History

Multi-instrumentalist

Multi-instrumentalist

A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...

 and singer Jason NeSmith ' onMouseout='HidePop("85932")' href="/topics/Michael_Nesmith">Michael Nesmith

Michael Nesmith

Robert Michael Nesmith is an American musician, songwriter, actor, producer, novelist, businessman, and philanthropist, best known as a member of the musical group The Monkees and star of the TV series of the same name...

 of the Monkees

The Monkees

The Monkees are an American pop rock group. Assembled in Los Angeles in 1966 by Robert "Bob" Rafelson and Bert Schneider for the American television series The Monkees, which aired from 1966 to 1968, the musical acting quartet was composed of Americans Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork,...

), began using the pseudonym Casper Fandango in 1996 as a moniker for his solo four-track recordings.

Casper & the Cookies released two DIY cassettes in the late 1990s, originally as Casper Fandango & the Knees and subsequently Casper Fandango & His Tiny Sick Tears.

The Cookies came into existence in 1998 as NeSmith’s live band. They have three CDs released on Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records

Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records

Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records is an American independent record label based in Athens, Georgia, whose catalogue is rather heavily weighted towards twee indie pop music, with several of its bands being related to or influenced by The Elephant 6 Recording Company...

, Oh! (2004), The Optimist’s Club (2006), and Modern Silence (2009). After many lineup changes the band consists of NeSmith, Kay Stanton, Jim Hicks and Gregory Sanders.

NeSmith was a member of Of Montreal

Of Montreal

Of Montreal is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontman Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance with a woman "of Montreal." The band is one of the bands of the Elephant 6 collective...

 for the Satanic Panic In the Attic tour of 2004 and some of the Sunlandic Twins tour of 2005, eventually leaving to focus on his own band. (Kay and Jason are also in Supercluster

Supercluster

Superclusters are large groups of smaller galaxy groups and clusters and are among the largest known structures of the cosmos. They are so large that they are not gravitationally bound and, consequently, partake in the Hubble expansion.-Existence:...

, the side project of Vanessa Briscoe Hay

Vanessa Briscoe Hay

Vanessa Briscoe Hay is an American singer for the Athens, Georgia bands Pylon and Supercluster.-Biography:...

 of Pylon

Pylon (band)

Pylon is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. The band's danceable jangle pop sound influenced the Athens music scene and the 1980s American pop underground. Allmusic wrote that Pylon's "role as elder statesmen of the alternative rock explosion is unassailable".-History:All four members of...

.) NeSmith has also been a member of Kenny Howes

Kenny Howes

-Early years:Raised in Mulberry, Florida, Howes began his musical endeavors at the age of ten by simultaneously learning the guitar and piano at home and the French horn at school....

 & the Yeah!, Orange Hat

Orange Hat

-Early years:Guitarist Christo Harris started Orange Hat while in high school in 1983 and was joined by guitarist/bassist David "Zeus" Henderson several years later. The pair, with constantly changing lineups, took advantage of the '80s DIY cassette culture and released a half dozen independent...

, The Visitations, The Late BP Helium and The Sunshine Fix

The Sunshine Fix

The Sunshine Fix is an Indie rock group. It is the solo project of The Olivia Tremor Control's Bill Doss. The name predates the Olivia Tremor Control and is currently in use....

. He also owns and operates a commercial recording facility, Bel*Air Studio.

Casper & the Cookies served as the backing band for Daniel Johnston

Daniel Johnston

Daniel Dale Johnston is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and artist. Johnston was the subject of the 2006 documentary The Devil and Daniel Johnston. He currently lives in Waller, Texas....

 at the 2007 Athens Pop Fest. Also in 2007, The Cookies went on a nationwide tour supporting The Apples In Stereo

The Apples in Stereo

The Apples in Stereo, styled The Apples in stereo, is an American indie rock band associated with The Elephant Six Collective, a group of bands also including Neutral Milk Hotel and The Olivia Tremor Control. The band is largely a product of lead vocalist/guitarist Robert Schneider, who writes the...

.

Members

Jason NeSmith (aka Casper Fandango), Kay Stanton, Jim Hicks, Gregory Sanders

Past members: Christo Harris, Ben Spraker, Kenny Howes

Kenny Howes

-Early years:Raised in Mulberry, Florida, Howes began his musical endeavors at the age of ten by simultaneously learning the guitar and piano at home and the French horn at school....

, Phil Stockman, Paul Walker, Tim Schreiber, Suzanne Allison, Bryan Poole (aka The Late BP Helium), Peter Alvanos, Jason Gonzales, Davy Gibbs, Joe Rowe, Lucas Jensen

Albums

• Consumer (cassette; as Casper Fandango & the Knees) – Lookit Meee! -1996
• How’s Your Hand? (cassette; as Casper Fandango & His Tiny Sick Tears) – Lookit Meee! – 1997
• How’s Your Hand? (CD; as Casper Fandango & His Tiny Sick Tears) Lookit Meee! / AAJ – 2000
• Oh! (CD) – Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records [HHBTM] / Waikiki Record – 2004/ 2005 (Japan)
• The Optimist’s Club – (CD/LP) – HHBTM / People In A Position to Know {PIAPTK] – 2006 and Waikiki Record – 2008
• Modern Silence – (CD/LP) – HHBTM / People In A Position to Know {PIAPTK] – 2009
• Volatile and Erogenous: The Best of Casper & The Cookies - (CD) HHBTM / People In A Position to Know - 2011 (The album was given away for free on the facebook page of the band and custom made by drummer Gregory Sanders)
• Ice Mattress - (digital only release) - Self-Released - 2011

Singles and EPs

• The Band That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World (CD-r) – Lookit Meee! – 2004
• Overly Optimistic (CD-r)– HHBTM – 2006
• 3 ½ Stars (CD-r)– HHBTM – 2007
• "Power Stupid" (split with Keith John Adams) 8” – PIAPTK – 2007
• "Jennifer’s House" / “Huff” (split with Marbles) 7” – HHBTM – 2007
• "Kiss Me Beneath the Christmas Tree" (digital only) – HHBTM - 2007

External links

• [ All Music Guide entry on Casper & the Cookies]
• Casper & the Cookies website