Adam Gontier | |
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Born | Adam Wade Gontier May 25, 1978 Peterborough, Ontario, Canada |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1992–present |
Spouses |
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Children | 2 [1] |
Relatives | Cale Gontier (cousin) |
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Instruments |
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Member of |
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Formerly of | Big Dirty Band |
Adam Wade Gontier (born May 25, 1978) is a Canadian rock musician. He is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter for Saint Asonia, but is best known as the co-lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and founding member of the rock band Three Days Grace. He co-founded the band in 1992, recording four albums with them before parting ways in 2013 (not counting two guest appearances on stage with the band in 2023) and eventually returning in 2024. In addition to his work with Three Days Grace and Saint Asonia, he has been involved in collaborations with other bands including Art of Dying, Apocalyptica, Breaking Benjamin, Skillet and Thousand Foot Krutch. [6]
Gontier was born in Peterborough, Ontario on May 25, 1978. [7] He was raised in Markham, Ontario. [8] [9] Shortly after his parents divorced, he moved back to the Peterborough area, where he initially attended Adam Scott Collegiate and Vocational Institute. [8] In 1992, he moved to the Norwood area, and attended Norwood District High School, where he met and befriended Three Days Grace members Neil Sanderson and Brad Walst. [10] Gontier's mother is a professional singer/pianist, and was an influence to him as a musician. [11]
Gontier started playing guitar at the age of 12 and was taught by his cousin's brother Josh. [8] He began writing songs at the age of 14 and was influenced by bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam. He also cites inspiration from the Seattle music scene. [12] Gontier has stated that he uses music "as an outlet and release for emotions and feelings." [13]
Gontier, along with Sanderson, Walst, Phil Crowe, and Joe Grant, [14] started out as "Groundswell" in Norwood, Ontario, in 1992, while attending high school. [10] In 1997, Gontier, Sanderson, and Walst regrouped as "Three Days Grace". [10] The group was signed to Jive Records after being sought out by the company's then-president Barry Weiss. [10] Their Canadian rock number one debut single, "I Hate Everything About You", [12] and their debut self-titled studio album was released in 2003. [15] Their second studio album, One-X , was released in 2006, debuting at number five on the Billboard 200. [16] Their third studio album, Life Starts Now , was released in 2009 and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, thus becoming the band's highest-charting album in the US to date. [17] In 2012, the band released their fourth studio album, Transit of Venus and peaked at number five on the Billboard 200. [18]
On January 9, 2013, Gontier resigned from Three Days Grace. [19] He left as the band was about to embark on a co-headlining tour. [19] Matt Walst from My Darkest Days, the brother of bassist Brad Walst, became the new lead singer. [20] On April 19, 2023, Gontier reunited with Three Days Grace to perform "Never Too Late" and "Riot". [21] Gontier reunited with the band a second time for their Nashville, Tennessee concert on October 10, 2023.
On October 3, 2024, it was announced Gontier had officially rejoined Three Days Grace (with Walst also remaining as a singer) and was in the studio recording new music with the band. [22]
Gontier joined singer and songwriter Martin Sexton on the road during his 2012 "Fall Like Rain" tour, providing opening support as a solo artist. [23] He also joined Citizen Cope for a few shows as a solo act. [24] Gontier continued to do shows and concerts as a solo artist. Several songs have been released, but not as singles. In early March 2013, Gontier publicly announced and launched his Adam Gontier Solo Live Tour. [4]
In April 2014, Gontier and Staind guitarist Mike Mushok began writing songs together, without the intention of creating a band. [25] They soon garnered the interest of RCA Records. [25] The duo later enlisted former Finger Eleven drummer Rich Beddoe, and former Dark New Day bassist Corey Lowery to complete their lineup. [26] On May 15, 2015, the group released their debut single "Better Place". [27] The band released their debut self-titled studio album on July 31, 2015. [25] In early 2019, the group signed with Spinefarm Records and released their second studio album, Flawed Design , later that year. [28] In 2022, the group released two EPs, Introvert and Extrovert, [29] [30] before releasing both EPs physically as Introvert/Extrovert with bonus tracks on December 9, 2022. [30]
Outside of Three Days Grace, Gontier has also written and collaborated with numerous writers, musicians and bands. Some of his collaborations include Daughtry, Ian Thornley, Max Martin, Shaun Morgan, Ben Burnley, Art of Dying, Before the Curtain, and fellow musician and long time friend Grainne Ryan. [6]
