Mates of State - History

History

Gardner and Hammel met in Lawrence, Kansas, while both were involved in relationships with other people. Although they exchanged e-mails regularly, they didn't get together until three months later when they were both single again, and were inseparable from then on. They originally played together in a four-piece rock band called Vosotros, in which they both sang and played guitar. Shortly after the couple moved to California in 1998, Gardner began teaching and Hammel applied to medical school. They both opted later to devote their time to making music and touring together instead and ultimately, the two of them got married in 2001. Gardner and Hammel originally lived together in San Francisco, and in 2004 they moved to East Haven, Connecticut. In February 2007, they sold their house in East Haven and are currently living in Stratford, Connecticut.

Gardner and Hammel have two daughters, Magnolia, born in 2004, and June Elizabeth, born in 2008. For the band, touring is a family affair, with both daughters going on the road with their parents. Gardner currently writes a blog, Band on the Diaper Run, that appears on Babble.com. In it, she recounts their experiences of life on the road and the unique circumstance of touring with two young children in tow.

The main instruments used by the band in early recordings were drums and the electric organ. Although they both started out playing the guitar, they found they ended up fooling around with the organ and drums in their practice space more often than with more traditional instruments. However, in later recordings, the band moved away from their signature, organ-dominated sound and incorporated additional instrumentation. Evidence of this sound progression is first heard on the "All Day EP" and continues into "Bring It Back", their fourth studio album. Ultimately, they abandoned the organ completely on their fifth album, "Re-Arrange Us".

Mates of State songs are notable for their male/female vocal harmony, shifting rhythms, and quirky song structure – most tracks comprise distinct, almost disjointed movements. Both members sing with great intensity, often in the upper ranges of their voices, and often simultaneously sing different, complementary melodies and lyrics. Tempos are nearly always fast, with beats often resembling those found in electronic club or dance music.

The band recorded one album on Omnibus Records before moving to Polyvinyl for their second and third full-lengths. In December 2005, the band signed with Barsuk Records and released two full-length albums and an EP of remixes on the label. Their latest album was released on their own label, MOS Records and was also produced by Gardner and Hammel themselves.

On October 11, 2004, the band held a contest for fans to create their own video for "Goods (All In Your Head)," the first track on their All Day EP. The winning entry, directed by G. J. Echternkamp, became the official video for the song and was aired on MTV on June 12, 2005. It and an all-dance video for the song, also directed by and featuring Echternkamp, are available for download in the Media section of the band's official site.

The band's fifth album, Re-Arrange Us, was released on May 20, 2008 and for their tour in support of the album, Mates of State became a quartet by adding Lewis and Anton Patzner of Judgement Day as multi-instrumentalists to compliment the duo's sound on select songs.

On June 15, 2010, Mates of State released their sixth studio album, Crushes (The Covers Mixtape), which consists entirely of their cover versions of songs previously recorded by other musical artists, including "Long Way Home" by Tom Waits and "Son Et Lumiere" by The Mars Volta. Music videos have been made for two of the songs: Nick Cave's "Love Letter" and Daniel Johnston's "True Love Will Find You in the End." The former was directed by Daniel Garcia and the latter was produced in conjunction with ABC News for its indie rock program, "Amplified."

Their most recent album, Mountaintops, was released September 13, 2011 on Barsuk, the same independent label that released two of the band's previous records, Bring It Back and Re-Arrange Us. It is composed wholly of new original material.