By Bali Top Excursion on
Jumat, 19 Agustus 2011
Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band from Montréal, Québec. The band has had no line up changes since its inception in 1999. Members are Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), Sébastien Lefebvre (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), David Desrosiers (bass guitar,backing vocals) and Chuck Comeau (drums and percussion). They have released four studio albums: No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls (2002), Still Not Getting Any... (2004), Simple Plan(2008) and Get Your Heart On! (2011); as well as two widely marketed live albums: Live in Japan 2002 (2003) and MTV Hard Rock Live (2005).
Formation and early years (1993–2002)
Simple Plan began in 1993 with the formation of a band named Reset by friends Pierre Bouvier,Charles-André "Chuck" Comeau, Philippe Jolicoeur, and Adrian White. Reset toured around Canada with bands such as MXPX, Ten Foot Pole, and Face to Face, but only managed to gain modest popularity. The debut album, No Worries, was released in 1997, and Comeau left soon after to go to college. Two years later he met with high school friends Jean-François "Jeff" Stinco and Sébastien Lefebvre who were in separate bands of their own, and combined to create Simple Plan. In late 1999, Comeau and Bouvier reacquainted at a Sugar Ray concert and Bouvier left Reset soon after to join Comeau. David Desrosiers replaced Bouvier in Reset, but he too left the band six months later. This allowed Bouvier, who had doubled as the band's front man and bassist, to concentrate on the singing.
The origin of the band's name is obscure. Band members have given various comical responses on this point, including that the band was their simple plan to avoid obtaining a job at McDonald's, or similar fast food restaurant chains. However, most likely, the name is derived from the 1998 drama flick "A Simple Plan".
No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls (2002–2004)
The record was originally released in the United States with twelve tracks, ending with "Perfect". Enhanced and foreign editions came in several different versions with up to two additional tracks in addition to the original twelve. For example, the U.S. release contained the extra songs "Grow Up", and "My Christmas List", while the UK release contained the extra songs "One By One" and "American Jesus" (a live version of a cover of a Bad Religion song), as well as the two music videos, "I'd Do Anything" and "I'm Just a Kid".
In support of the album in 2002, the year it was released, Simple Plan played more than 300 shows, topped the Alternative New Artist Chart, and played a sold out tour in Japan. In 2003, the band played as a headliner on the Vans Warped Tour — an appearance memorialized in the comedy slasher film, Punk Rock Holocaust, in which four of the five band members are killed. They would also play short stints on the Warped Tour in 2004 and 2005. Also in 2003, they opened for Avril Lavigne on her "Try To Shut Me Up" Tour. In addition to several headlining tours, they have also opened for Green Day and Good Charlotte. The album sold 1 million copies in early 2003 but the album sold 4 million copies worldwide making them the best selling album to date.
Still Not Getting Any... (2004–2006)
As mentioned before, when writing "No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls", the members of Simple Plan were aiming at a pure pop-punk record. This time however, when writing "Still Not Getting Any...", the members of Simple Plan were noted as saying that they were not limiting themselves to the punk genre, but rather letting themselves write "good music".
According to the bonus DVD of Still Not Getting Any..., while making the CD the members of Simple Plan thought of many names including "Get Rich or Die Trying" and "In The Zone". They decided on the name Still Not Getting Any... for a list of explained reasons. The most popular and most likely reason is that the members of Simple Plan thought that they weren't getting any good reviews, Bouvier once noting that they only had one recent good review in
Alternative Press. Another reason may be because they were still not getting any respect. There are many more variations the band members have given.Comeau once described the name of the album as "versatile".
"Still Not Getting Any..." showed a dramatic change in Simple Plan's style as well. They still kept their style of downbeat lyrics matched to upbeat music, but managed to transcend from the standard pop-punk genre. Although many of the tracks on this CD still carry the feeling of teen angst that is probably most noticeable in the song "I'm Just a Kid" from the first album No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls, the general slant of this album tends toward slightly deeper and more mature lyrical themes, as well as a more mainstream sound that edges away from the pure pop-punk style of their last album. Some critics have pointed towards the inclusion of 'classic' or 'mainstream' rock elements, claiming the album 'de-emphasizes punk-pop hyperactivity in favor of straightforward, well-crafted modern rock'.
