VPN

VPN (Very Pleasant Neighbor) have been a staple in New York City’s indie scene for almost a decade. The name VPN (a WWII espionage code meaning "friends of the communist party") is a window into the dark pop songcraft of this unique 5 piece.

At the core of the band is the Hughes family: singer/songwriter Austin Hughes and his twin sisters, Jean and Pat (both registered nurses), began playing with Eddie Gormley (Austin’s art school friend) in the early nineties. This chemistry may explain VPN’s love of contradiction with songs that combine the soulful and surreal, explosiveness and intimacy. they’ve recently added Harrison Cannon (ex-Geezer Lake) on piano/keyboards/bass.

VPN released recordings with Dark Beloved Cloud and Detox before putting out their critically acclaimed debut full length Small Wire with Evil Teen. CMJ called VPN "NYC’s best kept secret," and The Village Voice in a comprehensive article on the end of the nineties mentioned VPN as one of their favorite bands of the decade.

VPN’s sophomore full length For Nearby Stars shoots them into the new millennium with a more mature and conceptually stronger LP. For Nearby Stars was recorded in a defunct 1920s silent movie theater, bringing a haunting atmosphere to their concise post-punk energy. Imagery such as betrayal, forbidden sex, espionage, somnambulism, and Catholic guilt illuminate from Austin’s lyrics (although when asked to comment, he’d rather talk about the cabbage patch doll grand larceny scandal he masterminded as a teenager). "We’re bored by music that expresses one emotion," tells Austin. "VPN are sad, angry, happy, and confused people. Our music reflects all of that."

VPN recently self-produced two music videos in support of For Nearby Stars. The first is in heavy rotation on shockwave.com singles: a high-energy animation for their barnstormer "Perfumigation." The second, "Flypaper," just premiered in New York City’s acclaimed Williamsburg Film Festival. "Flypaper" is a fictional 1940s spy documentary which stars the members of VPN as russian informants and nuclear scientists. It’s a perfect match for the song’s paranoid lyric: "We don’t hide ourselves from spies like you/thin as flypaper we see right through/out to catch whoever sticks to your skin/are you turning us in?"

VPN have a reputation as being one of New York City’s most exciting live acts. Their exceptional vocal harmonies were just featured on National Public Radio’s "History of Sibling Harmony" where their voices are mentioned alongside music history’s most talented families. VPN have shared the stage with such luminaries as Fugazi, Elliot Smith, Catpower, The Magnetic Fields, Ida, Spinanes, Polvo, Skeleton Key, Babe The Blue Ox, and many others. VPN plans to tour extensively behind For Nearby Stars in the winter/spring of 2001 and 2002.