Keepsake

Formed in Coral Springs, Florida, during 1996, Keepsake brought together a five-piece lineup headed by Shane Halpern on vocals and guitars alongside Rob Yapkowitz on guitar, Jesse Kirz on drums, Paul Geller on guitar, and Trevor Short on bass. Drawing from the style of groups such as Green Day and Weezer, the band shaped its own take on alternative pop/rock while incorporating traces of punk and emo. After several personnel shifts, the group settled into a stable configuration and entered the studio for its first release. Issued by Eulogy Records in early 1998, The Things I Would Say captured the ensemble’s high-energy material for the first time. By then the band had already built a strong following through frequent local club performances that showcased its raw sound. Over the next eighteen months the musicians maintained a heavy touring schedule throughout the United States before returning to the studio. In January 2000 the EP She Hums Like a Radio demonstrated the act’s growing audience both at home and in Europe. Keepsake’s second album for Eulogy, The End of Sound, further broadened that following. Two years later, after signing with Fearless Records, the Florida outfit issued its third full-length, Black Dress in a B Movie.