Artist of the Week: The Academy Is

Here's the deal, I know I didn't have a new artist last week. I was having computer issues, and by the time I fixed them, half the week was already gone. But enough about that, as most people know, I love acoustic songs. Whether it be unplugged, or just an acoustic version of an already popular song. So when one of my favorite bands decides to do an all acoustic tour, I'd be an idiot not to go, no offense Nito. Lucky for me, I'll be able to see this band this upcoming Saturday, but before we get to that, lets get to know them a little better. The band originated from a suburb of Chicago, IL known as Hoffman Estates. In 2003, William Beckett(Vocals) and Michael Carden(Guitar) decided to start a band, so they added Adam T. Siska(Bass), Adrian LaTrace Jr(Guitar) and Mike DelPrincipe(Drums) to the group. The band then went into the studio and recorded their debut EP The Academy. After hearing a couple of the songs, Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy immediately signed them to his label Fueled by Ramen. In 2004 the band started recording their first album under their new label. After they finished the album and went on a tour, the band went through a line up change with Tom Conrad, replacing LaTrace and Andy Mrotek replaced DelPrincipe. Then on February 8 2005, the band released Almost Here. The album would spawn three great singles in "Checkmarks", "The Phrase That Pays" and "Slow Down". In October 0f 2006, the band had announced that they had parted ways with Tom Conrad, and would be replaced by Michael Guy Chislett. Following this, the band started working on their next album and on April 3, 2007 the band released Santi. The album would spawn three more great singles in "We've Got a Big Mess on Our Hands", "Neighbors" and "Everything We Had." Most recently, the band released their third studio album titled Fast Times at Barrington High.

The album was released in August of this year and would sell over 35,000 copies in the first week alone. Most of that success can be attributed to the album's first single "About a Girl" which is seen by the band as one of their favorite songs ever written. The second single of the album is "Summer Hair=Forever Young" which happens to be one of my favorite songs from the album. After listening to the album over and over again for the last couple of months, I can't wait for the concert. That being said, this week's artist is The Academy is with their video Summer Hair=Forever Young, enjoy.

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Artist of the Week: Ace Enders & A Million Different People

Here's the deal, I know it seems like I just had this band as my Artist of the Week, but it's actually been almost 2 months. Either way, I just had to have them on again cause they just put out a new album. It's practically the first rule in the book. The unwritten book of Artist of the Week that is. Not to be confused with the unwritten book of the road. But enough about that, lets get to know the band a little better. See, although this band is relatively new, two of the guys behind it have been around a bit longer. It all started back in 2001 when Arthur "Ace" Enders (Vocals, Guitar) and Sergio Anello (Bass) formed a band called The Early November along with two other friends. The band had some moderate success releasing two albums and three EPs. Then in March of 2007, the band posted on their website that they "will be taking an indefinite hiatus". That same year, Enders took out a loan to build a music studio, and after only three weeks of construction, Pink Space Recording was born. After the studio's completion, Enders didn't waste any time spending two straight days making demos that would later be named "From a Daze" and "Emergency". He soon signed on with manager Lucas Keller to work on his new project. Then on June 13, 2008, Enders released an 8 track album which was, and still is, free to download on the Fuse.tv website titled The Secret Wars. Since it wasn't a full album release, it didn't really have any singles or videos. But one song on the album that I found myself really enjoying was Bring Back Love (2020). A couple of months ago, front man Ace Enders had an idea. He thought that in times like these, sometimes people need something to hold on to. Even if that something is as simple as a song. So with the help of some friends; Mark Hoppus (Blink-182), Matt Thiessen (Relient K), Kenny Vasoli (Starting Line), Craig Owens (Chiodos), Alex Gaskarth (All Time Low), Aaron Marsh (Copeland), Duane F. Okun (Socratic), and Bryce Avery (the Rocket Summer), Enders set out to record a song that might just do that. Then in December of 2008, he released Bittersweet Symphony with all the proceeds going to VH1's Save The Music Foundation. After spending most of the summer touring, the band started working on a new album. Unlike their previous release, this was to be a full album. Then on March 17, the band released When I Hit The Ground.

"The Only Thing I Have (The Sign)" is the first single of the album, and I have to say, it's some of their best work yet. So much, that I think I'll be listening to this album for quite a while. That being said, this week's artist is Ace Enders & A Million Different People with their song The Only Thing I Have (The Sign),enjoy.

