The Velvet Teen

Years active2000–presentLabelsTopshelf Records, Slowdance Records, Side With Us, PandacideMembersJudah Nagler
Casey Deitz
Josh StaplesPast membersLogan Whitehurst (deceased)
Matthew IzenWebsitewww.thevelvetteen.com

The Velvet Teen is an American independent rock trio from Sonoma County, California.

The Velvet Teen is originally the name of Judah Nagler's electronic solo project, whose official debut was made during a brief Icelandic tour that began on New Year's Eve, 1999. In 2000, during which Nagler and Logan Whitehurst were members of the band Little Tin Frog, the two began meeting in secret to write songs together under the moniker, 'The Secret Band.'^[1] When Little Tin Frog disbanded later that year, Nagler and Whitehurst continued their project and adopted Nagler's solo title, The Velvet Teen.^[2]

The Velvet Teen signed to Slowdance Records, an independent record label from Portland, OR. They enlisted Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla to produce their first full-length album, Out of the Fierce Parade. Whitehurst, who was also an accomplished artist, created the etchings used as the album's artwork.^[3]

Their second full-length album, Elysium, is a stylistic departure from their previous work, and does not contain any guitar. With a core instrumentation of drums, bass, and piano, other noteworthy elements include string and horn arrangements arranged by Adam Theis, the electronic glitches of "Satre Ringo", and the 12-minute, 1089-word epic "Chimera Obscurant." Elysium was recorded on a laptop by Judah and his brother Ephriam Nagler at various locations in Sonoma County, and mixed at Kingsize Soundlabs in Los Angeles by Dave Trumfio and Mike Krassner.^[4]

Several months before the release of Elysium, Whitehurst fell ill, was diagnosed with brain cancer, and subsequently left the band to focus on treatment. Casey Deitz was recruited as the new drummer after filling in for multiple shows.^[4]

The band recorded and released their third album, Cum Laude!, again with Judah and Ephriam producing and engineering. Cum Laude! was another stylistic departure and features an IDM-influenced, progressive rock sound that was louder, faster, and livelier than any of their previous work. The music video for "Tokyoto" was directed and edited by Nagler, and is the only music video from Cum Laude!.^[5]

Upon finishing the tour, Staples quit the band. On December 3, 2006, original drummer Logan Whitehurst died at his home in Los Banos, CA after a long battle with cancer.^[6]

• Out of the Fierce Parade (March 19, 2002)
• Elysium (July 20, 2004)
• Cum Laude! (July 25, 2006)
• All Is Illusory (June 30, 2015)

• Comasynthesis EP (March 2000)
  1. "Your Cell"
  2. "Super Me"
  3. "Never Happy"
  4. "Milo 7"
  5. "Penning the Penultimate"
  6. "Reverie to Chanticleer"
• The Great Beast February EP (February 2001)
  1. "Naked Girl"
  2. "Counting Backwards"
  3. "Mother of Love"
• Immortality EP (December 2001)
  1. "Stay with Me"
  2. "Weddings and Wakes"
  3. "Heaven"
  4. "No One Will Ever Love You" (The Magnetic Fields cover)
• The Velvet Teen/Sin in Space Split 7" (September 2004)
  1. "Code Red" – The Velvet Teen
  2. "Go!" – The Velvet Teen (Tones on Tail cover)
  3. "Extraterrestrial" – Sin In Space
  4. "Do You Love Me Now?" – Sin in Space (The Breeders cover)
• GyzmKid EP (May 9, 2006)
  1. "GyzmKid"
  2. "Spin the Wink" (Little Cat Remix)
  3. "False Profits" (Cute Version)
• No Star (November 11, 2010)
  1. "No Star"
  2. "Forfor"
  3. "Fixing a Faucet"
  4. "Pavlovian Bell"

• Plus, Minus, Equals (The Great Beast February and Comasynthesis) (July 16, 2002)
  • Combines The Great Beast February EP and Comasynthesis EP onto one CD
• Out of the Fierce Parade (Japanese version) (June 4, 2003)
  • Includes the bonus tracks "Naked Girl," "Counting Backwards," "Mother of Love," "Your Cell," and "Code Red"
• Elysium (Japanese version) (May 22, 2004)
  • Includes a bonus DVD featuring music videos for "Radiapathy" and "The Prize Fighter," as well as a making-of "The Prize Fighter" video documentary
• Secrets Safe, A Buried Box (Japanese only compilation CD) (October 29, 2004)
  • Collects the Immortality EP and unreleased tracks
• Elysium (limited double 10" vinyl) (June 16, 2005)
  • Limited edition pressing includes the bonus track "No One Gets the Best of Me"
• Cum Laude! (Japanese version) (June 28, 2006)
  • Includes the bonus tracks "No One Gets the Best of Me," "Spin the Wink" (Little Cat Remix), and "False Profits" (Cute Version)
• The Great Beast February / Immortality (20th anniversary edition) (January 3, 2022)
  • Vinyl reissue of EPs The Great Beast February and Immortality; pressed on orange-colored vinyl

• The Velvet Teen's official website
• The Velvet Teen's discography on Bandcamp
• The Velvet Teen Fansite