The Amps
The Amps were an American alternative rock band formed by Kim Deal in 1995, while her band the Breeders went on hiatus. The group consisted of Deal, on lead vocals and rhythm guitar; Luis Lerma on bass; Nate Farley on lead guitar; and Jim Macpherson of the Breeders on drums. Kelley Deal, Kim's sister, was also briefly involved, but had to leave the band due to drug problems. The group was named when Kim Deal started calling herself Tammy Ampersand for fun, and the band Tammy and the Amps. They recorded the album Pacer in the United States and Ireland.
This article is about the U.S. rock band. For other uses, see AMPS (disambiguation) and amp (disambiguation).
The Amps
Pacer was released in October 1995. The group toured the United States, Europe, and Australia with bands including the Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, and Guided by Voices. Critics commented on the loose and rough quality of these performances. The Amps continued as a group until 1996, when Deal changed their name back to the Breeders. By 2000, Macpherson, Lerma, and Farley had left the band; they were all at times involved in various projects with Guided by Voices' Robert Pollard. Deal's next album, the Breeders' Title TK, was released seven years after Pacer.
Background and formation[edit]
From 1986 to 1992, Deal was a member of the Pixies[2] and from 1989 onwards, the Breeders.[3] In August 1993, the Breeders released their second album, Last Splash[4] which went platinum in the USA,[5] gold in Canada,[6] and silver in the UK.[7] The other members of the group at that time were Kim's twin sister Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs and Jim Macpherson.[8] By late 1994, after two years of straight touring and recording, and culminating in the Lollapalooza tour, the band members were exhausted; they decided to take some time off from the Breeders, but this hiatus ended up being longer than expected.[8] Kelley was arrested on drug charges in late 1994 and spent time in and out of rehabilitation, while Wiggs became involved in musical projects in New York, including collaborations with members of Luscious Jackson.[8][9]
Meanwhile, Kim Deal was eager to continue recording and performing.[9] At first she envisioned her next album as a solo record, on which she would play all of the instrument parts.[10] When she was recording initial demos for the project, she asked Kelley to play on some of them, to distract her from her drug difficulties.[10][11] Since Kelley was now also involved, Deal decided not to go solo,[10] but formed a new group. She recruited Macpherson to play drums, musician Luis Lerma, bass, and Nate Farley, guitar.[11][12] Later, Kelley dropped out of the project for rehabilitation and moved to Saint Paul, Minnesota.[10][13] For fun, Deal began calling herself Tammy Ampersand, and the group, Tammy and the Amps.[10] This became simply the Amps.[10]
Reforming the Breeders[edit]
Later in 1996, Deal changed the name of the group back to the Breeders and the band originally had almost the same line-up as the Amps.[1] Until then Deal had been waiting for Wiggs and Kelley to rejoin the Breeders and record a new album together, and had held back from reforming the Breeders out of respect for them.[43][44] In May 1996, Wiggs revealed that she would not be involved in any immediate Breeders activity; Kelley also chose to stay in Saint Paul, to be close to her rehabilitation facility.[43][44] Deal then decided that she did not want to wait any longer to reform the group, partly because the Breeders' repertoire was larger than the Amps', thereby allowing longer concerts.[43][44] Deal added violinist Carrie Bradley (who had played on the Breeders' Pod album), and with Macpherson, Lerma, and Farley, played some shows in 1996 with Primus.[1]
By 1998, Kelley had rejoined and Macpherson had left the group, and by 2000 Lerma and Farley had also left.[45] With a line-up including the Deal sisters and new members Mando Lopez and Jose Medeles, the Breeders released the albums Title TK in 2002 and Mountain Battles in 2008.[45] Meanwhile Macpherson was a member of Guided by Voices from 1998 to 2001,[46] and participated in other projects with Guided By Voices' Robert Pollard until 2005.[47][48] Lerma and Farley have been members of the Tasties,[1][49] and in 1999 participated in Pollard's Lexo and the Leapers side project group;[49] Farley was also a member of Guided by Voices from 1999 to 2004.[50] In 2013, the Last Splash-era Breeders line-up of Kim and Kelley Deal, Macpherson, and Wiggs reunited to tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of that album.[51][52]