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Artist of the Week: Sum 41

Here's the deal, one of the first times I ever heard this band, was in a video game called Dave Mirra's Freestyle BMX 2. It was one of my favorite songs in the game. To this day, when ever I hear the song, I think of the game. If you had told me then, that this band was gonna be as big as they are today, I prolly would've believed, cause they are pretty good. Either way, they're my artist for the week, so lets get to know them. The band was formed in 1996 in Ajax, Ontario Canada. There they started out as a NoFX cover band named Kaspir, before they changed it to what it is now. They choose that name cause it was 41 days into the summer when they started the band. Deryck Whibley (Vocals, Guitar), Dave Baksh (Lead Guitar), Cone McCaslin (Bass) and Steve Jocz (Drums) did what most bands do, played some shows, sent out demo tapes, but it wasn't until 1999 that the band signed with Island Records. The following year, they released an EP titled Half Hour of Power. Although the album had little success, it was able to get the band some exposure thanks to it's single "Makes No Difference" which was also able to make it into a certain video game. By the time the EP was released, the band was already working on their debut album. Then in May of 2001, the band released All Killer No Filler. The album was a huge success selling a million copies in just a few months. Since then the album has sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide thanks to it's three singles "Fat Lip", "In Too Deep" and "Motivation." They spent most of 2001 on the road playing almost 300 shows, some of which they opened for Blink-182. By the end of the year, the band started working on their follow up album. Less then a year later, in November of 2002, the band released Does This Look Infected. Although not as popular as their first, the album did enjoy some moderate success thanks to it's singles "Still Waiting", "The Hell Song" and "Over My Head (Better Off Dead)". Even though the album cover was shot months before the release, the album was almost delayed because the band didn't have a name for it. Deryck suggest Does This Look Infected. After the band had a good laugh, they stuck with the name. In May of 2004, the band traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo with charity organization War Child Canada. They were there to document the civil war in the country, and unfortunately fighting broke out near their hotel room. They couldn't do anything but lie on the floor and pray. The band waited for the firing to die down, but with no end in sight, a U.N. peacekeeper, Charles "Chuck" Pelletier, called for armored carriers to take the hotel's occupants out of the hot zone. After almost six hours, the carriers arrived, and the band and the forty other civilians were taken to safety. In honor of Pelletier, the band decided to name their next album after him. So in October of 2004, the band released their third album simply named Chuck. The album would spawn four singles in "We're All to Blame", "Pieces", "Some Say" and "No Reason". In May of 2006, Dave Baksh announced that he was leaving the band to work on his side project. Even though he was not replaced, the band does have and extra guitarist for when they're on tour. Later that year the band began work on their fourth album. Knowing that the album wouldn't be ready til the summer, the band released "March of the Dogs" via iTunes in April of 2007, even though it wasn't a single. Then in July of that year, they released Underclass Hero. The album would spawn three singles with "Underclass Hero", "Walking Disaster" and "With Me". After touring to promote the album, the band decided to take some time off, just to get some rest. In the meantime, the band released a greatest hits album in Japan. By popular demand, they decided to release it in the states as well. Which they did this Tuesday (3/17). The album is titled All That Good Shit


and includes songs from all five albums. Currently, the band had been working on an EP, but because of all the great music they were turning out, they decided to make it a full LP. I for one can't wait to hear it. That being said, this week's artist is Sum 41 with their video Fat Lip, enjoy.

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Artist of the Week: New Found Glory

