With Craig Owens returning to Chiodos, balance
was restored in the world and things seemed right again. Okay, maybe
that's a bit of an exaggeration but in all seriousness, I've been waiting for Craig Owens to
come back to this band since he left. While this may not be the line-up
that gave fans All is Well that Ends Well and Bone Palace Ballet
(original lead guitarist Jason Hale left in 2012, replaced by former- Fall of
Troy guitarist Thomas Erak), Chiodos’s newest LP Devil hits us with passion reminiscent of the pre-Illuminaudio
days without losing the growth they found in instrumental technicality.
Who they are: Chiodos is/was/is again a six-piece band from Michigan that quietly stormed the screamo castle and took the scene by storm in the mid-00s, releasing two albums: All's Well that Ends Well and Bone Palace Ballet. The band was in such high demand that both of their first two full-lengths saw re-releases with bonus tracks and DVDs, and much of that fame came from their well-known and embattled frontman, Craig Owens. After Bone Palace Ballet debuted at #5 on the Billboard top albums chart in its first week of release, the band seemed poised to become the next scene superstars. However, after an apparent suicide attempt and constantly working on other projects, the band became fed up with Owens's antics, and kick him out of the band. The rest of the band (keyboardist Brad Bell, guitarists Jason Hale and Pat McMannaman, bassist Matt Goddard, and former Scary Kids Scaring Kids drummer Tanner Wayne) enlisted Brendan Bolmer and recorded their third full-length Illuminaudio, which was released in 2010. Owens kept busy as always, forming the supergroup Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows with Matt Good (from first to last), Nick Martin (Underminded), Aaron Stern (Matchbook Romance) and Adam Russel (Story of the Year), and the group released a self-title full-length album. Then, with both bands that were left in the wake of the Chiodos-Owens split not living up to the hype, the unthinkable happened a few days ago.
Why they're Band of the Week: Just a few days ago, Chiodos updated their website showing that Criag Owens has indeed reunited with the band. While very little details have been released as to what this reunion will entail, Sunday, September 16 should stick in fans' minds, as it was teased in the video to be of some importance (in the video, Owens is fiddling with his iPad, and the camera shows a shot of the iPad with that date open in the calendar app). Regardless of how, why, or when it will happen, Chiodos and Craig Owens, who were once the fastest-rising band in the scene, are back for another go at it, and if they can recapture the momentum that they built along the way before Owens's sudden departure, this is going to be one of the biggest news stories of 2012.
What you need to hear: Now that this group of friends has been reunited, it only seems fitting that we highlight one of the definitive tracks from All's Well that Ends Well: "The Words 'Best Friend' Become Redefined".
A little background knowledge for those of you who aren't familiar with WTSR, home of Keep Calm and Carry On: WTSR is the official affiliate of the Trenton Thunder. Because of this, the show will be affected from now until the end of the season in early September. Therefore, the show was hard to plan for this week. However, luckily for us, Craig Ismaili was recently involved in the Fantasy Band Draft at Absolutepunk.net. Craig's band is in the running to be named the "Best (Fake) Band," and so we decided to throw some shameless self-promotion for him this week. Add in the show's collective love for competitive fantasy sports, and the Fantasy Band Special was born.
