Draft:Gamblers (band)

Gamblers is an American indie rock band from Long Island, New York. Formed in 2014, the band currently consists of vocalist/guitarist Michael McManus, lead guitarist James Usher and drummer Johnny Hoblin.

The band’s debut LP Small World was released in September of 2020 and entered the NACC Top 200 chart as the fourth most added album. Small World peaked at #12 on the Alternative Rock Submodern chart, with support from WFUV, NPR Music, and Sirius XM among others. The album precursor, Corinthian Order EP and Small World were both well received at press, with support from publications such as Consequence, Paste, PopMatters, Under the Radar, The Deli, The Big Takeover and others.

In 2022, Gamblers released When We Exit, an EP of 5 remixes of Small World tracks with guest featured performers. The single “Another Dose” featuring Mick Jenkins has been the band’s most popular release to date, with over 8 million streams on Spotify. When We Exit received press attention from Talkhouse and Northern Transmissions among others.

Formation and early years (2014-2017)
In 2010, Michael McManus met Gary O’Keefe recording and touring in support of the album “These Things Happen” by the band Vision Through Sound. On tour, McManus and O’Keefe started working on a side project that would eventually become Gamblers. By 2014, McManus recruited longtime friend and drummer Johnny Hoblin to join the band.

Gamblers performed during the Northside Festival in Brooklyn, NY in June of 2016,(1) following which the band played regularly in the NYC area at venues such as Mercury Lounge, Rough Trade NYC, Cake Shop, and Knitting Factory Brooklyn.

Corinthian Order EP and Pet Sematary / Monster Mash (2018-2019)
Gamblers released Corinthian Order EP on September 7th, 2018. The EP earned modest coverage on publications such as The Deli, (2) Alternative Press, (3) and Consequence, (4) and the band celebrated with a release show at Knitting Factory Brooklyn, opening for Alejandro Escovedo.(5)

In 2019, The band was joined by drummer Billy Rymer of The Dillinger Escape Plan, and in October released two Halloween themed cover versions of Pet Sematary by Ramones and Monster Mash by Bobby Pickett. Both Pet Sematary and Monster Mash received airplay on Sirius XM’s Underground Garage and WFUV’s “The Alternate Side.”

Small World (2020-2021)
Gamblers started working with music executive John Hammond, formerly of Sony BMG, Rykodisc and TVT Records, who along with McManus put together a release plan for the band’s debut LP Small World. Hammond also brought in Randal Foster and Kevin Hopper of Symphonic Distribution, the latter of whom had worked with Hammond at both Rykodisc and TVT records in the 1990s and 2000s.

In July 2020, Gamblers released the album’s title track and debut single Small World, and announced a digital and physical release date for September 25th, 2020. On the week of release, Small World was the fourth most added album to the NACC top 200 chart and eventually peaked at #12 on the Alternative Rock chart, fueled by lead radio single “We’re Bound To Be Together.”

Gamblers participated in Record Store Day 2020 with Small World as a hand-picked release of The Coalition of Independent Music Stores in the United States. The LP and CD version of Small World were stocked in over 45 record stores throughout the country and were also released physically in the UK and Japan.

On New Year’s Eve 2020, the band live streamed their first performance since the release of Small World, featuring a brand new lineup with the exception of McManus and original drummer Johnny Hoblin. The performance, titled “Play for the Ghost Light” was filmed at Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts in Patchogue, NY, and was live streamed on the band’s official YouTube channel. The show was their first with new lead guitarist James Usher, formerly of Edison Glass. Gamblers hometown newspaper Newsday announced the show, which also served as a fundraising event for Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts, with an article online and in the print version of the daily paper(6).

When We Exit (2022-present)
In 2022, the band released a remix EP titled When We Exit, featuring Mick Jenkins, Skyzoo, Lydia Luce, and NOVA ONE. The EP featured standout single “Another Dose,” which has been streamed over 8 million times and was picked up for in-store play by Adidas.

In 2022, the band signed with New Tomorrow Management and in 2023 to Too Lost Distribution.

The band is set to release their follow up LP to Small World, the full length album “Pulverizer” on March 29, 2024(7).

Music style
PopMatters has described the band as "Seductively approachable, Gamblers' sunny sound masks the tragedy and despair that populate the band's debut album."(8) The Deli, describing lead radio single “We’re Bound To Be Together” writes, it “masquerades outwardly as a buoyant uptempo rocker with Strokes-style churning guitars and Beatles-eque harmonies.”

Current members
Michael McManus - vocals, guitar (2014-present) Johnny Hoblin - drums, percussion (2014-2018, 2020-present) James Usher - lead guitar (2020-present)

Current touring / studio members
Hugo Lopez - bass, backing vocals (2019-2020, 2023-present) Nick Rufalo - keyboards, saxophone, strings (2020-present) Frank Iovine - keyboards, saxophone (2023-present

Former members
Evan O'Donovan - guitar, keyboards (2016-2020) Gary O'Keefe - lead guitar (2014-2019) Boris Palacios - guitar, keyboards (2014-2019) Billy Rymer - drums, percussion (2019) Mitchell Ingeri - drums, percussion (2018) Joe Sanders - bass (2014-2018) Pete Demaio - guitar, keyboards (2015-2016) Fran Berkman - guitar, keyboards (2014-2015)

Studio albums

 * Small World (2020)

Extended plays

 * When We Exit (2022)
 * Pet Sematary/Monster Mash (2019)
 * Corinthian Order (2018)