Standard Thompson

Indie / Powerpop / Rock

Minneapolis, MN

Billboard

Standard Thompson was born in the fall of 1996 in Minot North Dakota. Four high school friends tired of the typical small town short comings, decided to start a band. The concept was simple, rock driven pop melodies with a lot of energy. The formula proved to be a winner. Standard Thompson took the region by storm releasing two independent CDs and playing countless shows in every venue and make shift venue in the state. Early accomplishments included radio play, and packed shows almost every weekend for two years. In the fall of 1998 ST opened up for actor Keanu Reeve’s band, “Dog Star” in a crowded arena.

In September of 1999 the three founding members of Standard Thompson, Mike (vocals/guitar) Loren, (bass) and Nick (guitar) decided to move the act to the Twin Cities. Shortly after keyboardist Derrick joined the band to bring new dimension to the songwriting. This line-up worked hard on writing songs with a revolving door of drummers. Not playing out much because of a lack of drummer commitment. When the band finally found it’s drummer they completed a CD called “Bittersilvermorning” and supported the CD with a multitude of shows in Minneapolis, Chicago, and North Dakota. The hard work was paying off reaching new fans and creating some buzz in the Twin Cities. That hard work took a toll on original guitarist Nick who left the band to pursue his own alt. country group. Shortly after, Eric was hired by local super group GB Leighton, leaving ST for a band that was better established. The band thought that they had fallen on the worst of times but refused to let it slow them down. They quickly replaced Nick with a creative guitarist/singer named Aaron. Soon after they found their perfect drummer in Tim.

The new Standard Thompson took off immediately. First being picked as one of the twelve finalists out of almost three hundred entries to compete in the Cities 97 Basilica Battle of the Bands, losing by four votes in a packed Fine Line Music Café. Next they won the Pop Rocks Festival at Station 4 in St. Paul. After that they won the Taste of Minnesota battle of the bands with the reward being a slot at The Taste of Minnesota in July of 2005. Playing weekend shows at places like The Fine Line, The Station 4, The Red Carpet in St. Cloud with local star Tim Mahoney, all to impressive audiences. ST has reached elite status among the Twin Cities music scene.

The band recently got the attention of producer, Matt Kirkwold and engineer, James Harley of World Record Productions in Minneapolis. World Record has worked with artists such as Quietdrive (epic) Clay Akin (RCA) Mudvayne (epic) and many others. Producer, Matt Kirkwold agreed to work with the band on their newest recording a three song EP completed in early October 2005. So far the ep has received great reaction and feedback. With major label success in their sites, Standard Thompson will keep pushing forward until they accomplish success on a national level.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Recent plays on new episodes of MTV’s shows “Punkd” and "Made"
• Multiple NFL halftime highlights plays on CBS, including the Super Bowl
• Included on a Clarion Audio compilation disc
• Possible inclusion on a Star Tribune TV commercial
• Produced by Matt Kirkwold of World Record Productions (Quietdrive, Lucky Boy’s Confusion)
• Picked as a finalist out of almost three hundred entries to compete in the Cities 97 Basilica Battle of the Bands
• Won the Pop Rocks Festival at Station 4 in St. Paul
• Won the Taste of Minnesota battle of the bands