First, let's take a look at Craig's band, and what he has to say about it (note: band members are listed in Role: Member, Band)
Band Name: Dreamatorium
Vocals: Anthony Green, Circa Survive Guitar/Backing Vocals: Jon Simmons, Balance & Composure Bass: Nikki Monninger, Silversun Pickups Guitar/Keys: Teppei Teranishi, Thrice Drums: Nicholas Pizzolato, Moving Mountains
About the fantasy band draft: The 4th annual AP fantasy band draft is a group of 47 posters on the AP forums that take turns picking five members of active bands in a snaking draft order (meaning that after it runs 1-47, the draft runs back in reverse order 47-1). The active band part caused a lot of controversy. The word "active" was defined as having done touring or recording within the past year or to have solid touring recording plans for the coming year. One person in this draft took this statement to mean that you could draft dead artists, as long as they were active within the year, and selected Amy Winehouse. Shit hit the fan. Comments started flying in and the pick was deemed illegal because an artist can't be active if they are dead. Anyway, when all the picks were made (people had to have a drummer, bassist, guitarist and singer), members were asked to sumbit a write-up describing their band. Then, each of the 47 members were asked to rank their top 15 bands in order. Each band would get points for the votes. A 1st place vote=15 points, 2nd=14, etc. The points were then tallied up and the top 10 are now going into the public poll on absolutepunk.net. My band was lucky enough to make the top 10 and the vote begins this week. Anyone can vote as long as they have an AP account. I will update this post when the site-wide poll goes live.
About the band: I'll start off this part by posting the write-up I had to submit (in mock press release form) to describe my band: "Dreamatorium began as a simple conversation between Moving Mountains’
drummer Nicholas Pizzolato and Thrice’s Teppei Terranishi on Thrice’s
headlining tour. The two began to realize they shared a love for both
the distorted, crunchy guitar tones of some of their favorite musicians
and for the NBC comedy Community. Together, they would recruit members
to work around the first premise, and decide to name their band
Dreamatorium to fulfill the second (Dreamatorium also symbolizes the
idea that this band was previously only thought possible in the mind).
Anthony Green was called in to front the band, because as Teppei said,
“He has one of the most powerful and emotive voices I have ever heard,
and the uniqueness lends itself to the band’s versatile style.” Green
commands the majority of the vocal duty on the band’s debut, and is also
the band’s primary songwriter. Next, Pizzolato called Jonathan Simmons
who agreed to aide in the lyrics and songwriting with Green, adding to
the band his personal and relatable lyrics and a unique perspective as
the band’s youngest member. The band was having a hard time finding a
bassist, until they stumbled upon Silversun Pickups’ “Panic Switch” on
the radio. Immediately, they knew the person behind that muddy bass line
had to join their band. And thus, Nikki Monninger completed the band’s
lineup on bass and backing vocals. The band’s debut full-length has
elements of the ambient post-hardcore of Moving Mountains’ Waves work
and the later Thrice material, mixed with the gritty alternative rock of
the other members bands. A super-group that works as a cohesive whole
is a rarity. But, paraphrasing Abed’s line in Community, Pizzolato said,
“Dreamatorium is more important than any of us.”"
As you can see, I had a lot of fun putting together the band and imagining a dream scenario where they would come together. I think this band would be the darkest ambient post-hardcore band out there right now. My big key in picking the band was picking guitarists with very similar tones. I can see the guitars in Balance And Composure fitting in with Teppei's crushing riffs and the distorted tones of Nikki Monniger's bass talents would be enough to seal the deal. When you add in one of the best vocal performers of our generation in Anthony green (who I stole from Don's band) and the crashing crescendoes of Nick Pizzolato behind the kit, This would be a band that could pull of some massive post-rock/ambient soundscapes. Actually, one of the coolest things about this draft was getting to talk to Nick about his "bandmates" at one of Moving Mountains' recent show. He said it would be an absolute thrill for him to be in a band with Anthony Green and Teppei, as he said they as a band look up to Circa and Thrice a lot. That's a memory I'll always have about this draft, regardless of whether I win.
One last thing of note about my band. I just wanted to highlight 2 artists that I was going to select, but didn't for certain reasons. The first is Christian McAlhaney of Anberlin. I love his work with the band, and he was still available with my final pick in the 5th round. I went back and forth between him and Jonathan Simmons, as both write at least a portion of the band's lyrics and both are capable guitarist. Though admittedly McAlhaney is a much more talented guitarist right now (Simmons isnt even the lead guitarist in his band) I felt that Simmons had so much upside and I have been in love with Separation as of late, so I went with him. The other performer I was about to pick was bassist Nick Ghanbarian, of Bayside, who brings to the table the same guitar tones I was looking for, but I figured the rhythym section of my band would suffer from two very different styles and decide to go with the mix of ambient and distorted bass riffs that Monninger can provide. I really love how my band turned out and it turned out to be the most cohesive band I could have thought of. If anyone gets a chance to participate in one of these, you definitely should.
