Casper & the Cookies is an American rock and pop band from

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

, United States.

History

Multi-instrumentalist and singer Jason NeSmith (pronounced "KNEE-smith," no relation to

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the Monkees and co-star of their The Monkees (TV series), TV series of the same name (1966–1968) ...

the Monkees The Monkees were an American pop rock band formed in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. The band consisted of Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones (musician), Davy Jones, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Spurred by the success of ''The Monkees (TV series), Th ...

), began using the pseudonym Casper Fandango in 1996 as a moniker for his solo four-track recordings. NeSmith was given the name by fellow Atlanta musician David Dault while playing together in the band Feyerabend. AllMusic entry on Casper & the Cookies

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Casper Fandango released two DIY cassettes in the late 1990s, originally as Casper Fandango & the Knees and subsequently Casper Fandango & His Tiny Sick Tears. The Cookies came into existence in 1998 as NeSmith's live band. They have three CDs released on

Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records is an American independent record label based in Athens, Georgia. Its catalogue features indie rock, indie pop and hip-hop music, with several of its artists associated with or influenced by The Elephant 6 Reco ...

, ''Oh!'' (2004), ''The Optimist's Club'' (2006), and ''Modern Silence'' (2009). After many lineup changes the band consists of NeSmith, Kay Stanton, Davy Gibbs, and AJ Griffin."C is for Casper: Casper & the Cookies bake an album with love"
''Creative Loafing'', August 9, 2006 NeSmith was a member of

Of Montreal of Montreal is an American indie pop band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontperson Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance between Barnes and a woman "of Montreal". The band is identified as part of the Elephant 6 collec ...

for the ''Satanic Panic in the Attic'' tour of 2004 and some of the ''Sunlandic Twins'' tour of 2005, eventually leaving to focus on his own band. (Kay and Jason are also in

Supercluster A supercluster is a large group of smaller galaxy clusters or galaxy groups; they are among the largest known structures in the universe. The Milky Way is part of the Local Group galaxy group (which contains more than 54 galaxies), which in tu ...

, the side project of

Vanessa Briscoe Hay Vanessa Briscoe Hay (born October 18, 1955) is an American singer for the Athens, Georgia bands Pylon, Supercluster and Pylon Reenactment Society. Biography Born to a textile worker and a housewife in Atlanta, Georgia, Hay attended elementary ...

of Pylon.) NeSmith has also been a member of

Kenny Howes Kenny Howes (born February 10, 1970) is an American musician primarily in the power pop genre.Borack, John. Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide. Not Lame Recording Company. p. 118. . History Raised in Mulberry, Florida, United Sta ...

& the Yeah!,

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, the Visitations,

the Late BP Helium The Late B.P. Helium is the solo recording project and, at times, stage name of Elephant Six musician Bryan Poole, who also goes by Bryan Helium. Poole has spent much of his musical career playing bass and guitar on and off with of Montreal and E ...

and

the Sunshine Fix The Sunshine Fix was an American indie rock group that released three albums from 1993 to 2004. Their main singer and songwriter was Bill Doss, known from the Olivia Tremor Control. The name predated the Olivia Tremor Control and remained in use ...

. He also owns and operates a commercial recording facility, Bel*Air Studio. Casper & the Cookies served as the backing band for

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at the 2007 Athens Pop Fest. Also in 2007, the Cookies went on a nationwide tour supporting

the Apples in Stereo The Apples in Stereo are an American indie rock band associated with The Elephant 6 Recording Company, Elephant 6 Collective. The band is largely the project of lead vocalist/guitarist/producer Robert Schneider, who writes the majority of the ba ...

Members

Current * Jason NeSmith (aka Casper Fandango) * Kay Stanton * Davy Gibbs * AJ Griffin Former * Christo Harris * Ben Spraker *

* Phil Stockman * Paul Walker * Tim Schreiber * Suzanne Allison * Bryan Poole (aka

) * Peter Alvanos *

Jason Gonzales Thee More Shallows is a three-piece experimental indie rock band based in San Francisco, California. It was formed in 2001. The band consists of Dee (ne David) Kesler, Chavo Fraser and Jason Gonzales. History The three musicians who would come ...

* Gregory Sanders * Joe Rowe * Lucas Jensen * Jim Hicks

Discography

Albums

*''Consumer'' (cassette; as Casper Fandango & the Knees) – Lookit Meee! – 1996 *''How's Your Hand?'' (cassette; as Casper Fandango & His Tiny Sick Tears) – Lookit Meee! – 1997 *''How's Your Hand?'' (CD; as Casper Fandango & His Tiny Sick Tears) Lookit Meee! / AAJ – 2000 *''Oh!'' (CD) – Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records HBTM/ Waikiki Record – 2004/ 2005 (Japan) *''The Optimist's Club'' – (CD/LP) – HHBTM / People in a Position to Know {PIAPTK] – 2006 and Waikiki Record – 2008 *''Modern Silence'' – (CD/LP) – HHBTM / People in a Position to Know {PIAPTK] – 2009 *''Volatile and Erogenous: The Best of Casper & The Cookies'' – (CD) HHBTM / People In A Position to Know – 2011 (The album was given away for free on the Facebook page of the band and custom made by drummer Gregory Sanders) *''Ice Mattress'' – (digital only release) – Self-Released – 2011 *''Dingbats'' – (LP/CD/cassette) – Wild Kindness Records – 2014

Singles and EPs

*''The Band That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World (CD-r)'' – Lookit Meee! – 2004 *''Overly Optimistic'' (CD-r) – HHBTM – 2006 *''3 ½ Stars'' (CD-r) – HHBTM – 2007 *''"Power Stupid"'' (split with Keith John Adams) 8” – PIAPTK – 2007 *''"Jennifer’s House"'' / “Huff” (split with Marbles) 7” – HHBTM – 2007 *''"Kiss Me Beneath the Christmas Tree"'' (digital only) – HHBTM – 2007 *"Wolf Of White Columns" - 2020

References

External links

* All Music Guide entry on Casper & the Cookies
Casper & the Cookies website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casper and the Cookies American pop rock music groups Musical groups established in 1998 Elephant 6 artists Musical collectives Indie pop groups from Georgia (U.S. state)