of 10 Artists to Watch, calling them “maybe the best unsigned band in America,” the band’s profile on the national scene exploded overnight.
“It was pretty trippy,” Gispert admits to us in an interview four years later. “We were still in school at the time. I was studying, about to take a quiz, when I found out about it. It definitely helped our career in the sense that it turned a lot of people on who otherwise wouldn’t have heard of us. But we’re the kind of people that don’t put too much stock in anything people say about us, whether positive or negative. We try to not let any of that stuff into our brains.”
Still, it was one hell of a validation for a young trio (original bassist Hank Sullivant left in 2006 and was replaced by Tim Deaux) that found the missing link connecting the pop craftsmanship of “Pet Sounds”-era Beach Boys, the garage-punk influences of the Replacements and Nirvana, and the eclectic experimentalism of Modest Mouse. The band was soon signed to Dave Matthews’ ATO Records (which re-released their debut album in 2006), and by 2007, they were playing major music festivals such as Bonnaroo and New Orleans’ Voodoo Fest.
“I think we’ve been really lucky,” Gispert says when asked about The Whigs’ success. “We played New York a few times, and the label reps had come to see us, but we didn’t even know they were there. We’re a young band, but we’d had some interactions with labels and had the attitude that we didn’t want to talk to anyone until there was a concrete offer on the table. ATO didn’t take us out to dinner or anything; they just offered us a record deal. At that point, we thought, ‘These are the kind of people we want to work with!’”
Of course, many bands have launched careers with big buzz, only to crash and burn with the dreaded sophomore slump. But The Whigs’ second album, “Mission Control” (produced by Rob Schnapf, best known for his work with indie-rock icons Beck and the late Elliott Smith), actually managed to improve on their debut, and the band was soon touring alongside major players like the Drive-By Truckers and Kings of Leon.
“It was important for us to make a record that was reflective of what we’re doing when we’re not on stage, like a bare-bones rock record without a lot of studio enhancements,” Gispert explains. “We’re all aware of the traps that a lot of bands fall into when they make that second record. To me, it’s not really a time for extreme experimentation. I like a second album that builds upon what you did with your first, and is hopefully a more focused version of that. Then you can do some crazy shit on album No. 3.”
To that end, there’s “In the Dark,” a third album that was released in mid-March. Under the guidance of Animal Collective producer Ben Allen, the Athens trio recorded their most radio-friendly album to date, a hook-heavy, hard-rocking ode to the post-grunge ’90s that could be the best album the Foo Fighters never made. Rhythmic, invigorating and damn near arena-ready, “In the Dark” is the sound of a little indie band ready to step into the big league spotlight. And once he’s there, Gispert clearly has no intention of leaving.
“We’re in the age of instant gratification and 15 minutes of fame,” The Whigs frontman muses. “Everything is very fleeting. But all my favorite artists are people who had lengthy careers and made a lot of albums. This is something that I really love doing. So you just try to make it work in a way that keeps you alive for as long as possible.”