Biographical Information:


Band History to Date:

The Student Painters [TSP] has been churning out its emocore and math rock influenced brand of indie rock from their hometown near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania since 2000. The band has self-released two demo EP's, "the snow follows sun follows snow" (March 2001) and "No Solace In Silence" (May 2002) and has been preparing their first full-length release upon returning from a two-week tour of the North-Eastern US in the summer of 2003.

In this process a combination of roster changes, personal crises, and a creative hiatus have allowed the band's songwriting ability to mature and given the music time to evolve. The result shows a shift from the raw emo-friendly indie songs to a more confident, cerebral, and challenging sound exploring the ideas of multi-instrumentalism, improvisation, and expressionism in music.

Over the course of the group's history, it has received airplay on college radio, made two local television appearances, and has been well-received on the internet. Several of the group's songs earned high ratings on MP3.com's charts, with the fan-favorite "Sunday" entering the top 100 songs list in the category "emo" on several occasions. Mpulse.com recognized the group as being an "mPulse.com Top 10 Artist" in 2001.

The Student Painters have also had the honor of sharing stages with many great acts, including Head Like A Kite (Pattern 25 Records), On The Might Of Princes (Revelation), Murder By Death (Eyeball Records), Christiansen (Revelation / Eulogy), Maroon 5 (Octone Records), Chiodos (Equal Vision), Tabula Rasa (One Day Savior / Deep Elm), Veronica (The Militia Group), Mulligan (Hearts On Fire), Hooray! For Everything (Missing Words), Allies (Hope Records), No On 15 (Jumpstart Records).

For information on booking the band, please visit our Contact Information page for extensive contact listings, write to thestudentpaintersbooking(at)yahoo.com, or call (724) 286-9045.


Releases to Date:

Snow Follows Sun Follows Snow EP (2001 - self-released demo)
Recorded March 2001 at Subterranean Homesick Studios in Indiana, PA.
Mixed by John Brady. Produced by John Brady and The Student Painters.
  1. Cost of Living
  2. Beneath Our Bed
  3. A Stranger Between Us
  4. Sunday
  5. Song 7 (setting sun)

No Solace In Silence EP (2002 - self-released demo)
Recorded May 2002 at Mud-hut Studios in Sharon, PA.
Mixed by Bill Dodd. Produced by Bill Dodd, Corey Cameron, and The Student Painters.
  1. Sunday (version 2.0)
  2. 9:12 AM
  3. Broken Hearts
  4. Allegory
  5. Underground Railroad

V/A - Mmm... Disc Compilation (2004 - Shut Eye Records)
Packaged and Distributed by Pete Knapp & Shuteye Records.

Sketches For A Reconstruction Symphony LP (2006 - self-released demo)
Recorded March 2006 at Apple Kid Studios in Pittsburgh, PA.
Mixed by Mike Smales. Produced by Mike Smales and The Student Painters.
  1. Untitled #1 (Prelude)
  2. Untitled #2 (Routine)
  3. Untitled #3 (Anger/Chaos/Numbness)
  4. Untitled #4 (Sadness)
  5. Untitled #5 (Reconstruction)
  6. Untitled #6 (Triumph)
  7. Untitled #7 (Reflection)


Members to Date:

  • Ryan Kauffman (Vocals; Guitar, Bells, Percussion: 2000- )
  • Dave Kauffman (Drums, Percussion, Programming: 2000- )
  • Erik Somerville (Vocals; Bass: 2000-2003; Keyboards: 2003)
  • Kirk Gaston (Saxaphone: 2000)
  • Mike Pardee (Guitar: 2000-2001)
  • Doug Tangren (Guitar, Guitar Effects, Percussion: 2001- )
  • Coleton Reigel (Vocals; Bass: 2002-2005, Guitar: 2006- )
  • Rachel MacArthur (Keyboards: 2003)
  • Ian Bonnet (Synthesizer, Sampling, Glockenspiel: 2004-2005)
  • Krista Beichler (Cello: 2005-2006)
  • Ben Bowser (Synthesizer, Sampling, Glockenspiel: 2005-2006)
  • Corey Cameron (Bass: 2005-2006)