Nightcaps were originally conceived and formed in 1994 by drummer
Dan Cunneen (
Final Warning,
Obituaries,
Zipgun), vocalist Theresa Hannam, guitarist Garth Brandenburg (The Crows, Moonspinners) and bassist William "Bill" Herzog (Citizens Utilities, Joel RL Phelps,
Jesse Sykes). In 1995 Robert Fucci replaced Herzog on
double bass and the band added John Broeckel (
Death to Anders, Little Red Lung) on percussion. The first Nightcaps single, ''Gambler's Game/For Me'', was released in 1995 on the Nightcaps' label
Rendezvous Recordings. (The Nightcaps released two other singles: ''I Don't Like You/Love You More
on Sub Pop, in early 1996 and You Lied/Last of the Secret Agents'' on
Estrus Records in 1998). The Nightcaps' label Rendezvous Recordings entered into a manufacturing and distribution agreement with Sub Pop for their first album,
Split, which was released in 1997.
Split contained 12 original songs written by the songwriting team of Cunneen, Hannam and Brandenburg. In 2000, the Nightcaps released their second CD,
Get On, on Rendezvous Recordings. With darker lyrical themes than
Split, the addition of keyboardist/guitarist Tor Midtskog and the return of Bill Herzog (now playing
electric bass), the Nightcaps' music evolved from jazzy pop and swing to harder edged 1960s soul-rock. In 2002, the
B-side of their
Sub Pop single, a re-working of the
Buzzcocks tune "Love You More" appeared on a compilation by Japanese DJ Masanori Ikeda called
Spinout 3, released in Japan by
V2 Records. In 2003, a "Best of" retrospective titled ''I Don't Like You'', was released in Japan on the User Records label. In September 2011, the Nightcaps albums
Split and
Get On were released online for the first time and a new Nightcaps album,
In the Live Room (+ the Singles) was released by Rendezvous Recordings. ==Discography==