Velocity Girl

Velocity Girl was an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in College Park, Maryland, although it was generally known as a Washington, DC-area band. The band took its name from a Primal Scream B-side. While much 1990s rock music featured an abrasive vocal and instrumental style, Velocity Girl's sound, especially post-1993, was more melodic and typically featured "clean" (non-distorted) electric guitar sounds and two-part harmonies. However, on their first seven-inch records on Slumberland and Merge, as well as their first Sub Pop album, Copacetic, Velocity Girl were noted for their shoegaze influences. The band was noted for its love of releasing a steady stream of 7" vinyl singles. Slumberland Records was formed in 1989 by members of several D.C.-area bands, including Velocity Girl.

Bridget Cross was initially the band's lead singer, with a very British vocal inflection, but she joined Unrest within a year. Velocity Girl was then fronted by lead singer Sarah Shannon for the rest of its career, though they often featured female/male vocals, sometimes simultaneously. In the group's recordings, Shannon's voice had a light, airy quality with a slight vibrato. Archie Moore provided the male vocals.

Velocity Girl toured frequently, releasing three full-length recordings on the Sub Pop label. Music videos were released for "Crazy Town" (1993), "Audrey's Eyes" (directed by Phil Harder) ('93), "Sorry Again" ('94), "I Can't Stop Smiling" (directed by Spike Jonze) ('94), and "Nothing" (4.3 Mb Quicktime excerpt: http://www.subpop.com/bands/velocitygirl/videos/nothing.MOV) ('96). The group disbanded in late 1996 after playng their last show "The Buzz Bakesale", in West Palm Beach, FL. Coincidentally, this was the same time that the career of Lush, the band to which Velocity Girl were most frequently compared, ended as well. Shannon, Riles and Spellman reunited in a short-lived project called Starry Eyes. Moore formed Heartworms, and later The Saturday People with Terry Banks of Tree Fort Angst.

Sarah Shannon went on to release her self-titled album in 2002. There was one Velocity Girl reunion show played at the Black Cat in Washington, DC on June 9, 2002 [http://www.metafilter.com/comments.mefi/16930 to benefit original vocalist Cross].

Jim Spellman now plays guitar in Washington DC based power-pop band Julie Ocean.

From Wikipedia