Draft:Miss Cantaloupe

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Miss Cantaloupe[edit]

Miss Cantaloupe is an indie rock/ dream pop band from Philadelphia. The group is lead by founding member Christina Klaproth (vocals, guitar) and currently features Sean Youngman (drums), Joey Catrambone (flute), & Mike Parisi (bass, vocals). Known for their unique approach involving pageantry, colorful outfits, unusual instrumentation, and whimsical vibes, Miss Cantaloupe is a popular crossover band in the PA/NJ jamband festival scene. They released their sophomore full length album "Lemon Bops & Melon Drops" on December 1, 2023.[1]

History[edit]

Klaproth and Youngman met in Fishtown while working on separate music projects in the same studio.[2] They began dating and the seeds of the band started to sprout when their other projects began losing steam. In 2016 Miss Cantaloupe began writing, rehearsing and playing shows. The band had various members in the first year but stabilized around Christina Klaproth on lead vocals and guitar, Ken Shumski on bass, Sean Youngman on drums, & Andy McLeod on guitar. With the addition of Steph Pez on backup vocals and glockenspiel, and Lavina D'Anjolell on backup vocals and percussion, the group released their first self titled EP in June 2017. [3]

After the joining of Sam Gutman on keys and Bexx Rosenbloom on cello on 2018, the band performed often and wrote a new batch of songs. Also in 2018, Lavina departed the band and Joey Catrambone was added on Flute. In 2019, Ken Shumski departed the group and was replaced by Donnie Coco on bass and backup vocals. In the Spring of 2019, the band enter Cambridge Sound Studios in South Philly to record their first full length album, Beets Began to Rise with producer Drew Taurisano.[4] The album would feature angelic harmonies, lush chamber pop textures, handpan accents, and flute.[4] The band continued as a 7 piece for the years that followed.

When COVID-19 essentially shut down the music industry in 2020, Miss Cantaloupe released "Come to Us", "Mushroom Meadow Smiles", and "Sunshine Daydream" as singles.[citation needed] Each had an accompanying music video. "Starlily would also be released as a single in February of 2021.[5] Beets Began to Rise was finally released May 25th 2021 on Beardspace Records.[4] The band also released music videos for "Paradigm Shift" (Directed by James O'Brien) and "Flowers Flowers" (Directed by Andrew Smith) during this time.[6] The shutdown allowed Miss Cantaloupe space to express their whimsy through video.[7] Eventually "Don't Go Little Doe" would also have a stop motion music video release by Justin Fargiano in June of 2022.[2]

Following the departures of Gutman and Pez at the end of the 2021 season, the group forged on as a 5 piece.[2] With a strong desire to capture a sonic snapshot of the collaboration, the quintet entered Magnasonic Studios and recorded 8 songs engineered by Josh Lis.[8] These tunes would become the backbone of their sophomore full length Lemon Bops & Melon Drops. Before the album's release Donnie Coco would depart the project to pursue solo music. Mike Parisi joined as bassist and backup vocalist, and also mixed and produced the album which was released at the end of 2023.[9] Trapped in a Tunnel was released as a single April 11th, 2023.[10] It was featured on 88.5 WXPN and 91.1 WDDE. Buzzslayers gave Lemon Bops & Melon Drops a positive review, praising its "vivacious indie-pop and jazz-riddled world" and it's "subtle dynamic balance of textures".[1]

Longtime member Bexx Rosenbloom ended her long tenure in the band upon the release of the album, and got married on the 16th of the same month.

The band also released their first holiday single, "I Saw Mommy Smoke a Spliff With Santa Claus" on December 18th 2023. [11] It was featured on 88.5 WXPN and 91.1 WDDE.

Music Style[edit]

Buzzslayers called it "a colorful and breezy soundscape the bears elements of jazz, funk, and even lounge with the contemporary pop overtone that keeps things incredibly fun"[1]

215music praised "heavenly, layered harmonies transporting us to dreamy and sometimes psychedelic landscapes, bouncing from reggae sounds, hints of surf rock, and strongly led vocal melodies"[4]

Discography[edit]

EPs

  • Miss Cantaloupe (2017)

Albums

  • Beets Began to Rise (2021)
  • Lemon Bops & Melon Drops (2023)

Singles

  • Trapped in a Tunnel (Radio Edit) (2023)
  • I Saw Mommy Smoke a Spliff With Santa Claus (2023)[12]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c BuzzSlayers (2023-12-03). "A Colorful New Album From Miss Cantaloupe". Buzzslayers. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  2. ^ a b c Zimmaro, Mark (2022-07-12). "Sweet success for South Philly band Miss Cantaloupe". South Philly Review. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  3. ^ "Miss Cantaloupe, by Miss Cantaloupe". Miss Cantaloupe. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  4. ^ a b c d "Miss Cantaloupe Set to Release first full-length album, 'Beets Began To Rise'". 215Music - Philadelphia and beyond. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  5. ^ "Starlily, by Miss Cantaloupe". Miss Cantaloupe. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  6. ^ Zimmaro, Mark (2022-07-12). "Sweet success for South Philly band Miss Cantaloupe". South Philly Review. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  7. ^ "Miss Cantaloupe: Bringing Back Sweetness & Light". The Big Takeover. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  8. ^ "#23 Miss Cantaloupe - Bibs Music Room (podcast)". Listen Notes. 2023-11-27. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  9. ^ Lang, Gabrielle (2024-01-30). "Miss Cantaloupe gets festival-ready with new indie dream pop album". Weekender. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  10. ^ "Trapped in a Tunnel (Radio Edit), by Miss Cantaloupe". Miss Cantaloupe. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  11. ^ "I Saw Mommy Smoke a Spliff With Santa Claus, by Miss Cantaloupe". Miss Cantaloupe. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  12. ^ "Miss Cantaloupe". Miss Cantaloupe. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
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