Wheatus is an American Pop Rock band from Northport, New York, most famous for their 2000 single "Teenage Dirtbag." It was formed in 1995 by lead singer and guitarist Brendan B. Brown, the only original member still in the band.
Asides from "Teenage Dirtbag", the band is mostly known for their self-titled debut album (the only one to make any real headway in the charts), where the song came from. Their songs follow a hyperactive style and are often vulgar. Brendan is also known for his fondness for sunglasses and hats.
The reason they didn't have much success after their debut was due to a dispute that their former record label Columbia Records gave them after Brendan refused to take their request to lip-sync in a Top of the Pops performance. After struggles with releasing their second album under Columbia, Hand Over Your Loved Ones, this has led the band to found their own label, Montauk Mantis, and release the rest of their work online, with only a few vinyl releases over time.
The band maintains an official website that can be visited here
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Lineup (according to The Other Wiki):
Current members- Brendan B. Brown - lead vocals, guitar (1995-present)
- Matthew Milligan - bass (2006-present)
- Leo Freire - drums (2015-present)
- Brandon Ticer - keyboards (2017-present)
- Karlie Bruce - backing vocals (2008-2011, 2013-2014, 2017-present)
- Gabrielle Aimée Sterbenz - backing vocals (2011-present)
- Joey Slater - backing vocals (2015-present)
Former members
- Peter McCarrick Bown - drums, turntables, samples (1995-2006)
- Rich Liegey - bass, occasional lead vocals (1995-2000)
- Phillip A. Jimenez - multiple instruments (1995-2003)
- Mike Joseph McCabe - bass, backing vocals (2000-2005)
- Shannon Patrick Harris - keyboards (2002-2004)
- Elizabeth Grace Brown - backing vocals (2002-2007, 2014)
- Kathryn Elizabeth Froggatt - backing vocals (2002-2006)
- Vanessa Jimenez - backing vocals (2003)
- Michael Bellar - keyboards (2004-2005)
- Nicolas DiPierro - bass (2005-2006)
- Gerard Charles Hoffmann - keyboards (2005-2011)
- Kevin Joaquing Garcia - drums (2006-2013)
- Melissa "Missy" Heselton - backing vocals (2006-2007)
- Constance Renda - backing vocals (2006)
- Johanna Cranitch - backing vocals (2007-2011)
- Georgina Haege - backing vocals (2007-2008)
- Ken Flagg - keyboards (2011)
- Mark Palmer - keyboards (2011-2016)
- Dani Elliot - backing vocals (2011)
- Delaney Gibson - backing vocals (2011)
- Ben D. Johnson - drums (2012)
- William Tully - drums (2013-2014)
Discography:
Studio albums- Wheatus (2000)
- Hand Over Your Loved Ones (2003, re-released as Suck Fony in 2005)
- Too Soon Monsoon (2005)
- Pop, Songs & Death (originally released as two separate EPs, fully released in 2012)
- The Lightning EP (2009)
- The Jupiter EP (2010)
- The Valentine LP (2013)
I'm just a teenage tropebag, baby:
- Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: The theme of "Lemonade", told in the perspective of the guy whom the girl was with at first.
- All Just a Dream: The Video Full of Film Clips for "Teenage Dirtbag" ends with the protagonist of Loser getting the girl before waking up at his desk.
- Bowdlerize:
- The line "He brings a gun to school" in "Teenage Dirtbag" was muted in most early releases of the song, because, according to Brendan, it was written and recorded barely a year after the Columbine massacre.
- "Punk Ass Bitch" was given a new set of lyrics to become the "Chan's The Man" Bragging Theme Tune for Jackie Chan Adventures.
- British Weather: "The London Sun", what else?
- Cool Shades: Brendan sports these in the videos for "Teenage Dirtbag" and "Wannabe Gangstar".
- Cover Version: Of "A Little Respect" by Erasure which actually charted one place higher than the original in the UK.
- Humiliation Conga: The whole music video for "A Little Respect" for the protagonist.
- I Am the Band: Brendan Brown, as the only constant member, is to be expected to be the one most people would know about the band.
- I Am What I Am: Almost verbatim where "I Am What I Is" is concerned.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Brendan is borderline one of these, especially in the video for "A Little Respect".
- Precocious Crush: The theme of "BMX Bandits".
- Pretty Fly for a White Guy: The whole point of Wannabe Gangstar.
- Proud to Be a Geek: "Teenage Dirtbag".
- Revolving Door Band: Brendan Brown is the only consistent member.
- Shout-Out: Iron Maiden is name-dropped in two songs from the self-titled album, "Truffles" (the first verse describes a cover band as being out of Iron Maiden) and "Teenage Dirtbag" (all of its three choruses mention Iron Maiden at some point).
- Sibling Team: Among the band's former members are Brendan's siblings Peter and Elizabeth.
- Spoonerism: The re-release title of Hand Over Your Loved Ones, Suck Fony ("Fuck Sony"), meant to be a Take That! to the owner of Columbia Records, Sony Music Entertainment.
- Testosterone Poisoning: "Dynomite Satchel of Pain" combines this with McNinja.
- Turned Off By The Jerkass: In the song "Teenage Dirtbag", the girl dumps her boyfriend, because of how he treats the titular teenage dirtbag.
- Video Full of Film Clips: "Teenage Dirtbag" uses clips from Loser (2000). They managed to still make the video follow the plot of the song's lyrics, by deliberately taking scenes out of context and adding new footage of the film's lead actors, Jason Biggs and Mina Suvari.
- Zombie Apocalypse: The digital release of The Valentine LP includes a PDF comic titled "Valentine Comic", which, asides from the album's signature romance, is centered around a zombie apocalypse.