In 2006, Gontier was a member of the rock supergroup Big Dirty Band along with Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Jeff Burrows, Ian Thornley and Care Failure, covering "I Fought the Law", as part of the Trailer Park Boys movie soundtrack. [31] He has also contributed to a number of other albums. He contributed vocals and musical arrangement on "I Don't Care" on Apocalyptica's album, Worlds Collide in 2007. [32] In 2009, Adam Gontier worked with Daughtry on their second studio album Leave This Town . The song "Back Again" was featured on the physical copy of Daughtry's Leave This Town: The B-Sides EP. [33]
In 2011, Gontier created the record label, Sludge Factory Records, and has signed three acts, one of which is fellow Peterborough band, Before the Curtain. [34] Gontier was also featured on the track "Raining" by fellow Canadian band Art of Dying on their album Vices and Virtues . [35]
On January 24, 2020, Breaking Benjamin released their compilation album, Aurora , that included Gontier on the track "Dance with the Devil". [6] In 2021, Gontier released a song for PUBG Mobile titled, "Tidal Wave". [36] In January 2023, he was featured on Skillet's song "Finish Line", on the deluxe edition of Dominion . [37] Gontier formed a new project called Diviidedby together with former USS MC Jason "Human Kebab" Parsons in April 2023. [38] In late 2023, he was featured on the 2023 version of "Let the Sparks Fly" by Thousand Foot Krutch. [39]
In 2004, Gontier was named on Chart Attack magazine's "20 Sexiest Canadian Musicians" list. [40] In 2006, Gontier and Three Days Grace won the Billboard Music Awards for Rock Single of the Year. [41] In 2008, Gontier won the BMI Pop Awards. [42] Michael Bell handed him the "Big Time Award", at the 2012 "Wire Awards". Gontier was inducted into the Norwood District High School Hall of Honor in July 2022 along with Brad and Matt Walst. [43]
Gontier married Naomi Faith Brewer in May 2004. [44] The couple divorced in 2013. [4] He married Jeanie Marie Larsen in March 2015. [8] [45] His cousin, Cale Gontier, is the bass player for Art of Dying and Saint Asonia. [8] [46] As of 2023, he resides in Nashville, Tennessee. [47]
In 2005, Gontier went into rehabilitation at the CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) in Toronto, where he wrote many of the songs for One-X, including "Never Too Late", which was co-written by Adam's ex-wife, Naomi Faith Brewer. Both Gontier and Brewer wrote the video for the song, and she also appears in the video. While in CAMH in Toronto, Gontier wrote "Pain", "Animal I Have Become", "Get Out Alive", "Over and Over", and "Gone Forever". [48] [13] A docu-drama about his addiction, Behind the Pain, was released in 2007. [48] [49] Gontier has been open about his struggles with mental health. [50] He stated that he relapsed in 2017 and went into a treatment center. Since then, Gontier has been sober and stated that he has "no plans on going back to a dark place anytime soon." [51]
with Groundswell
with Three Days Grace
with Saint Asonia
Title | Year | Album |
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"Tidal Wave" [52] | 2021 | Non-album single |
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certification | Album | |||||
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CAN [53] | CAN Rock [54] | FIN [55] | US [56] | US Main. Rock [57] | |||||
"I Don't Care" (Apocalyptica featuring Adam Gontier) | 2008 | 59 | 4 | 13 | 78 | 1 | Worlds Collide | ||
"Wars" [59] (Cevilain featuring Adam Gontier) | 2021 | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
"Let the Sparks Fly" [60] (Thousand Foot Krutch featuring Adam Gontier) | 2023 | — | — | — | — | — | The End Is Where We Begin: Reignited | ||
"—" denotes releases that did not chart. |
Title | Year | Artist(s) | Album | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
"Back Again" | 2010 | Daughtry | Leave This Town: The B-Sides | Songwriter | [61] |
"Raining" | 2011 | Art of Dying | Vices and Virtues | Composer, featured artist | [62] |
"Dance with the Devil" | 2020 | Breaking Benjamin | Aurora | Featured artist | [63] |
"Finish Line" | 2023 | Skillet | Dominion | Featured artist | [64] |
"Why Is Love So Hard" | 2024 | Peyton Parrish | Featured artist, songwriter | [65] |
Three Days Grace is a Canadian rock band formed in Norwood, Ontario, in 1992 originally as Groundswell. Groundswell played in various local Norwood backyard parties and area establishments before disbanding in 1995 and regrouping in 1997 under its current name.
One-X is the second studio album by Canadian rock band Three Days Grace, released on June 13, 2006 as their sole album under Sony BMG, the successor to Sony Music Entertainment's original roots and Bertelsmann Music Group. The Sony BMG joint venture was dropped in 2008, which led to Bertelsmann's Sony BMG stake going back to Sony. Produced by Howard Benson, it is the band's first album recorded as a quartet, as Barry Stock joined the group and took over lead guitar from lead singer Adam Gontier.
