THE PIXIES ***

The Pixies are an American alternative rock band that formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1986. The group consists of Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim Deal (bass guitar, vocals), and David Lovering (drums). While the Pixies found only modest success in their home country, they were significantly more successful in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe, although never achieving prolonged mainstream success with their studio albums. The group disbanded in 1993 in acrimonious circumstances but reunited in 2004.

The band's style of music contains elements including indie rock and surf rock. Francis is the Pixies' primary songwriter and singer who has been noted for his yowling delivery. He has typically written about offbeat subjects, such as extraterrestrials, surrealism and Biblical violence.

The group has been described as a big influence on the alternative rock boom of the 1990s, though they disbanded before reaping any of the benefits this might have brought them. Avowed fan Kurt Cobain's acknowledgement of the debt his band Nirvana owed to the Pixies, along with similar tributes by other alternative bands, helped the Pixies' legacy and popularity grow in the years following their break-up, leading to sold-out tours following their reunion in 2004.

History

Formation

Joey Santiago and Black Francis (born Charles Thompson IV) first met when they lived next to each other in a suite while attending the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Although Santiago was worried about distractions, he noticed Francis played music and the pair began to jam together. Francis then embarked on a student exchange trip to Puerto Rico to study Spanish. After six months, he returned to Amherst and dropped out of the university. Francis and Santiago spent 1984 working in a warehouse, with Francis composing songs on his acoustic guitar and writing lyrics on the subway train.

The pair formed a band in January 1986. Bassist Kim Deal joined Santiago and Francis two weeks later after responding to a classified advertisement Francis had placed, seeking a female bassist who liked both folk music icons Peter, Paul and Mary and the band Hüsker Dü.bass guitar as she had never played the instrument before. She later obtained one, and the trio started rehearsing in Deal's apartment. Deal was the only person to respond, but arrived at the audition without a

After recruiting Deal, the band tried unsuccessfully to get her sister, Kelley Deal, to join as its drummer. Kim's husband suggested they hire drummer David Lovering, whom Kim had met at her wedding reception. The group arrived at a name after Santiago selected the word "pixies" randomly from a dictionary and took a liking to how it looked and its definition as "mischievous little elves". Once the band had settled on a name and stable line-up, they moved rehearsals to Lovering's parents' garage in mid-1986. They began to play shows at bars in and around the Boston area.

Record contract and Come On Pilgrim

While the Pixies were playing a concert with Throwing Muses, they were noticed by producer Gary Smith, manager of Fort Apache Studios. He told the band he "could not sleep until you guys are world famous." The band produced a 17-track demo at Fort Apache soon afterwards, known to fans as "The Purple Tape" because of the tape cover's purple background. Funded by Francis' father at the cost of $1000, the recording session was completed in three days. Local promoter Ken Goes became the band's manager, and he passed the demo to Ivo Watts-Russell4AD. Watts-Russell nearly passed on the band, finding them too normal, "too rock 'n' roll", but signed them at the persuasion of his girlfriend. of the independent record label

Upon signing with 4AD, eight tracks from the Purple Tape were selected for the Come On Pilgrim EP, the band's first release. In the EP, Francis drew upon his experiences in Puerto Rico, mostly in the songs "Vamos" and "Isla de Encanta"; the album included lyrics describing the poverty in Puerto Rico. The religious lyrics in Come On Pilgrim and later albums came from his parents' born-again Christian days in the Pentecostal Church. Critic Heather Phares sees themes such as sexual frustration ("I've Been Tired") and incest ("Nimrod's Son" and "The Holiday Song") on the EP.

Surfer Rosa and Doolittle

Come On Pilgrim was followed by the band's first full-length album, Surfer Rosa. The album was recorded by Steve Albini (who was hired by Watts-Russell on the advice of a 4AD colleague), completed in two weeks, and released in early 1988. Surfer Rosa gained the Pixies acclaim in Europe; both Melody Maker and Sounds gave Surfer Rosa their "Album of the Year" award. American critical response was also positive yet more muted, a reaction that persisted for much of the band's career. The album was eventually certified Gold in the U.S. in 2005. After the album was released, the band arrived in England to support Throwing Muses on the European "Sex and Death" tour—beginning at the Mean Fiddler in London. The tour became notable for the band's in-jokes, such as playing their entire set list in alphabetical order.

Meanwhile, they signed an American distribution deal with major record label Elektra. Around this time, the Pixies struck up a relationship with the British producer, Gil Norton. Norton was to produce their second full album, Doolittle, which was recorded in the last six weeks of 1988 and seen as a departure from the raw sound of Come On Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. Doolittle had a much cleaner sound, largely due to Norton and the production budget of US$40,000, which was quadruple that of Surfer Rosa. Doolittle featured the single "Here Comes Your Man", which biographers Josh Frank and Caryn Ganz describe as an unusually jaunty and pop-like song for the band. "Monkey Gone to Heaven" was a Top 10 modern rock radio hit in the US, and reached the Top 100 in the UK. Like Surfer Rosa, Doolittle was acclaimed by fans and music critics alike.

