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SIGNING0N -i+H*iHiffiBY MICHAEL GILTZ
I r,.. r, :\ edorming on the "Late Show With David Letterman" is
,i,,Li $\ an imporlant spot for any band, with national exposure
S j\ and a hipness cachet that is not to be denied. But when
iil,'.,Sits the whigs perform Jan. 28 on Letterman, lead singer
iS Parker Gispert says it'll be his equivalent of playing the
,.:'.i Garden or Carnegie Hall.Eo
Y
B
c
oBuz
i
mOoN
o
N
o
o
!
qdon't want to do that." sane arnount. That self-produced CD .
Gispert's own drummer and creative caught the eye of Rolling Stone; endless
partner is Julian Dorio, along wifh bassist touring at every opportunity honed the
Tim Deaux as the third leg in their power band even further, and they simply wait-
trio. Both Gispert and Dorio played drums ed until a label approached them with the
in high school in Allanta. But Cispen right atlilude.
"['ve alwa."-s been a nerd about late-
night TV perfonnances," says lhe 25-year-
old Gispeft, rvhose band will also be per-
forming at the Music Hall of Wllliamsburg
in Brooklyn on feb. 1.
"I actually have a giant VHS collection
of different people playing on late-night
telelision. C;rowing up, if anybody was
conring on that I liked, I would tape it and
s atcl r it ovtsr ar rd over Jgai n. So il's prel -
ty cool that I get to go on now. I'm pretty
pumped up abcut it."
The lvhigs (a name chosen because
it sounds vague and interesting. not be-
cause they hirve anv paflicular aftiniry* for
the l9th-century politlcal group that was
a precursor to the Republican Party) are
promoting their second album - and ma-jor label debut - "NIission Control," out
Tuesday on ATO Records.
They were tabbed by Rolling Stone
magzine as "the best unsigned band in
America" irr 2006. and their album is
already getting massive praise and com-
parisons to everyone from the Replace-
ments to the Strokes and Pavement. But
the Athens, Ga.-based band isn't takin€l
Lettennan lightl]', and Gispen will draw
on everything he's learned bv watching
other acls lackle lhat chilly studio.
"Just as important as any ofthe good
ltips] would be, 'Don't do this,"' he says
about the lessons he's learned by watch-
ing. "Stuft you can't articulate. You'd just
u'atch someone's backing band and the
drummer is playing a cefiain way and youwas in a lot of bands and "sucked." while
Dorio stayed at home, plalang along with
CDs and was generally acknowledged for
his skills by being dubbed "freak
dummer guy."
They headed to Athens for
college, when Gispert was
waylaid by a series of major
illnesses, including
shingles and mono. "l was
in tbe hospital for 35 days,"
says Gispert. But Dorio kept
visiting during Gispefi's re-
covery over the next six months;
they bonded. and smn after the
Whigs were fomed.
In a story per-fect for the Internet age,
they and original bassist Hank Sullivant
bouglrt recording equipnent on eBa),.
recorded an album over a summer at
Sullivant's frat house, then re-sold the
equipment on eBav forjust about theThe WhiBs signed with AIO lthe only
one that didn't immediately have a doz-
en ideas about what to change about the
band and their music). The anist-
friendly indie launched by Dave
Matthews also feafures Ben
Kweller and lvly Morning
Jacket, among others.
Gispetl knows that Vru-
Tube may have brought his
obsessive taping days to an
end. btrt he still watches late-
light TY and his band can no*'
be a part of his collection.
"l feel like we're fofiunate."
says Gispert. "A lot of people who end
up on those shows had a song they rer:ord-
ed jn the studio and got on the radio or
Nl.f\,: Bul the way we'\'e grown as a band
is as a live band playing in bars. So giving
a I)enDrmance on Iatc-nigl)t televrsiun is
just doing s'hat ) ou do every night." a
oz
ql
SIGNING0N -i+H*iHiffiBY MICHAEL GILTZ
I r,.. r, :\ edorming on the "Late Show With David Letterman" is
,i,,Li $\ an imporlant spot for any band, with national exposure
S j\ and a hipness cachet that is not to be denied. But when
iil,'.,Sits the whigs perform Jan. 28 on Letterman, lead singer
iS Parker Gispert says it'll be his equivalent of playing the
,.:'.i Garden or Carnegie Hall.Eo
Y
B
c
oBuz
i
mOoN
o
N
o
o
!
qdon't want to do that." sane arnount. That self-produced CD .
Gispert's own drummer and creative caught the eye of Rolling Stone; endless
partner is Julian Dorio, along wifh bassist touring at every opportunity honed the
Tim Deaux as the third leg in their power band even further, and they simply wait-
trio. Both Gispert and Dorio played drums ed until a label approached them with the
in high school in Allanta. But Cispen right atlilude.
"['ve alwa."-s been a nerd about late-
night TV perfonnances," says lhe 25-year-
old Gispeft, rvhose band will also be per-
forming at the Music Hall of Wllliamsburg
in Brooklyn on feb. 1.
"I actually have a giant VHS collection
of different people playing on late-night
telelision. C;rowing up, if anybody was
conring on that I liked, I would tape it and
s atcl r it ovtsr ar rd over Jgai n. So il's prel -
ty cool that I get to go on now. I'm pretty
pumped up abcut it."
The lvhigs (a name chosen because
it sounds vague and interesting. not be-
cause they hirve anv paflicular aftiniry* for
the l9th-century politlcal group that was
a precursor to the Republican Party) are
promoting their second album - and ma-jor label debut - "NIission Control," out
Tuesday on ATO Records.
They were tabbed by Rolling Stone
magzine as "the best unsigned band in
America" irr 2006. and their album is
already getting massive praise and com-
parisons to everyone from the Replace-
ments to the Strokes and Pavement. But
the Athens, Ga.-based band isn't takin€l
Lettennan lightl]', and Gispen will draw
on everything he's learned bv watching
other acls lackle lhat chilly studio.
"Just as important as any ofthe good
ltips] would be, 'Don't do this,"' he says
about the lessons he's learned by watch-
ing. "Stuft you can't articulate. You'd just
u'atch someone's backing band and the
drummer is playing a cefiain way and youwas in a lot of bands and "sucked." while
Dorio stayed at home, plalang along with
CDs and was generally acknowledged for
his skills by being dubbed "freak
dummer guy."
They headed to Athens for
college, when Gispert was
waylaid by a series of major
illnesses, including
shingles and mono. "l was
in tbe hospital for 35 days,"
says Gispert. But Dorio kept
visiting during Gispefi's re-
covery over the next six months;
they bonded. and smn after the
Whigs were fomed.
In a story per-fect for the Internet age,
they and original bassist Hank Sullivant
bouglrt recording equipnent on eBa),.
recorded an album over a summer at
Sullivant's frat house, then re-sold the
equipment on eBav forjust about theThe WhiBs signed with AIO lthe only
one that didn't immediately have a doz-
en ideas about what to change about the
band and their music). The anist-
friendly indie launched by Dave
Matthews also feafures Ben
Kweller and lvly Morning
Jacket, among others.
Gispetl knows that Vru-
Tube may have brought his
obsessive taping days to an
end. btrt he still watches late-
light TY and his band can no*'
be a part of his collection.
"l feel like we're fofiunate."
says Gispert. "A lot of people who end
up on those shows had a song they rer:ord-
ed jn the studio and got on the radio or
Nl.f\,: Bul the way we'\'e grown as a band
is as a live band playing in bars. So giving
a I)enDrmance on Iatc-nigl)t televrsiun is
just doing s'hat ) ou do every night." a