Mates of State

Mates of State are an American pop music duo based in San Francisco, California, and active since 1997. The group is composed of Kori Gardner (voice, electric organ, electric keyboard, and electric piano) and Jason Hammel (voice and drum s

Mates of State are an American pop music duo based in San Francisco, California, and active since 1997. The group is composed of Kori Gardner (voice, electric organ, electric keyboard, and electric piano) and Jason Hammel (voice and drum set).

Gardner and Hammel met in Lawrence, the musical metropolis of Kansas, while they were involved with other people and other musical projects. Although they exchanged daily e-mails, they didn't get together until three months later when they were both single again, and were inseparable from then on. The main instruments used by the band are drum set and the electric organ. Although they both started out playing the guitar, they found they ended up fooling around with the organ and the drums in their practice space more often than with more traditional instruments. They formed in the Midwest during 1997 but shortly thereafter moved to California, where Gardner applied to medical school but opted (in 2001) to devote her time to making music and touring with Hammel (who also became her husband in 2001).