Ezra Furman & the Harpoons were formed in 2006 because of songs. Ezra had written songs that were urgent, desperate, pretty, and explosive, and these songs had to be heard. From personal musical sketches to glorious, rollicking pop songs, Ezra Furman & the Harpoons work tirelessly toward capturing the beauty, despair and headlong wildness of life, that too-often overlooked magic and poetry that makes us human.
There are at least two bands by the name of Sparta. 1. An American alternative rock band active in the 2000's
2. A British metal band active in the 1980's
1. Sparta is an alternative rock band which formed in El Paso, Texas in 2001. The band originally consisted of Jim Ward (vocals), Paul Hinojos (guitar) and Tony Hajjar (drums), all former members of At the Drive-In. After a brief stint with Erick Sanger, the three of them recruited Matt Miller, an El Paso native and then-bassist of Belknap to become the band's permanent bassist.
Butterfly Boucher (pronounced 'bow-cher' with a hard "ch" sound, unlike the French pronunciation) is an Adelaide, Australian singer/songwriter. Boucher, born June 2, 1979, is the middle child of seven daughters. The name "Butterfly" was a suggestion from a friend of the family. Her mother didn't initially like the name but kept seeing butterflies in pictures, on clothing, etc. before the birth. In later years, Butterfly's sister had a band, The Mercy Bell, in which Butterfly played bass guitar. In 2004 and 2005, Boucher toured the U.
Ezra Furman is a singer and songwriter from Chicago, IL. It is difficult to peg him as part of a single musical genre because he loves to experiment with different styles of songwriting. Suffice it to say that Ezra makes up songs and plays them on his acoustic guitar with ferocious energy and gut wrenching sincerity. His music is derivative of, but never completely part of, a number of musical genres: rock, blues, punk, folk and pop are some prime examples.
The Grates are a two-piece band from Brisbane, Australia. Patience Hodgson (vocals), John Patterson (guitar) and Alana Skyring (drums) formed The Grates in 2002. The Grates have been lauded for their catchy songs and enthusiastic and energetic live show (Patience spends much of the show bouncing around, even while singing). They are frequently described as fun: "We just wanna have fun and hope other people do too." (Patience). Their sound has been compared to the Ramones, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Be Your Own Pet.