Naptaker is a garage punk quartet based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Their unique sound blends surf, psych, and postpunk with a pop sensibility. The self-described “surf-trash” rockers deliver their original songs with reverb riffing guitars, idiosyncratic vocal styling, groove driven bass, and bombastic drums. Their shows are high energy events that get the audience moving and sweating. Though Naptaker approaches their craft with a sense of humor they are ardent and serious about their art, aiming to raise their profile in the world of sounds.
Formed in July of 2012 by a chance meeting on Craig’s List, founding members Eric Bailey (guitar) and Sam Albers (bass) first began writing and jamming in the basement of their St. Paul castle. After a few months of messing around and the mysterious disappearance of their original drummer, they were forced to call out to Craig’s List gods yet again who answered with Preston Drum, a recent transplant from the Charlotte, NC punk scene. He has played in many bands, including The Pelicans, Choke Their Rivers with Our Dead, Weekenders and Kill Your Mules. Andrew Smith, formerly of Lotus Eater, joined the group as a lead vocalist shortly after yet another chance encounter at bar in Minneapolis.
