Closer was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

four-piece

rock band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The band's members were Harley Di Nardo (vocals, guitars), Derrek Hawkins (guitars), David Cartategui (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

) and Jonathan Nanberg (drums). The band was founded in the late 1990s as Velour. The band played in numerous music venues within

, such as The Continental, Coney Island High, CBGBs,

Mercury Lounge The Mercury Lounge is a live music venue on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Like its brother venue The Bowery Ballroom, The Mercury Lounge is celebrated as an iconic indie venue due to its acoustics, its fostering and even la ...

and The Spiral Lounge. They then caught the attention of Revolution/ Giant Records, a Warner Bros Records imprint label. After performing for Revolution/Giant Records, record producer

Ed Buller Edmund Wilbur Hudson "Ed" Buller is an English record producer and former musician. He has primarily worked with English bands including Suede, Pulp, the Raincoats and the Courteeners. Biography Buller first became interested in music after ...

produced their debut release. Recording started in late 1996 at

The Record Plant The Record Plant was a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and last operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it produced highly influential albums, including the New York ...

Sausalito, California Sausalito ( Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito's ...

and, in September 1997, ''Don't Walk'' was released. ''Don't Walk'' reflects the band's musical influences, such as British glitter rock artists of the 1970s and

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...

acts of the 1990s. Shortly after releasing ''Don't Walk'', the band toured with Love Spit Love,

Supergrass Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey (drums, ...

and

Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () was a British anarcho-punk band who formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the Brit Awards 1998. Other singles include "Amnes ...

References

Alternative rock groups from New York (state) American glam rock musical groups {{US-rock-band-stub