Stepdad

Stepdad is a popular music group founded by songwriters/solid bros ultramark and Ryan McCarthy on Chicago's south side in the summer of 2009 at a cheap apartment whose rear porch conveniently doubled as a brothel for feral cats. Soon after their formation, they realized their lofty fantasies of a life where they could afford both rent and food that didn't come out of Little Caesar's when they relocated to Grand Rapids, Michigan. In their new home base they recorded their debut effort (Ordinaire EP) in McCarthy's oddly shaped bedroom. The EP doubled as a simple solution to boredom and an aesthetically pleasing attempt to persuade their friends and relatives that dropping out of college was a fantastic decision. Quickly realizing they needed some more dudes to round out the lineup for live performance, they acquired more dudes.

Steadfastly ignoring things such as the logistics and comprehension of live performance they committed to a string of tiny, awkward local shows. Against all odds, word of mouth started to spread just as they began to gain a solid working knowledge of effective live performance. Awareness of Stepdad's infectious pop melodies and meticulous synth layering experienced a very sudden kickstart with the release of their unexpectedly viral music video for the single My Leather, My Fur, My Nails, shot in the garage of high school friend, director Titanic Sinclair.

In the wake of their good fortunes, they packed up some undies and toothpaste in the of summer of 2011 and journeyed to New York City to record their debut full length Wildlife Pop (Black Bell Records 2012) with producer Chris Zane (Mumford and Sons, Tokyo Police Club, The Walkmen). Wildlife Pop is a enormous interplanetary rain forest of sound that Consequence of Sound says, "is multi-layered and addictive, and it speaks for itself." Must Land Running kicks off the album with a huge feel good chorus that helps set the tone for an album that Vice Magazine compares to "being in a zoo on LSD". A solid lineup of tracks like Pick & Choose, Jungles, and Starfriends on Earth are the reason Under the Gun Review raves, "There is no denying the fact that there is not an unlistenable track on Wildlife Pop." Some kid on twitter exclaims, "#wildlifepop honestly my favorite album I've bought in years."

Since the release of Wildlife Pop Stepdad have been on the road with a heap of gangbusters groups such as Passion Pit, Rubblebucket, Fitz and the Tantrums, Reptar, and Rich Aucoin. In the summer of 2012 they whimsically banished caution to the unforgiving sea and braved the gratifyingly exhausting and preposterously hot Van's Warped Tour and alas, the collective psyche of Stepdad has been irreversibly stained with the impression that the Sun's lone utility lies in the profuse exhibition of unapologetic sadism (but there was also a pleasantly unending cascade of debaucherous parties, so they typically chalk it up to a smashing success).

Currently Stepdad are making no efforts to resist their acute urges to write, tour, and guzzle coffee. They're pretty sure they'll be pumping out pop jams to keep the world happy indefinitely.