Semi Precious Weapons was an American

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two gui ...

from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States, consisting of Justin Tranter on vocals, Stevy Pyne on guitar,

Cole Whittle DNCE is an American dance-rock band consisting of lead singer Joe Jonas, drummer Jack Lawless, and guitarist JinJoo Lee. Bassist and keyboardist Cole Whittle was a part of the band from when it started in 2015 to when it went on hiatus in 2018 ...

on bass and Dan Crean on drums. Pyne replaced former guitarist,

Aaron Lee Tasjan Aaron Lee Tasjan (born August 24, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Tasjan is reported to have his own distinct version of "indie folk grit." Garret Woodward of the Smoky Mountain News says, "Tasjan's word ...

, in November 2008.

Career

In 2006, Semi Precious Weapons (SPW) was formed by

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

graduates Tranter, Whittle, Crean and Tasjan. In 2007 Rovena Cardiel, a friend of erstwhile manager

BP Fallon Bernard Patrick Fallon (born 24 August 1946), known as BP Fallon, is an Irish DJ, author, photographer, and musician. He lives in Austin, Texas. Life At a young age Fallon became a personality and broadcaster in Ireland, later moving on to musi ...

brought in

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

to executive - produce their first album, ''We Love You''. Grammy-winner Mario J. McNulty produced, recorded and mixed the album! Funded by Tranter's jewelry sales, that were sold in retailers under the name 'Precious Weapons,' they originally released the album as a free download. In March 2008, the band signed a worldwide recording agreement with

Razor & Tie Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles a ...

. The band's album ''We Love You'' was re-released under this label on September 30, 2008. Semi Precious Weapons signed to

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner ...

in November, 2009. Since November 27, they have been the special guests for Lady Gaga's The Monster Ball. At the same time they began recording a new album titled ''You Love You'', which released on June 29, 2010. In January 2008, they caused a stir in the United Kingdom after

Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is a British model. Arriving at the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to fas ...

attended their concert at London's Death Disco club and danced with 'six foot bisexual' singer Justin Tranter.

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

described the band as "unashamedly crass and deliciously animated". On March 18, 2010, the band's eponymous song "Semi Precious Weapons" achieved their first number one - on New Zealand radio station The Edge. Their track "Magnetic Baby" is featured as a downloadable track in '' Rock Band 2''. The band had a cameo in the video for Lady Gaga's "

Telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

" and served as her opening act on her 2009–2011 tour The Monster Ball Tour. Semi Precious Weapons' song "Semi Precious Weapons" appears on the soundtrack for, and is included in the live action feature film, '' Bad Kids Go to Hell'' (2012), based on the best selling graphic novel of the same name. On December 26, 2012, Justin tweeted on the band Twitter page saying that they are going to announce the release date to their song "Aviation High" from their new album. "Not January 1st, but soon!" "Aviation High" was played live by the band back in June 2012 during the Keep Austin Weird festival. "Aviation High" was released on the band's personal SoundCloud page on February 18. The music video for the song followed by being released on March 4, 2013, on the band's YouTube page. The album, ''Aviation'', was released in April 2014.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Tour

Opening act * The Monster Ball Tour (2009–2011) *

Warrior Tour The Warrior Tour was the second headlining concert tour by American recording artist Kesha, in support of her sophomore studio album, ''Warrior'' (2012). The tour started on July 3, 2013, and concluded on September 19, 2015. Background and devel ...

(2013) Headlining act *Dirty Showbiz Tour (2010)

References

External links

* (down
archived as of July 2015
{{Authority control Alternative rock groups from New York (state) American glam rock musical groups Garage rock groups from New York (state) Musical groups established in 2006 Musical groups from New York City