Hiatus

After Doolittle tensions between Deal and Francis came to a head (for example, Francis threw a guitar at Deal during a concert in Stuttgart), and Deal was almost fired from the band when she refused to play at a concert in Frankfurt. Santiago, in an interview to Mojo, described Deal as being "headstrong and want[ing] to include her own songs, to explore her own world" on the band's albums; eventually she accepted that Francis was the singer and had musical control of the band, but after the Frankfurt incident, "they kinda stopped talking". The band became increasingly tired during the post-Doolittle "Fuck or Fight" tour of the United States and fighting among members continued. After the tour's final date in New York, the band was too exhausted to attend the end-of-tour party the following night and soon announced a hiatus.

During this time, Santiago and Lovering went on holidays, while Francis did a short solo tour, Deal formed a new band, The Breeders, with Tanya Donelly of Throwing Muses and bassist Josephine Wiggs of Perfect Disaster. Their debut album, Pod, was released in 1990. which consisted of a number of concerts to generate gas money as he traveled across the country.

Bossanova, Trompe le Monde, and break-up

In 1990, all members of the group except for Deal moved to Los Angeles. Lovering stated that he, Santiago, and Francis moved there "because the recording studio was there". Unlike previous recordings, the band had little time to practice beforehand, and Black Francis wrote much of the album in the studio. Featuring the singles "Velouria" and "Dig for Fire", Bossanova In contrast, the album peaked at number three in the United Kingdom. Also in 1990, the Pixies released a cover of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band'sRubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary. reached number 70 in the United States. "Born in Chicago" on the compilation album

The band continued to tour, and released Trompe le Monde in 1991, their final album before their break-up. The album included "U-Mass", which has been described as being about college apathy, and whose guitar riff was written years before at the University of Massachusetts before Francis and Santiago dropped out. The album also featured a cover of "Head On" by The Jesus and Mary Chain. Also that year, the band contributed a cover of "I Can't Forget" to the Leonard Cohen tribute album I'm Your Fan, and began an international tour in which they played stadiums in Europe and smaller venues in the United States. They then embarked on an uncomfortable tour supporting U2 on their Zoo TV tour in 1992. Tensions rose between band members, and, at the end of the year, the Pixies went on sabbatical and focused on separate projects.

In early 1993, Francis announced in an interview to BBC Radio 5 that the band was finished and offered no explanation at the time, unbeknownst to the other members of the band. He later telephoned Santiago and subsequently notified Deal and Lovering via fax, in January 1993.Frank Black, and he released several solo albums, including a string of releases with Frank Black and the Catholics. Deal returned to The Breeders, who scored a hit with "Cannonball" from that group's platinum-selling Last Splash in 1993, and released two more albums several years later. She also formed and released one album with The Amps. Santiago played lead guitar on multiple Frank Black albums, as well as on other artists' albums. He wrote theme music for the show Undeclared on Fox television and for Crime and Punishment in Suburbia. He formed a band called The Martinis with his wife, Linda Mallari, who released an album in 2004. Lovering went on to become a magician and make occasional appearances as "The Scientific Phenomenalist", performing experiments on stage and occasionally opening for Frank Black and The Breeders. Lovering continued to do some drumming, playing with the band Cracker, as well as on one of Tanya Donelly's solo albums, and on the Martinis' song "Free", which appeared on the Empire Records soundtrack. After the break-up, the four members embarked on separate projects. Black Francis renamed himself

4AD and Elektra Records continued to release Pixies material in the band's absence. They released the best-of album Death to the Pixies (1997), the Peel-session compilation Pixies at the BBC (1998), and the Complete 'B' Sides compilation (2001). Meanwhile, in 2002 material from the band's original 17-track demo tape was released as an EP, Pixies, on Cooking Vinyl in the U.K. and SpinArt Records in the U.S.; Frank Black has also used these labels to release solo work, and/or albums with The Catholics.^[42][61]

Reunion

In the 11 years following the break-up, rumors sometimes circulated regarding a reunion. Though Frank Black steadfastly dismissed them, he did begin to incorporate an increasing number of Pixies songs in his sets with The Catholics, and occasionally included Santiago in his solo work and Lovering's magic show as an opening act to concerts.

In 2003, a series of phone calls between band members resulted in some low-key rehearsals, and soon to a decision to reunite. By February 2004, a full tour was announced, and tickets for nearly all the initial tour dates sold out within minutes. The band's four night run at London's Brixton Academy was the fastest selling in the venue's 20 year history.

