Black Cards
Encyclopedia
Black Cards is an American electropop band formed in July 2010 as Fall Out Boy
bassist Pete Wentz's new main project following the group's indefinite break. The band is composed of vocalist Bebe Rexha, bassist Pete Wentz, drummer Spencer Peterson and guitarist Nate Patterson. They are working on their untitled debut album.
went on hiatus in late 2009, with Wentz announcing his desire to take a break from music and concentrate more on being with his wife and child. However, Wentz eventually ventured into another musical project, this time experimenting a lot more going to a more electronic
dance
-ska
direction with the music. Wentz had said he was taking time off with his family, when he started being inspired again by such Jamaican reggae
songs as Culture
's "Two Sevens Clash
" and The Gladiators
's "Warriors". Wentz then contacted producer Sam Hollander
(Gym Class Heroes
, Cobra Starship
, Hey Monday
) and discussed the idea with him to mash up ska
, dance
and reggae
with 80s British rock
and pop
to create a new experimental
sound. Wentz did not want to attempt to replace Patrick Stump
(his bandmate in Fall Out Boy
), and decided to go in a new direction taking a female vocalist instead – amateur singer Bebe Rexha.
Pete Wentz originally maintained a level of secrecy around the identity of other members. In an interview with MTV.com on July 20, 2010, Wentz had denied the rumors that either ex-Chiodos
member Craig Owens or Panic! at the Disco
's Brendon Urie
are part of the new project. Wentz later revealed the identity of the band's drummer as Spencer Peterson (formerly of Saves the Day
, VersaEmerge
and Hidden in Plain View
) and the band's guitarist as Nate Patterson (of The Receiving End of Sirens
) through his blog.
The band has put up two snippets from songs the band has been working on, on their official website. The songs' working titles are "Beating in My Chest" and "Club Called Heaven". The title of "Beating in My Chest" has since then been changed to "Dirty Little Fingerprints". The band's first European tour took place between October 25–31, 2010. They played at 5 venues in Glasgow
, Manchester
, London
, Berlin
and Paris
. This short European tour was preceded by three special North American dates on October 14, 15, and 16, 2010, which took place in Hartford, CT, Providence, RI and Poughkeepsie, NY. Black Cards have released "Club Called Heaven" as their first single through MySpace, YouTube and their official website. The song features rapper Chiddy of the group Chiddy Bang
. Since early October 2010, the band has announced and released multiple songs on various social network
sites, such as Facebook
and Vevo
. Black Cards contributed their song "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Fame" to the complation album Download To Donate: Japan Tsunami Relief to provide relief for Japan after the earthquake and tsunami
on March 11, 2011.
, Neon Trees
frontman Tyler Glenn and possibly Shaggy. Wentz noted that he's aware that fans have been waiting for a while now to hear the disc, but the delay was necessary. He's been trying to line up support for the band at their label, Island/Def Jam.
In an interview with Spin, he spoke about the record's completion:
Former members
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
bassist Pete Wentz's new main project following the group's indefinite break. The band is composed of vocalist Bebe Rexha, bassist Pete Wentz, drummer Spencer Peterson and guitarist Nate Patterson. They are working on their untitled debut album.
Formation (2010)
Black Cards was formed in March 2010 by Pete Wentz. Fall Out BoyFall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
went on hiatus in late 2009, with Wentz announcing his desire to take a break from music and concentrate more on being with his wife and child. However, Wentz eventually ventured into another musical project, this time experimenting a lot more going to a more electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
-ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
direction with the music. Wentz had said he was taking time off with his family, when he started being inspired again by such Jamaican reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
songs as Culture
Culture (band)
Culture was a Jamaican roots reggae group founded in 1976. Originally they were known as the African Disciples.The members of the trio were Joseph Hill , Albert Walker and Kenneth Dayes ....
's "Two Sevens Clash
Two Sevens Clash
Two Sevens Clash is the debut album by roots reggae band Culture, recorded with producer Joe Gibbs at his own Joe Gibbs Recording Studio in Kingston in 1976, and released on Gibbs' eponymous label in 1977...
" and The Gladiators
The Gladiators (band)
The Gladiators are a Jamaican roots reggae band, most popular during the 1970s. The core was Albert Griffiths , Clinton Fearon and Dallimore Sutherland bass guitar and singer. The two most famous albums are Trenchtown Mix Up and Proverbial Reggae with songs as "Hearsay", "Jah Works", "Dreadlocks...
's "Warriors". Wentz then contacted producer Sam Hollander
Sam Hollander
Sam Hollander is an American songwriter and record producer. He has written and/or produced hits for the likes of Train, Boys Like Girls, Gym Class Heroes, Good Charlotte, Carole King, Neon Trees, Cobra Starship, 3OH!3, Coheed and Cambria, All Time Low, Metro Station, We The Kings, O.A.R., Uncle...
(Gym Class Heroes
Gym Class Heroes
Gym Class Heroes is an American hip hop rock band from Geneva, New York. They have collaborated with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump on numerous occasions, notably for providing backing vocals on the song "Cupid's Chokehold." Stump also produced the majority of their album The Quilt.The group formed...
, Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship is an American synthpop band created by former Midtown bassist and lead vocalist Gabe Saporta in 2003 in New York City, New York...
, Hey Monday
Hey Monday
Hey Monday is an American rock band from West Palm Beach, Florida, formed in 2008. They released their debut album Hold on Tight in 2008 which produced notable singles "Homecoming" and "How You Love Me Now". The album was followed up with their 2010 EP Beneath It All, which achieved moderate...
) and discussed the idea with him to mash up ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
, dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
with 80s British rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
to create a new experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
sound. Wentz did not want to attempt to replace Patrick Stump
Patrick Stump
Patrick Vaughn Stump is an American singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, and music critic. He is the composer, lead singer, and multi-instrumentalist of Fall Out Boy, an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, and is also a solo artist...
