The Vice Rags were formed in 2017 by born-and-raised New Jersey musicians, Paul Rosevear and Joe Chyb, from North Brunswick, New Jersey, and Jack Roberts and Gay Elvis from Hillsborough, New Jersey. They met while performing in prior bands in the New Jersey independent rock scene, and together they play a blend of "tribute to the '50s and '60s sounds that influenced the '70s and '80s," and are classified as bluesy, garage rock and fuzz rock. They released a self-titled EP in November 2017, which was produced by
Paul Ritchie and recorded at Insidious Sound Studio in Neptune. Music Editor Jim Testa of
Jersey Beat called
The Vice Rags his favorite EP of 2017.
Mint 400 Records In 2018, the Vice Rags signed with independent label Mint 400 Records. They released the seven-track EP
Hope the Neighbors are Lookin on 27 July 2018. The EP is a re-release of their self-titled EP, with a rendition of Little Richard's "Lucille" as a bonus track. In a 2018 interview with
The Spill Magazine, Rosevear explains their cover was "one of the first songs we jammed on at our first ever practice; we were so happy with how we changed the cover that we kept it that way and put it on the album." The album was listed in
New Jersey Stages Best NJ Indie Records of 2018, and Joe Chyb received the
Asbury Park Music Awards' Top Drummer award. ==Members==