The Soft Pack is an

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

band from

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, United States.

History

The band was originally named The Muslims, but changed the name due to "ignorant and racist" comments. Matt Lamkin has stated Soft Pack can describe the band as being well mannered or it can refer to a device that when worn is intended to convince others that the wearer has a penis. The band formed in San Diego but are now based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. Having released records through labels such as 1928 Recordings, Sweet Tooth Records, Caspian Records and I Hate Rock n' Roll, the band is currently signed to

Kemado Records Kemado Records is an American record label based in New York City founded in 2002 by Andrés Santo Domingo and Tom Clapp. In 2006 the label released the ''Invaders'' compilation, which featured many of the label's bands alongside other hard rock ...

. The band has signed a deal with Heavenly Recordings/Cooperative Music. The band released their debut full-length album, ''The Soft Pack'', on Kemado Records on February 26, 2010. It was produced by Eli Janney and recorded in Brooklyn, New York, at Saltlands Studio. The band's single "Answer to Yourself" was the final song streamed on

WOXY.com WOXY.com was a modern rock internet radio station based in Oxford, Ohio, and later Austin, Texas. WOXY.com relied mainly on its own website to reach its listeners. WOXY.com programming at one time was also available at lala.com and WVXU HD Ra ...

before its sudden shutdown on March 23, 2010. The song is also included in the video game ''

Grand Theft Auto V ''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and the fifteenth in ...

'' on the in-game radio station ''Vinewood Boulevard Radio''. Since August 2010 it is also used for the commercial of the Dutch beer brand Grolsch. On June 8, 2010, the indie rock band

Nada Surf Nada Surf is a New York City-based American alternative rock band formed in the 1990s, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), Doug Gillard (guitar, backing vocals), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals). History ...

released a cover of The Soft Pack's "Bright Side" on their all-covers album '' If I Had a Hi-Fi''. The band's second album, ''Strapped'', was released on

Mexican Summer Mexican Summer is an independent record label founded in 2009 by Keith Abrahamsson and Andres Santo Domingo. Based in Brooklyn, New York, the label has released recordings from artists including Best Coast, Kurt Vile, Ariel Pink, Allah-Las, W ...

on August 17, 2012. The band performed "Answer to Yourself" on The Late Show with

David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman' ...

, dedicating their performance to the late Warren Zevon. On August 26, 2016, the band's frontman Matt Lamkin released his solo album on BigMono Rekords, titled ''Where I'm Matt''. Matty McLoughlin, guitarist for the band, releases material under the name ''US Underground''. It is currently unclear whether or not The Soft Pack will continue making music together, however, the band is occasionally active through its social media accounts.

Band members

*Matt Lamkin -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

*Matty McLoughlin - guitar *David Lantzman -

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

*Brian Hill -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

Albums

* ''The Soft Pack'' (February 2, 2010, Kemado) * ''Strapped'' (September 25, 2012, Mexican Summer)

Singles

* "Parasites"/"Walking With Jesus" (2008, I Hate Rock n' Roll) as The Muslims * "Extinction" (2008, Sweet Tooth) as The Muslims * "Nightlife" (2008, Caspian) * "Answer to Yourself" (2009, Kemado) * "Gagdad" (2010, Mexican Summer) * "Saratoga" (2012, Mexican Summer)

EPs

* ''The Muslims'' (2008, 1928 Recordings) as The Muslims * ''Extinction'' (2009, Merok)

External links

Official MySpaceAn interview with Matty of The Soft Pack: Fuck then, this is now
September 28, 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soft Pack, The Indie rock musical groups from California Mexican Summer artists Musical groups established in 2007 Musical groups from San Diego