SeepeopleS

Led by the multifaceted Will Bradford, SeepeopleS is an East Coast alternative pop/rock outfit with a strong psychedelic influence. Bradford (not to be confused with the late Will Bradley, a well-known big-band leader of the '30s, '40s, and '50s) has worn many different hats with SeepeopleS; in addition to serving as the band's lead vocalist and handling most of the songwriting, Bradford has played guitar (both electric and acoustic), electric bass, drums, percussion, keyboards, organ and the Indian sitar for his group. SeepeopleS' melodic, sometimes lush work draws on a wide variety of influences from different eras. Clearly, Bradford admires Radiohead, Kula Shaker and the Orb, but he also has a lot of psychedelic, British Invasion and progressive rock inspirations from the '60s and '70s — inspirations that include Pink Floyd, King Crimson, the Moody Blues and late-period Beatles (as in The White Album, Magical Mystery Tour, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band). And not all of SeepeopleS' influences come from rock; there are hints of soul, funk, and dubwise reggae in some of Bradford's material, and his group sometimes incorporates elements of electronica (including trance and drum'n'bass/jungle). Bradford, in fact, played electronica recordings when he was freelancing as a dance club DJ in the late '90s; nonetheless, SeepeopleS is a guitar-based rock band first and foremost. Lyrically, SeepeopleS can be quite dark; Bradford's lyrics often deal with themes of alienation, and his material has frequently been described as melancholy, cynical, world-weary, and angry.

SeepeopleS was formed in Allston, MA in 2000, when three ex-members of a New England band called Cosmic Dilemma — Bradford, bassist Dan Ingenthron, and drummer Tim Haney — decided to keep working together. SeepeopleS hadn't been together very long when they landed a gig opening for Cracker at a New York City venue known as the Acme Underground, and after two years of East Coast gigs, SeepeopleS provided their first album, For the Good of the Nation, in 2002. It was also in 2002 that Ingenthron and Haney left the band (for awhile, bassist Keith Mann and drummer Chad Hildebran were on board), although both of them returned in 2004 for a national tour. Other important events for SeepeopleS in 2004 included a move from New England to Asheville, NC and the release of their second album, The Corn Syrup Conspiracy.