| Ampere | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Amherst, MA (USA) |
| Genre(s) | Hardcore, Screamo |
| Years active | 2002 – Present |
| Label(s) | Ebullition Records, various |
| Members | |
| Will Killingsworth Andy Skelly Meghan Minior Stephen Pierce |
|
Ampere (pronounced am-per, not am-peer) is a DIY punk band based in Amherst, Massachusetts known for their short (10-15 minutes) but extremely loud and intense live shows. The band has put the importance of DIY punk ethics at the forefront of their lyrics and are known for the particular attention they bring to their vegan principles. The members of the bands have been involved in the DIY punk scene for a number of years with the most notable being guitarist Will Killingsworth, who played guitar in Orchid, Laceration and Bucket Full of Teeth and who continues to run his Clean Plate record label and Dead Air recording studio where the band records all of their music. Drummer Andy Skelly played drums in both The Last 40 Seconds and Wolves, Stephen's previous bands were Montcalm and The Last 40 Seconds; he currently also plays guitar in Aerosols and briefly ran Distort, an independent record store in Northampton, Massachusetts (May '06 - December '06). Meghan played bass in Stop The Clock and Unicoroner and now sings in Relics. Much like Orchid, Ampere (especially earlier albums such as "All our Tomorrows End Today") often borrow some of their lyrics from philosophers and revolutionaries such as Guy Debord. They have preserved some of the "intellectual" punk seen in bands like Orchid, Sinaloa, Native Nod, Current, and others. While some view their lyrics as pretentious and obscure, Ampere has persisted in their belief that intellect and art make the best emotive hardcore. The band actively tour in the US and completed a tour of Europe with Sinaloa in March 2006. A split record on Ebullition Records between the two bands was released in time for the tour, along with a 7" of their early recordings and a four-way split 11" with Death to Tyrants, Wasteland and Daniel Striped Tiger which was recorded live at Dead Air. Since then, a split 12" comprised completely of cover songs was released with Das Oath. 2007 was a productive year for the band, encompassing a brief Japanese tour as well as three new split records; a 6" with Ringers on No Idea Records, a 9" with Funeral Diner put out jointly by Clean Plate and The Electric Human Project, and a 7" picture disk with France's Daitro on Clean Plate/purepainsugar.
Discography
- Demo 7"/Tape 2002 (Self-Released)
- Wolves/Ampere Split 7" 2003 (Moganono Records)
- All Our Tomorrows End Today 10"/3" CD 2004 (Ebullition)
- Welcome The Plague Year/Ampere split 5" 2005 (Clean Plate/Turnstile)
- First Recordings 7" 2006 (purepainsugar)
- Ampere/Death to Tyrants/Wasteland/Daniel Striped Tiger split 11" 2006 (Clean Plate)
- Ampere/Sinaloa Split LP/CD 2006 (Ebullition)
- Das Oath/Ampere Split LP+CD 2006 (Self-released)
- Ampere/Daitro Split 7" picture disc 2007 (Clean Plate/purepainsugar)
- Ampere/Ringers Split 6"/7" 2007 (No Idea Records)
- Funeral Diner/Ampere Split 9" 2007 (Clean Plate/Electric Human Project)
