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The Pop-Rock outfit The Rentals was the side project of singer + songwriter
Matt Sharp, former bassist for Weezer, he
started his own band in 1995 in Los Angeles, California USA, with vocalist
Cherielynn Westrich, guitarist Rod Cervera, violinist Petra Haden, keyboardist
Jim Richards and drummer Patrick Wilson.
In October of the same year, the group released "Return Of The Rentals",
which incorporated the early '80s New Wave sounds with plenty of Moog
synthesizer; the 10-song set entered the top 20 of the Billboard Magazine's
Heatseekers Albums chart highlighted by the single "Friends Of P.",
it reached #7 on The Modern Rock chart and cracked The Billboard Hot 100
at #82. The band supported the release with a string of dates opening
for Garbage and Blur.
After the second Weezer full-length disc,
in February 1998 Sharp announced that he was leaving the band in order
to work full time on his own creation; The Rentals team this season include
Cervera, Richards and new drummer Kevin March with guest appearances by
Damon Alborn from Blur, Tim Wheeler from Ash
and once again, Petra Haden. The second album, "Seven More Minutes",
was finally released in the spring of 1999 but failed to produce any hits
and only reached the #23 position on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.
2009 finds The Rentals at their slimmest, with Matt Sharp, Jamie Black
on vocals, Lauren Chipman on viola + vocals and Dan Joeright on drums
with Pixies alum Joey Santiago guesting on "Song Of Remembering",
the opening track of the band's third album, "Songs About Time".
The Rentals biography is an exclusive of 100xr.com
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