Self-titled album (2006–2009)
After nearly a year and a half in support of "S
till Not Getting Any...", the band ended most touring in February 2006, giving only a few shows, taking some time off, and beginning work on their third CD. As announced in Bouvier's official
MySpace blog, Bouvier headed to
Miami as on about 21 March 2007 to work with an unnamed producer, who later proved to be
Dave Fortman. The band entered the studio for pre-production in Los Angeles on 29 June. On 15 July they returned to
Montreal, to record at Studio Piccolo, the same studio at which they had recorded "
Still Not Getting Any...." They finished recording and headed back to
Miami and LA to mix the album. The final part of making their record was done in
New York and it was officially completed on 21 October, though they later re-entered the studio to re-record some of the lyrics to the song "Generation."
"
When I'm Gone", the first single from
Simple Plan was released on 29 October when the band held a fan webcast.
Simple Plan was produced by Dave Fortman (
Evanescence,
Mudvayne),
Danjahandz (
Timbaland,
Justin Timberlake) and
Max Martin known for his work with
Avril Lavigne and
Kelly Clarkson. On 17 February 2008, Simple Plan achieved their highest charting single in the UK. After the first two albums just missed the UK top 40, "
When I'm Gone" gave the band their best chart position in the UK, coming in at number 26. On 29 November 2007, the band announced that the CD release would be postponed from the originally-scheduled 29 January 2008 date to what proved to be the actual release date of 12 February 2008. The Japanese version, with two bonus tracks, was released on 6 February 2008.
After completing an around-the-world promotional tour, Simple Plan played several December 2007 holiday shows. After continued promotional tours in January, Simple Plan played a triple bill in
Camden Town,
London on 27 January 2008, with the first show featuring songs from the band's first CD, the second from the second, and the third from the new release. The band played four U.S. shows in late February, and completed a European tour running until late April. The band played four Japan dates, followed by several European festivals and headlining dates. On 1 July 2008, the band gave a free concert on
Quebec City's
Plains of Abraham, attracting a crowd of 150,000 to the
Canada Day show. After a return to the Far East in late July and early August, the band played a Cross Canada Tour with
Faber Drive,
Cute is What We Aim For[10] and
Metro Station. After dates in Germany, Mexico, and Australia, the band played its second full European tour of the year from 28 October to 29 November, playing Estonia and Poland for the first time. The band also played
Tel Aviv and
Dubai in early December—shows at which the band played as a four-piece, with Desrosiers absent due to a family emergency and Lefebvre on bass. The band played an eight-show South American tour in March, and are playing various festivals and individual shows in cities ranging from
Calgary to
Moscow.
Get Your Heart On! (2009-present)
The band's fourth album
Get Your Heart On! was released on 21 June 2011. Fans who pre-ordered the album were given access to several other songs from the album prior to the actual release date. Three tracks were released for those who pre-ordered, including "You Suck at Love", "Loser of the Year" and "Freaking Me Out" (feat. Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low). The album marks Simple Plan's second time since their debut "
No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls"—which featured
Mark Hoppus of
Blink-182 and
Joel Madden of
Good Charlotte—to feature collaborations with other artists, including
Weezer's
Rivers Cuomo,
Natasha Bedingfield,
K'naan and
Alex Gaskarth of
All Time Low. On 30 March, the band launched a new official website to hold over until the "actual new website" was launched, with a new video talking about the first listen of their new song "Can't Keep My Hands Off You" (feat. Rivers Cuomo) which is available to stream on their website and to purchase on iTunes. On 20 April the band announced that "Jet Lag" would be the first single from the album. The song was released in English and French versions featuring singers Natasha Bedingfield and Marie-Mai respectively. To promote the song, a service called "JetLag Airlines" was set up on the website, releasing news, lyrics, tracklists and videos regarding the album. "Jet Lag" premiered on 25 April. On 6 May the band released the song "You Suck at Love" for free download for those who pre-ordered the album. The video for "Jet Lag", featuring Natasha Bedingfield, was released on 4 May, and the video featuring Marie-Mai was released on 16 May.
