The Nude Party celebrate the clanging frat rock of the '60s as well as groups like the Rolling Stones and the Velvet Underground. Working with early mentor and producer Oakley Munson of Black Lips, they debuted with the Hot Tub EP in 2016. They went on to release a series of full-lengths for New West Records, including the Munson-produced The Nude Party (2018) and Midnight Manor (2020) and their first self-produced effort, Rides On (2023). Originating as an extended group of childhood friends and stepsiblings who decided to start a band and then began learning to play instruments, the Nude Party took root in a dormitory at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina in 2012. Freshman lead vocalist and guitarist Patton Magee eventually gathered lead guitarist Shaun Couture, organist/pianist Don Merrill, bass player Alec Castillo, percussionist Austin Brose, and drummer Connor Mikita. Most members also sing backup. The sextet soon moved into a lake house and started a nightly ritual of jamming in the basement. It was at a regular gig as the house band at a certain Boone party locale that the group's practice of performing in the buff earned them a local reputation as "the naked party band." They adopted the moniker the Nude Party just in time to move on to bookings at local clubs and bars, where they had to perform clothed. In 2014, the band met Black Lips' drummer Oakley Munson at a show in Charlotte. He took an interest in the group and recorded their first collection, Hot Tub EP, which they released in early 2016. As word of the EP's rawness and good-time spirit spread, the band relocated to Munson's base in the New York Catskills and began to perform regularly in Brooklyn and the surrounding region. New West signed the group for their Munson-produced full-length debut. Featuring the original six-piece lineup, The Nude Party saw release in July of 2018. Working again in the Catskills with Munson, this time with two years of touring under their belt, they followed it with Midnight Manor in October 2020. It added pedal steel guitarist Jon "Catfish" Delorme to the lineup. The now-seven-piece decided to self-produce their next album and proceeded to record over 20 songs, some varying stylistically from their previous output. They ultimately whittled the track list down to 13 with a focus on '70s blues-rock inspirations such as the Rolling Stones, but also made room for diversions into the '60s. The resulting Rides On arrived on New West in March of 2023. ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi

Ron Gallo, The Nude Party

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