Raccoon Fighter official site | Raccoon Fighter on Facebook | Raccoon Fighter on Twitter | Raccoon Fighter on Instagram | Raccoon Fighter on YouTube | Raccoon Fighter on Soundcloud
Queens based Raccoon Fighter have been keeping rock & roll alive in NYC since 2009. Friends since grade school, Sean Gavigan (vox/guitar) and Zac Ciancaglini (drums) have been playing in bands together for over a decade. Originally from small farm town – Vineland, NJ, the duo came up in Philadelphia and relocated to NYC in 2008 to work in recording studios and start a new band. They played their first show at the late/great Glasslands in the summer of ’09 where they met Gabe Wilhelm (vox/bass), also a Vineland native, who had relocated to do the same in ’05. Wilhelm (who was previously in Ryan Adams band The Cardinals during the making of Easy Tiger) joined on bass and instantly became a permanent fixture and collaborative songwriter. Collectively they’ve had the pleasure of working in the studio with Blonde Redhead, Real Estate, Willie Nelson, Minnie Driver and Warren Haynes to name a few. Their experience and versatility is apparent in the upcoming release Hover Craft – a perfect blend of polished punk psychedelia and lo-fi fuzzy garage bliss.
Since forming in 2009 they’ve built a solid fan base touring throughout North America with a staggering energy and out of control live show. They’ve had the pleasure of sharing the stage with the likes of X Ambassadors, Joywave, Das Racist, Sunflower Bean, Jukebox The Ghost, Spirit Family Reunion, Ex Cops, Ski Beatz and The London Souls among many other local greats. The end of 2014 and beginning of 2015 brought the band good fortune as they landed a few TV placements, including two songs on the Showtime series Shameless, beginning with the season premiere and multiple MTV spots. Their last EP – Spiral Flag, produced and recorded by the band on 4-track cassette (released on cassette) charted on CMJ at #18. The EP in the words of Alibi “comes off like a brawl between The Beatles White Album and T Rex’ The Slider” all the while putting their own modern twist on things, creating “a sound that’s both timeless and feels particularly of-the-moment”.
Hailed as “Masters of the short-form album” by Popmatters, their upcoming release Hover Craft continues on this path and raises the bar for what’s to come. Recorded at Strangeweather by comrad Rich Crescenti and mixed at Russell Street Recording by longtime confidant Alex Lipsen (Nada Surf, Phosphorescent, Okkervil River). Hover Craft is out August 26th on Papercup Music