Baskervilles

Baskervilles are a US indie rock band formed in New York, New York, in 1997 by Christoph Gerozissis, Rob Keith, Stephanie Finucane and Craig Van Orsdale. The group comes out of earlier years playing together in trashy punk and garage rock bands, including a band called the Baskervils, which starts in Tampa in 1993.

Sound and influences

The band shifts away from loud rock toward low-volume, keyboard-led pop. Their influences include the Television Personalities, the Clientele, the Kinks, Love, the Left Banke, and French pop played by DJ Franco at the Vampyros Lesbos party in New York City. Their lyrics use simple narratives and open-ended romantic stories, many of them set in New York City.

Early activity and recordings

Between 1997 and 2002, Baskervilles play a handful of well-received shows at the Mercury Lounge in the East Village. In that period they record two sessions at Mitch Easter’s Fidelitorium studio in North Carolina and one session at Dubway Studios in New York City. They also make one trip outside New York City in summer 2002, performing at a museum opening at the Migros Museum in Zurich, Switzerland, alongside work by Yayoi Kusama and Michel Auder.

Releases and side projects

The band takes a two-year break while Stephanie Finucane has a baby. During that time, Rob Keith and Christoph Gerozissis form the nocturnal electro group Autoparty and release an album called Lumlight. Baskervilles return to play their first New York show in two years at Sin-e’ on 6 November 2003, tied to the release of the Secret Crush Records compilation Stamp Collecting For Beginners, which includes the song “After Work”. Secret Crush Records then releases their first album in spring 2004. The band follows it with the new wave-influenced Midnight EP in 2005 and a west coast US tour.

During the second half of 2005 and early 2006, Baskervilles work on a third album and on a video for “Midnight At The Underground Club”, directed by Jake Hensberry. From 2006 to 2008 they release 14 singles as the Twilight 14 project on Baskervilles.net, and the full project appears on CD on 3 June 2008.