The Pixies played their first reunion concert on April 13, 2004 at The Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and a warmup tour through the U.S. and Canada was followed by an appearance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The band then spent much of 2004 touring throughout Brazil, Europe, Japan, and the U.S. The group won the Act of the Year award in the 2004 Boston Music Awards. The 2004 reunion tour reportedly grossed over $14 million in ticket sales.

In June 2004, the band released a new single, "Bam Thwok" exclusively on the iTunes Music Store. The song reached number one in the UK Official Download Chart. 4AD released Wave of Mutilation: The Best of Pixies, along with a companion DVD, entitled Pixies. The band also contributed a rendition of "Ain't That Pretty At All" to the Warren Zevon tribute album Enjoy Every Sandwich.

In 2005 the band made appearances at festivals including Lollapalooza, "T on the Fringe", and the Newport Folk Festival. The band continued to make appearances through 2006 and 2007, Since 2005, Francis has at various times stated that the Pixies recording a new studio album was either a possibility, or an unlikelihood, culminating in their first-ever appearances in Australia. the main obstacle being Deal's reluctance to do so.

In order to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Doolittle, the Pixies launched a tour in October 2009, in which all the album's songs and B-sides would be played. The tour began in Europe, continued in the United States in November, with Australia, New Zealand, and more European dates in spring 2010, and back to North America in autumn 2010 and into spring 2011, although setlists being less exclusively based around Doolittle by now.

Musical style

The Pixies' musical style has been described as "an unorthodox marriage of surf music and punk rock, ... characterised by Black's bristling lyrics and hackle-raising caterwaul, Kim Deal's whispered harmonies and waspy basslines, Joey Santiago's fragile guitar, and the persistent flush of David Lovering's drums." The band's music incorporates extreme dynamic shifts; Francis explained in 1991, "Those are the two basic components of rock music [. . .] the dreamy side and the rockin' side. It's always been either sweaty or laid back and cool. We do try to be dynamic, but it's dumbo dynamics, because we don't know how to do anything else. We can play loud or quiet—that's it".

Influences

The Pixies draw influence from a range of artists and genres; each member came from a different musical background. When he first started writing songs for the Pixies, Francis says he was listening to nothing but Hüsker Dü, Captain Beefheart, and Iggy Pop; Other influences associated with Francis include The Cars. During the making of Doolittle he was listening heavily to The Beatles' "White Album". He has cited Buddy Holly as a model for his compressed songwriting.

Santiago listened to 1970s and 1980s punk (including Black Flag) and David Bowie. Guitarists who influenced him include Jimi Hendrix, Les Paul, Wes Montgomery, and George Harrison.country; she had formed a country-folk band with her sister in her teenage years, who played covers of artists such as The Everly Brothers and Hank Williams. Other artists they listened to included XTC, Gang of Four and Elvis Costello.Rush. Deal's musical background was folk music and Lovering is a fan of the band

Other media such as film has had an impact on the Pixies; Francis cites surrealist films Eraserhead and Un chien andalou (as mentioned in "Debaser") as influences. He has commented on these influences, saying he "didn't have the patience to sit around reading Surrealist novels", but found it easier to watch twenty-minute films.

Songwriting and vocals

Most of the Pixies songs were composed and sung by Francis. Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine has described Francis's writing as containing "bizarre, fragmented lyrics about space, religion, sex, mutilation, and pop culture". Biblical violence is a theme of Doolittle's "Dead" and "Gouge Away"; Francis told a Melody Maker interviewer, "It's all those characters in the Old Testament. I'm obsessed with them. Why it comes out so much I don't know." He has described Come on Pilgrim's "Caribou" as being about reincarnation, and extraterrestrial themes appear in a number of songs on Bossanova.

Deal co-wrote Doolittle's "Silver" with Francis, and they share lead harmony vocals on the track.Surfer Rosa's "Gigantic", and the single "Bam Thwok", She also sang lead vocals on the Francis-written "Into the White" and the Neil Young cover "I've Been Waiting For You", both B-sides. Lovering sang lead vocals on Doolittle's "La La Love You" and the B-side "Make Believe". She wrote and sang lead vocals on credited as Mrs. John Murphy on the former composition.

Legacy

Although the Pixies produced relatively few albums, whose sales were modest, they had a significant influence on the alternative rock boom of the 1990s. Gary Smith, who produced the Pixies' first recording, Come On Pilgrim, commented on the band's influence on alternative rock and their legacy in 1997:

I've heard it said about The Velvet Underground that while not a lot of people bought their albums, everyone who did started a band. I think this is largely true about the Pixies as well. Charles' secret weapon turned out to be not so secret and, sooner or later, all sorts of bands were exploiting the same strategy of wide dynamics. It became a kind of new pop formula and, within a short while, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was charging up the charts and even the members of Nirvana said later that it sounded for all the world like a Pixies song.

