Record Heat, previously known as Spirit Animal, is an American band from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York City. The band consists of Steve Cooper (vocals), Cal Stamp (lead guitar), and Paul Michel (bass). In August 2020 the band officially changed their name to Record Heat.

History

Steve Cooper originally performed as a solo artist under the stage name The Gray Kid. When forming Spirit Animal, the band consisted of Steve Cooper and Computer Jay, plus other musicians including Jesse Ingalls and Jordan Richardson (both from

Ben Harper Benjamin Charles Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music, and he is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, liv ...

Relentless7 Relentless7 was an American rock band, formed in 2008 by singer/guitarist Ben Harper. The band was composed of Harper (guitar, lead vocals), Jason Mozersky (lead guitar), Jesse Ingalls (bass), and Jordan Richardson (drums). History Ben Harper f ...

). The band would release their first studio album ''The Cost of Living'' in 2010, and used a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign to fund the following tour, where Steve Cooper offered to cook dinner for fans in exchange for tour support. However, Cooper does not consider the band to have truly started until 2012, when the current lineup was solidified. Lead singer Steve Cooper and bassist Paul Michel originally met in 2002 in Washington, D.C. Guitarist Cal Stamp was introduced to the band by a mutual friend, but initially turned down the guitarist role. However, after seeing a Spirit Animal set in Manhattan, he changed his mind and joined the band. Spirit Animal released its first EP ''This Is A Test'' in 2012. In 2013,

Sean Parker Sean Parker (born December 3, 1979) is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist, most notable for co-founding the file-sharing computer service Napster, and was the first president of the social networking website Facebook. He also co-foun ...

added Spirit Animal's song, "The Black Jack White" to a

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playlist, which led to over 450,000 plays of the song. The song was later featured in an episode of CSI:NY. In 2014, Cooper wrote an article for ''

Business Insider ''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...

'' about

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

's removal of her music from

. In 2016, Spirit Animal partnered with the website

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American independent multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news website specializing in information services that covered various horror media. The company expanded into other media including podcast ...

for the music video for the song, "Big Bad Road Dog" from their EP, ''World War IV''. The band signed a record deal with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

in May 2018, and released a new single titled, "YEAH!". They were formerly signed to

Wind-up Records Wind-up Records, LLC (legally known as Wind-up Entertainment Inc. until 2004) was an American record label founded by Alan and Diana Meltzer in 1997. It was based in New York City and was distributed by BMG Distribution. Wind-up's best-selling ...

. In the first part of 2018, the band opened for

The Struts The Struts are a British rock band formed in Derby in 2012. The band comprises lead vocalist Luke Spiller, guitarist Adam Slack, bassist Jed Elliott, and drummer Gethin Davies. The band have released four studio albums, two EPs and two live a ...

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, and Fitz and the Tantrums. Spirit Animal released their major label debut album, ''Born Yesterday'', on August 3, 2018. The second single from the album, "Karma," was written in the rehearsal space of

Tenacious D Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo formed in Los Angeles in 1994 by the actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass. Their music showcases Black's theatrical vocal delivery and Gass' acoustic guitar playing. Critics have described their fusion of ...

. In 2019, the band left Atlantic Records, and created their own label, Swagger State University, an imprint of

RED Music RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony Music, Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard (company), The Orchard in 2017. RED previously hand ...

. The band released ''REBORN YESTERDAY'', which includes all tracks from ''Born Yesterday'', plus two new tracks "HYDR8", "Arm Candy," and an acoustic version of "YEAH!". The band toured with Theory of a Deadman in summer 2018, and toured with

and

White Reaper White Reaper is an American Garage punk (fusion genre), garage punk band based in Louisville, Kentucky. The band includes Tony Esposito (guitar/vocals), Ryan Hater, Hunter Thompson, Nick Wilkerson, and Sam Wilkerson. The band has released two Ex ...

in the fall. After touring with the Struts, Spirit Animal toured with

Red Sun Rising Red Sun Rising was an American rock band from Akron, Ohio that is currently on hiatus. The band has released two studio albums through the Razor & Tie record label; their first, ''Polyester Zeal'', in 2015, and their second, ''Thread (Red Sun R ...

and dubé. In early 2019, Spirit Animal opened for

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. In spring 2019, they performed at

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's Spring Fling festival in Peoria, and opened for

Stone Temple Pilots Stone Temple Pilots, commonly abbreviated as STP, is an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Diego, California, in 1989. Originally consisting of lead vocalist Scott Weiland, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo, and drummer :Songs ...

at the

Detroit Grand Prix The title of Detroit Grand Prix (United States Grand Prix – East) was applied to the Formula One races held at the Detroit street circuit in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, United States of America from 1982 through 1988. History In 1982, the U ...

. Spirit Animal began opening for Theory of a Deadman in fall 2019, and will tour with

The Cult The Cult are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Bradford in 1983. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band had performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead vocalist Ian Astbury ...

in December 2019. The tour is celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Cult's album

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; Spirit Animal will be opening for the United States leg of the tour.

Ricky Reed Eric Burton Frederic (born January 15, 1982), known professionally as Ricky Reed, is an American record producer, singer, songwriter, and the founder of Nice Life Recording Company. In 2005, he formed the musical project Wallpaper., which las ...

helped produce ''REBORN YESTERDAY''. Spirit Animal has been compared to

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Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...

, and

Red Hot Chili Peppers The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1982, consisting of Anthony Kiedis (vocals), Flea (musician), Flea (bass), John Frusciante (guitar), and Chad Smith (drums). Their music incorporates elements of a ...

. Fans of Spirit Animal refer to themselves as "Spanimals".

Discography

Studio albums

*''The Cost of Living'' (2010) *''Born Yesterday'' (2018) *''REBORN YESTERDAY'' (2019)

EPs

*''This Is a Test'' (2012) *''Kingdom Phylum'' (2013) *''World War IV'' (2016)

References

{{Reflist Musical groups from New York City Name changes due to the George Floyd protests