The Amps

After the overwhelming success of "Cannonball" and Last Splash took the Breeders by surprise -- and led to their quick burnout -- singer/songwriter/guitarist Kim Deal formed the Amps in 1994 as a way to release new material while the Breeders took a break. With her other group's drummer Jim MacPherson, Deal assembled a new band from members of other bands around her hometown of Dayton, OH, including Nathan Farley and Luis Lerma of the Tasties. Originally called Tammy & the Amps, the band sounded like a rougher, rawer version of the Breeder's skewed pop. The Tipp City EP heralded Pacer, their first and only album, which was released in late 1995. That year, the Amps toured with friends and like-minded acts such as Helium and Sonic Youth. The following year, Deal folded the Amps lineup into a new version of the Breeders -- which also included Pod-era member Carrie Bradley -- for a handful of California dates with Primus. As the Breeders' notoriously unstable lineup changed, all of the former Amps left the group within two years. ~