"Pain" is a song by Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. It was released on September 19, 2006, as the second single from their second studio album, One-X.
Brad Walst is a Canadian musician. He is the bassist and a founding member of the rock band Three Days Grace, which also includes his younger brother Matt. As of 2022, Three Days Grace has sold over 10 million albums and singles combined worldwide and the band's songs streams surpass two billion.
"Riot" is a song by Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. It was released on November 6, 2007 as the fourth and final single from the album One-X. The song peaked at number 65 on the Canadian Hot 100, and number 12 and 21 on the US Mainstream Rock and Alternative Airplay charts respectively. The single was certified Platinum in both Canada and the United States respectively in 2018.
"Never Too Late" is a song by Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. It was released on May 7, 2007 as the third single from the band's second album One-X.
Transit of Venus is the fourth studio album by Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. It was released on October 2, 2012 through RCA Records. The album is the band's first to be released under the record label, following the folding of their former label, Jive Records, in 2011. The album was produced by Don Gilmore and recorded at Revolution Studios in Toronto.
"Chalk Outline" is the lead single from Canadian rock band Three Days Grace's fourth album, Transit of Venus. The band released many "snippets" of the song before August 14 to tease fans. It reached No. 1 on the U.S. Active Rock chart for a total of 10 weeks and won the "Rock Song of the Year" award given by Loudwire. Billboard ranked the song at number 8 on their "Greatest of All Time Mainstream Rock Songs" list.
"Painkiller" is a song by Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. The song was released on April 1, 2014, as the lead single from their fifth studio album Human. It is the first single released with new singer Matt Walst, following the departure of Adam Gontier. The song reached number-one on the US Mainstream Rock chart, which made it their eleventh number-one single.
Human is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. The album was released on March 31, 2015 through RCA Records. It is the first of three albums without original lead singer Adam Gontier, and the first with My Darkest Days lead singer and Brad Walst's younger brother Matt Walst.
Saint Asonia is a Canadian-American rock supergroup consisting of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Gontier, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist and backing vocalist Cale Gontier, and drummer Cody Watkins. In 2017, the band's original drummer, Rich Beddoe, left the band and was replaced by Mushok's Staind bandmate Sal Giancarelli, and one year later bassist and backing vocalist Corey Lowery left the band to join Seether and his place was taken by Gontier's cousin Cale Gontier. The band formed in Toronto, Canada in 2015 after Gontier's departure from Three Days Grace in 2013. Their second studio album, titled Flawed Design, was released on October 25, 2019. On January 26, 2020, Art of Dying drummer Cody Watkins became the new drummer for Saint Asonia replacing Sal Giancarelli.
Saint Asonia is the debut studio album by rock supergroup Saint Asonia. The album was released on July 31, 2015 through RCA Records. It was released in European countries with two additional tracks on November 23, 2015.
"Better Place" is the first single from the self-titled studio album by the band Saint Asonia. The song has been released digitally via Spotify and iTunes. It was nominated at the 2016 Canadian Radio Music Awards for the "Best New Group or Solo Artist: Mainstream Rock" award.
"Let Me Live My Life" is a song by Canadian-American rock supergroup Saint Asonia. It was released on July 17, 2015, as the second single from their debut self-titled studio album. The song was released two weeks before the album's arrival.
Flawed Design is the second studio album by rock supergroup Saint Asonia released on October 25, 2019 via Spinefarm Records.
Explosions is the seventh studio album by Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. It was released on May 6, 2022, through RCA Records. The album was produced by Howard Benson and by the band themselves. It the band's third album to feature Matt Walst as lead vocalist, and their last before the return of founding vocalist Adam Gontier in 2024.
Matthew Jean Paul Walst is a Canadian musician who is the co-lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Three Days Grace, which also includes his older brother Brad as bassist. Before joining Three Days Grace, he was the lead singer of My Darkest Days.
"The Hunted" is a song by Canadian-American rock supergroup Saint Asonia. It was released on July 24, 2019 as the lead single from their second studio album Flawed Design. The song features Sully Erna, the lead singer from American rock band Godsmack.
Introvert/Extrovert is a compilation album by Canadian-American rock supergroup Saint Asonia. It was released on December 9, 2022 through Spinefarm Records. The album was released physically and combines both their previous EPs Introvert and Extrovert. It is the band's last release before they entered a temporary hiatus in October 2024, following Adam Gontier's return to Three Days Grace.
"Mayday" is a song by Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. It was released on November 22, 2024, via RCA Records as the lead single from their upcoming eighth studio album. It is the band's first recording since Transit of Venus (2012) to feature Adam Gontier, who returned to the group in October 2024 after leaving 11 years prior, on vocals, with Gontier now sharing lead vocal duties with Matt Walst.
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