Cartel

“Cartel” is an American Pop-punk band originating from Conyers, Georgia, United States, that formed in 2003. The current band members include vocalist and bassist Will Pugh, lead guitarist Joseph Pepper, guitarist Nic Hudson, and drummer Kevin Sanders. The group is most known for their hits, “Honestly” and “Say Anything (Else)”.

The band’s first EP, The Ransom under the management of Chris Black and signed to an independent record company in Long Beach, California, The Militia Group. This helped the band gain a significant fanbase.

2005 saw the replacement of Rhythm Guitarist Andy Lee for Nic Hudson, and the release of their first full-length album, Chroma. The album sold 3,000 copies in its first week and charted at number 140 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Shortly after, Cartel was featured on Alternative Press’s 2005 list for “Bands You Need to Know”, as well as winning Yahoo! Music’s ”Who’s Next” competition.

In April of 2006, Cartel signed with Epic Records. From late 2006 and till early 2007, they acted as touring support for New Found Glory with The Early November and Hit The Lights.
Soon, they kicked off a tour featuring bands Cobra Starship, Boys Like Girls, Quietdrive, New Atlantic and Permanent Me.

On June 8, 2006, Ryan Roberts, the band’s bass player, decided to leave the band. Jeff Lett the four man line-up as a replacement.
The band’s second album, Cartel was written when they were featured on the MTV television series Band in a Bubble in 2007, where they were given 20 days to write and record a full album. Cartel was fully released in August.

Cycles was the band’s third studio album, released under Wind-up Records. In April of 2011, bassist Jeff Lett left the band to finish school. Nic Hudson took over the role as bassist, and Will Pugh took over as rhythm guitarist. 2011 also saw the release of the band’s third EP, In Stero.

In 2013, Cartel released their fourth studio album, Collider.

In 2015, Cartel kicked off the Chroma 10 year anniversary on March 20th.