Vampire weekend is an American rock band from New York City that formed in 2006. The band consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson, and bassist Chris Baio. The band’s first album Vampire Weekend (2008) included the singles “Mansard Roof,” “A-Punk,” “Oxford Comma,” and “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” and “The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance” and was highly acclaimed for its world influences.
In 2007, Rolling Stone magazine ranked “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa 67th on its list of the “100 Best Songs of the Year.”
Vampire Weekend’s second album Contra (2010) was similarly acclaimed and garnered strong commercial success. Contra was the band’s first album to debut at #1 on Billboard’s Top 200 albums.
Their third album, Modern Vampires of the City (2013) won the group a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2014. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard charts marking the second time the band achieved that feat. Vampire Weekend also became the first independent rock band to enter the charts at #1 with two consecutive releases.
The band members met while enrolled at Columbia University and bonded over a shared love of punk rock and African music. They began playing shows around Columbia University, starting with a battle of the bands. After graduating from college, the band self-produced their debut album while simultaneously working full-time jobs.
The name “Vampire Weekend” originated from a short film project that Koenig worked on during the summer between his freshman and sophomore years in college after watching the 1980’s vampire film The Lost Boys.
In 2016 it was announced that multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij had departed the band. Lead vocalist Koenig noted that Batmanglij would continue to collaborate with the band.
Vampire Weekend will release their fourth album Father of the Bride in early 2019.
Reference: https://www.vampireweekend.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_Weekend
Vampire Weekend’s discography
Vampire Weekend (2008)
Contra (2010)
Modern Vampires of the City (2013)
Father of the Bride (2019)
Sacramento’s K-ZAP 93.3 FM plays Vampire Weekend. All part of 50 years of Rock, Blues and More, 24-7 on our station’s stream at K-ZAP.ORG/LISTEN/
Check out “Harmony Hall” from Vampire Weekend’s album Father of the Bride.