Formed in a North Carolina dormitory in 2012, The Nude Party celebrates the clanging frat rock of the ë60s. Working with early mentor and producer Oakley Munson of Black Lips, they debuted with the Hot Tub EP in 2016. The bandís eponymous full-length debut arrived on New West Records in 2018.
Originating as an extended group of childhood friends and step-siblings who decided to start a band and then began learning to play instruments, The Nude Party took root at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. The band is comprised of lead vocalist/guitarist Patton Magee, vocalist/lead guitarist Shaun Couture, organist/pianist Don Merrill, bass player Alec Castillo, percussionist Austin Brose, and drummer Connor Mikita. Most members also sing backup.
Soon after coming together, the sextet soon moved into a lake house and started a nightly ritual of jamming in the basement. It was at a regular gig as the house band at a certain Boone party locale that the groupís practice of performing in the buff earned them a local reputation as ìthe naked party band.î They adopted the moniker The Nude Party just in time to move onto bookings at local clubs and bars, where they had to perform clothed.
In 2014, the band met Black Lipsí drummer Oakley Munson at a show in Charlotte. He took an interest in the group and recorded their first collection, Hot Tub EP, which they released in early 2016. As word of the EPís rawness and good-times spirit spread, the band relocated to Munsonís base in the New York Catskills and began to perform regularly in Brooklyn and the surrounding region. New West signed the group for their Munson-produced full-length debut. The Nude Party was released in July of 2018 and was heralded by Rolling Stone as ìequal parts ëIím Waiting for the Maní Velvet Underground and Exile on Main Street Stones.î In the year following their release, the band has opened for the likes of The Arctic Monkeys and Jack White, with plans to continue touring with over 150 dates globally in 2019.