The Bats (American band)
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The Bats is an American band. It's members are Jon Brion, Bill Murphy and Don "Riff" Fertman. The band started in 1980.
In the early 1980s, Jon Brion and Bill Murphy began writing together in New Haven, Connecticut. They recorded some demo tracks in makeshift apartment studios, and worked out their arrangements in basement practice rooms on the Yale University Campus. In time, the duo enlisted the talents of bassist Don "Riff" Fertman to form The Bats, not to be confused with another group of the same name which formed concurrently in New Zealand. In the spring of 1982 the trio created a imaginative set of pop songs in a small studio in Connecticut. A single called "Popgun" followed by an LP entitled How Pop Can You Get? were released on the independent label Gustav.
In October, the album became a Billboard Magazine “Recommended LP”, saying:
From the cover, this looks like wacky new wave pop a la B-52’s. What’s on the vinyl though is well-crafted, if youthful power pop. This group is only a trio, and from their looks quite young but manages to project a full, powerful sound. Though on a small label the sound is crisp and professional. To those who wake up every morning to well worn copies of the Rasperries’ “Go All the Way,” this one's for you. – Billboard October 2, 1982.
Even with much critical acclaim, the album failed to chart, and the group disbanded a year or so later. Jon Brion has gone on to become a Grammy Award winning producer, Academy Award nominated film composer and solo artist. Bill Murphy is now an Emmy Award winning television producer. Don Fertman is in corporate management with the Subway sandwich franchises, worldwide.