Sonically, the Pixies are credited with popularizing the extreme dynamics and stop-start timing that would become widespread in alternative rock; Pixies songs typically feature hushed, restrained verses, and explosive, wailing choruses. Artists including David Bowie, Radiohead, U2, The Strokes, and Pavement have cited admiration of or influence by the Pixies. Bono of U2 and Radiohead's Thom Yorke has said that, while at school, "the Pixies had changed my life". David Bowie, whose music had inspired Francis and Santiago while they were at university, has said that the Pixies made "just about the most compelling music of the entire 80s". has called the Pixies "one of America's greatest bands ever",

One notable citation as an influence was by Kurt Cobain, on influencing Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", which he admitted was a conscious attempt to co-opt the Pixies' style. In a January 1994 interview with Rolling Stone, he said, "I was trying to write the ultimate pop song. I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies. I have to admit it [smiles]. When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily I should have been in that band—or at least in a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard." Cobain cited Surfer Rosa as one of his main musical influences, and particularly admired the album's natural and powerful drum sounds—a result of Steve Albini's influence on the record. Albini later produced Nirvana's 1993 In Utero at the request of Cobain.

Music videos and DVDs

No music videos were released from Come on Pilgrim or Surfer Rosa, but from Doolittle these were later released on the 2004 DVD Pixies. The videos for "Here Come Your Man" and "Allison" were also released on The Complete 'B' Sides. onwards, the following videos were made: "Monkey Gone To Heaven", "Here Comes Your Man", "Velouria", "Dig For Fire", "Allison", "Alec Eiffel", "Head On", and "Debaser";

By Bossanova, the band had developed a severe aversion to recording music videos, and Francis refused to lip-sync to them. For example, in the "Here Comes Your Man" video, both Black and Deal open their mouths wide instead of mouthing their lyrics. According to the record label this became one of the reasons that the Pixies never achieved major coverage on MTV.

With Bossanova's release, 4AD hoped to get the Pixies chosen to perform their single "Velouria" on the BBC music program Top of the Pops. To this end, the band was pressured into producing a video for the song, and they made one cheaply with the band members filmed running down a quarry, shown in slow motion. The group was ultimately not given a spot on the show.

A 90-minute documentary called loudQUIETloud: a film about The Pixies directed by Steven Cantor and Matthew Galkin was released in 2006. The film documents their 2004 reunion and tour, and covers the years after the break-up. In addition to Pixies and LoudQUIETloud, four other Pixies' DVDs were released between 2004 and 2006, all featuring concert performances: Live at the Town and Country Club 1988, The Pixies—Sell Out, The Pixies Acoustic: Live in Newport, and The Pixies Club Date: Live at the Paradise in Boston.

FUEL ***

Fuel is an American rock band formed by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie in 1989. Originally known as Small the Joy, they changed the group's name to Fuel sometime in 1994. They are well known for their hit songs "Shimmer" from Sunburn, "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)", "Bad Day" from Something Like Human, and "Falls on Me" from Natural Selection.



History
Early years
The origins of Fuel were formed in 1989 in Brownsville, Tennessee by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell and drummer Jody Abbott. Singer/guitarist Brett Scallions joined the group after Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie saw him in a bar in Jackson, Tennessee in 1993. That same year, keyboardist/vocalist Erik Avakian joined the lineup and the band moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1994 where they played at local Pennsylvania bars and nightclubs. Their first EP Porcelain was released in 1996 and sold well locally, spawning a small radio hit with "Shimmer". The popularity of the EP brought them to the attention of Sony's 550 imprint, which released their second EP Hazleton the following year.

Sunburn (1998)

Upon signing to Epic, the band entered Longview Farm recording studios in Massachusetts, along with producer Steven Haigler and session drummer Jonathan Mover due to problems with Abbott. The band's full length debut, Sunburn, came out in 1998. "Shimmer" was again included and almost became a Top 40 hit; while, the other singles ("Bittersweet", "Jesus or a Gun", and "Sunburn,") received some airplay. The songs "Shimmer" and "Sunburn" are also featured on the charitable album Live in the X Lounge. "Sunburn" was also featured in the movie Scream 3, and the band contributed the non-LP track "Walk the Sky" to the Godzilla film. The band hit the road in support of the release, but problems with Abbott continued. Once again Mover was enlisted, this time to play drums on tour while the band sought out a full time drummer to join. It should be noted that the liner notes for the cassette and CD issues of "Sunburn" list the band members as Carl Bell (guitar), Brett Scallions (vocals), Jeff Abercrombie (bass), and Kevin Miller (drums), although Jonathan Mover is credited with playing all the drums and percussion on the record. The band picture includes Miller, though he did not play on the record.

