The Whigs

The Whigs are a rock band from Athens, Ga. that has been touring the world consistently since 2005. They have released three studio albums and have toured the world with acts such as Kings of Leon, The Black Keys, Drive By Truckers, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Band of Skulls, The Hold Steady, Tokyo Police Club, MGMT, and Dead Confederate. They have become Late Night television regulars and have appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show With David Letterman (twice), Late Night With Conan O'Brien, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, and Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Early days (2002-2005)
The band was formed in 2002 by Parker Gispert, Julian Dorio, and Hank Sullivant. Early in their careers, they shared the stage with bands such as the Drive By Truckers, Jason Lowenstein, Elf Power and Franz Ferdinand. Following a negative experience with a major record label, the Whigs decided to record and release their first album independently.
Give Em All a Big Fat Lip (November 2005 / July 2006)
In the summer of 2005 the band recorded their first album, Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip, in an empty fraternity house.[2] They used equipment purchased on eBay and resold after recording was finished to help offset the cost of production. Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip was released independently in 2005. In July 2006, The Whigs signed with Dave Matthews' record label ATO Records, and Give 'Em All a Big Fat Lip was rereleased on September 19, 2006. Before signing with Matthews' label, Rolling Stone called the band "perhaps the best unsigned band in America."[3]
The Whigs toured the United States with Wax Fang and the Broken West and appeared at Milwaukee's Summerfest and the New Orleans Voodoo Fest following the rerelease of Fat Lip. The band also performed at the 2007 Bonnaroo Festival.
Founding member Hank Sullivant left the band in 2006 to pursue solo project Kuroma, and was later permanently replaced by Timothy Deaux.
Mission Control (January 2008)
The band's second album, Mission Control, was recorded in Los Angeles during the summer of 2007 by producer Rob Schnapf and engineer Doug Boehm at Hollywood's Sunset Sound and Sound Factory. The album was released by ATO on January 22, 2008. Since its release, the band has been touring the United States with the Drive By Truckers, Kings of Leon, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Tokyo Police Club, Band of Skulls, Wax Fang, Tulsa, Dead Confederate, Jason Isbell, Toadies, and the Dead Trees. The Whigs performed at both the 2008 Sasquatch! and Bumbershoot festivals.
In March, the Whigs performed alongside My Morning Jacket and Yo La Tengo at the Austin Music Hall as part of Austin's SXSW 2008 Festival.
The summer of 2008 marked the first European tour for the Whigs who performed at Belgium's Rock Werchter Festival, London's 02 Wireless Festival, Scotland's T in the Park Festival, and Ireland's Oxygen Festival. The tour also included a performance with Kings of Leon and MGMT at Le Zenith in Paris, France along with stops in Germany and Milan, Italy.
On September 22, 2008 the Whigs performed alongside Kings of Leon to celebrate the release of Kings' 4th studio album, "Only By The Night."
At the end of 2008 the Whigs toured with Toadies (August), Tokyo Police Club (September), The Kooks (October), and Kings of Leon (November), and rounded out the year with a New Year's Eve gig in their home state of Georgia with Band of Horses.
2009 activity
The Whigs spent 2009 writing new songs for their forthcoming record and touring with Kings of Leon and Dead Confederate. In January, the band opened for Kings of Leon on their North American trek highlighted by a stop at New York's Madison Square Garden.
March and April saw the Whigs headline a tour with support from hometown bands Dead Confederate and Trances Arc. The band recorded in Athens at Chase Park Transduction in June while popping up for the occasional hometown surprise gig or festival appearance.
In July, the Whigs did a short headlining tour in the United States.
In August the Whigs opened another Kings of Leon trek which included stops at Denver's Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Edmonton's Rexall Place, Calgary's Saddledome, Vancouver's General Motors Place, San Diego's Cox Arena, and the Forum in Los Angeles.
In September the Whigs opened more shows for Kings of Leon in Indianapolis and Milwaukee @ The Bradley Center.
In October the band did a two and a half month headlining tour of the United States with support from the Features, The Dead Trees, Mean Creek, and also Thayer Sarranno.
In the Dark (2010)
In The Dark was released March 16, 2010 in the United States by ATO records. It was recorded primarily at Chase Park Transduction in Athens, GA. by longtime friend and Athens native Ben H. Allen (Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley). "Someone's Daughter" and "So Lonely" were re-recorded from the original Athens session in the fall of 2009 with producer Jay Joyce. First single "Kill Me Carolyne" and "Automatic" were written and recorded a few days later with producer Angelo Petraglia (Kings of Leon) and engineer Vance Powell (Dead Weather / Raconteurs). Both additional sessions took place in Nashville, TN.
On March 31st 2010, the Whigs made their second appearance on the Late Show With David Letterman performing "Kill Me Carolyne." On April 27th they appeared on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon where they performed "Hundred / Million."
Upon the release of "In The Dark," the Whigs toured the U.S from February 28th to May 1st alongside Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Band of Skulls.
In May of 2010, the Whigs embarked on a U.S.O tour where they traveled to military bases in Germany and the U.K performing for soldiers and their families in an attempt to boost morale.
In June, the Whigs performed at Warren Haynes currated Mountain Jam outside Woodstock, NY. before joining the Kings of Leon for shows in Atlantic City and Saratoga, NY. The Whigs joined Kings of Leon onstage for a new song "Southbound."
Also in June, the Whigs toured the U.K with We Are Scientists and Chew Lips.
On June 30th, 2010, The Whigs played their largest show ever opening for Kings of Leon in London's Hyde Park. An estimated 65,000 people attended the show.
Currently, this July, the Whigs and the Hold Steady are touring the United States.
In August, the Whigs will perform at San Francisco's Outside Lands Festival, open for Kings of Leon in Scranton, PA., and play San Diego's Oceanside Amphitheatre with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes and Delta Spirit.
In September, 2010, the Whigs and Black Keys opened a Kings of Leon tour of amphitheatres in the United States and Europe.
In December 2010, the Whigs will open a Kings of Leon arena tour across the U.K and Europe.
Awards and accomplishments
In March 2006 Rolling Stone Magazine named the Whigs one of their 10 Artists to Watch. In September 2006, The Whigs were named "Artist of the Day" by Spin.com.[4] Dorio was awarded an Esky award in March 2007 as "Best Drummer" by Esquire magazine.[5]
It was announced in October 2007 that the band had finished their second album, entitled "Mission Control," which was released on January 22, 2008. The band appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman on January 28, in support of the album.[6] They also appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on February 20, 2008 to promote the album.
The song "Need You Need You", from Mission Control is featured in the video game Pure.
The Whigs lineup is as follows:
Parker Gispert — guitar, lead vocals, keyboard
Julian Dorio — drums
Timothy Deaux — bass
The Whigs' original bassist, Hank Sullivant, departed the Whigs in late 2006 to record an album as Kuroma and to tour extensively with MGMT.