[citation needed]
Prior to the release of the album, the band started playing the song "You Suck at Love" live during the
Bamboozle Roadshow Tour in June 2010, and on 11 February 2011 the band released a snippet preview of the studio version of the song on their website and YouTube channel. The song was speculated to be the first single of the album. The band was on the roster of
Warped Tour 2011 for selected dates in June and July 2011.
Simple Plan's style of music has been described as pop punk by the Calgary Herald, The Torontoist, Channel News Asia, Allmusic, NME, MTV, The Guardian, the BBC, Rocklouder About.com, Entertainment Weekly and VH1; punk rock revivalist by The New York Times, "Dude Rock" by Digital Spy; with Rolling Stone reviews describing No Helmets No Pads... Just Balls as "new-punk". Atlantic Records marketing material has described the band's style as having "classic punk energy and modernpop sonics".
The members of Simple Plan have helped nonprofit and advocacy groups by donating to many established organizations such as the MTV Asia Aid benefit, MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), RADD (Recording Artists, Actors, and Athletes against Drunk Driving), and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. However, after being frustrated because the members did not know exactly where their money was going to, the Simple Plan members created the Simple Plan Foundation, a foundation that focuses on teen problems ranging from suicide to poverty to drug addiction. As of 9 December 2005, the Simple Plan Foundation had raised more than $100,000. The list of donors included venues on their November–December 2005 Canadian tour. In June 2008, Bouvier announced plans for the foundation to distribute $100,000 to organizations that aid children or families experiencing difficulties due to handicaps or illness. Selected organizations included Children's Wish Foundation, Kids Help Phone, and War Child Canada, as well as College Beaubois (the high school alma mater of all band members except Desrosiers). In addition, the members held a benefit for the Foundation in August. While the band's January show in Montreal had been to benefit the Foundation, this was described as the first fundraising event. It consisted of brunch and an acoustic performance. An additional fundraising event was held on September 2009 in Montreal. In October 2008, the band announced a special release, on iTunes, of the single Save You, to benefit the Foundation, with a special composite video featuring cancer survivors. The song was inspired by the struggle with cancer of Bouvier's brother Jay. On 15 March 2011, as a result of Japan's 8.9 Richter scale earthquake, the Simple Plan Foundation stated it would be donating $10,000.00 to the Japan Red Cross Relief Efforts, and that fans could help donate by purchasing a "Simple Plan Help Japan" t-shirt for $20.00, making clear that all proceeds are going towards the fund from the t-shirts.
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By Bali Top Excursion on
Selasa, 16 Agustus 2011
Owl City is an American electronica musical project by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young formed in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. Young created the project while experimenting with music in his parents' basement. Like many musicians who achieved success in the era between 2005 and 2009, Owl City developed a following on the music andsocial networking site Myspace in the late 2000s before signing with Universal Republic in 2008.
After two independent albums, Owl City gained mainstream popularity with the 2009 major label debut album Ocean Eyes, which spawned the quadruple-platinum hit single "Fireflies". The album was certified Platinum in the United States in April 2010.
Early years (2007–2009)
Suffering from insomnia while working loading Coca-Cola trucks in his hometown, Owatonna, Minnesota, Young turned to composing music. He began uploading songs recorded in his parents' basement to Myspace. He started to receive favorable attention for his music and then helped cultivate this nascent fanbase by being an open and accessible web presence, responding to any messages he received and constantly posting blogs. His manager Steve Burksy later highlighted the significance of Young's engaging online manner in building his following saying: "People feel like they know him, like they've got a direct connection to him because of how he approaches his connection with them online." Through a deal with the digital aggregator CD Baby, he then started making the songs available for sale through iTunes. In 2007, Owl City released an EP titled Of June, followed by the 2008 release of the album Maybe I'm Dreaming. Of Junereached #15 on the Billboard Electronic Albums chart, and Maybe I'm Dreaming peaked on the same chart at #13.
