Much the Same

Last updated
Much The Same
Also known asDon't Look Down (1999-2001)
Origin Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres
Years active19992007, 2011, 2015-present
Labels Nitro Records, Lockjaw Records, Thousand Islands Records, Pee Records, A-F Records
Members Gunner McGrath
Frank Tsoukalas
Dan O'Gorman
Jevin Kaye
John Feliciano
Past membersMike Ford
Mook Snoreck
Andy Simon
Adam Mufich
Matt Haraburda
Website www.muchthesame.com

Much The Same is a punk rock band from the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Their style is based on the fast, melodic skate punk of the mid-to-late 1990s made popular by bands such as NOFX, Lagwagon, and No Use for a Name.

Contents

The band began in 1999 under the name Don't Look Down and changed to Much The Same in 2001 after a legal dispute with the now-defunct New Jersey band Don't Look Down. They released Quitters Never Win on A-F Records in 2003 and Survive in 2006.

The band announced their break-up on April 23, 2007 following their first and only European tour.

They reunited for a final farewell performance on March 26, 2011 at Reggie's Rock Club in Chicago. The sold-out show featured both fan favorite songs and a few the band rarely, if ever, played live.

The band announced on March 30, 2015 that they reunited and would be working on a new album.

History

Lead singer and guitarist Chris "Gunner" McGrath and bassist Andy Simon started playing songs together with various people and bands beginning in 1997. When McGrath decided to put out a local punk rock compilation entitled Fun With Dirt, he recruited SKG's drummer, Mike "Mook" Snoreck, to learn and record the song, and he joined immediately afterward. This marked the official beginning of the band's career.

Soon afterward, Simon left to play guitar in SKG, and their bassist Adam Mufich took his place. This lineup went on to play their first appearance on the Vans Warped Tour in Chicago in 2000. Andy Simon later rejoined as a second guitarist in September 2000, only to leave again along with Mufich six months later, but not before recording the band's first CD, the Caught Off Guard EP. Franky Tsoukalas and Matt Haraburda replaced them before the EP was released and their picture appears in the booklet despite the fact that they did not record the songs.

In 2001, it was at this point that the band decided they needed to change their name, leading to a rushed search for a new name commenced, producing largely unsatisfactory results. In frustration, McGrath started searching through a thesaurus for any word or phrase that stood out, and "much the same" stuck out due to its appearance in the lyrics of his side band's song "Big Surprise." The band decided the name was fitting, since it described the change of name as being irrelevant to the music of the band, and also served as self-deprecation acknowledging their similarity to many other popular punk bands of the time. Furthermore, at this point the incestuous emigration continued as Matt left to join Andy Simon's new band and SKG's singer/guitarist Dan O'Gorman was invited to join Much The Same.

In December 2001, the new lineup recorded a 3-song demo which eventually got the band signed to Anti-Flag's label A-F Records, where they released their first full-length album, Quitters Never Win in 2003. During a later tour with A Wilhelm Scream and Break the Silence, Snoreck decided he was no longer interested in the touring life and left the band to pursue his new clothing company, Offset Clothing. The band found Jevin Kaye after his St. Louis, Missouri band Form Follows Failure had broken up, and invited him to join. This lineup recorded the Nitro Records release Survive . In April 2007, after the band's European tour, McGrath left the band for personal reasons, with guitarist Dan O'Gorman leaving soon after, prompting the official break-up of the band.

The band announced on March 30, 2015 that they reunited with former Break the Silence drummer, Mike Ford, on drums. [1] In April, 2017, the band announced that Jevin had returned as the full-time drummer and would accompany them on their first South American tour later that year. In August, 2017, the band stated that Dan has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Cancer and will not be joining the band on their South American Tour, they have also stated that John Feliciano, formerly of Hit The Switch and One Last Chance, will be filling in for Dan. [2] On 10 January they released the Song "Making Friends" (original by Lagwagon) digital. On June 7, 2019, the band unveiled the first single from their new album Everything Is Fine titled "Snake In The Grass".

On November 28, 2021, Much the Same announced that Feliciano was joining the band as a permanent member, [3] making the band a five piece for the first time of its existence.

Members

Current line-up

Past members

Timeline

Much the Same

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

Trivia

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guttermouth</span> American punk rock band

Guttermouth is an American punk rock band formed in 1989 in Huntington Beach, California, and currently recording for Rude Records. They have released nine full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour. They are infamous for their outrageous lyrics and behavior which are deliberately explicit, offensive and intended to shock, though usually in a humorous and sarcastic manner. This behavior has sometimes resulted in high-profile problems for the band, such as being banned from performing in Canada for eighteen months and leaving the 2004 Warped Tour amidst controversy over their political views and attitudes towards other performers.