Something Like Human (2000)
In 2000, Fuel came back with their second album, Something Like Human, and scored a Top 40 hit in the U.S. with "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" which peaked at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Something Like Human peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 and was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA on September 25, 2001.


Natural Selection (2003)
The group's third album, Natural Selection, named after Darwinian theory, was released in September 2003 and debuted at #15 on the U.S. Billboard charts. The extended lag time between Something Like Human and Natural Selection was due to legal problems and lead singer Scallions having to recover from surgery to repair a deviated septum he suffered from an on-stage collision with Bell. The album spawned the hit "Falls on Me", which peaked at #52 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Despite the exposure of the song, the album did not sell as well as Something Like Human did, and to date has not been awarded even Gold status by the RIAA. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2004 for best engineered album, and the band contributed the song "Won't Back Down" to the Daredevil soundtrack earlier in the year. They released their greatest hits album The Best of Fuel on December 13, 2005.

Line-up changes (2004-2006)
Miller and Scallions leave
After disagreements (both public and private), drummer Kevin Miller was dismissed from the band in 2004. On February 7, 2006, Fuel announced through their website that singer Brett Scallions had left the band. Although the band (now with a new lead singer) said that Scallions left on friendly terms, Bell has stated that there were problems with Scallions' voice, "Brett had some voice issues…struggling with his voice at times... he had kinda lost a little bit of it." Bell also wrote a letter on their website stating "We will all miss him and we wish him the best." Scallions refuted Bell's comments in an interview where he stated "...It wasn’t an enjoyable environment for me, and I don’t think for any of us really, except for Carl maybe – because Carl’s mind was set into his songs, his music, and that’s the way it was. For me, growing up and being a fan of music, being a fan of creativity, you wanna be a part of things, you wanna actually feel like you are in a band, and it just wasn’t feeling like that anymore."
Daughtry receives lead singer offer
Fuel had already laid down the instrumental tracks for their fourth album and soon started auditioning singers so the band could move forward. Abercrombie and Bell took notice of American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry, after he performed "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" on the show. The single shot up to the Top 10 download list on iTunes and stayed there for a number of days. This also sparked interest in other Fuel songs, which began to appear in the Top 100 download chart on iTunes. On March 3, 2006, judge Randy Jackson stated in an interview that Daughtry had been offered the opportunity to become Fuel's new lead singer. Fuel confirmed their interest on their official website. On May 11, 2006, Abercrombie and Bell appeared on the TV show Extra to officially offer Daughtry the job. However, though flattered, Daughtry turned down this offer.
By this time also, Tommy Stewart, formerly of Godsmack, was named as Fuel's drummer on Fuel's Myspace page.
New singer chosen

On June 8, 2006, Bell announced that the band has found a new lead singer but were waiting confirmation from the record label to announce it. Still, they officially entered the studio in mid-August with producer Scott Humphrey to start recording their fourth album. Due to other commitments Stewart was not available to play drums on the album, so Tommy Lee and Josh Freese performed drums in his place. The band has posted photos from within the studio fairly often on the band's website and MySpace.
On March 9, 2007, Carl Bell officially announced that Fuel's next album, complete with new band members, was fully mixed and going to mastering, and on April 19, 2007, he posted on Fuel's official website that their new lead singer has been confirmed as Toryn Green.
On December 12, 2010, Toryn Green announced on theFIVE10 radio that the offer to Chris Daughtry to be Fuel's next singer was all a publicity stunt and that being in Fuel wasn't "what I thought it was going to be." He went on to say that the other members treated the band more like a business and he wasn't interested in that part of being in Fuel.

Angels & Devils (2007)

On May 15, 2007, Bell announced the title of the new album - Angels & Devils - set to be released on August 7, 2007. On June 19, 2007, Fuel's first single from their new album, "Wasted Time", was released into rock radio and internet download and peaked at #24 on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. A second single, "Gone," was released on October 23.
Fuel performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Friday August 10, 2007.
Angels & Devils debuted on the Billboard 200 at #42, selling about 15,000 copies in its first week.
Playlist: The Very Best of Fuel (2008)
On October 20, 2008, Sony's catalog division Legacy Recordings released the album Playlist: The Very Best of Fuel on their Playlist series.

Re-Fueled (2009)

Since concluding the tour for Angels & Devils, Fuel has shown little activity. News related to Fuel came up when in 2009, former frontman Brett Scallions got together with Jeff Abercrombie to start playing Fuel material under the group name Re-Fueled. According to Scallions, "Jeff and I have remained friends, he called me up a while back and we decided - let’s go out and have fun because he and I haven't played together in a while. It just seemed like the timing was right." Scallions has also recruited former Buckcherry guitarist Yogi, and former Candiria drummer Ken Schalk to round out the line up. The band has put together a list of tour dates for the fall where they are expected to be playing all the classic Fuel songs, from the band’s first three albums.

