The Vacation

Based in Hollywood and fronted by singer Ben Tegel and guitarist Steve Tegel, The Vacation put itself on the map with residencies at venues where other now-famous acts, cut their teeth. The band quickly built a loyal following and then launched an assault on the U.K. with performances at The Reading and Leeds festivals. The Vacation have also won the affection of the Australian band Jet, whose drummer-singer Chris Cester even wrote a column about The Vacation for NME. The Vacation plays a gritty, swaggering brand of rock and roll that recalls the visceral punch of punk, the anarchic energy of turn-of-the-'70s garage bands, with the monster hooks. The Vacation's EP, They Were The Sons, was produced by the acclaimed Tony Hoffer (Supergrass). Rolling Stone gave it three and a half stars, remarking: "The brash four-piece uses irresistible snake-charmer bass lines to glue together Detroit scuzz, hooky retro punk à la the Damned and shout-along glam choruses." "Make Up Your Mind" from the EP landed on the FOX network's much-watched The O.C. Echo Records released the Vacation's debut full-length The Band From World War Zero in September.