# The Hopefuls
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{{Short description|2000s indie-pop band from Minneapolis}}
{{about|the band |the TV series segment |The Word (TV series) }}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = The Hopefuls
| image = The_Hopefuls_live_at_First_Avenue_June_2009.jpeg
| image_size =
| caption = John Hermanson, Darren Jackson, Eric Fawcett, and Heath Henjum playing [First Avenue](/source/First_Avenue_(nightclub)) in June 2009
| background = group_or_band
| alias = Olympic Hopefuls, Camaro[{{cite web|last1=Schober|first1=Jon|title=Artist of the Month: The Hopefuls|url=http://blog.thecurrent.org/2013/05/artist-of-the-month-the-hopefuls/|website=89.3 The Current}}]
| origin = Minneapolis, Minnesota
| genre = [indie-pop](/source/indie-pop), [power pop](/source/power_pop)
| years_active = 2004-2010[{{cite web|last1=Ritland|first1=Erik|title=THE HOPEFULS: BLAST FROM THE PAST|url=http://curiousnorth.com/2014/05/08/the-hopefuls-blast-from-the-past|website=Curious North|accessdate=1 October 2014}}]
| label = 2024 Records
Draw Fire Records
| spinoff_of = Alva Star, [Kid Dakota](/source/Kid_Dakota), [Storyhill](/source/Storyhill), [Spymob](/source/Spymob)
| spinoffs = [Tapes 'n Tapes](/source/Tapes_'n_Tapes), Vicious Vicious
| past_members = Darren Jackson
Heath Henjum
John Hermanson
Eric Fawcett
Erik Appelwick
Matt O'Laughlin
}}
'''The Hopefuls''', formerly known as '''The Olympic Hopefuls''', were an [indie-pop](/source/indie-pop) group from [Minneapolis, Minnesota](/source/Minneapolis%2C_Minnesota). The Hopefuls won both the Artist of the Year and Best Pop Artist awards at the 2005 [Minnesota Music Awards](/source/Minnesota_Music_Awards).[{{cite web
|url=http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_428839.html
|title=Minneapolis band pays tribute to influences - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
|publisher=www.pittsburghlive.com
|accessdate=June 1, 2009
|date=March 2, 2006
|last=Behe
|first=Regis
}}{{Dead link|date=March 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}]
==Musical style==
The Hopefuls' music is peppy, light, and often deliberately corny. They defined their music as "fun music for fun times" and kept their songs upbeat and fast-paced. They often used xylophone fills, synthesizers, and hand claps to, as their webpage said, "keep heads bopping and asses shaking."
On their first album, Jackson and Appelwick switched off writing and singing songs; Appelwick sang the odd-numbered songs and Jackson sang the even-numbered. Their songs were typically about romance and the problems associated with it.
==History==
Darren Jackson and Erik Appelwick, (of Minnesota bands [Kid Dakota](/source/Kid_Dakota) and Vicious Vicious, respectively) began recording and performing under the name of Camaro in the early 2000s. As their popularity on the Minneapolis music scene increased, they changed their names to The Olympic Hopefuls and were picked up by 2024 records, a local independent label. They released their debut album, ''The Fuses Refuse to Burn'' in 2004.[{{cite web
|url=http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/36397209.html?page=1&c=y
|title=Music: The Hopefuls are refusing to burn
|work=[Star Tribune](/source/Star_Tribune)
|accessdate=June 1, 2009
|last=Riemenschneider
|first=Chris
|date=December 19, 2008
|archive-date=June 7, 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607052620/http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/36397209.html?page=1&c=y
|url-status=dead
}}]
In 2005 the band was forced to shorten its name to The Hopefuls after being informed that the [United States Olympic Committee](/source/United_States_Olympic_Committee) owned the trademark to the word "Olympic."[
{{cite web
|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1507047/20050805/index.jhtml
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060705191147/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1507047/20050805/index.jhtml
|url-status=dead
|archive-date=July 5, 2006
|title=Olympic Hopefuls' Dreams Dashed
|publisher=[MTV News](/source/MTV_News)
|accessdate=June 1, 2009
|last=Montgomery
|first=James
|date=August 5, 2005
}}
]
The song "Let's Go!" was featured on the second seasons of both ''[The O.C.](/source/The_O.C.)'' and ''[Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County](/source/Laguna_Beach%3A_The_Real_Orange_County)''.[
{{cite web
|url=http://www.citypages.com/2004-11-24/news/talk-of-the-town/
|title=Minneapolis News - Talk of the Town - page 1
|work=[City Pages](/source/City_Pages)
|accessdate=June 1, 2009
|last=Terhark
|first=Chuck
|date=November 24, 2004}}
][{{cite news
| title = Lo and Behold, The (Olympic) Hopefuls Are Back in the Game
| work = [St. Paul Pioneer Press](/source/St._Paul_Pioneer_Press)
| page = E3
| date = December 19, 2008
}}]
The song "Drain the Sea" was featured on the first disc of the "[For New Orleans](/source/For_New_Orleans)" charity cd set produced by "Sugarfoot Music".
