Pencey Prep Explained

Pencey Prep
Origin:Belleville, New Jersey, U.S.
Genre:Emo, punk rock, post-hardcore
Years Active:
Spinoffs:My Chemical Romance
Spinoff Of:Sector 12, Stick Figure Suicide
Label:B.CALM Press, Mint 400 Records, Eyeball Records
Associated Acts:Fairmont, My Chemical Romance, Leathermouth, Frank Iero and the Patience
Past Members:Tim Hagevik
Frank Iero
John McGuire
Neil Sabatino
Shaun Simon

Pencey Prep was an American punk rock band from Belleville, New Jersey.

Background

Before Pencey Prep, two of the members played in local punk bands; Frank Iero from Sector 12 and Neil Sabatino from Stick Figure Suicide. While a student at Rutgers University, Iero was the guitarist and lead vocalist for Pencey Prep. Along with their label-mates Thursday, Pencey Prep was considered part of New Jersey's growing post-hardcore and punk scene, and in 2001, they signed with Eyeball Records. They performed multiple times alongside Nada Surf and one-off shows with Atom & His Package, The Strokes, and New Found Glory among others at New Jersey's 1st Surf and Skate Festival in Asbury Park, NJ. Pencey Prep released their only full-length album Heartbreak in Stereo in 2001 and was released by Eyeball Records. Low attendance during a three-week tour in the Midwest United States and fighting within the band led to the band's demise and by May 2002, the members parted ways.

According to the band's Myspace page, the name is taken from the book The Catcher in the Rye; Pencey Prep was the name of the school that the main character Holden was expelled from.

After Pencey Prep

Sabatino left Pencey Prep in 2001 and started Fairmont, originally a solo acoustic project; however, McGuire joined on bass shortly afterward. Looking back at the early days of Fairmont, Sabatino notes he "wanted it to be my former band Pencey Prep, I built the band up to being a five-piece with two guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals, and a screamer. That lineup lasted very briefly[;] I had felt in a way that I was [...] trying to write heavy music just to fit in with the rest of the New Jersey scene of the time." From 2004 to 2007, McGuire played in Fairmont with Sabatino after reconciling and in 2007, McGuire joined Iero as touring bass player of the hardcore band Leathermouth.

Shortly after disbanding, Iero began playing with the bands I Am A Graveyard and Give Up The Ghost, before landing a spot as rhythm guitarist with My Chemical Romance. He joined My Chemical Romance days before they began recording their 2002 debut album I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, also released under Eyeball Records. The experience Iero gained from playing live with Pencey Prep, according to Laura La Bella's biography My Chemical Romance "bec[a]me invaluable when the band eventually booked live shows other than basement parties." Keyboardist Simon went on to tour with My Chemical Romance, as well as co-author the 2013 comic-book series The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys with Gerard Way.

In 2020, Mint 400 Records, run by Sabatino, and B.CALM Press, run by Iero, announced a remaster and reissue of Heartbreak in Stereo, the first time the album was officially reissued since 2007. The reissue appeared on streaming services in 2021, with physical editions on CD and, for the first time, vinyl and cassette, coming that year.

Members

Discography

Albums

Singles

List of songs recorded by Pencey Prep

TitleWriter(s)Album(s)YearNote(s)
scope=row"8th Grade"Pencey Prep...Trying to Escape the Inevitable.
Heartbreak in Stereo
2000
2001
[1]
scope=row"10 Rings"Pencey PrepHeartbreak in Stereo2001
scope=row"19"Pencey PrepHeartbreak in Stereo2001
scope=row"Attention Reader"Non-album song2001Recorded in fall of 2001 and released on the bands website[2]
[3]
scope=row"Don Quixote"Pencey PrepHeartbreak in Stereo2001
scope=row"Fat and Alone" Neil SabatinoHeartbreak in Stereo2001
scope=row"Florida Plates"Pencey PrepHeartbreak in Stereo2001
scope=row"Heroin Slow"Non-album song2001Recorded June 2001 and later released on MySpace
[4]
scope=row"Home"Non-album song2001Recorded June 2001 and later released on MySpace
scope=row"Lloyd Dobbler"Pencey PrepLong Walk to Forever
Heartbreak in Stereo
2000
2001
scope=row"P.S. Don't Write"Pencey PrepHeartbreak in Stereo2001
scope=row"Rebuilding Home"Neil SabatinoPretending Greatness is Awaiting2001Recorded June 2001 and later released on Fairmont's Pretending Greatness is Awaiting
[5]
scope=row"The Secret Goldfish"Pencey Prep...Trying to Escape the Inevitable.
Heartbreak in Stereo
2000
2001
scope=row"The Secret Goldfish" Pencey PrepNon-album song2001Recorded June 2001 and later released on MySpace
scope=row"Trying to Escape the Inevitable"Pencey PrepHeartbreak in Stereo2001
scope=row"Yesterday"Pencey PrepLong Walk to Forever
Heartbreak in Stereo
2000
2001

References

Citations
Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Heartbreak in Stereo. Pencey Prep. 2001. Booklet. Eyeball Records. EB019.
  2. Web site: Discography. fairmontmusic. https://web.archive.org/web/20050205225132/http://www.fairmontmusic.com/PP.html. February 5, 2005.
  3. Web site: penceyprep.net. penceyprep.net. https://web.archive.org/web/20020820122342/http://www.penceyprep.net/. August 20, 2002.
  4. Web site: Music. MySpace. https://web.archive.org/web/20121114045500/http://www.myspace.com/penceyprep/. November 14, 2012.
  5. Pretending Greatness Is Awaiting. Fairmont. 2001. Booklet. Reinforcement Records. 43.