The Pink Spiders

In 2003, Matthew Bell (known as "Matt Friction") led the Nashville quartet, Silent Friction, and performed around the Nashville area. He occasionally filled in on guitar for Oliver's Army, where Robert William Fort V (known as "Bob Ferrari") played drums.[5]

Friction and Ferrari decided to make music together. They recruited Jon Decious on bass and a second guitarist, Jamie Mechan. Mechan was eventually dismissed from the group. The trio contemplated several names, including: "The Pink Tigers" and "The Pink Diablos". They settled on "The Pink Spiders".[6]

The Pink Spiders recorded their first EP three weeks later. According to Ferrari, the record can be described as "bubblegum" music. He said: "We didn't try to sound like anyone. We just stole from everyone. That's what good artists do in my opinion." The Pink Spiders Are Taking Over! (2004) was influenced by The Ramones, The Dead Boys, Buddy Holly, and the Bay City Rollers. The band's live debut consisted of a sold-out show in Nashville.[6]

Friction was a booking agent for The Muse and used that knowledge to find shows for the band. Meanwhile, Ferrari worked as a substitute teacher and the group donated plasma to fund their tours. The Pink Spiders also smoked a lot, a habit evident in promotional snapshots of the band. The group eventually befriended the band Sadaharu. It was through them that The Pink Spiders found a record label to release their debut studio album.[6]

The Pennsylvania-based and independent label, CI Records, released Hot Pink on January 4, 2005. The album has the trademarks of 1960s teen pop; it features the pop of a needle, crackles, and even hisses in between tracks. Influences from artists such as Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, and Cheap Trick were apparent in Friction's songwriting. A vinyl version of the record was also released by Nashville's Spat! Records.

The band toured nonstop, battling the chaos offered by life on the road; their trailer caught on fire in Buffalo and the band slept in the New York City Subway and the PATH when they had nowhere to sleep.

An old friend of Friction, Jason Hollis, lived in Los Angeles and told the group about Dan Catullo, a producer. Catullo arranged a private show for the band at West Hollywood's The Viper Room, where they would perform for numerous major labels. The group asked their friend, Dave Paulson (frontman of Nashville-based The Privates), to play guitar with them at the show and he accepted. The four slept over at a living unit located above Catullo's recording studio.[6]

Their performance on March 2, 2005, at The Viper Room was a success. "After the set, the curtains closed and Jordan Schur ran onstage. He was immediately stopped by security but just barreled through them," said Friction of the experience. Ferrari said he opened his arms, exclaiming, "I gotta have this band!!!" Schur was the CEO of Geffen Records.[6]

Several weeks following the show, The Pink Spiders chose Geffen among 11 major-label offers. Walking into the offices of the recording company, the band was greeted by a pizza party. The contract was signed and according to Decious, the label took them to Six Flags. The three bandmates moved to Hollywood: Friction and Decious rented an apartment on Sunset Boulevard and Ferrari lodged at the Gershwin Hollywood Hotel.[6]

Geffen hired Ric Ocasek, frontman of The Cars, to produce the group's major label debut. The Pink Spiders traveled to New York to commence recording at Electric Lady Studios. The album was originally intended to be released in April 2006, but the date was pushed to August.[6]

The first single off the album was "Little Razorblade"; its music video was directed by Joseph Kahn. The video debuted on MTV's Total Request Live in April 2006 and peaked at number 12. The song received heavy rotation on the video network, Fuse, and reached the top spot on the Los Angeles-based radio station, KROQ. It was featured on the reality television series The Hills and was played in the clothing store Hollister Co. That year, The Pink Spiders performed on the Vans Warped Tour.

The Pink Spiders toured with many popular bands such as Thirty Seconds to Mars, Good Charlotte, Yellowcard, Meg & Dia, All Time Low, Sugarcult, Damone, Kill Hannah, and Fall Out Boy in support of this album. The group was also listed as one of the "100 bands you need to know in 2006" by Alternative Press.

Teenage Graffiti was released on August 1, 2006, and peaked at number 84 on the Billboard 200.[7] The album was praised by critics for its power-pop sound and catchy melodies.

