Penguin Band

Penguin Band, is a country pop band originating from Club Penguin, Antarctica. The band consists of four members; G Billy (age 26), Stompin' Bob (age 24), Petey K (age 27) and Franky (age 24). The band was formed in 2005, unsigned and performed major and small gigs in Club Penguin. They were signed to Club Penguin Music Records in early 2005, and have released over a dozen singles. Their debut album, The Four Penguins, was released on December 20, 2010 and charted number 1 across the Arctic. It has sold over 10 million copies worldwide and have set numerous records, received many accolades and performed for political figures. The band embarked on their first official nationwide tour titled "The Four Penguins Tour" from late January to May 2011. Their second album, Cosmic, was released in September 2014 to similar success.

2005-06: Early days & formation
The band all started with G Billy - he worked at the Pizza Parlour as a chef starting in February 2005. His pizza was amazing, and he was quite well-known in the area for his pizzas. In March, the Parlour started losing customers. When the manager asked a customer who was leaving, he said that the pizza is great - but there's just no entertainment. G Billy was asked to get entertainment to save the Pizza Parlour. He didn't know anyone that could perform, so he saved up his salary to buy a drum kit. He self-taught himself how to play it and in 1 week he was performing; but not just playing the drums, he sung, did a rap and also danced. The Parlour would be packed at 6pm to see G Billy perform. The whole afternoon before his daily performance, he would cook dozens of pizzas because he wouldn't get the chance to cook them during his 1 hour performance. One day near the end of March 2005, a client saw G Billy performing and invited him to take part in a music competition that was on April 6, 2005. Eventually he only performed for 30 minutes, and only on weekends. He also stopped working at 7pm and his manager said that he would close early too... because G Billy had to practice.

On the day of the competition, backstage at the Dock, he was practicing quietly, alone. There were a lot of groups who were going to perform too. There was a red penguin sitting on the sofa, all alone, playing his cello quietly. G Billy asked the red penguin his name. He replied "Steven Bobly" but he said that people called him Stompin' Bob instead. They talked for an hour, and within that hour they became friends. They decided to team up and become a double-act. The two performed and got first prize. Stomp thought that the prize included a record deal, which he really wanted, but the judges were not capable of that. The two stayed as a double-act throughout the year. G Billy described this moment as "the birth of the Penguin Band". Stompin' Bob wrote poems for the Penguin Times, but it was no problem doing two things at once; writing poems and performing small gigs with G Billy.

The two became best friends, but they longed for a record deal. G Billy thought that they were getting nowhere at the moment, but they practiced. In November 2005, Billy still performed at the Pizza Parlour and still kept his job; but he performed with Stompin' Bob. Sometimes Stomp would perform alone while G Billy worked in the kitchen - but the duo were unstoppable. Their tag name became "Stomp 'n' Billy". At the end of the month they decided that they can't keep performing; it was too much for them. So G Billy talked to the manager and the manager said that instead performing everyday, they can just perform on Fridays, and they did that. But with no entertainment on the other 6 days of the week the same thing would happen like before. So G Billy looked in a phone directory and looked under the "MUSIC" category. He found a penguin called Petey K that produced igloo music. He contacted him and they talked, along with Stomp, but they didn't become friends then and there. Petey produced the classy music that remains in the Parlour to this day. This satisfied customers enough.

December arrived, and the two had gone through so much in that year that they couldn't of ever imagined. They were also getting well-known, and some even asked for autographs. They were informed by G Billy's manager that there was a big igloo Christmas party on Christmas Eve. The penguin that was hosting the party was called "Joey Jones". G Billy and Stompin' Bob contacted him, and he had heard about them two before. So they were hired to play at the party, but Joey said that the two would have to speak to Petey K about the music. The two visited his igloo a week before the party and stumbled upon him playing the piano inside. He was amazing. The two talked business; they talked about what music to compose and how to play. The two practiced and Petey worked on the music. Eventually the two asked Petey to perform with them. It took a lot of persuasion but he agreed. The party was mostly a hit because of those three penguins. Petey K was invited to join the band, and he agreed. Petey called themselves a "band" now, and they were no longer a duo. Petey K then brainstormed ideas for the band name, and they simply called themselves the Penguin Band. This name was soon to become well-known all over the island.