Reformation (2010)

Re-Fueled to become new Fuel?
In February 2010, Philadelphia's WMMR announced that Fuel, "re-grouped with original singer Brett Scallions", will be performing at their annual MMR*B*Q concert. There were also rumors of other festival dates being in the works. The limited information given led to believe that the original Fuel had rejoined their forces. However, Carl Bell's stand in the alleged reunion raised questions, even more so since there was no official confirmation from the band at that time. To add to the dubiousness of the situation, Toryn Green stated on his MySpace that it seemed to be Re-Fueled promoting their own shows under the name of Fuel.
On March 2, 2010, Brett Scallions announced via the Fuelies Message Board that the "Fuel" advertised will consist of the current Re-Fueled line-up: Brett Scallions, Yogi, Ken Schalk, and new Re-Fueled bassist, Brad Stewart (formerly of Shinedown), leaving him the only member of the old Fuel left in the band. The band embarked on world tour in April 2010.
The situation was clarified further by Scallions: "It won’t be the same as the original Fuel. Unfortunately things aren’t really resolved between Carl and myself and Jeff has decided that he no longer wants to tour. All I’m asking from you guys is that you at least give me a chance to give you a great show. You gave Carl that chance when he was the only one on the stage. Some of you have already commented on how you won’t be making this one. Well, you just might miss something great."
The band had been on hiatus since the end of Angels & Devils tour. Carl Bell's messages at the Fuelies website suggested that there were problems, "between record legal issues", that were yet to be solved. In an interview for Rockin' Music Reviews from November 2007 Bell expresses his frustration over the limited support the latest album Angels & Devils received from the label. In another interview from November 2007, Bell tells Tunelab how right before Angels & Devils was released he lost his "A&R guy" of 9 years at Epic Records, Ben Goldman, who had signed Fuel to Sony 550 Music back in 1997. In Spring 2008, the band was in talks with Sony about releasing "Leave The Memories Alone" as the third single from the album, due to notable rise in sales after its appearance in "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair's farewell video tribute in the March 31, 2008 episode of "Raw" in WWE programming, but that never came about. Instead, the negotiations to part ways with Epic after ten years were started. Until Scallions' announcement, there had been no updates on band status since March 2009.

New Fuel confirmed

On April 8, 2010, the reformation of Fuel was finally confirmed in an official press release. Also the Fuel MySpace and Facebook were updated with the new line-up and tour dates. The new band website is www.fuelrocks.com.
"There is only one original of anything" exclaims Scallions, "and that includes Fuel. The original lineup with Carl, Jeff, Jody and myself will always be something special to all of us, and our first Fuelies (a term for Fuel fans) but it has been thirteen years since the original lineup was intact, and since then many great musicians have come and gone. The lineup I put together for Fuel is not meant to replace or diminish what any of the original members created. Just the opposite, it is to give our fans a live destination, and to keep the Fuel name alive for a new generation to discover. Maybe someday we'll all get on the same page and play together again, but life happens and the next thing you know you just can't jump on a bus and take off for a month, let alone a year."
Original bassist Jeff Abercrombie is currently the owner/operator of Thud Studios. Original lead guitarist and principal songwriter Carl Bell is producing new music for a diversified group of artists. Bell has also been busy writing for film and television.
When reached for comment Bell stated, " Look, Brett sang all of this stuff on the bands biggest records, so it's pretty clear that the fans want to hear him singing Fuel songs, and that is what they are going to get. Our fans are important and they deserve a Fuel, even if it isn't an original lineup. Who knows maybe someday there will be an all original reunion. I have learned to never say never."
In an interview given to Philadelphia's 93.3 WMMR backstage of MMRBQ on May 23, 2010, Scallions talks about using the name "Fuel". "This is Fuel. We are Fuel. I worked out a deal where everybody's happy. I just told everybody, look I wanna do this my way, let me give this a shot, so everybody gave me their blessing and I'm going out and having some fun." Scallions also states that there is no animosity between him and Carl Bell. "We worked out a deal. We made an agreement with each other and we both been very civil to each other in our conversations."
It was later announced on June 25, 2010 that former Shinedown guitarist Jasin Todd had joined the band to replace Yogi Lonich on lead guitar.

