The Vox Jaguars is a North American rock band that formed in Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...

, California in 2006. They began by performing in local coffee houses and record stores. Their influences include The Stooges

The Stooges

The Stooges are an American rock band from Ann Arbor, Michigan first active from 1967 to 1974, and later reformed in 2003...

, MC5

MC5

The MC5 is an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan and originally active from 1964 to 1972. The original band line-up consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson...

, The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...

, and other protopunk

Protopunk

Protopunk is a term used retrospectively to describe a number of musicians who were important precursors of punk rock in the late 1960s to mid-1970s, or who have been cited by early punk musicians as influential...

 artists. The Vox Jaguars are known for their energetic live performances, and have shared the stage with The Fiery Furnaces

The Fiery Furnaces

The Fiery Furnaces are a U.S. indie rock band formed in 2000 in Brooklyn, New York. The band's primary members are Matthew and Eleanor Friedberger. The siblings are originally from Oak Park, Illinois, a near-western suburb of Chicago.- Band biography :...

, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Grand Ole Party

Grand Ole Party

Grand Ole Party was a three-piece band from San Diego, California consisting of singer-drummer Kristin Gundred, guitarist John Paul Labno and bassist Michael Krechnyak. They started playing in San Diego in mid-2006, having moved from the San Francisco area...

, and Scissors For Lefty

Scissors for lefty

Scissors for Lefty are an indie rock band, based in San Francisco. They released their debut album, Bruno, in 2005 on Rough Trade Records .-Biography:...

. The Vox Jaguars have been part of the wave of the garage rock revival, and have influenced many indie artists in the Santa Cruz area of California (No Age

No Age

No Age is a two-person American indie rock group consisting of guitarist Randy Randall and drummer/vocalist Dean Allen Spunt. The band is based in Los Angeles and is currently signed to Sub Pop records...

, Foreign Born). No Age has named them their "favorite new band".

Original lineup

The original lineup featured Jordan Topf (vocals, guitar), Justin Fisher (keyboards), and Mason Rosenberg (drums). Fisher left the band to attend college in Portland which lead to a rearrangement and addition of new personnel. Moving Mason Rosenberg to bass, and introducing Trevor Hope on drums, the second incarnation of the Vox Jaguars was a power trio in 2007.

Demo CD

The Vox Jaguars' demo CD, Out of Luck, was recorded by Luke David, and featured four tracks; "Swagger", "Frail", "Good As Gone", and "Metropolis". These tracks all feature an electric organ that was played by both Luke David and Mason Rosenberg. Out of Luck was well received, and enjoyed some success in the greater San Francisco, California Bay area. The song "Swagger" was discovered by the creators of FOX TV's Canterbury's Law

Canterbury's Law

Canterbury's Law is an American legal drama, which ran from March 10, 2008 to April 18, 2008 as a mid-season replacement on Fox. The show was created by Dave Erickson and executive produced by Denis Leary, Jim Serpico, Walon Green, John Kane, and Mike Figgis, who also directed the pilot...

, who used the song in the climax episode of the short-run prime-time TV series in April 2008.

Lineup changes

After touring the West coast of the United States a couple of times, Mason Rosenberg broke his hand in a bicycle accident, so Sam Copperman filled in while Rosenberg recovered from his injury. When Rosenberg's hand had healed, Copperman was retained as keyboardist. Occasionally, Luke David filled in on keyboards when Copperman wasn't available. Copperman also played stand-up bass on rare acoustic appearances that shifted Rosenberg to toy piano.

EP prodution

Loves In Heat Records had talked about releasing a Vox Jaguars CD, but the band's new manager, Adam Levin, arranged for a short EP release of The Vox Jaguars, a default self-titled release on Anodyne Records that was originally intended to be called Powerhouse. The title was changed at the last minute, resulting in a bit of confusion for purchasers, and online buyers. Vox Jaguars – EP was released on February 10, 2009 and was produced by Ariel Reichtshaid (who also produced for We Are Scientists

We Are Scientists

We Are Scientists is a New York-based indie rock band that formed in Berkeley, California in 2000. Originally formed of Keith Murray on drums, Chris Cain playing bass guitar and Scott Lamb providing vocals and guitar, before Michael Tapper became drummer and Keith became vocalist and guitarist...

, The Blood Arm

The Blood Arm

-Band Information:The Blood Arm were formed in LA in 2003 and were nominated for the LA Weekly Music Award for Best New Artist in 2004. They won the Best Live Act award at the 2005 South By Southwest Music Conference. Franz Ferdinand have often mentioned The Blood Arm as their favourite band in...

, Valencia

Valencia (band)

Valencia is an alternative rock/punk band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are currently on hiatus.-History:Valencia met by playing local shows together around the tri-state area in separate bands. George Ciukurescu and JD Perry grew up together; attending elementary school, high school, and...

, Plain White T's

Plain White T's

Plain White T's is an American Pop rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 1997 by high school friends Tom Higgenson and Ken Fletcher, the group had a mostly underground following in Chicago basements, clubs, and bars in its early years, and underwent numerous personnel changes.The band is best...

). By the time The Vox Jaguars EP was released, Sam Copperman was no longer in the band, but had contributed on the EP. The Vox Jaguars dropped the keyboard when Copperman left for college in the Fall of 2008. At that time, Noah Bond was introduced as the Vox Jaguars' lead guitarist. Bond is credited as playing on the EP, but wasn't actually in the Vox Jaguars when the CD was recorded at the Sunset Lodge Studios in Los Angeles, California. The short EP features four tracks: "Swagger", "Song for the Girl", "Wild Orphan", and "Homesick". The Vox Jaguars' second version of "Swagger" has been popular among college students, and has received a good deal of airplay on university and public radio stations.

The Vox Jaguars have written about twenty original songs, although only five of them appear on their CD's. The Vox Jaguars are currently signed to Anodyne Records

Anodyne Records

Anodyne Records was founded in 1997 in Kansas City by John Hulston marking its coming-out with the now eponymous live “Making Love EP” from seminal Kansas City indie rockers, Shiner...

. and have a small cult following.

List of songs

Can't Find Love in the Newspaper (unreleased)

Dead Man (unreleased)

Dilettante (unreleased)

Frail (Out of Luck 2007)

Good As Gone (Out of Luck 2007)

Homesick (Powerhouse 2009)

Lost (unreleased)

Marble Hearts (unreleased)

Metropolis (Out of Luck 2007)

Nevertheless (unreleased)

Nonsense (unreleased)

Song for the Girl (Powerhouse 2009)

Swagger version 1 (Out of Luck 2007)

Swagger version 2 (Powerhouse 2009)

Swift Street (unreleased)

Wild Orphan (Powerhouse 2009)

Terrorize (unreleased)

White Wolf Eyes (unreleased)

Without Your Holster (unreleased)

Hiatus

As of the fall of 2009, the Vox Jaguars are on indefinite hiatus as band members temporarily pursue other goals in music, work and education.

Mason - A Quantum Visionary - Bright Stone - Vox Chupacabra. Is currently studying music at Cabrillo College

Trevor - The Inciters - Vox Chupacabra. Still resides in Santa Cruz

Jordan - Mainland - Residing in New York City, Studying at The City University of New York (mainlandfever on myspace)

Sam is studying music at Michigan State University

Justin is a graduate at Portland State University

Noah is studying at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. He is currently playing self-written songs in his dorm room