Petey became great friends with them - but he never really was the best band-member. He often spent more time with "Joey Jones", missed practices and a lot more. G Billy and Stompin Bob never talked to him about this, but it all stopped when the four got together. Stompin' Bob asked him if they could get a record deal. It turned out that Joey's father owned Club Penguin Music Records, and they were signed to the record label in June 2006. Joey also became their manager, so Petey K got closer to Billy and Stomp.



Meeting Franky
It was during New Years Eve of 2006. Stompin' Bob, G Billy, Petey K and their manager Joey were all in the studio - ready to produce their first ever single. They came into the studio at 8am. They got all the day off for their job because it was New Years Eve and all shops were closed. Everybody was celebrating, except for those 4 penguins, and another one. Before they even started recording, they started writing the lyrics from 8:30am all the way till 6pm. They took a break and had a little dinner. Stompin' Bob was about to go somewhere that would change the band forever, in a good way. He remembered that he had an appointment with the owner of the Pet Shop today at 7pm. He grabbed his hat and phone and ran out of the studio. As soon as he left, G Billy said; "isn't the Pet Shop closed today?" - it was a 15 minute run and he came out of the studio at 7:44. As he ran he texted the Pet Shop owner; "im coming for the appointment @ 7pm wait". The owner replied back; "but im not there. I'm celebrating with everyone else @ the town. My assistant Franky will be there for you", but Stomp didn't check his phone for a reply. He reached the Plaza and checked the time on top of the Pet Shop; 19:59. He ran inside and saw a yellow penguin sitting on a stool playing the guitar for all the puffles. Franky stopped and looked at him; "Yes, can I help you?". "Yeah, I got an...", but Stomp stopped talking, and instead grabbed a stool and sat next to Franky - "You play the guitar?", Franky said: "Yeah but I'm not that good...", Stomp replied: "But why are you sitting here when you should be enjoying Christmas Eve?". Franky shrugged. Stomp then said; "Grab your guitar and come with me." - he grabbed the keys from the desk, took Franky out, locked the door and walked him to the studio. There he introduced him, and he played the guitar for the four penguins. They were all impressed.

He sat down, and the Band asked Franky if he would like to join the band. Franky immediately said yes. The Band then worked together to write another verse in the song for Franky. They then all talked and became the best of friends. Franky revealed he had stage-fright and didn't have much confidence. When their first big gig came at the Night Club, he was very scared, but the rest of the Band taught him to just go out there and perform; and stay positive. Franky is now a complete professional and plays a key part in the band.

2006–08: Career take-off
They had finished recording their first single that day at exactly 11:49pm. They then all grabbed their instruments and ran to the Town. They came just in time for the countdown to January 1, 2007. Fireworks went off. They all then saw a stage in the middle of the Town. They got up and G Billy said; "Put your flippers up and together for the newest member of the Penguin Band, FRANKY!" They all performed the single they had wrote. They then announced that the single would release on February 1, 2007. That single was called "History", and it was such a success that it went number 1 in all seven official charts. It did the best in Club Penguin, selling over 100,000 copies only on the first day. It did so well that almost every penguin on the island bought it. It stayed at number 1 in Club Penguin for 23 weeks. In the USA Singles Chart, it sold over 10 million copies and stayed at number 1 for 15 weeks. In UnitedTerra it sold just about 9 million copies and went straight to number 1 and remained at the top for 10 weeks. G Billy had commented on the success; "It is truly amazing for a small band like us to get a number 1 everywhere. This must be one of our proudest moments in our career. Thank you everyone who bought "History", we love you!"

They didn't release any more singles that year but in 2008 they released two singles; "Dashing and Peppy" & "Amazing", which topped the Club Penguin, USA and UnitedTerra charts. Popularity was growing for the Penguin Band, and they were extremely successful.

2009–11: The Four Penguins
But the fame still hadn't stopped there. Everybody was so excited for more songs from the Penguin Band. An article in the Penguin Times had been published in January 2009. The headline was "MEET THE PENGUIN BAND" - all four members gave interviews, including exclusive news. Aunt Arctic asked G Billy "Do you have any albums coming out?", he replied; "To come to think of it we were so focused on the singles we had forgot about the albums. Well I'll have you know that an album will be coming extremely soon!" They started working on the album. They had decided that the three singles they had released ("History", "Dashing and Peppy" and "Amazing") would be on the album, including more singles. In 2009 they went on to release two singles called "Say Goodbye" and "Mission Accomplished". Those two singles also charted at number 1 in the top three charts (Club Penguin, USA and UTR charts) and were also added onto the album tracklist.