Now, did you really think Craig got to have all the fun with this? Of course not! Donald also made his own band, in order to compare/contrast strategies with Craig on the show. Let's take a look at Donald's band, and what he thought about it:
Band Name: Retrospect Vocals: Craig Owens, Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows/Ex-Chiodos Guitar: Tom Keeley, Thursday Bass/Vocals: Brendan Brown, The Receiving End of Sirens Drums: Alex Gonzalez, Saosin Piano/Keys: Schuyler Vaughn-White, Foxy Shazam
About the band:Luckily, I didn't have nearly the same amount of restrictions Craig had in picking his band; really, my only rule was to not pick anyone from a band Craig picked. Because of this, I ended up picking a lot of dudes from bands that were in news recently. Starting off with one of my favorite frontmen of all time, Craig Owens. There's been a rumor going around now that Owens is slated to rejoin the band that broke him out to the world, Chiodos, and that's put me on a Chiodos kick all week. Thursday's new album No Devolucion has remained one of my most-played from 2011, and Tom Keeley would make the perfect addition and complement to Owens's vocal range, to give this band the potential to sound however they want. Owens's best work was when he co-wrote with Bradley Bell, who played keys while Owens was in Chiodos, but I can't pick him. Therefore, I went with another songwriter who changed the way I looked at music, bassist/vocalist Brendan Brown from The Receiving End of Sirens. TREOS announced they were reuniting for a few select shows this year, and Brown was the band's key songwriter during its short-lived career. With Brown's wordplay combining with Owens's flair for the dramatic, these two could really pen some jams. One of the more difficult positions for me to select was drums. I wanted the drummer to be formidable, but I wanted to highlight a drummer who's flown under the radar. This made Alex Rodriguez of Saosin an obvious choice. Amid the notable vocals (provided by Anthony Green or Cover Reber) or the guitars, there was little room for Rodriguez to shine in Saosin. Though this star-studded band also has a few big-marquee names on it, Rodriguez has proved he can play a variety of tempos, and can pound the kit with the best of them. With one last "wild card" position left, I thought for sure I'd use a second guitarist. However, when thinking back to how Owens sounded in Chiodos, and how intricate the pianos and strings were used in TREOS and Thursday songs, I thought a keyboardist would truly maximize the potential of this band. But I needed someone who could understand their place, and add to the chaos the band would unleash onstage. If there's anyone that can do that, it's Schulyer Vaughn-White of Foxy Shazam. Sharing the stage with the always over-the-top Eric Nally, Vaughn-White is still a highlight of any Foxy Shazam show, and can add a theatrical feel to both the band's live show and its recordings.
I thought about coming up with a pop-punk supergroup with this band, but one of the genres that I really listened to in high school that ended up shaping my musical tastes was post-hardcore. This band I've developed reflects that love (and possibly my yearning to be young again), and if it ever came to fruition, the world would never be prepared for it. As for how they'd sound, I can only hope it's something like this:
Now that we've seen what our "Fantasy Bands" would look like, what do you think about them? Whose band would you rather listen to? Who would be in your "Fantasy Band"? Let us know in the comments, and we'll see you next week!
Last week, students of Montclair State University in New Jersey got a taste of how sick and twisted some people can be. After a concert with emerging hip hop superstar Nicki Minaj was announced, students were excitedly awaiting the arrival of the fall concert. However, as Minaj revealed on Twitter, she had no idea the concert was even scheduled. As it turns out, a man claiming to be Minaj's promoter told Montclair she would play the show, took the $40,000 appearance fee, and fled the state and possibly the country. The concert was of course cancelled, and Montclair's student body was left to wonder what could have been.
