The Rentals

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<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color: #f9f9f9;">
</td></tr><tr><th>Country</th><td>United States</td></tr><tr><th>Years active</th><td>1995-1999, 2006-present</td></tr><tr><th>Genres</th><td>Rock</td></tr><tr><th>Members</th><td> Matt Sharp, Rachel Haden, Sara Radle, Ben Pringle, Lauren Chipman, Dan Joeright</td></tr><tr><th>Past members</th><td> Patrick Wilson, Rod Cervera, Tom Grimley, Petra Haden, Cherielynn Westrich, Kevin March, Mike Fletcher, Jim Richards, Maya Rudolph</td></tr><tr><th>Website(s)</th><td>http://www.therentals.com</td></tr>

The Rentals

The Rentals are a rock band fronted by Matt Sharp, former bass player for Weezer. The Rentals have released two albums, Return of the Rentals (1995) and Seven More Minutes (1999) on Maverick Records.

[edit] Biography

The group was mostly known for their quirky Moog-driven melodies and a mix of male and female vocals. The single "Friends of P" off their first album was a modern rock radio hit, peaking at #7 on Billboard's Modern Rock Chart and #92 on the Billboard Hot 100. The accompanying music video was shot with antiquated equipment, on black and white film stock, for a total budget of less than $1000(US). Upon its release, the video was added to MTV's playlist in early November of 1995.

Early the next year, "Waiting" was released as the follow-up single, and it was also chosen to be featured on the soundtrack to the MTV Films comedy Joe's Apartment. The music video that had already been shot for "Waiting" was edited together with clips of footage from the movie, and this version made its debut on 120 Minutes. The track did not do as well as "Friends of P" had previously, and received substantially less airplay at radio stations (and on MTV).

Band members on Return Of included Patrick Wilson (also of Weezer) on drums, Rod Cervera (guitar), Tom Grimley (moog), Petra Haden (violin, vocals), and Cherielynn Westrich (vocals, moog). Petra's triplet sister, Rachel Haden, appears as an additional vocalist. After Sharp left Weezer, Wilson's studio replacement on the drums was Kevin March and Mike Fletcher was the band's most frequent touring drummer. Maya Rudolph, of Saturday Night Live fame, also handled keyboard and backing vocals for the group's first tours in support of its debut album. The group group headlined its own club shows, and also hit larger venues as the opening act for Alanis Morrisette, Garbage, Blur, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, amongst others.

Sharp reformed The Rentals in 1997 and 1998 to record their second album Seven More Minutes. He recruited Petra Haden to replace Cherielynn Westrich as the main female vocalist, Jim Richards replaced Tom Grimley on moog, Kevin March on drums, and Rod Cervera on guitar once again. Maya Rudolph made a guest appearance on two songs. Members of Blur, Ash, and Elastica also made guest appearances. The album was released in April 1999. It was well received by fans and critics but The Rentals' record company, Reprise and Maverick, didn't properly promote due to disagreements with Sharp on the mixing. Sharp formed a completely new line up including former Elevator Drops guitarist Josh Hager (AKA Garvy J), replacing Rod Cervara, for a brief tour of Japan. The tour in Japan consisted of an acoustic set featuring no moogs or female harmonies and then an electric set. This tour resulted in the, internet only, double live album "Live in Japan".

Presumably influenced by his new friend Josh Hager, Matt retreated with Hager and former Cake guitarist Greg Brown, to Leipers Fork, Tennessee to record a solo album of acoustic material, much like the acoustic sets in The Rentals 1999 Japanese tour. These sessions resulted in an EP and an album, 2003 and 2004, respectively. Acoustic tours in between 2002-2005 also occurred, sometimes with Hager and Brown, sometimes with just Sharp, and sometimes with the band Goldenboy.

On October 24, 2005, the tenth anniversary of the band's first album's release, Matt Sharp announced he was bringing back The Rentals after a six year absence. As of his announcement, new lineup for the band had not yet been announced, although Sharp stated on his website that "there are no current plans" for ex-Rental Cherielynn Westrich "to be involved in the future of The Rentals."

Sharp states: The essential elements of The Rentals will be there. Our fascination with vintage synthesizers, violas, violins, female harmonies and all the rest will continue. But, I'm guessing, we'll most likely veer off the path that would lead us into the realm of becoming our own tribute band. [1]

On May 12th, 2006, the new lineup for The Rentals was announced. It includes original vocalist Rachel Haden, Sara Radle on vocals/multiple instruments, Ben Pringle (from Nerf Herder) on synth, Lauren Chipman on viola/vocals and Dan Joeright on drums.

The band toured North America in the summer of 2006 with Ozma, with Matt Sharp wearing the trademark bottlecap glasses he wore during the band's initial run [2]. Ryen Slegr of Ozma played guitar for both bands on the entire tour. The tour received rave reviews from fans and featured a performance of the Weezer b-side "I Just Threw out the Love of My Dreams" sung (as originally done so) by Rachel Haden. The Rentals are now in the studio working on their third album expected in 2007.