On The Chewing Gum Ground



Several musical artists exist by this name or related names: 1) Wallpaper. (with the period) is the title of a project mixing dance music with hip-hop, pop, soul, and more that is spearheaded by mutli-instrumentalist and wild MC Ricky Reed. The group's latest album, 2013's 'Ricky Reed Is Real', has earned critical acclaim and blasted the group's work into the popular consciousness in a major way, singles Good 4 It and Drunken Hearts gaining popularity and the album reaching #10 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart. The outfit's live performances showcase their music's quirky sense of fun. 2) Wallpaper (without the period) is a three-piece indie rock outfit. Though pretty much obscured by the group mentioned above, the band (from the Lake Tapps area that's not too far from downtown Seattle, Washington) has pursued a sound mixing 60s pop with 90s rock that's won them a bunch of fans locally. A praising reviewer writing for 'The Seattle Times' has remarked that the guys share a common aesthetic in both art and life, cut and pasted from thrift-store anti-fashion, post-Napster musical eclecticism and willful suburban pariah-dom. Oddly enough sounding not too far from the style of their fellow Wallpaper (the one with the period), the guys released their debut album, 2008's 'On the Chewing Gum Ground', through the indie label K Records. Brothers Derek and Spencer Kelley and musician Steven Potter have described their group thus: Wallpaper... formed in 2004 in Auburn, Washington after years of bonding over their rock and roll obsessions. Having grown up during the heightened cross-section of rock music and popular television, these boys found themselves disillusioned by a decade of empty decadence and found themselves digging into the past to unearth that special spark of music that they bonded over in their youth: a classic three-piece. They play vocals and each other's instruments. Guitar, drums, bass; melody, harmony, and rhythm in simplicity. Wallpaper slows pop culture down just enough for comments, questions, and answers. 3) Yet another Wallpaper is an obscure musical project out of California, having a self-description that reads as such: What is wallpaper? It decorates our rooms, covers our walls, and, for the most part, goes unnoticed. It is the backdrop of our lives, just like today's pop music. It lingers in the background, being played at gentle volumes in restaurants, elevators, gyms, etc. That's what Eric Frederic of Hyphy R&B satire act Wallpaper wanted to address. Slinging CDRs and rocking house parties, Wallpaper has become a gold plated name in the San Francisco Bay Area underground. Known for bringing the party to a rage and covering New Jack Swing and Soul classics from Bel Biv Devoe to Bobby Caldwell, Wallpaper is bringing an undeniably 'Oakland sound' to a world of music fans starving for Motown quality songs with next level production. 4) Wallpaper is a two-piece Indie Rock band from Richmond, Virginia. Members consist of VCU students Andrew Milhorn (writing, vocals, guitar) and Jack Lwin (drums). Wallpaper's general sound is inspired by many artists, namely Horse Jumper of Love, Bilge Rat, and Mogwai . Milhorn cites writers Amy Hempel, Elliott Smith, and Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel as primary sources of lyrical inspiration. Further detail can be found on their Spotify page. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.