Recording plans

In the May 2010 interview for 93.3 WMMR, Scallions told how the next Fuel record with the new lineup is coming together as a collaborative effort. "We have been writing on the bus during this tour, and we've got so many really really cool riffs and songs are molding together in a really awesome way, I'm so excited. (...) This is four guys that love to write which we're doing together as a band."
Recently the band played a new song live, "a taste of things to come", as Scallions described the song, and entitled the song "Headache". It was said to be reminiscent of Sunburn and Something Like Human. On Fuelies message board, Brett Scallions stated, "As some of you may know, we have been playing a new song I wrote called Headache. We just went into Matt Sorum's studio and recorded it! It came out so badass! I can't wait for you all to hear it. It has yet to be determined if it will be an actual Fuel song or if there will be another Fuel record. All of that will be determined and negotiated in the near future."
2011
After nearly two years, Carl Bell finally publicly addressed the new Fuel as well as the fans. In order to show that there was no bad blood between them Carl posted a message on their myspace which read, Hello all! Hope all is well with all of you. Just wanted to say I hope you all had a great Christmas season and here's hoping that 2011 is your best year yet!! Happy New Year!!! May it be peaceful, prosperous, and all in all a perfect year for all of you. As always, thanks again for your interest in Fuel. Your concern is always appreciated by me. All the best this New Year, Carl. It is still unclear when Fuel plan to record new material, or whether or not Carl Bell will be include in the line up in the near future.

BETTER THAN EZRA *****

Than Ezra is an American alternative rock trio based in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Current members

In addition to vocalist, chief songwriter and guitarist Kevin Griffin from Monroe, Louisiana, the other current members of Better Than Ezra as of February 2009 are bassist and backing vocalist Tom Drummond and drummer Michael Jerome, who joined the band in 2009. In addition, James Arthur Payne accompanies the band on tour, singing background vocals and playing supplemental guitar and keyboard accompaniment.

History

Formation and early success

Better Than Ezra was formed in 1988 by its four original members - vocalist and guitarist Kevin Griffin; Joel Rundell, the lead guitarist; bassist Tom Drummond; and drummer, Cary Bonnecaze. All four members were attending Louisiana State University at the time of Better Than Ezra's formation. Their first practice also took place in 1988, shortly after the band's formation. Better Than Ezra's first public performance was at Murphy's in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, also in 1988. Though many theories abound, the band refuses to disclose the origin of its name. Fans of the group often refer to themselves as Ezralites.

Better Than Ezra circulated a demo cassette tape later in 1988, the Chimes Street Demo. While not an official release, this demo is sought-after by the band's fans, and traded by collectors. In 1990 the band released a cassette-only album, Surprise.

Joel Rundell, the band's lead guitarist, committed suicide on August 8, 1990. The remaining three members of the band took some time off to reassess its future following Rundell's death. However, Griffin, Drummond and Bonnecaze reunited Better Than Ezra as a trio by the end of 1990. The trio continued playing house parties and fraternity shows across southern United States during the early 1990s.

The band released its first nationally-distributed album Deluxe in 1993 on its own indie label,Swell Records, which caught the attention of major record labels and radio. Better Than Ezra signed with Elektra Records in 1995. Elektra Records rereleased Deluxe in 1995 and the single, "Good", reached the #1 position on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart which helped push the album to platinum record status by the end of 1995.

Success came quickly to Better Than Ezra. Tom Drummond commented later in a 1998 interview with CNN, "It took us seven years to get signed, and then seven weeks to get to No. 1." when describing the overnight success of Deluxe and its single "Good".

1996–2000

After Deluxe's major label release, original drummer Cary Bonnecaze left the band in 1996. He was replaced by drummer Travis McNabb, formerly of the band Vigilantes of Love, who was tapped to play on the band's upcoming album, Friction Baby. Bonnecaze's departure set off a series of lawsuits and counter-suits between Bonnecaze and Better Than Ezra. Bonnecaze, who brought his suit to the United States District Court in New Orleans, argued that the band owed him money "based on his role in fortifying the band's reputation," according to Rolling Stone. He asked for approximately $1 million dollars in damages. A settlement was reached between the band and Bonnecaze on August 5, 1999, while a jury was simultaneously deliberating on the lawsuit. The exact terms of the settlement were not released at the time, though Better Than Ezra's manager John Isbell was quoted as saying that Bonnecaze received "way less" than the one million dollars he had originally requested.

Better Than Ezra released their second major label album, Friction, Baby, in 1996 through Elektra Records. Friction, Baby produced the hits "Desperately Wanting" and "King of New Orleans". Their sophomore release was not as commercially successful as Deluxe, but, as of 1999, sold almost 500,000 units.