Here's the deal, another week, another artist right? Wrong. This week's artist is not just one of my favorite bands, but is releasing their sixth studio album this Tuesday (3/10). The band was even lucky enough to have the album produced by Blink-182's Mark Hoppus. But before we get into that, lets get to know them a little better. It all started in mid-1997 in Coral Springs, Florida where two friends Jordan Pundik (vocals) and Steve Klein (guitar) began writing music together. Shortly after they recruited Ian Grushka (bass), Chad Gilbert (lead guitar) and Joe Moreno (Drums). That same year the band released it's first EP with It’s All About the Girls. Shortly after the release, Moreno was replaced by Cyrus Bolooki. In 1998, the band was able to sign with Eulogy Records, and the following year released their Debut album Nothing Gold Can Stay which featured the hit single "Hit or Miss". The album was able to get the band out on tour which earned them a good fan following. By 2000, the band had signed with Drive-Thru Records and had started working on a new album. It wouldn't be long before the band would release the self-titled album New Found Glory. The album was a huge success spawning two hit singles with "Dressed to Kill" and the re-release of "Hit or Miss". To date, the album has sold over a million copies. That same year the band released an EP covering songs from different movies. The album was titled From the Screen to Your Stereo. In 2002, the band was able to score a nice spot on the Vans Warped Tour. This was just around the same time Sticks and Stones was released. Thanks to singles "Head on Collision", "My Friends Over You" and "Understatement" the album when on to sell over 850,000 copies in the US alone. In 2004, after being a part of the Honda Civic Tour with Simple Plan and Good Charlotte, the band released their 4th studio album with Catalyst. The album would sell over a million copies in just 3 months thanks to it's singles "All Downhill From Here", "Truth of my Youth", "Failure's Not Flattering" and "I Don't Wanna Know". After the release of the album and touring to support it, the band took a short break. But they would start work on their next album in late 2005. Then in September of 2006, the band released Coming Home. Although the album only spawned one single with "It's Not Your Fault", it's still considered some of the band's best work. The very next year, the band released From the Screen to Your Stereo Part II, but unlike this first part, this was a full album that also spawned a single in "Kiss Me". In March of 2008, the band released a compilation CD titled Hits. The album consisted of some of the bands greatest hits and included two unreleased tracks. The following month, the band released an EP titled Tip of the Iceberg which contains both new material and covers of classic hardcore punk songs. The CD also includes an extra disc from The International Superheroes of Hardcore, named Takin' It Ova! This is actually a side project of all members of the band only it features Chad singing and Jordan on guitar. They even have super hero names for all the of the members. Since then, the band has been working on a new album titled Now Without a Fight


that is set to release this Tuesday (3/10). The album with it's first single "Listen to Your Friends" can be heard in it's entirety on the band's Myspace Page. After listening to this album, it's good to know that they have not skipped a beat. That being said, this week's artist is New Found Glory with their video "Listen to Your Friends", enjoy.

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Artist of the Week: Jimmy Eat World

Here's the deal, recently, this week's band reached a little milestone. Their album Clarity reached it's ten year anniversary. The album is very special to the band cause it was their first album to appear on the billboard charts. The band decided to celebrate the occasion by going on a small tour, which came through Chicago. Sadly, I wasn't able to go to the show, but that doesn't mean I can't have them on this week. But first, lets get to know them a little better. The band was formed in Mesa, Arizona in 1993 when long time friends Jim Adkins (Singer/Guitarist) and Zach Lind (Drummer) joined up with Tom Linton (Guitarist) and Mitch Porter (Bass Guitar). The band got it's name from Linton's younger brothers, Jim and Ed, who would always have arguments with Jim usually winning. Ed retaliated by drawing a picture of Jim eating the world. The band began like most bands, recording EP's and singles followed by touring. In 1995 the band got the attention of Capitol Records who would eventually sign them. Right before they went into the studio, Mitch Porter decided to leave the band and was replaced by Linton's friend Rick Burch. Once they got into the studio, the band recorded its major-label debut album, Static Prevails. The band would continue to tour, then in 1998, the band went back to the studio to record it's next album titled Clarity. After the released, the band found themselves performing in front of bigger and bigger crowds, mostly likely due to the success of their single "Lucky Denver Mint." Even with this success, the band was dropped from their label in late 1999, but the band would not let that slow them down. They still went through with a European tour. They even bought copies of their own album, out of their own pocket, to send to Europe. When they returned, the band got day jobs and saved every cent they could to buy studio time for their next album. In 2001, they finished the album, which was titled Bleed American. Soon, the band started scouting for a new label and the result was a short bidding war, which included former label Capitol Records. The band would eventually sign with DreamWorks. The album was released in July of 2001, but after the 9/11 attacks, the band would re-release the album as a self-titled album to avoid any misinterpretation. The album would produce several singles with the second one "The Middle", being their most successful to date with it reaching #5 on Billboards hot 100. Others singles include "Sweetness", "A Praise Chorus" and of course "Bleed American". After an extensive tour in support of Bleed American, in 2004, the band went back to the studio to record their follow-up album. In October of that year, the band released the album Futures, under Interscope Records who had acquired Dreamworks. They album would spawn two great singles in "Pain" and then later on "Work". After touring with great bands such as Taking Back Sunday and Green Day, the band went back into the studio once more to work on their next album. This album would be a little different with it being self-produced by the band. Then, in October of 2007, the band released Chase the Light. The album has produced two great singles in "Big Casino" and "Always Be". The band has recently said that after their current tour ends, they will head back home and start working on a new album. Who knows what great work they might produce next. That being said, this week's artist is Jimmy Eat World, with their video Sweetness, enjoy.

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