Fuel

Formed in Kenton, Tennessee, US, the band came together in 1989, featuring singer/guitarist Brett Scallions, guitarist Carl Bell, bassist Jeff Abercrombie and drummer Kevin Miller. Having established their presence on the local scene, Fuel relocated to Pennsylvania in 1993, hoping to find a more fertile ground for their music to develop.

They made their record debut in 1996with the independently released EP, "Porcelain," which became a local success, bolstered by radio airplay of their single, "Shimmer." Sony's 550 imprint saw the band's potential and signed them to their roster, releasing the "Hazleton" EP in 1997 before then releasing their debut album, "Sunburn," in 1998. 'Shimmer" again became a hit, almost breaking into Billboard's Top 40. Bolstered by three further hit singles, Fuel's debut was certified Platinum, establishing the band on the hard rock scene.

Their second effort, "Something Like Human" was released in 2000, prompting further commercial success, reaching number 12 on the Billboard album charts and selling double-Platinum. 2003's "Natural Selection" continued to find Fuel hits, with the lead single, "Falls on Me," although it failed to muster the same number of sales as previous albums.

After releasing a greatest hits album, lead singer Scallions decided to depart from the band, wishing to pursue other musical interests. Toryn Green became a worthy replacement, making his debut on the band's fourth record, "Angels & Devils." Miller also left the drum stool, with Fuel filling the void with both Tommy Stewart (ex-Godsmack) and John Freese (Nine Inch Nails/A Perfect Circle). The album appeared in 2007, finding moderate chart success.

Scallions returned in 2010, with the band continuing to tour across the US. They returned to the studio in 2012, beginning work on their fifth full-length, enlisting producer Eddie Wohl to work on the album. The record saw an eventual release in March 2014, with the album breaking into the Billboard's album chart's Top 100 at number 77 upon its debut.

In a way, debuting so early was the best and worst thing that could have happened to Eve 6. The band signed their first major label record deal when every member was still in high school, and while that gives you a fast track to genuine success and a shot at having a decades long career right off the bat, it also means growing up in public. In all seriousness, who wants to do that? Originally named Eleventeen, the band signed to RCA soon after their very first concert at the North Hollywood rock club Eagle’s Coffee Pub in 1995. Within a year, the band had changed their name to Eve 6 (a reference to the sci-fi TV show The X-Files, which the band’s drummer was a big fan of), and in 1998, the band released their self-titled debut album. The record was a platinum sellling success, helped massively by its lead single “Inside Out” hurtling into the Billboard Modern Rock charts at number one and eventually climbing into the top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100.

The band were comfortably on top of the world, and stayed there once the 2000 release of their second album “Horrorscope” came along. Their sophomore effort was a Gold-ceritified success with another mainstream hit single in the form of high school graduation standard “Here’s To The Night”. However, cracks had begun to show in the band and by the release of their third album “It’s All In Your Head”, singer Max Collins’ drinking had spiralled out of control and the sales of their newest effort were slow enough to get them released from their RCA contract in 2003. The following year, the band went on hiatus, citing a need to grow up a little more away from the public eye. Even though they’d been performing together for just under a decade, the average age of the band was still 26.

Three years later, after some low-key solo efforts from the band members, singer Collins and drummer Tony Fagenson came back together in 2007 for a few eagerly awaited live shows. The band resumed business properly in 2008, touring the world, writing new material and generally reconnecting themselves to their fan-base. Wisely, they waited until they felt truly ready to release anything and their first album since reconvening, “Speak In Code”, was released in April 2012. The record ended up getting the best reviews of their entire career, and ever since then, the band have enjoyed one of the most succesful career renaissance’s of any reunited band of today. For that, Eve 6 come highly recommended.

The four piece came together in 1995 when, using a 4-track tape recorder, singer-songwriter and guitarist Kristopher Roe, and guitarist Jasin Thomason, would write and record demos with a drum machine whilst searching for a full-time drummer.

The band’s big break came in 1996 when Roe and Thomason attended a show to see the band The Vandals, who owned their own label “Kung Fu Records. Thomason gave a tape to Joe Escalante, a bassist from the band. The Ataris were later signed to the record label and eventually found drummer Derrick Plourde. Fast-forward a couple of months to April 29th 1997, when The Ataris released their debut album “Anywhere but Here” which only took a week to record. The band relocated to Santa Barbara, California. The band had to undergo some line up changes in this transition period, but their popularity started to bloom.

In 2002 saw the Ataris new album “So Long, Astoria” start to take shape. Their contract with Kung Fu Records had expired but they had the attention of Columbia Records to decided to sign with them. This album catered to a much more mainstream audience and generated successful singles such as “In This Diary” and “The Saddest Song”. The album also featured their cover of Don Henley’s “the Boys of Summer” which became their “accidental” second single after a radio station, KROQ in Los Angeles started playing it. However, it is the band’s highest charting single to date, reaching No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album sold over 700,000 units in total and was certified Gold.

The band has remained a band to this day but it is very much the brainchild of Roe, with him being the driving force behind the band and the original member. In 2013, The Ataris began a North American tour with Kris Roe and the former members John Collura, Mike Davenport and Chris Knapp to celebrate the 10 years of their most successful album, “So Long, Astoria”.