White Reaper
White Reaper | |
|---|---|
 White Reaper in May 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Louisville, Kentucky, United States |
| Genres | Hard rock, garage rock, garage punk, power pop, glam rock |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Labels | Elektra, Polyvinyl |
| Website | whitereaperusa |
| Members |
|
White Reaper is an American garage punk band based in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The band is composed of Tony Esposito (guitar/vocals), Ryan Hater, Hunter Thompson, Nick Wilkerson, and Sam Wilkerson. The band has released two EPs and three full-length albums, their first album in 2015 White Reaper Does It Again,[1][2][3][4] and The World's Best American Band in 2017. White Reaper released their third studio album You Deserve Love on October 18, 2019, their major label debut.
History[]
Early years (2012-2014)[]
White Reaper was formed by Tony Esposito and Nick Wilkerson while they were in high school. When they were 17 years old, they saw an entirely white Grim Reaper prop in a Halloween Express, becoming known as White Reaper thereafter.[5] The duo then recorded two demos, DEMO 2012 and WHITE AURA in 2012. A 7-inch featuring the songs "The Cut" and "Conspirator" was released in 2013 on Earthbound Records.[6] Wilkerson's twin brother Sam Wilkerson then joined the band as the bassist. Elementary school friend of Esposito and keyboardist Ryan Hater would also join the band.
Polyvinyl Records (2014-2018)[]
After signing to Polyvinyl Records in early 2014, their label debut EP White Reaper was released.[7] The band followed it with a tour with Young Widows.[8] In 2015, White Reaper's first studio album White Reaper Does It Again was released on Polyvinyl Records and they opened for bands such as Twin Peaks and Together Pangea. Guitarist Hunter Thompson joined the band in 2016.[9] Their second album The World's Best American Band was released in 2017. In 2018, White Reaper played at South by Southwest[10] and toured as an opening act for Weezer and Billy Idol.[11][12]
Elektra years (2019-present)[]
In 2019, White Reaper would sign with Elektra Records. Three singles were released from their upcoming albums in Summer of 2019. The song "Might Be Right" became the band's highest charting single, peaking at number six on the US Hot Rock Songs chart and atop the US Alternative Songs chart.[13] White Reaper would play at the music festival Riot Fest and with The Killers. In October 2019, You Deserve Love was released, their major label debut. White Reaper appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in December 2019, playing "Might Be Right" and "Real Long Time".[14] White Reaper contributed a cover of the Metallica song "Sad But True" to the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist, released in September 2021.[15]
Band members[]
- Tony Esposito – guitar, vocals
- Ryan Hater – keyboard
- Hunter Thompson – guitar
- Nick Wilkerson – drums, percussion
- Sam Wilkerson – bass
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Heat [16] |
US Indie [17] | ||||||||||
| White Reaper Does It Again |
|
— | — | ||||||||
| The World's Best American Band |
|
7 | 34 | ||||||||
| You Deserve Love |
|
11 | — | ||||||||
| "—" denotes album that did not chart or was not released | |||||||||||
EPs[]
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Demo 2012 |
|
| White Aura |
|
| White Reaper |
Singles[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US AAA [23] |
US Alt. [24] |
US Main. [25] |
US Rock [26] |
CAN Rock [27] | ||||||
| "Make Me Wanna Die"[28] | 2015 | — | — | — | — | — | White Reaper Does It Again | |||
| “I Don’t Think She Cares”[29] | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| “Pills”[30] | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| “Last 4th of July”[31] | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Judy French"[32] | 2017 | — | — | — | — | — | The World's Best American Band | |||
| "The World's Best American Band"[33] | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "The Stack"[34] | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Might Be Right"[35] | 2019 | 4 | 1 | 39 | 6 | 6 | You Deserve Love | |||
| "Real Long Time"[36] | 19 | 19 | — | —[A] | 27 | |||||
| "1F"[38] | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||
Notes[]
References[]
- ^ Heller, Jason. "White Reaper: White Reaper Does It Again". Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
- ^ Roffman, Michael. "White Reaper – White Reaper Does It Again". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
- ^ Mosurock, Doug. "Review: White Reaper, 'White Reaper Does It Again'". NPR Music. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
- ^ Hayden, Mack. "White Reaper: White Reaper Does It Again Review". Paste. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
- ^ "White Reaper Is the World's Best American Band | Quick 6". YouTube. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
- ^ "White Reaper - Conspirator / The Cut 7" / Earthbound Records". 2013-08-13. Archived from the original on 2013-08-13. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
- ^ "Polyvinyl Records". www.polyvinylrecords.com. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
- ^ "White Reaper | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
- ^ "white reaper on Instagram: "This is Hunter. His last name is Thompson and he was born on the 4th of July. He's the newest member of White Reaper and you will treat him…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-24. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
- ^ "white reaper on Instagram: "full sxsw schedule