Midtown is an American

pop-punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

band from

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Midtown was formed in November 1998 by three

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

students, but quickly became a quartet. The group released three full-length studio albums and three

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

s before disbanding in 2005. In early 2014, Midtown reunited to play three shows, the first as a secret show at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, and the two remaining at the Skate And Surf Festival. They reunited for more shows in 2022 as openers on My Chemical Romance's reunion tour. Midtown have cited numerous bands and artists as influences, including

the Get Up Kids The Get Up Kids are an American emo band from Kansas City. Formed in 1995, the band was a major act in the mid-1990s Midwest emo scene, otherwise known as the " second wave" of emo music. Their second album '' Something to Write Home About'' r ...

the Promise Ring The Promise Ring was an American rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that is recognized as part of the second wave of emo. Among various other EPs and singles, the band released four studio albums during their initial run: '' 30° Every ...

, Lifetime, Jets to Brazil, Kid Dynamite,

Lagwagon Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, California, just outside Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara. They formed in 1989, went on hiatus in 2000, and reunited several times over the years. Their name comes from the ba ...

, Pavement, and

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

History

Midtown was formed in 1998 by

students Gabe Saporta (vocals/bass), Rob Hitt (drums), and Tyler Rann (guitar/vocals). The group added Heath Saraceno on guitar/vocals, and used its roots in the New Jersey punk scene to develop a sound that combined elements of

and

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

. Midtown began recording shortly after its formation. The band's first EP, ''The Sacrifice of Life'', was released by Pinball Records in 1999, followed by a debut album, '' Save the World, Lose the Girl'', released in early 2000 by the American independent record label Drive-Thru Records. The band was then upstreamed to major label

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

for its following album, '' Living Well Is the Best Revenge'' (2002). Midtown's next album, '' Forget What You Know'' (2004), was produced while the band was not under contract with a record label and was later picked up by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. This was the band's final studio album; they disbanded shortly after its release in 2005. Former frontman Gabe Saporta then became the lead singer of the

alternative dance Alternative dance (also known as indie dance or underground dance in the United States) is a musical genre that mixes alternative rock with electronic dance music. Although largely confined to the British Isles, it has gained worldwide exposure ...

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

band Cobra Starship, which disbanded in November 2015. Former guitarist Heath Saraceno joined the band

Senses Fail Senses Fail is an American rock band formed in Ridgewood, New Jersey, in 2001. Founded by vocalist Buddy Nielsen, drummer Dan Trapp, guitarists Garrett Zablocki and Dave Miller, and bassist James Gill (replaced by Mike Glita shortly after); th ...

in 2005 but decided to leave them in 2009 to pursue personal endeavors. Tyler Rann went on to sing for Band of Thieves with some friends but eventually left the music business and now works in the fashion/clothing industry.

Brief reunions

On February 17, 2014, Gabriel Saporta announced that Midtown has reunited and performed at the Skate and Surf Festival. On March 9, 2022, My Chemical Romance announced that Midtown would be a supporting act for the US leg of their reunion tour in fall 2022. As well as doing their own headlining shows for their 2022 Resurrection Tour, along with playing at the 2023 Adjacent beach festival in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

Members

* Gabe Saporta – lead vocals, bass guitar (1998–2005; 2014; 2022–present) * Tyler Rann – vocals, guitars (1998–2005; 2014; 2022–present) * Heath Saraceno – vocals, guitars (1998–2005; 2014; 2022–present) * Rob Hitt – drums, percussion (1998–2005; 2014; 2022–present) * Benjamin Litchman – bass guitar (2023–present)

Discography

Studio albums *'' Save the World, Lose the Girl'' (2000) *'' Living Well Is the Best Revenge'' (2002) *'' Forget What You Know'' (2004) EPs *''The Sacrifice of Life'' (1999) *''Donots vs. Midtown Split 7"'' (2000) *''Millencolin/Midtown Split'' (2001) *''New.Old.Rare.'' (2002) *''We’re Too Old To Write New Songs, So Here’s Some Old Songs We Didn’t Write'' (2023) Compilation appearances *'' Rock Music: A Tribute to Weezer'' (2002; "Susanne" by

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, keyboards, backing ...

) *''Picking Up the Pieces'' (2003; acoustic version of "Living in Spite") *''Liberation (Songs to Benefit PETA)'' (2003; "This House Is Not a Home") *'' Punk Goes Acoustic'' (2003; acoustic version of "Knew It All Along") *'' Punk Goes 80s'' (2005; cover of " Your Love" by

The Outfield The Outfield were an English pop rock band formed in London in 1984. The band achieved success in the mid-1980s and are best remembered for their hit single "Your Love (The Outfield song), Your Love". The band's lineup consisted of guitarist J ...

)

Post-Midtown projects

* Cobra Starship became the new project of Midtown's bassist and lead singer, Gabe Saporta. Their first single, " Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)", was featured on the soundtrack for the movie '' Snakes on a Plane''. Their first album, '' While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets'' came out October 2006, their second album ''

¡Viva La Cobra! ''¡Viva la Cobra!'' is the second studio album by American dance-rock band Cobra Starship. The album was released on October 23, 2007. It was produced by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump, whose vocals also feature throughout the album. The album pe ...

'' came out on October 23, 2007, their third album, '' Hot Mess'', came out on August 11, 2009, and their fourth album, '' Night Shades'', came out on August 29, 2011. The band ultimately broke up on November 10, 2015. * Heath Saraceno played guitar and shared vocal duties in the New Jersey–based rock band

until leaving the band after the 2009 Warped Tour. He and Senses Fail drummer, Dan Trapp, have a side-project called The Jettonnes. * Rob Hitt works for Crush Management and also has a record label, I Surrender Records. He shares the label with friend, Ted DiBiase, and has signed

I Am The Avalanche I Am the Avalanche is an American punk rock band from Brooklyn, New York. The group's name comes from a lyric written by Vinnie Caruana for a song which was later discarded. The phrase also appears in the poem ''"Oh, Immobility, Death's Vast As ...

, Four Year Strong,

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, and

Dragonette Dragonette is the stage name of Canadian singer-songwriter Martina Sorbara. Originally an electronic music band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2005, the band consisted of Sorbara with her then husband Dan Kurtz as bassist and producer (also i ...

. * Tyler Rann works in the fashion/clothing industry.

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1998 Musical groups disestablished in 2005 Musical groups reestablished in 2014 Pop punk groups from New Jersey Drive-Thru Records artists MCA Records artists Columbia Records artists Musical quartets from New Jersey Golf Records artists Musical groups from New Brunswick, New Jersey