The Pink Spiders' third album was announced in late 2007 and was meant to be released in Spring 2008. Geffen hired Brendan O'Brien as the producer — his experience included work for musicians such as Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, and Bruce Springsteen. Friction wrote 25 songs for the album, of which half were approved for release.[6]

The band bought a school bus which they intended to use for touring. On March 13, 2008, somewhere between Nashville and Atlanta, the bus burned to the ground along with their possessions. The group lost "clothes, laptops, passports, id's, ipods, cameras, receipts, cash, song lyrics, everything." They welcomed any donations. They missed shows at Atlanta and New Orleans, but announced that they would finish the rest of the tour.[8]

The band encountered disagreements over money and direction leading Decious and Ferrari to announce they would no longer be members of The Pink Spiders. The two played a last show on June 18, 2008, in Charlotte, North Carolina. They formed the country-rock group, Dixie Whiskey, in the following months.[6]

Friction recruited replacements for Decious and Ferrari — Raf Cevallos on guitar, Joe Reilly on drums, and Ben Young on bass. The new line-up made its live debut at Cave 9 in Birmingham, Alabama several days later.[6]

The new Pink Spiders completed the Tapped Kegs, Spread Legs, & Fertilized Eggs tour. The tour-only exclusive, Subterranean EP, contained unreleased versions of "Teenage Graffiti" and "Knock Knock", "Gimme Chemicals" and "Sleeping On the Floor" from Sweat It Out, as well as the b-sides "Typical Danger" and "We Do It All The Time".

That year, The Pink Spiders officially dissolved their contract with Geffen. After much deliberation, Sweat It Out was finally released on September 23, 2008, by Friction's own independent record label, Mean Buzz Records.

In 2009, Friction announced an extended hiatus. He embarked on a variety of side projects, including Matt Friction & the Cheap Shots and The Dozen Dimes.

In 2010, the group accepted an offer to play at the bar mitzvah of a fan who lived in Los Angeles. On June 20 they held a concert at The Viper Room and Friction announced their return. "We aren't at a place where it's [about] money," said the lead singer in an interview with the Nashville Scene. He also announced that they had resolved their differences, but that Decious would be pursuing other interests — Brandon Jazz assumed bassist duties.[4]

The Pink Spiders released "Cherry Chapstick b/w Sad Style", a two-track single, on March 21, 2011. That spring they completed the "2 Legit 2 Quit Tour".

In 2011, The Pink Spiders appeared in the Hal Leonard music educational DVD, Learn To Rock Drums With Jason Hartless And Friends, performing "Gimme Chemicals" live in Detroit with guest drummer Jason Hartless.

On August 6, 2016, the original lineup of Friction, Ferrari, and Decious reunited for a concert at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of Teenage Graffiti. They were joined by Dave Paulson on guitar and Raf Cevallos on keyboards. On August 8, the band announced plans to release a new album, Mutations, in the summer of 2018.[9]

On May 30, 2017, The Pink Spiders released two new singles, "Black Dagger" and "Easier Than Ever" for pre-sale exclusively on vinyl via their website. On June 13, 2017, the band uploaded a new lyric video for "Easier Than Ever" on their YouTube account, announcing that an official music video for the song would be coming soon.

In September 2017, The Pink Spiders announced a short 10 city Midwest/Northeast tour, titled the "Black Dagger Tour" starting December 13 and ending December 22, 2017. The tour was a success and ultimately helped the band immensely when they announced a Kickstarter campaign to fund Mutations in January 2018. The campaign exceeded its goal by over 30%.

Once the Kickstarter campaign ended, the band began work at several studios in Nashville working on 11 songs slated to go on the upcoming LP, Mutations, released July 31, 2018. Throughout their time in the studio, the band has been posting teaser photos of the recording process across their social media pages from time to time.

• Hot Pink (2005)
• Teenage Graffiti (2006)
• Sweat It Out (2008)
• Mutations (2018)
• FREAKAZOID (2023)

• The Pink Spiders Are Taking Over! (2004)
• Subterranean EP (2008)

• Little Razorblade (2006)
• The Chase (2007)
• Gimme Chemicals (2008)
• Cherry Chapstick b/w Sad Style (2011)
• Easier Than Ever (2017)
• Black Dagger (2017)
• I Can't Get Down Without You (2018)
• Gold Confetti (2023)
• Devotion (2023)
• Let's Go Home (2023)