Horace Pinker

Horace Pinker is an American punk rock band formed in 1991 in Tempe, Arizona and currently based in Chicago, Illinois. They play an energetic, melodic form of pop-punk, filled with catchy hooks and political lyrics, and are staunch supporters of independent music. Horace Pinker has played in more than 19 countries all over the world from Europe to Brazil to Australia, and continues to play punk rock clubs, halls, and basements for an all-ages crowd. They have played some of the biggest festivals on the European circuit, including the Dynamo Open Air in the Netherlands, Popkomm in Germany and Belgium’s Groezrock. Although some are quick to point out that they never achieved commercial success over the years or sell-out tours like so many of their peers, HP continues to defy the trends and release records with thoughtful lyrics and powerful music that cannot be pinned down to a simple category or genre.

Since their formation in Arizona, they have toured North America with Agent Orange, Jawbreaker, All Systems Go and have shared the stage with the likes of Green Day, Face To Face, Blink 182, The Offspring, and Jimmy Eat World (just to name a few). They have appeared on over 30 compilations around the world, 12 EP's (including a split with Face To Face and a EP on Fat Wreck Chords), plus the top-selling DVD video compilations Cinema Beer Nuts (Hopeless) and Punk Broadcast System (Coldfront). They have also appeared on television shows such as "Homicide: Life on the Streets" (NBC), "Orleans" (CBS) and "Party of Five" (FOX) and Comedy Central’s Roast of William Shatner.

They have toured the world relentlessly for the releases of Power Tools (Earwax/Justice), Burn Tempe To The Ground (Onefoot), Pop Culture Failure (Jump Up!/Victory), Copper Regret (Coldfront), Red-Eyed Regular (OffTime/Cargo), and 2005’s Texas One Ten on Thick Records. The album built on the critically acclaimed EP Copper Regret and their third full-length Pop Culture Failure, and featured the bands’ commitment to combine their trademark pop hooks with the buzz of a two-guitar attack.

Reviews of their most recent material have focused on HP’s “energetic style of punk that can be ear-grabbing at moments but genuinely aggressive and heartfelt at others”, “the band's classic, slightly-heavier-than-most pop-punk sound has persevered, and is stronger than ever”, “very smart music…that effortlessly eludes categorization by blurring the lines between a good half-dozen or so different genres” and “I recommend HP for anyone looking for a slightly heavier approach to pop-punk done the real way.”

2007 saw the release of “Carnival Nostalgia: 2000-2006” (Enemy One) in Brazil, a 20-track release that features select songs from their last four releases in addition to unreleased material from various studio sessions. The album was followed by a Brazilian tour in August/September as part of the Vans ZonaPunk Tour.