Jimmy Eat World

Childhood friends Jim Adkins and Zach Lind partnered with guitarist Tom Linton and bassist Mitch Porter to form the band in 1993. Under local label Wooden Blue Records Jimmy Eat World released a few singles, an EP and a self-titled album during 1993-94. The band got lucky in 1995 with a contract under Capitol Records that allowed them to release the album “Static Prevails.” For this venture, friend Rick Burch replaced Mitch Porter and drummer Mark Trombino joined the group.

In 1999, Jimmy Eat World released “Clarity” which was recorded in studios in California. The single “Lucky Denver Mint” was featured on the soundtrack of rom-com “Never Been Kissed” which elevated the band to mainstream audiences. However, the album that prompted Jimmy Eat World to worldwide fame is “Bleed American” which was put out in 2001 by DreamWorks. The single “The Middle” exploded on the airwaves and took the #5 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

Following tremendous success with “Bleed American” Jimmy Eat World recruited producer Gil Norton (whose previous experience includes working with bands like the Pixies and Foo Fighters) to work on “Futures.” Their fourth album came out October 2004 and the single “Pain” became a hit. By this time Jimmy Eat World had toured independently to promote “Bleed American” and also in collaboration with Taking Back Sunday. In 2005 they joined forces with Green Day on a worldwide tour.

In total Jimmy Eat World has released eight studio albums both independently and under major label Interscope Records (formerly DreamWorks). The band’s name comes from a cartoon drawn by Linton’s younger brother Ed, who was making fun of their brother Jim. The drawing depicts a slab of the Earth resting on Jim’s jaw, and the rest is history. Jimmy Eat World considers punk bands Mr. T Experience, Radon and Tempe’s Horace Pinker as influences in their music.

Prior to forming Thrice vocalist/guitarist Dustin Kensrue and guitarist Teppei Teranishi had played in the rock group Chapter 11 together. Alongside bassist Eddie Breckridge and drummer Riley Breckridge, who knew Dustin and Teppei from school and the local skate park, began practicing together and played their first gig in 1998. The name Thrice was initially considered to be a temporary moniker however the group soon developed a following in the local area and became associated with the name. In 1999 Thrice released their debut EP entitled “First Impressions”, which was limited to 1,000 copies, followed by the full-length “Identity Crisis” in April 2000. Released on Greenfly Records, the album earned the group a significant national buzz, and a percentage of the album’s proceeds were donated to a local children’s charity.

Thrice subsequently signed with Hopeless/Sub City’s who reissued the band’s debut “Identity Crisis” and sent Thrice on tour alongside Samiam. In 2002 the band’s sophomore “The Illusion of Safety” was released to favourable reviews and the group embarked on an extensive national tour in support of Further Seems Forever and Face to Face. Once again a portion of the album’s proceeds were donated to charity, with the label matching whatever the band raised. Due to the success of the album and tour, Thrice caught to attention of major label Island Records, who signed the band and agreed to match any charitable donations.

The band’s major-label debut “The Artist in the Ambulance” arrived in 2003 and charted at No. 16 on the Billboard 200. Led by the tracks “All That’s Left” and “Stare At The Sun” the album found favour across the musical press and Thrice subsequently began playing larger venues, including dates with Thursday and Cohered and Cambria. The full-length “Vheissu” was issued in October 2005 with proceeds going to the Dave Eggers’ charity 826 Valencia and in turn the cover art was designed by Eggers. The album features a much richer and textured instrumentation than its predecessors and was once again supported by an extensive touring schedule including headlining the 2006 Taste of Chaos tour. The EP “Red Sky” followed in early 2006 and the elaborate four-disc concept album “The Alchemy Index” in 2007. The live albums “The MySpace Transmissions” and “Live at the House of Blues” appeared in 2009, succeeded by the studio album “Beggars” in 2009 and “Major/Minor” in 2011.