Alamo Race Track

From Amsterdam emerged the quirky pop/rock quartet Alamo Race Track, whose members David Corel (bass, vocals), Guy Bours (drums), Len Lucieer (guitar), and Ralph Mulder (vocals, guitar) had first played together as Redivider. Keyboardist Diederik Nomden’s departure ended that project in 2001, after which the remaining musicians adopted the new name Alamo Race Track, routinely shortened to ART. Their live performances prompted Excelsior Recordings to sign the band in 2002. The debut album Birds at Home followed in 2003, and a licensing agreement with Fargo Records brought the record to France in 2005.

The group’s major breakthrough arrived in 2006 when a spirited dressing-room version of their single “Black Cat John Brown” reached YouTube. Within weeks the clip had drawn nearly 200,000 viewers, triggering extensive Dutch media attention that carried over to the next release. Titled after the hit track, Black Cat John Brown appeared in October 2006 and quickly secured a place on the Netherlands’ alternative music charts. Subsequent touring included dates with the Arctic Monkeys and a performance at SXSW in 2007. After “Black Cat John Brown” was featured in Grey’s Anatomy, viewed by 19 million Americans in 2006, Minty Fresh issued the album in the United States in July 2007. Unicorn Loves Deer appeared in 2011.