The trio began work on their third major release, How Does Your Garden Grow?, soon after the end of touring for Friction, Baby. The album was recorded between mid-January and late-April at a studio in New Orleans. The album was produced by record producer Malcolm Burn and released on August 25, 1998. The sound of album was described "experimental" and a significant departure from their previous two albums. Griffin described the album in 1998 as "guitar driven ... rhythmic." Likewise, Tom Drummond described the band's thinking on its third major album, "We thought the third album was a very important record, because generally a band either makes or breaks on the third record. We wanted it to be a record that didn't necessarily sound like what people expected." Despite the emphasis on guitar experimentation, two tracks, "One More Murder" and "Je ne m'en souviens pas" contain no guitars.

The single "At the Stars" debuted, and peaked, at number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band was dropped by Elektra Records following the release of How Does Your Garden Grow? in 1999.

Subsequent album releases from Better Than Ezra include Closer, (Beyond Records, 2001), Before the Robots, (Artemis Records, 2005) and Paper Empire.

2000–2008

The band released the B-Sides and rarities collection Artifakt on its own "Ezra Dry Goods/Fudge" label in 2000. Artifakt was only sold online. Tom Drummond, the band's bassist, noted in 2002, "It's basically an album full of rarities."

Better Than Ezra, now no longer with Elektra Records, signed with the Beyond Records label and began work on new material. Drummond explained the reasoning for choosing a smaller label, "We decided we wanted to be big fish in a small pond instead of a little fish in a big pond. We just wanted to be with a label who wanted success as much as we did."

Griffin, Drummond and McNabb spent 18 months working on Closer, their follow-up album to 1998's How Does Your Garden Grow? and their first new material since being dropped by Elektra Records.The album was recorded in New Orleans in the band's own studio, which allowed the members to focus on creating music rather than rental costs per day. Closer was mixed in Los Angeles by Better Than Ezra and the album's producer, Brad Wood. However, the band felt that some tracks needed scratching. Producer Brad Wood's management company recommended DJ Swamp, who had previously worked with Beck, to mix several tracks. The use of a DJ for two of the album's tracks, the first single "Extra Ordinary" and "Recognize," marked a departure for the band, who hadn't previously employed a DJ before.

Closer was released on August 7, 2001. Better Than Ezra launched a tour in support of the album on July 26, 2001. The first single off the album, "Extra Ordinary," which had been mixed by DJ Swamp, was inspired by an AC/DC song which Griffin heard on the radio. The album's promotion hit a snag after its record label, Beyond Records, went out of business in 2002 shortly after Closer's release. Beyond Record's bankruptcy left Closer out of print for several years. In June 2009, Better Than Ezra announced that it had acquired the rights to Closer and would re-release it in the Fall of 2009 with two new previously unreleased tracks, "Simple Song" and "Screwed Up and Beautiful."

In June 2001, Better Than Ezra filmed a series of commercials for ESPN's College GameDay. The promo features the band while sports analyst Lee Corso crowd surfs to the stage, where he continues his sports reporting.

On September 28, 2004, the band simultaneously released their first live concert DVD, as well as an official live album, both entitled Live at the House of Blues New Orleans through Sanctuary Records. The DVD and album were filmed and recorded at two separate shows at the House of Blues in New Orleans during the summer of 2004.

A Greatest Hits collection was released on March 15, 2005, through Rhino Entertainment, a division of the Warner Music Group.

Better Than Ezra's sixth studio album entitled Before the Robots (Artemis Records), was released on May 31, 2005. In 2005, Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry used the band's song "Juicy" as the background music for the second season of the show's promotional advertisements, which Griffin credited with bringing attention to the album. The song "Juicy" has also been heard in the background in commercials for Applebee's restaurants.

2009–2010

Longtime drummer Travis McNabb left Better Than Ezra in February 2009, and their last performance together was Family Gras in Metairie, Louisiana. The primary reason given for his departure was the demand on his time by country and bluegrass group, Sugarland, with whom McNabb had previously been touring for some time. The split was amicable, with bassist Tom Drummond saying, "It's bittersweet. He's fantastic. We're still good friends, and there are no hard feelings. We'll miss him. But this is an opportunity he needed to take." Following his departure, McNabb remained on the board of the band's charity, The Better Than Ezra Foundation.

Announced at the same time was McNabb's replacement, New Orleans-based drummer Michael Jerome, formerly of the band Pleasure Club. In addition, Better Than Ezra announced the May 12, 2009 release date for their seventh studio album, entitled Paper Empire, which is produced by Warren Huart and singer Kevin Griffin. The first single, "Absolutely Still" was released for iTunes purchase on March 17.

On January 22, 2010, American country-pop singer Taylor Swift covered "Breathless" at a performance on Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for

Earthquake Relief, a charity telethon to benefit the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

On September 30, 2010, Kevin Griffin announced at an Orlando FL show that the band had been signed to Capitol Records and is working on new material. The signing to Capitol and subsequent release, will be the first major label work since 1998's How Does Your Garden Grow? on Elektra.