The viral phenomenon that was building through Myspace caught the attention of Universal Republic presidents Avery and Monte Lipman who approached Young with a view to signing the artist. Republic recommended Young partner up with 27-year-old manager Steve Bursky of Foundations Artist Management and the two began working together in late 2008. When later asked by HitQuarters why the label chose him for a major label act given his relative inexperience, Burksy said:
"I think they saw Owl City as representing the future of our business. This idea of a kid in a tiny town in rural U.S. being able to make songs in his basement that sound like Top 40 radio could never have happened ten years ago. By hiring a young management company who understands the business circa 2011 over a seasoned industry vet, who might not understand the online spaces well, showed a lot of understanding of where this kid was going to end up having success."
Owl City's label deal with Universal Republic was finally confirmed in February 2009. According to Bursky there was initially some disagreement about the direction Owl City should follow, telling HitQuarters: "They were ready to send him into the studio with big producers and polish him up to try to become this thing that he wasn't. But we put our foot down and said, 'Look, the reason you signed this kid is because it’s working. Whatever it is about him - his music, his interaction with his fans, his brilliance in the online space - these things are connecting with people, and as soon as you change that you lose what’s special about this artist.' To their credit, they really listened and they got it."
Ocean Eyes (2009–2010)
Ocean Eyes, Owl City's second full-length album and major label debut, was released on iTunes on July 14, 2009, with the physical release following on July 28, 2009. The album debuted at #27 on the Billboard 200. Owl City has released three official singles from this album: "Umbrella Beach", "Vanilla Twilight" and "Fireflies". "Fireflies" topped the US and Canadian charts and became the most-downloaded song on iTunes in the US. Ocean Eyes reached the top ten on the US album charts, topped the US electronic charts, and also reached Amazon MP3's top 10 most downloaded album list. By December 2009, it was certified Gold in the United States. On January 24, 2010, Owl City reached the number 1 spot in the UK Top 40 Singles chart with "Fireflies". The song "Tidal Wave" also received significant airplay on Christian music radio stations.[citation needed] On January 2, 2011, it was revealed "Fireflies" was the 20th most downloaded song of all time in the UK.
Young is joined by Breanne Düren on several tracks; the most noted being "The Saltwater Room". Owl City's live band consists of Breanne Düren (background vocals/keyboards), Matthew Decker (drums), Laura Musten (violin), Hannah Schroeder (cello), and Daniel Jorgensen (vibes).[citation needed]
Relient K vocalist Matt Thiessen has toured and collaborated with Owl City on several tracks, including "Fireflies", where Matt can be heard providing the backup vocals. Young also produced Relient K's song "Terminals".
"Fireflies" was released as a free download on the game Tap Tap Revenge 3 by Tapulous. Prior to the July 14, 2009 internet release ofOcean Eyes, and the "Fireflies" single, Steve Hoover was hired as a director for a music video for "Fireflies". The video was to have had an exclusive premiere on MySpace, but had been leaked onto YouTube and Dailymotion hours earlier. "Fireflies" became a big sleeper hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States for the week ending November 7, 2009.
In 2010, Young revealed a new musical project known as Sky Sailing, which moved away from his usual electronica genre of music and introduced acoustic guitar and piano accompaniments into his work. The unrefined tracks were recorded in the summer of 2007 before he began making music as Owl City. His first album under this new project is entitled An Airplane Carried Me to Bed, and was released July 13, 2010 via iTunes.
In May 2010, Adam Young collaborated with high-profile British electronic composer, producer, musician, and songwriter Nick Bracegirdle. Under his Chicane alias, Bracegirdle released the single "Middledistancerunner" on August 1, 2010 featuring Adam Young on vocals. This is the first single from the fourth Chicane album Giants. He also worked with famed Dutch producer Armin van Buuren, appearing on a track called 'Youtopia' from the forthcoming van Buuren album Mirage on September 10, 2010.
On November 13, 2010, a new album was also released for one of his other musical projects, "Windsor Airlift", called "Flight" on iTunes.
On November 23, 2010, a new Christmas single called "Peppermint Winter" was released. A preview had been released the previous week onFacebook.
