The Cynics

This article is about the rock band. For the ancient Greek school of philosophy, see Cynic.
The Cynics
OriginPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
GenresGarage rock
Years active1983–1994; 2002–present
LabelsGet Hip Records
MembersGregg Kostelich
Michael Kastelic
Past membersBecky Smith
Bill von Hagen
Amy Mathesius
Max Terasauro
Pam Reyner
Steve Magee
Kris Kasperowski
Mike Kolesar
Mike Quinlan
Mark Keresmann
Mike Michalski
Dave Vucenich
Richard Schnapp
Smith Hutchings
Thomas Hohn

The Cynics are an American garage rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The band, at the time consisting of guitarist Gregg Kostelich, drummer Bill Von Hagen, vocalist Michael Kastelic who joined in 1985,[1] bass player Steve Magee, and keyboardist Becky Smith (later founder of New York City's Bellwether gallery), debuted with their first album, Blue Train Station in 1986.[2] Many of their songs "carry the torch" for other favorite bands as cover songs or tributes.[3] They underwent a number of lineup changes culminating in 1989's Rock and Roll album. They formed their own independent record label called Get Hip Records in 1986.[4]

They suffered an eight-year break up after the release of Get Our Way but returned in 2002 with the release of Living Is the Best Revenge.[5] The release of their 2007 album Here We Are was accompanied with a European tour.[6]

The band's sound is influenced by 1960s garage rock.

  1. ^ "The Cynics: Pittsburgh's garage kings | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette". www.post-gazette.com. Archived from the original on 2017-11-11. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
  2. ^ Levitt, Jonathan. "THE STORY BEHIND THE ALBUM: Rock'N'Roll by The Cynics - Blurt Magazine". Blurt Magazine. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
  3. ^ "The Cynics: Pittsburgh's garage kings | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette". www.post-gazette.com. Archived from the original on 2017-11-11. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
  4. ^ Funk, Harry. "Get Hip at Mt. Lebanon residents' new North Side store". The Almanac. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
  5. ^ "TrouserPress.com :: Cynics". www.trouserpress.com. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
  6. ^ Mervis, Scott. "The year in local rock: Cynics waited till their 40s to release best yet". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2017-11-10.