In April 2006, Appelwick left The Hopefuls to play bass for [Tapes 'n Tapes](/source/Tapes_'n_Tapes).
On December 20, 2008, The Hopefuls released their second album ''Now Playing at the One-Seat Theatre'' on local independent label Draw Fire Records. Due to their busy schedules, all four band members were never present in the recording studio at the same time during the album's recording. The band's last show was played the following year.[[http://2024records.com/ 2024 Records label site]]
|-
|valign="top"|Released: 2004
|-
|valign="top" colspan="2"|
{|
|-
|-
|valign="top"|1. "Imaginary" (Applewick)
2. "Holiday" (Jackson)
3. "Shy" (Applewick)
4. "Drain the Sea" (Jackson)
5. "Motobike" (Applewick)
|valign="top"|6. "Whisper" (Jackson)
7. "Let's Go!" (Applewick/Jackson)
8. "Trust Fund" (Jackson)
9. "Pretty Bigmouth" (Applewick)
10. "Stoned Again" (Jackson)
|}
|}
|}
{|
|-
|valign="top"|
|valign="top"|
{|
|-
|valign="top" colspan="2"|'''''Now Playing at the One-Seat Theatre'''''
|-
|valign="top"|Label: Draw Fire Records
|-
|valign="top"|Released: Dec. 20, 2008
|-
|valign="top" colspan="2"|
{|
|-
|-
|valign="top"|1. "Edge of Medicine" (Jackson)
2. "Idaho" (Jackson)
3. "Virgin Wood" (Jackson)
4. "Stacey" (Hermanson/Jackson)
5. "Miss You" (Jackson)
6. "One-Seat Theatre" (Jackson)
|valign="top"|7. "Only Dreaming" (Hermanson)
8. "Red Stain" (Jackson)
9. "What She Wants" (Jackson)
10. "Hold Your Own" (Hermanson/Appelwick)
11. "Love Without a Future (The Director's Cut)" (Jackson)
|}
|}
|}
==Media==
In 2018, Paul V. Allan released [http://www.paulvallen.com/the-hopefuls--chasing-a-rock--n--roll-dream-in-the-minnesota-music-scene.html ''The Hopefuls: Chasing a Rock 'n' Roll Dream in the Minnesota Music Scene''], a book about The Hopefuls and many other related bands ([Spymob](/source/Spymob), [Storyhill](/source/Storyhill), [Kid Dakota](/source/Kid_Dakota), [Tapes 'n Tapes](/source/Tapes_'n_Tapes), [Vicious Vicious](/source/Vicious_Vicious), etc.)
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*{{facebook|thehopefuls}}
*[http://minnewiki.publicradio.org/index.php/The_Hopefuls Minnewiki Article] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060308144507/http://minnewiki.publicradio.org/index.php/The_Hopefuls |date=March 8, 2006 }}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopefuls, The}}
Category:Indie pop groups from Minnesota
Category:Musical groups from Minneapolis
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Hopefuls](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hopefuls) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hopefuls?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.