All Things Bright and Beautiful (2011–present)
On Valentine's Day, 2011, Young released a cover/reply song to Taylor Swift's "Enchanted". and it was announced that All Things Bright and Beautiful would be released on May 17, although that date was subsequently pushed back to June 14.
On March 1, he announced via his website the All Things Bright and Beautiful Tour featuring recording artist Mat Kearney and Unwed Sailor.All Things Bright and Beautiful presale and tour ticket presale started March 22.
The album is also a hit, reaching #1 on the iTunes American album chart and #8 in Canada.
On March 22, 2011, the debut single off the album called Alligator Sky was released on iTunes. Two versions have been released so far, with a version featuring only Adam Young on vocals and another featuring Young as well as guest rapper Shawn Chrystopher, and each version having different lyrics in the verses. Adam Young also released a song "Lonely Lullaby," available through The ipod Touch app, Owl City Galaxy. Previews of 3 songs (Honey and the Bee, Dreams Don't Turn to Dust, and Deer in the Headlights) could be heard in a making-of video posted on the official website. People were also able to pre-order his album All Things Bright and Beautiful on iTunes starting then.
On April 6, 2011, Adam Young released a statement on his website, along with lengthy previews of four of his songs (Dreams Don't Turn to Dust, Alligator Sky Ft. Shawn Chrystopher, Galaxies, and Deer in the Headlights), that the release date for All Things Bright and Beautifulwould be pushed back to June 14. His song 'The Yacht Club' features electropop singer Lights, who opened for him during his 2010 tour.
On April 19, 2011, Galaxies was released as the second single from the album. Since the release of "Ocean Eyes" in 2009, Galaxies became Owl City's second highest charting single of all time, Fireflies being the highest.
On May 6, 2011, Owl City released the music video for "Alligator Sky". Young discussed the concept in a making-of video, "So the concept is basically about these two guys who are leaving Earth. Rather than it being this very dark post-apocalyptic vibe, it's very optimistic, and so it's like people are excited to leave earth."
Beginning on May 16, 2011, Adam Young released different parts of his new song 'Deer in the Headlights' each day.
On June 14, 2011, 'All Things Bright and Beautiful' was released on iTunes.
On June 30, 2011, the music video for 'Deer in the Headlights' was released. It features Young driving the DeLorean featured in "Back to the Future" and Lights appears as a special guest. Young sees himself at the end, in the space suit that he wore in the Alligator Sky music video. This is after he drives the DeLorean to 2015, the year Doc and Marty traveled to in Back to the Future Part II.
On July 19, "Lonely Lullaby" was released as a single on iTunes. This makes the track available outside of Owl City Galaxy members.
For press for Young's latest album, he was featured in the August. Giving an interview, and gracing the cover. The article also features some of Young's very own art work.
Owl City's music is described as
indietronica and
synthpop and is often described as belonging under the broad "
alternative music" label.Young has stated that he is inspired by
disco and European
electronic music, as well as instrumental genres such as drone, ambient, and post-rock. He cites his biggest influences as Johnathon Ford of Unwed Sailor and Thomas Newman. Young also incorporates a large amount of his
Christian faith into his music, since he is a vocal Christian. Young's faith is evident on the new album, "All Things Bright and Beautiful", especially in "Galaxies". Explaining why the faith-filled song was added to the mix, he said, "I feel like if I were ever to hide the fact that that’s what’s so important to me, it would be a crime, that I should probably be put in jail for that."
Owl City also has been compared to
The Postal Service, often critically, for his combination of fuzzy synths, ironic lyrics and use of female guest singers.
Pitchfork.com goes far enough to say that "The surprise No. 1 single in the country, Owl City's "
Fireflies", jacks the Postal Service in such a bald-faced, obvious manner that getting into specifics feels redundant at best and tacky at worst.". In response to this comparison, Adam Young suggested in a 2009 interview with
The New York Times that
Ocean Eyes is perhaps the "next chapter" after American band
The Postal Service: "The Postal Service released a record in 2003, and that was it. There was really nothing to compare it to until some one else came along and wrote the next chapter. Maybe that's this record. Maybe that's this band."
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