Germans is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 indie rock

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 band whose members included Julian Kado, Roman Harrison, Livingston Fagan, Aidan Koper, Steven Lappano, Jesse Foster, Michael Rozenberg, and Leon Taheny. They are signed to Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

-based label Arena Rock Recording Co.

Arena Rock Recording Co.

The Arena Rock Recording Company is an independent record label based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Albums are distributed by Redeye in the United States and Koch in Canada.-History:...

 Based in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, the bandmembers are from various nearby Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 cities: Mississauga, Richmond Hill

Richmond Hill, Ontario

Richmond Hill is a town located in Southern Ontario, Canada in the central portion of York Region, Ontario. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, being located about halfway between Toronto and Lake Simcoe...

, and Guelph

Guelph

Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...

.

Critics have noted that the music is reminiscent of 1990s indie rock, and, in their "Artist of the Day" feature, Spin

Spin (magazine)

Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...

magazine compared the band's music to 1990s indie rock band Archers of Loaf

Archers of Loaf

Archers of Loaf is an American indie-rock band originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, formed in 1990. The group toured extensively and released a total of four studio albums, a collection album, numerous singles and EPs, and a live album which was released after the band broke up in...

. Taheny has cited the band Pavement

Pavement (band)

Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...

 as a significant influence. Most of the band members contributed to the 2006 Polaris Music Prize

Polaris Music Prize

The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label...

-winning album He Poos Clouds

He Poos Clouds

He Poos Clouds is the second album by Canadian indie rock artist Final Fantasy, released June 13, 2006 on Blocks Recording Club in Canada and Tomlab internationally....

by Final Fantasy, which Taheny produced

Record producer

A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...

.

Their track "I Am the Teacher" has been in rotation at CBC Radio 3

CBC Radio 3

CBC Radio 3 is a radio station that consists of two parts devoted to Canadian arts and music: a radio service which is available on Sirius Satellite Radio and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website...

, and played on the CBC Radio 3 podcast

Podcast

A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...

. The band is touring the U.S. and Canada in early 2007.

Band member Aidan Koper appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman

Late Show with David Letterman

Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...

, performing a "Stupid Human Trick" in which he contorted his body through a tennis racquet while juggling.

No one from the band is German, and, despite their debut album being named Cape Fear

Cape Fear (album)

Cape Fear is the debut album by Canadian indie rock band Germans, released 13 February 2007 on the Arena Rock Recording Co. label.-Track listing:All songs written by Germans, except as noted:# "Tiger Vacuum Bottle"# "No Job"# "Nature's Mouth"...

, no band member has been to Cape Fear or has seen the Robert De Niro film

Cape Fear (1991 film)

Cape Fear is a 1991 thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and a remake of the 1962 film of the same name. It stars Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis and features cameos from Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Martin Balsam, who all appeared in the 1962 original film...

 -except for Livingston Fagan, but he had nothing to do with the naming or concept of the album.

External links

• Official site
• http://www.myspace.com/germansGermans at MySpace
  MySpace
  Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
  
  ]
• Germans at Arena Rock Recording Co.
• http://radio3.cbc.ca/bands/GERMANS/Germans at CBC Radio 3
  CBC Radio 3
  CBC Radio 3 is a radio station that consists of two parts devoted to Canadian arts and music: a radio service which is available on Sirius Satellite Radio and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website...
  
  ]