The Drums

The Drums

The Drums are a Brooklyn-based US indie pop and indie rock group active since 2008. The project begins in Kissimmee, Florida, where Jonny Pierce and Jacob Graham meet at summer camp as children and become close friends. They first make music together in Goat Explosion, a band that tours extensively in North America during their teenage years.

Early projects and formation

Around 2003, Pierce and Adam Kessler form Elkland. In the meantime, Graham forms Horse Shoes, which records for Shelflife Records. Pierce later takes a break from writing music after becoming disillusioned with the music business and leaves Elkland in 2005. The Drums form in late 2006, before relocating to New York.

Line-up and development

In New York, the group adds former Elkland guitarist Adam Kessler on second guitar and Connor Hanwick, a New York-born drummer formerly of the lo-fi teen pop duo Cape of No Hope. The band sets up a month-long residency at a small club on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Their line-up later changes repeatedly: Kessler leaves in 2010, Hanwick in 2012 and Graham in 2016. Jonny Pierce remains the only constant member. Other members associated with the group include Tom Haslow, Chris Stein, Myles Matheny, Danny Lee Allen, Randy Delgado, Charles Russell Narwold, Johnny Aries, Rene Perez, Alex Feldman and Bryan De Leon.

Releases and style

The Drums release their debut single, Let’s Go Surfing, in 2009. The song is reported to be inspired by Barack Obama’s victory in the 2008 presidential election. The band is associated with indie pop, indie rock, alternative rock, indietronica, new wave, surf rock and pop.

Membership note

The group is an American indie pop band from Brooklyn, United States.