The Fullerenes

The Fullerenes were a Michigan geek rock band that formed in 1997 and disbanded in 2002. During their time as a band they released three albums and two EPs.

The three original members were Clint Hoagland, Keenan Ellis, and Bob Peplinski, though other members would join over the years. The most notable addition was Ryan Arnholt, who played bass and co-wrote much of The Fullerenes' catalog.

History
"This section is a work-in-progress"The first incarnation of The Fullerenes was reportedly named "North Branch Quizbowl Blues Band", a group formed in 1995 out of boredom and with the sole purpose to irritate people. This prototype version of The Fullerenes likely included future members Clint Hoagland and Ryan Arnholt, among other friends. After one show at Marymount University, where they played a song titled "Babysitting Is Not a Job" and an early version of Transmogrifier, the group disbanded.

After the disbandment of "North Branch Quizbowl Blues Band" and Clint's band "Schroeder" in 1996, The Sellouts was formed by Clint, Bob, and bass player Keenan Ellis. At the time, Clint was learning to create demos on his computer and he worked with Bob to refine them. The Sellouts played their first show at the end of May 1997, and mostly stuck to playing covers of Weezer, They Might Be Giants, and Frank Black songs. In the fall of 1996, The Sellouts found out that the name "The Sellouts" was already taken, which led them to change their band name to The Fullerenes, as it was the "geekiest name [they] could think of."

Also in the fall of 1996, Keenan left the band because he couldn't afford to move to Michigan State to play with Clint and Bob. Ryan Arnholt volunteered to join the band in Keenan's place, as he had been learning to play the bass in secret, which led to some worry and shock from Clint and Bob. Ultimately, he proved his skill and joined the band as the new bass player. The Fullerenes would play their first official show in November of 1997, at Flint Local 432 in Flint, Michigan.

During this time, Ryan and Clint would begin to write songs together and the band's string of writing and recording led to their first album, Quit Looking at Me. The album was recorded on an 8-track machine by their friend Mike Boyd and was released exclusively on cassette. The band sold tapes of the album at their shows.

After more shows and writing, The Fullerenes would record their second album The Fullerenes Talk Serious About Luv in the summer of 1998, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The album would release in September of that year, and reportedly sold out in record stores around Southeastern Michigan and received mentions in local press.