Artist description Not your average pop/punk band. These guys create the music they know and love and do it the best they can. And that's pretty damn good. If you like bands like The Starting Line or The*Ataris, you should love these guys.

Music Style Pop/Punk

Musical Influences The Starting Line, The Ataris, Finch, Taking Back Sunday

Similar Artists We don't like to think we sound like anyone else, but if we had to compare ourselves to anybody: The Starting Line, The Ataris, Finch, Taking Back Sunday, etc.

Artist History I guess you could say that Tainted Values have come a long way since they first started jamming in Jez's garage a little over a year ago under the name "Five Finger Discount." What started out as a group of kids getting together on weekends to jam out covers of their favorite songs has since blossomed into a strong friendship and, most of all, a bond of brothers that are determined to take their music as far as they can. The story starts on a cold day in early November of 2001 when Jeff Shatt, Nate Krape, Dan Connelly, Ryan Craig, and John Jesuele stood in the basement of Nate's house, jamming on a little song by The*Ataris called "Summer Wind Was Always Our Song." At this moment, these guys knew they wanted to do just that: be in a band and play music. They called themselves "Five Finger Discount" (later to be changed due to another local band with the same name). They had a few more practices and things went well. Until Ryan decided that he would be heading to the army. Well, for better or for worse, Ryan was eventually given the boot and Jeff was the one to follow, leaving the others behind with no singer...or bassist. Well, Nate decided to take over the vocals since he could at least keep time and keep a tune. But where would they search for a bassist? Well, right around the corner was the answer to all their problems: a kid by the name of Jonathan Swift. He said he played bass. He had a little tryout with Nate at his home and was in the band within hours. Nate called the guys and set up their first practice. "Five Finger Discount" turned out to not be the name for them due to another local band having the same name and a lot of other poeple telling them this over and over again. Well, with a new line-up came a new name. They decided that "Tainted Values" sounded good. During the period of the next three or four months, these four young musicians (the oldest being only 16) worked every weekend to create the best songs they could, inevitably leading to a recording and release of their first EP "Last One Standing." This CD contained 8 songs, creating one of the most diverse records of anyone close to their style, mixing elements of hardcore, metal, pop/punk, and alt. rock. By recording this CD, Tainted Values were able to become comfortable with a recording atmosphere and hone their skills as musicians, and friends. The CD sold pretty well, selling close to 200 copies throughout the Tri-State area. As well as being sold, they have passed their CD along to other well-known acts such as New Found Glory, Finch, Autopilot-Off, Good Charlotte, and The Early November at 2002's Warped Tour. Coming out of this CD came four guys who had a very defined vision of what Tainted Values sound and style would become. Once releasing this CD, Tainted Values started to play gigs whenever and wherever they could, working their asses off to put shit together. They hooked up with a guy by the name of Carl Richards, who has a show on Local Access Channel 8 out of Port Jervis, NY on Thursday nights who, in turn, got them a solid slot at the Deer Park Family Festival in July of 2002 with Aisle*Nine. They've played then such places as the Tom Quick Inn in Milford, PA; the Matamoras Family Festival; Pocono Mountain Lake Forest Clubhouse; the Dew Drop Inn in Matamoras, PA;and a performance at the Battle of the Bands at Club Culture in Chester, NY. At the Dew Drop Inn, they hooked up with a really cool group of guys in a band called "You And What Army" and joined forces to create a pretty kick-ass show there. Everyone loved them and the owner, John, said to come back whenever they wanted. He told them they were "there" and knew they would go far. They kicked some serious ass at Club Culture and advanced to the 2nd round beating Denver In Dallas, a well-respected NY band. Bernie, a manager at the club, thought that they were "better than he ever expected" and asked them to come back again. Now, after over a year with the same line-up and still going strong, Tainted Values are prepared to move into the future with an arsenal of brand-new songs, which they will be recording on a full-length CD with a projected release date of April 2003. Once recorded, they hope to shop their demo to several record labels, the major one being Drive-Thru Records. With their new, refined sound and the time, dedication, and hard work all four members put into the band they know and love, these four young men are prepared for the future that awaits them. And their future looks pretty bright.

Group Members Nate Krape - Vocals, Guitar Jonathan Swift - Bass Dan Connelly - Guitar Vocals John Jesuele - Drums and Percussion

Albums "Last One Standing"

Location Milford, Pennsylvania - USA

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