Biography
Drop Nineteens are an American shoegaze band formed around 1990 at Boston University, originally under the name April Rain.[1] Vocalist and guitarist Greg Ackell and drummer Chris Roof had known each other from Northfield Mount Hermon School, and the group grew to include Paula Kelley, Motohiro Yasue and Steve Zimmerman.[1] The name comes from Ackell's childhood habit of dropping things off the terrace of his nineteenth-floor apartment.[1]
An early demo impressed the British press, and the band signed to Caroline Records after the label watched them cover a Madonna song at a show with Chapterhouse.[1] Their 1992 debut Delaware reached number five on the UK Independent Albums chart and produced the MTV-played single Winona.[1][2] Ackell has called the group the American outlier in a largely British scene.[1]
Members left through 1993, and the band split in 1995 after a second album.[1] Ackell announced a reunion in January 2022, and the band released Hard Light in November 2023.[1]
References
- Drop Nineteens (Wikipedia) — Band formation, lineup changes, breakup and reunion
- Delaware (album) (Wikipedia) — Debut album release, chart position and reception