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Mates Of State Information
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'Mates of State' are an American pop music duo based in San Francisco, California, and active since 1997. The group is composed of Kori Gardner (voice, electric organ, electric keyboard, and electric piano) and Jason Hammel (voice and drum set).
Gardner and Hammel met in Lawrence, the musical metropolis of Kansas, while they were involved with other people and other musical projects. Although they exchanged daily e-mails, they didn't get together until three months later when they were both single again, and were inseparable from then on. The main instruments used by the band are drum set and the electric organ. Although they both started out playing the guitar, they found they ended up fooling around with the organ and the drums in their practice space more often than with more traditional instruments. They formed in the Midwest during 1997 but shortly thereafter moved to California, where Gardner applied to medical school but opted (in 2001) to devote her time to making music and touring with Hammel (who also became her husband in 2001).
Mates of State's songs are notable for their male/female vocal harmony, shifting rhythms, and quirky song structure - most tracks comprise distinct, almost disjointed movements. Both members sing with great intensity, often in the upper ranges of their voices, and often sing different (yet complementary) melodies simultaneously. Tempos are nearly always fast, with beats often resembling those found in electronic club or dance music.
The band recorded one album on Omnibus Records before moving to Polyvinyl for their second and third full-lengths. They have also released five 7-inch singles and two EPs.
thumb|Jason Hammel
On October 11 2004, the band held a contest for fans to create their own video for the first track on their All Day EP: Goods (All In Your Head). The winning entry became the official video for the song, and was aired on MTV on the 12th of June 2005. It and an all-dance video made by director G.J. Echternkamp are available from the Media section of the band's official site (below). Interestingly there were at least two versions of the dance video, one in which Mr. Echternkamp dances alone in a room during the song and another version in which he is joined by new dancers throughout the video. The solo dance was first available for download and later replaced by the version with multiple dancers. The explanation for this can be found in the band's online forum.
Discography
*'Albums'
**Team Boo Polyvinyl (2003)
**Our Constant Concern Polyvinyl (2002)
**My Solo Project (Omnibus, 2000)
*'EPs'
**All Day EP (2004)
**European Tour 2003 EP (2003)
*'7" Singles'
**Mates of State/Dear Nora Split 7"
**Uber Legitimate 7"
**Self-titled 7"
**Mates of State/Fighter D Split 7"
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