Wampire

Portland, Oregon's psychedelic pop duo Wampire consists of Rocky Tinder and Eric Phipps, childhood friends who began making music together while they were still in middle school. By the mid-2000s, the pair -- who took their name from the way Phipps' goth German friends pronounced "vampire" during his time in that country -- were fixtures on Portland's house party scene, making music that was as loud and danceable as possible. However, Tinder and Phipps wanted to take a more versatile approach to their sound when it came time to making a Wampire album, and after signing to Polyvinyl Records, they collaborated with Unknown Mortal Orchestra's Jake Portrait, who produced the sessions that resulted in March 2013's The Hearse single and the full-length Curiosity, which arrived that May. A stint of nonstop touring ensued, seeing the band play more shows and new locales in a 12-month period than in all their previous years combined. Wampire made the most of the creative energy they got from touring by immediately beginning the writing and recording process for their second album. The end result was Bazaar, which saw release, again on Polyvinyl Records, in late 2014.
© Heather Phares /TiVo