(his bandmate in Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
), and decided to go in a new direction taking a female vocalist instead – amateur singer Bebe Rexha.
Pete Wentz originally maintained a level of secrecy around the identity of other members. In an interview with MTV.com on July 20, 2010, Wentz had denied the rumors that either ex-Chiodos
Chiodos
Chiodos is an American post hardcore band from Davison, Michigan. Formed in 2001, the group was originally known as "The Chiodos Bros," the band's name was a tribute to filmmakers Stephen, Charles, and Edward Chiodo, responsible for the film Killer Klowns from Outer Space. Chiodos released their...
member Craig Owens or Panic! at the Disco
Panic! at the Disco
Panic! at the Disco is an American alternative rock duo, formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2005. Since its split, the band's line-up includes Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith . Former members Ryan Ross and Jon Walker left the group in 2009...
's Brendon Urie
Brendon Urie
Brendon Boyd Urie is an American musician and the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, pianist and singer-songwriter of Panic! at the Disco. He also plays drums, bass guitar, accordion, organ, cello, violin, and trumpet.-Early life:...
are part of the new project. Wentz later revealed the identity of the band's drummer as Spencer Peterson (formerly of Saves the Day
Saves the Day
Saves the Day is an American rock band from Princeton, New Jersey, formed in 1994. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Chris Conley, guitarist Arun Bali, bassist Rodrigo Palma, and drummer Claudio Rivera....
, VersaEmerge
VersaEmerge
VersaEmerge is an American rock band consisting of Sierra Kusterbeck and Blake Harnage, originating from Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA, currently signed to the label Fueled by Ramen. They have three EPs - Cities Built on Sand, Perceptions, and the self-titled release. Their debut album, Fixed at...
and Hidden in Plain View
Hidden in Plain View
Hidden in Plain View was a five-piece Pop Punk band from northern New Jersey. They formed in 2000 and disbanded in 2007. During their six and a half year run, the group released records with four different record labels , including two full-length albums and three EPs...
) and the band's guitarist as Nate Patterson (of The Receiving End of Sirens
The Receiving End of Sirens
The Receiving End of Sirens is a rock band from Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 2003.-Overview:The band played on the 2005 Warped Tour and has toured with such acts as Gatsbys American Dream, A Wilhelm Scream, 30 Seconds to Mars, Funeral for a Friend, Saves the Day, Senses Fail, Thrice, and New...
) through his blog.
The band has put up two snippets from songs the band has been working on, on their official website. The songs' working titles are "Beating in My Chest" and "Club Called Heaven". The title of "Beating in My Chest" has since then been changed to "Dirty Little Fingerprints". The band's first European tour took place between October 25–31, 2010. They played at 5 venues in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. This short European tour was preceded by three special North American dates on October 14, 15, and 16, 2010, which took place in Hartford, CT, Providence, RI and Poughkeepsie, NY. Black Cards have released "Club Called Heaven" as their first single through MySpace, YouTube and their official website. The song features rapper Chiddy of the group Chiddy Bang
Chiddy Bang
Chiddy Bang is an American alternative hip hop band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The group consists of Chidera "Chiddy" Anamege and Noah "Xaphoon Jones" Beresin. The duo was introduced through former band member Zachary Sewall in late 2008 during their freshman year at Drexel University, in...
. Since early October 2010, the band has announced and released multiple songs on various social network
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of individuals called "nodes", which are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency, such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, sexual relationships, or relationships of beliefs, knowledge or prestige.Social...
sites, such as Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and Vevo
Vevo
Vevo is a music video website. It is a joint venture among Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media with EMI licensing its content to the group without taking an ownership stake. The service was launched officially on December 8, 2009...
. Black Cards contributed their song "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Fame" to the complation album Download To Donate: Japan Tsunami Relief to provide relief for Japan after the earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
on March 11, 2011.
Untitled debut album (2011–present)
Pete Wentz told MTV that the untitled album was tentatively set for release in Summer 2011. "It's done and I'm just going to keep putting songs out, so we have to keep putting more songs on the album." It will feature guest spots from Travie McCoyTravie McCoy
Travie Lazarus McCoy is an American singer and rapper. He is the lead vocalist of the alternative hip-hop band Gym Class Heroes. He released his debut solo album Lazarus on June 8, 2010....
, Neon Trees
Neon Trees
Neon Trees is an American alternative rock band from Provo, Utah, with origins in Murrieta, California. The band received nationwide exposure in late 2008 when they opened several North American tour dates for the rock band The Killers. Not long after, the band was signed by Mercury Records and...
frontman Tyler Glenn and possibly Shaggy. Wentz noted that he's aware that fans have been waiting for a while now to hear the disc, but the delay was necessary. He's been trying to line up support for the band at their label, Island/Def Jam.
- "I don't feel like there is a holdup. I feel like people know that it's a new project at the label and really want to roll it out in the right way, and the building has really gotten behind it. But it's different than Fall Out BoyFall Out BoyFall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
, and it's different than stuff we've done before, so ... with Fall Out Boy, it'd be like, 'OK, this is rollout, we've got it, we'll go around the world.' And with this, it's new and it's new territory, so we're working with new people and it'll be exciting."
In an interview with Spin, he spoke about the record's completion:
- "We have a whole Black Cards album done, and now we're just writing more songs that might beat out some of the existing songs."
Band members
Current members- Bebe Rexha – lead vocals (2010–present)
- Pete Wentz – bass, backing vocals (2010–present)
- Spencer Peterson – drums, percussion (2010–present)
Former members
- Nate Patterson – lead guitar (2010–2011)