Tigercity

Wanting to stand out from all of New York City's post-punk-inspired bands, Brooklyn's Tigercity opted for a blend of new wave, soft rock, and disco, grafting the melodies of Hall & Oates and Scritti Politti on the beats of Chic and Prince and tossing in a little of Roxy Music's effortless cool for good measure. The band began in fall 2004 on the campus of Massachusetts' Hampshire College, with vocalist Bill Gillim and bassist Joel Ford connecting at a pickup basketball game. After discovering they both wanted to make music that made people dance instead of standard ironic indie rock fare, they began recording and performing, playing gigs with acts like Mixel Pixel and M.I.A. The duo went into the studio in summer 2005 and recorded a self-titled EP; later that year, Ford and Gillim moved to Brooklyn, where they fleshed out Tigercity's lineup with guitarist Andrew Brady and drummer Aynsley Powell. The Tigercity EP was released in 2006, and the band spent 2007 working on new material and touring with the Office, Mobius Band, and Stylofone.