Nathan Jerde, the drummer for Chicago’s beloved early-aughts storage rock revivalists the Ponys, has died. The group posted the information on Fb, writing, “Nathan was a tremendous drummer and possessed savant like artwork expertise. Nathan beloved goofing round, and had the sweetest of hearts. We traveled the world collectively. We ate wonderful meals collectively and we met lifelong pals collectively. We fought like brothers generally, however we had a lot fucking enjoyable collectively.” A reason for demise was not shared.
One of many Ponys’ former labels, Matador Data, additionally eulogized Jerde, as did one other of the group’s former labels, Within the Pink, which wrote: “We’re past unhappy to listen to the information of the passing of Nathan Jerde of The Ponys. He was an superior man and a incredible drummer. To say he might be missed is an understatement.”
Shaped in 2001 by singer and guitarist Jered Gummere, the Ponys started their life as a three-piece of Gummere, bassist Melissa Elias, and Nathan Jerde, who was enjoying in native punk act the Mushuganas on the time. They quickly grew to a quartet with the addition of Pleased Provide’s Ian Adams, who contributed organ and extra guitar, and, after placing out a collection of singles on native labels Massive Neck and Contaminated Data, signed to the Los Angeles–based mostly label Within the Pink. The Ponys’ debut album, Laced With Romance, got here out in 2004, and so they went on to tour the report alongside the likes of the Fall and the Fiery Furnaces.
Whereas Laced With Romance was an easy mix of storage scuzz and British Invasion mod-rock, for his or her sophomore LP, 2005’s Steve Albini–produced Celebration Fortress, the Ponys drew inspiration from Pleasure Division and early Sonic Youth. That very same yr, the band put out an EP titled One other Wound. They finally changed Adams with 90 Day Males’s Brian Case and have been picked up by Matador, the place they launched what can be their third and closing studio album, Flip the Lights Out, in 2007. The Ponys have since stayed off the radar, resurfacing briefly in 2010 with the EP Deathbed + 4 and once more, in 2017, for a one-off reunion present at Chicago’s Do Division Avenue Fest.
As Pitchfork wrote within the overview of the Ponys’ debut: “What units Laced With Romance other than the abundance of garage-rock albums launched over the previous few years is its ample possession of groove, by turns large and heavy or free and sloppy. The report’s 12 tracks show a deep understanding of fundamental rhythm, one thing direly missing among the many present crop of throwback acts. Ponys drummer Nathan Jerde reliably hammers each backbeat, however the propulsive silence of his ghost notes is what actually drives these songs.”
