Pranks

St. Louis based band The Pranks have been recording and performing since 1989. The nexus of the group is Dan Ruprecht on guitar and vocals and Marv Arden on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, and over the years a lineup of talented drummers and bass players have come aboard to complete the group onstage and in the studio.The Pranks' sound has been described in a number of imaginative and diverse ways: The Who meets Van Halen, the illegitimate offspring of Cheap Trick, The Beatles on a drunken rampage... but comparisons ultimately break down. The music is both influenced and influential, and any listener would agree it has a distinct sound of its own.The Pranks have had major career successes, playing on the bill with bands like Great White, Tesla and REO Speedwagon. Most notable was the Speedwagon show in St. Louis, where only days earlier the infamous Guns N' Roses riot of 1991 had left the covered seating section in Riverport Ampitheatre devastated. But the audience ignored the damage, instead turning the entire section in to an impromptu dance floor.The 1996 album debut Floobie, released in Japan by BMG-distributed Tricycle Records, was a major success, and the release has never been out of print since.In the new millennium, the Pranks kept rocking with a series of appearances at the International Pop Overthrow Festival in LA, thrilling audiences at famous venues like The Gig on Melrose.The future is just as bright for the band. In April 2008, they will perform once again at the International Pop Overthrow Festival, this time in Chicago. There will also be a new album recorded on the Coachouse label and distributed internationally, just in time for the holiday season in 2008.