The People

Kansas City group

The People are a band from Kansas City, Missouri, who begin as an early art-rock project in Springfield, Missouri in 1999. The group is formed by cousins Ben Grimes and Ryan Shank. They independently release one full-length album, The Premise Is Sound, in 2000, and record an unreleased three-song EP titled Japan. Thom Daugherty leaves the band in 2000 to join The Elms.

In 2003, the group signs with Astralwerks Records and releases one album and one EP under the name The Golden Republic. The Golden Republic split up in December 2006. After that, Ben Grimes forms Soft Reeds, Ryan Shank joins the short-lived band Lovers In Transit with Jeremiah Gonzales of The Elevator Division, and Kenn Jankowski goes on to form The Republic Tigers.