Stormtroopers of Death was an American crossover thrash band formed in New York City in 1985. They are credited as being among the first bands to fuse hardcore punk with thrash metal into a style sometimes referred to as crossover thrash. The band is also known for reuniting Anthrax members Scott Ian (guitars) and Charlie Benante (drums) with their former bassist Dan Lilker. Their instrumental song "March of the SOD" from their 1985 debut album, Speak English or Die, was the Headbangers Ball intro anthem for many years. Another song from the same album, "Chromatic Death", was also used during the show as a segue between ads and videos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Face to Face (punk band)</span> American punk rock band formed in 1991

Face to Face is a punk rock band from Victorville, California, formed in 1991 by frontman Trever Keith, bassist Matt Riddle and drummer Rob Kurth. The band rose to fame with their 1995 album Big Choice, featuring the radio hit "Disconnected" which received heavy rotation on KROQ radio in Los Angeles and appeared in the movies Tank Girl and National Lampoon's Senior Trip.

The Riverdales were an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, United States, made up of Screeching Weasel members. Bassist Dan Vapid and guitarist Ben Weasel are heavily influenced by the Ramones' sound and both serve as front-men, sharing lead vocals for the band. The Riverdales' original run lasted from 1994-1997. They reformed in 2003 to record their third studio album, and then parted ways until they once again reformed in 2008 and released a fourth studio album in July, 2009. The band's fifth studio album, Tarantula, was released digitally on June 8, 2010 and on CD and vinyl on June 22, 2010. The band broke up in March 2011 after a fight that broke out during a Screeching Weasel performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Sly</span> American singer-songwriter

Anthony James Sly was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the front man of the punk rock band No Use for a Name. In his later years he also gained attention for his acoustic solo work, with two acoustic split albums he released with Lagwagon front man Joey Cape and two solo albums.

Gob is a Canadian punk rock band from Langley, British Columbia, formed in 1993. The band consists of Tom Thacker, Theo Goutzinakis, Gabe Mantle and Steven Fairweather. They were nominated for a Juno Award for best new group in 2000, and received another Juno nomination for best video in 2002. Gob's most successful album is World According to Gob. Their best-selling songs to date are "I Hear You Calling", "Soda", and "Banshee Song". They have been featured in movies, TV shows, and many sporting video games such as NHL 2002, NHL 2003, NHL 2004 and Madden NFL 2004 with songs such as "Oh! Ellin", "I've Been Up These Steps", "Sick With You", "I Hear You Calling" and "Give Up The Grudge". The band has appeared at several music festivals, the most well-known being the Vans Warped Tour. Thacker is also the rhythm guitarist for fellow Canadian rock band Sum 41.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Wilhelm Scream</span> American rock band

A Wilhelm Scream is a melodic hardcore band from New Bedford, Massachusetts formed in 1999. Their music has been compared to Strung Out, Hot Water Music, Propagandhi, and Strike Anywhere as the band's similar artists. Their name is a reference to the Wilhelm scream, a famous stock sound effect mainly used in films. The band previously went by the names Koen, Adam's Crack, and Smackin' Isaiah, though the last was the only name to be used in any major releases. "The reason for the name changes from Koen to Smackin' Isaiah, then to A Wilhelm Scream was really a matter of them adding new members, and progressing/maturing as a band".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crime in Stereo</span>

Crime in Stereo is a Long Island-based hardcore punk band. The group released four full-length albums and a compilation, recording for the labels Blackout!, Nitro, and Bridge Nine before disbanding in 2011 and subsequently re-forming in 2012. Since 2012, the group have performed sporadically and released a single song on a compilation in 2021, the group have previously stated that they are writing their fifth full-length album.

Houston Calls was an American rock band, based in Rockaway, New Jersey, United States. They formed in 2003 and were signed to Rushmore Records. On June 9, 2009, they announced their official breakup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Huntingtons</span> American punk band

Huntingtons are a punk band from Baltimore, Maryland which formed in 1993 in the Maryland and Delaware area by Cliff Powell, Mike Holt and Mike Pierce. The band is heavily influenced by the Ramones.