The Band then took a year-break from the success, from August 2009-August 2010. They returned, but with Chitter accounts. (Everybody had one; Rockhopper, Sensei, Cadence, DJ Crow, Gary, etc.) So they each made one too, and there they revealed very exclusive information about their album and about the new singles. On September 16, 2010, G Billy said on Chitter; "After a lot of thought, the Penguin Band is calling their debut album; "THE FOUR PENGUINS" - out NOV 21, 2010!" - revealing their album name and the release date. On the same day, Stompin' Bob cheeted too, revealing the new single name and a featured guest. "Our newest single is called "GOOD TIMES" and it features the one and only @theCadenceCP!"

2011–2014: Cosmic
The lead single from the band's second album, "Better Days" was released on December 2, 2012. The band carried out the same promotional process as their debut album; releasing singles over the course of a few years in the build-up of the album release. Over a year and a half later, the second single "I've Been Delayed" was released - one of the first songs ever recorded by the band that was re-produced for the album. The third single "Jam" was released in June 2014 and the album name was announced to be Cosmic set for a September 2014 release.

2015: Q and Timeless
2015 unintentionally became a busy year for the Band. It was the year during which they released the most music. Previously, it took 4 years for their debut album to be released, and then a further four years for their second album. But in 2015 they released two projects. Q, the mini-album, in March, and their third full-length album, Timeless, at the end of the year in November. It marks the first time the Penguin Band have released a project a year after their previous one, let alone two in the same year. It marked an era of the Band where they ditched their convention of releasing music infrequently into releasing it frequently.

Q was never planned as a project at all. At the start of the year numerous demos of the Band's unreleased music was leaked on to the internet. This caused into a rushed release of the songs as a mini-album in order to capitalise on the music and prevent any financial losses.

Timeless was intended for a late 2016 release but instead it came a year early.

2016–present: Legacy and hiatus
The Band kept releasing music throughout 2016 as well. The last few singles off Timeless were released near the start of the year, and then three months later the lead single off their next album, "Joy", was also released. Although it was not intended to be the lead single of an album, it became it after it gained overwhelming success and performed better than expected.

Thus, the Band prepped for their third release in only two years. The album, titled Legacy, was released in late 2016.

After such a busy two years, the Band decided to take a hiatus from making albums and won't be putting out another album for at least three years while they go on tour and focus on other individual careers. For example, Petey K will be producing for other artists while Franky is expected to take up an acting career. His next movie, Shadows Have Fallen, is expected to release in September 2016. The Band recorded the lead single off the soundtrack for the movie, "Fallen". They will not release any albums until the hiatus is over. However, Franky said in an interview "This 'hiatus' is not actually a hiatus. It's actually time for us to think and for us to bring out solo careers."

Image
From 2005 to 2011, Penguin Band endorsed a stripped-down, simplistic look which only featured their key instruments. This lasted for 6 years and was considered a key part of their appeal. Since mid 2011, the band began to make modifications to their look as they began to transition to pop-rock audiences. Even though they are not a rock band, their new look illustrated it. This received poor reception from fans and is still criticized four years later. To satisfy fans, the look is sometimes simplified to not appear as rock, however the band have stuck with it for their mainstream public appearances.

Band members

 * Franky – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboard (2006–present)
 * Stompin' Bob – double bass, cello, harmonica, lead vocals (2005–present)
 * G Billy – drums, flute, backing vocals (2005–present)
 * Petey K – piano, accordion, producer, backing vocals (2005–present)

Discography

 * Main article: Penguin Band discography


 * Studio albums


 * The Four Penguins (2010)
 * Cosmic (2014)
 * Timeless (2015)
 * Legacy (2016)


 * Mini albums
 * Q (2015)

Trivia

 * The Penguin Band is the only band to have gotten all their singles to number 1 in three charts.
 * Petey K likes to think of himself as classical musician since he writes the music for many plays.
 * Franky plays the guitar, Petey K plays the accordion and piano, Stompin' Bob plays the double bass and cello and G Billy plays the drums and flute.
 * All band members take part in the R&B production of the band. Franky doesn't do country music. He is the only member of the group to do Terrain grime. Him, Stompin' Bob and G Billy rap. All of the band members sing, produce and write songs.
 * The theme song for the movie Willy and Kody: The Digital Domain was composed by Penguin Band.