RELEASES

BIO

Pen Pal deliver Best Boy, their power-pop debut on Evil Teen Records. The band's collective experience is an unusual combination of literary experiences and indie-rock credibility.

Prior to forming Pen Pal, singer-songwriter David Greenberg served time in a kind of bohemian apprenticeship. Befriending Allen Ginsberg in 1990, David started performing with the Beat poet, accompanying him on guitar, reading poetry and sharing stages with a host of characters. Including Gregory Corso, Marianne Faithful, Sinead O'Connor and Ric Ocasek. Quickly setting out on his own eclectic path, the young artist performed acoustic sets at Anti-Folk gigs with Lach and Paleface; electric guitar jams with Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth; and a freestyle rap/guitar noise set with Beck. He also appeared in the Tomato Records CD, Poemfone: New World Order, reading his poetry. A New York Magazine article featured the Pen Pal lead singer/guitarist as a member of the second coming of the Beat Generation.

Teaming up with David on bass and background vocals is Alex Emanuel. No stranger himself to New York's indie-rock culture, Alex played bass and sang with Hygiene, Lucan and Sammy before joining Pen Pal. Alex has also worked extensively in off-Broadway theater and you can catch Alex starring in the independent film "Myst Chances".

Providing an international element for Pen Pal is the drummer, Shir. Hailing from Tel Aviv, Israel, Shir came to New York City in 1992. After graduating from the New School of Social Research with a BFA in their jazz program, Shir worked as an assistant manager and house drummer at Baby Monster Recording Studios, helping out bands like the Lemonheads and the Ramones.

Best Boy, which borrows its title from a standard movie credit, is a cinematic take on the history of pop music. From the catchy Beatlesque harmonies and the new wave analogue melodies of songs such as "Et Cetera" and "Dumb" to the distorted riffs and teen-anthem choruses of "Bend" "Skin" and "It's All Good", Pen Pal's Best Boy has all the adolescent agony and ecstasy of a John Hughes film.

MEDIA

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