Casper & The Cookies

Known for their eclectic indie pop and kooky on-stage antics, Casper & the Cookies grew out of a solo project pioneered by the Athens, GA-based musician Jason NeSmith (aka Casper Fandango). In 1996, NeSmith was the drummer for the "philosopher rock" trio Feyerabend, which in addition to NeSmith featured frontman David Dault and future Cookies member Kay Stanton. During a Feyerabend show in 1996, Dault shouted, "This ain't the house of Casper Fandango!," in response to which NeSmith shouted, "Yes it is." Appropriately, Casper Fandango was born. NeSmith adopted the persona and got to work on some songs, which he released on a Casper Fandango & the Knees tape entitled Consumer LP in the spring of 1996. NeSmith continued to toy around with the Casper project, releasing another cassette tape in 1997 (Casper Fandango & His Tiny Sick Tears' How's Your Hand?), but dedicated the majority of his time to projects like Feyerabend and Orange Hat. The first official Casper & the Cookies show was on March 16, 1999. The band -- at that time consisting of NeSmith, Christo Harris, Ben Spraker, and Kenny Howes -- played at the Gravity pub in Atlanta, with hopes of breaking into the thriving Athens/Atlanta music scene. The following year, the band opened up for Elf Power at the 40 Watt in Athens. NeSmith married Stanton shortly thereafter and moved to Athens, a relocation that would eventually prompt Harris and Spraker to leave the band. The band released a couple recordings on the Lookit Meee! label during this time -- Casper Fandango & His Tiny Sick Tears' How's Your Hand? and the Take It Away, Live in the Lobby EP -- but the band still experienced its greatest success at its boisterous live shows. Soon enough, a representative from Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records caught Casper &...