This happens a lot more than you'd think in music--fans wondering what could have been, that is-- and it's more and more depressing every time. Whether it's a band kicking out their stellar vocalist, breaking up far too soon, or never following through on a project, there are so many moments in music that have left fans begging for more, or begging for a different outcome than the one they were given. So here they are, the top moments that made us wonder "What if?" the most.
Chiodos
By now, you've probably heard about Craig Owens's less than amicable departure as Chiodos frontman. The band cited Owens constantly juggling his numerous side projects (ie. Cinematic Sunrise, Isles and Glaciers) and putting Chiodos's third release on the back burner as his reason for departure, but that doesn't make the decision any less puzzling. Owens was arguably the best frontman in the scene, and Chiodos had just finished a stint headlining the Vans Warped Tour before his stunning dismissal from the band he was quite clearly the signature member of. And given the fans' appreciation for the leaked demo "Thermacare," it is evident that Chiodos lost a great chunk of their fanbase when they relieved Owens of his duties. Key Tracks: "The Undertaker's Thirst for Revenge is Unquenchable (The Final Battle),""The Words 'Best Friend' Become Redefined"
Saosin
When the world looks back on the career of the always-enigmatic Anthony Green, they will likely remember him for his work in Circa Survive. However, many will point to the work he did with Saosin as Green's most impactful work and contribution. The story behind this is even more peculiar: Green was on his way back to California to record Saosin's debut album (which is phenomenal, by the way) before he had an epiphany on the plane ride over, and left the band to start Circa. It seems to be the right decision, as Circa continue their meteoric rise through the scene, but given the flop Saosin released just two years ago (In Search of Solid Ground), fans can't help but wonder whether or not Saosin could have reached the elite status Green has reached with Circa Survive had it not been for that fateful flight. Key Track: "Seven Years"
The Receiving End of Sirens
This is likely the band mentioned with the least amount of success, as seen through the band's brief stint as one of the best bands to come out of the post-hardcore genre. With two masterpieces under their belt (Between the Heart and the Synapse and The Earth Sings Mi Fa Mi), the band decided to call it quits in 2008, and left behind a world of potential to focus on their developing families. The band has recently "reunited" to record a few demos that were never given the TLC of being released, but it appears to be too little too late, as TREOS would return to a scene overrun by cruck-core "acts" with fans far too young to know what the band's name even means. Key Tracks: "Planning a Prison Break,""Smoke and Mirrors"
Brand New's Fight Off Your Demons
As Brand New was relishing the critical and fan acclaim of 2003's Deja Entendu, they had it all: TRL airplay, the "Most Anticipated Albums" cover of Alternative Press, and they were named a "Band to Watch" by Spin magazine. All of this seemed to add up to Brand New being the next band to break through and become "the next big thing." However, something peculiar happened on the way to the promised land. A leak of the demos that the band had developed (for what appears to be for the album, called Fight Off Your Demons), and fans were able to see the dark, moody sound the band had segued into. However, Jesse Lacey and Co. were so disgusted with the leak they scratched everything and started over. And while there were a few songs from Demons that ended up on the album itself (initial versions of "Luca" and "Sowing Season" were on Demons, and both showed up on The Devil and God are Raging Inside of Me), there are a few songs that were not released that many Brand New fans will quickly point to as a band's best work, making the Fight off Your Demons saga of Brand New's career all the more peculiar. Key Tracks: "Untitled 1", "Untitled 5", "Untitled 3"
So now that I've successfully rehashed all of these old wounds of my iTunes library, I'll turn it over to you: who did I miss? Who do you miss from music? Who do you think broke up, changed members, or scratched projects far too soon? Leave them in the comments, I'd love to hear from you.
