Happy Birthday Amy played their last show in February of 2010. We no longer play shows or make records under this name. We loved this band with our whole hearts. But the time came to move on and so we did. If you wish to keep up with us as musicians, please follow two of us in our other band called The Protomen. Also check out Dillon's band, The Ascent of Everest and milescramer.net for informations about on the whereabouts of our lovely drummer, Miles. A new project is stewing. It's name is Family Love Michael. Soon and very soon, it's face will appear on the internets. Keep your eyes open!
Love love, AMY
Below is the biography of what we were as a band. Enjoy the read!
Please Email Us At happybirthdayamy@gmail.com
Since January 2006, Happy Birthday Amy has been hard at work making progressive indie pop in the Nashville area. Fronted by vocalist/keyboardist, Amy Smith, Happy Birthday Amy is a trio with Dillon Smith on bass and various other instruments and Miles Cramer on the drums. Often sharing the stage with others, Happy Birthday Amy invites a revolving door of horn players to their world whom they affectionately refer to as , The Dirty Brassholes. Happy Birthday Amy strives with every live show to sound more professional, but also to give audiences what they crave: a great live show!
In March of this year the band self-released their first full-length record entitled "Sue." The record is a journey from start to finish and while this isn't a concept record so to speak, the songs definitely congeal and have a great sense of connection both lyrically and musically. Even from beginning of the record, listeners can hear the progressiveness of this band's ideas with the sensual percussive transition between tracks 1 and 2 performed by drummer, Miles Cramer. "Sue" contains a wide variety of indie pop songs that are arranged by the trio and include heavy instrumentation and strong composition. Husband and wife Amy and Dillon Smith work together to color the music using a wide variety of sounds and textures. Dillon, a multi-instrumentalist, composes skilled string and horn arrangements heard especially on tracks: "The Groom", "Disaster", and "When You Say", the closing track. After making the record, Happy Birthday Amy has adopted the term, "chamber pop," to denote the fullness of their arrangements but also dictate that these songs are at anyone's grasp. The band hopes over all that their music can be described as sophisticated without being contrived, full and beautiful, complicated and complex and a work of real musical progression.
Press Quotes:
"Eye-level from a squatting position in the girl's bathroom, a boozy fan had scrawled, "Happy Birthday Amy is going to take over Nashville." The writing on the wall proved to be more than drunk speculation, as the trio churned out jaunty tunes for a seated and attentive crowd, a rare animal at this venue." - February, 2007- The Spin section of the Nashville Scene
"It's the layering of HBA's sound that really makes it work, from Amy's soaring, flurrying vocals to her pounding, melodic key work, from Miles Cramer's vigorous drums to Dillon's speedy bass lines."-April, 2007- Performer Magazine
"Titular lead Amy Smith has a full-bodied set of brassy pipes which earn comparisons for their Regina Spektor theatrics. On standout single, "This Song is About Monsters," Smith's coquettish voice bends around a rollicking beat-it's stuff capable of rousing even the most distracted beer guzzling patron out of his alcohol-induced stupor." -December, 2007- The Nashville Scene, Critic's Picks.
"This bourgeoning indie pop band who, after this release, hopefully won’t be unsigned for much longer, Happy Birthday Amy has come through with a full length masterpiece that boasts a captivating style of indie pop that manages to be undeniably sophisticated and still incredibly fun." -May, 2008 - Nashville Edge
"Happy Birthday Amy alternately galloped, pillaged and tiptoed through a set of theatrical, piano-driven bipolar pop. Singer-songwriter Amy Smith wails like a melodically gifted banshee while her fingers dance furiously across the keys, with an exceptional rhythm section bashing out an intricate and fierce foundation underneath."- June, 2008- The Spin section of The Nashville Scene
Here are some photographers that we recommend, click on their name to check out their work.more will be added !
J. Anne Photography
Jonathon Kingsbury
Our Bandcamp.mu Profile
*******All friends on the list are true and honest requests from other people on myspace. HBA only asks those who've already asked or those we know to be apart of this. We like to note who are true fanbase is and ask to keep the emails away that promote using a "friend additive."