Son of Sam is an American horror punk band that is a side project created by Todd Youth in 2000, during his tenure as the guitarist for Danzig. The band's initial line up featured members of Samhain, Danzig, and AFI. Much like its members' other work, Son of Sam plays in the horror punk style, and also infuses metal and deathrock elements into their music. The name of the band was inspired by the iconic serial killer David Berkowitz, known as the notorious "Son of Sam". This also draws reference to the band Samhain.

Christopher Leslie "Gunner" McGrath is the American founder, lead singer, and guitarist of the punk rock band Much The Same. In April 2007, he quit Much The Same citing an overwhelming frustration with the music industry, and the lifestyle of a touring musician. From 2009 to 2011, he was part of the Willow Creek Community Church Studio Choir. On March 30, 2015, Much The Same reunited released their third album, Everything Is Fine, in 2019. In July 2020, McGrath joined the band Winning Streak, and recorded vocals for their album, We Need a Plan.

Tuesday was a punk and emo band formed by three ex-members of Chicago ska punk band Slapstick after the latter's breakup in 1996. The band's initial line-up consisted of Dan Andriano (bass/vocals), Matt Stamps (guitar), and Rob Kellenberger (drums/vocals). They released a demo on 1133 in 1996, before releasing an EP, titled Early Summer, on Asian Man Records in 1997. Later that same year, they released their first and only album, Freewheelin. While recording this album in California, the members of Tuesday also served as the backing band for Mike Park for the first album by The Chinkees, The Chinkees Are Coming. Also during this time, Rob and Matt were in college, and Dan found himself with extra free time. He started playing with other bands on the side including an instrumental band called Dulcet Tone, and eventually Alkaline Trio, after their original bass player Rob Doran departed. In early 1998, Tyler Wiseman from Dulcet Tone joined as a second guitarist for Tuesday to help expand the band's sound and tour in support of Freewheelin. They toured the U.S. in spring and the summer of 1998. They continued to write songs throughout this period intended for a follow-up album. With other members of the band devoting more time to family and college, and Dan enjoying success with the Alkaline Trio, Tuesday faded away as an active band sometime in 1999.

Ensign is an American hardcore punk band from New Jersey. They formed in 1995 and signed with Indecision Records in 1996. They signed to the larger label "next door", Dexter Holland's Nitro Records, in 1998 and finally came to rest at Blackout Records in 2003 after a brief sortie back to Indecision in 2000.

<i>Survive</i> (Much the Same album) 2006 studio album by Much the Same

Survive is the second full-length studio album by Much the Same. It was released on August 29, 2006, by Nitro Records and is the last album by the band before their breakup.

<i>Quitters Never Win</i> 2003 studio album by Much the Same

Quitters Never Win is the first full-length studio album by Much the Same.

<i>Caught Off Guard</i> 2001 studio album by Much the Same

Caught Off Guard is the first official album by Much the Same. At the time, the band was called Don't Look Down. This EP is now out of print and only available at DownloadPunk.com with a bonus track from the same recording session.

Jughead's Revenge is an American punk rock band. They originally formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1989. To date, Jughead's Revenge has released six studio albums. After 12 years of recording and touring extensively, Jughead's Revenge disbanded in 2001 due to a lawsuit with Archie Comics who owned the rights to fictional character Jughead Jones. The band reformed in 2009 and has continued to perform at a number of live shows since 2010, and as of 2018 were working on a new album.

Humanifesto was a Canadian hardcore punk music group from Montreal, formed in 2004 by singer / bassist Phil Campeau and singer / guitarist Franck Chevrier, and which was active between 2004 and 2011. Over years, the band would perform over 100 shows in the Eastern Canadian area, sharing the stage with notable acts including Propagandhi, Strike Anywhere, The Video Dead, Chixdiggit and Hostage Life, and would go on to record two albums, their debut A Declaration of Intent, followed by The Infamous as well as a split 7-inch vinyl EP All These Lives and a NOFX tribute album, released on 7-inch vinyl, titled Don't Eat Meat.

30 Foot Fall is an American punk rock band that began in Houston, Texas.

References

  1. Punknews.org. "Much The Same announces reunion". www.punknews.org. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  2. "Instagram post by Much The Same • Aug 22, 2017 at 3:09pm UTC". Instagram. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  3. "Much The Same on Twitter "We are beyond thrilled to announce that our boy John Feliciano is now officially the fifth member of Much The Same! More info here: https _t.co_Jef5bIiX4Q"". Twitter. Retrieved 15 April 2022.