Spike Priggen

Drawing from the punk and new wave movements that flourished in New York and London during the 1980s, along with the energetic power pop of Cheap Trick and Big Star, Spike (Michael) Priggen crafts an eclectic array of pop tunes spanning delicate chamber pop, raucous garage rock explosions, and explorations into psychedelic realms. Having relocated from New Haven, Connecticut, to New York City in the early 1980s to study at the School of Visual Arts, he established Blue Period, a group that eventually evolved into the Hello Strangers. A temporary move to Boston in 1985 found him contributing bass lines to the local outfit Dumptruck. Back in New York afterward, he revived the Hello Strangers while also participating in various side endeavors including the Liquor Giants, the Pussywillows, the Schramms, Caroline Know, and the Streams. Additionally, he launched the independent imprint #1 Record, taking on engineering and production duties for releases from the Mad Scene, the Contain, and Caroline Know. In 1999, adopting the moniker Patrick Prophette, Priggen teamed up with Adam Lasus to create the score for the film Chutney Popcorn, which came out the following year. His first solo effort, The Very Thing That You Treasure, saw the light of day in 2001.