Stavesacre | |
---|---|
Origin | Huntington Beach, California |
Genres | |
Years active | 1995–2010, 2014–present |
Labels | Tooth & Nail, Nitro, Abacus |
Members |
|
Past members |
|
Website | stavesacre |
Stavesacre are an American rock band from Huntington Beach, California formed in 1995. The band is composed of vocalist Mark Salomon, guitarists Jeff Bellew and Ryan Dennee, bassist Dirk Lemmenes and drummer Sam West.
Stavesacre has released six studio albums, two EPs, one split album, one compilation, and one DVD.
In 2007, the band stated they would disband following the recording of new songs with original guitarist Jeff Bellew, who had departed in 1999 after the recording of Speakeasy. Those songs were released in the 2009 Against the Silence EP/DVD documentary.
However, after a period of inactivity, the band began writing new music in 2014, and in 2016 the group announced a crowdfunding project for its sixth studio album. [1] MCMXCV was released in August 2017.
Stavesacre was formed in 1995 as a post-hardcore band following the breakup of the Crucified. Vocalist Mark Salomon and guitarist Jeff Bellew played in The Crucified and, following its disbandment, the two still had a desire to write music. Salomon and Bellew recruited bassist Dirk Lemmenes and drummer Jeremy Moffett. They knew Lemmenes from his former band, Focused, which The Crucified toured with. [2] Salomon and Moffett had been roommates for a while, and Moffett played in the band the Blamed. [3]
They signed to Tooth & Nail Records because The Crucified was on the label and Salomon enjoyed working with the label owners. [3] [4] The band soon got to work on its debut album, Friction, which was released on June 7, 1996. After the album's release, Moffett left the band and was replaced by former Scaterd Few drummer Sam West. The following year, they released Absolutes. AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four out of five stars, saying the lyrics didn't stand out to him but "the sound is so heavy and foreboding that the lack of strong writing becomes a moot point." [5] Following the release of Absolutes, Ryan Dennee joined the band as a second guitarist. Bellew soon departed to focus on his marriage; however, he recorded additional guitars for the band's next album. [6] [7]
Their third studio album, Speakeasy , was released on November 16, 1999. Doug Van Pelt of HM magazine praised the album and its lyrics, saying, "Lyrically, the band seems to open up its heart for surgery." [8] Speakeasy gained the band its first chart position, debuting at number 44 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers Chart and number 35 on the Top Contemporary Christian Chart. [9] [10] This was the band's last studio album on Tooth & Nail. The label released a collection of songs from the band's first three albums on Collective and the band released Split/EP with Denison Marrs on famed indie label Velvet Blue Music. In support of the album, the band toured for nearly two years and grew immensely tired of being on the road. [11]
Neil Samoy joined the band before the recording of its fourth studio album, (stāvz'ā'kər). The new album was released on October 1, 2002, through Nitro Records. Allmusic reviewer Bradley Torreano gave the album a four out of five stars stating "First, they've managed to balance the mix of guitar and vocals perfectly, with Mark Salomon's dark moan carrying beautifully over the fuzz-drenched guitars" and CCM magazine said "With the release of its self-titled Nitro Records debut, Stavesacre finally delivers on the potential greatness it has often hinted at through three Tooth & Nail releases and a few EPs." [12] [13] Even though the album received favorable reviews, the band was not happy with the final product. [14] In December 2003, Samoy left the band for personal reasons. [7]
In 2005, they released the Bull Takes Fighter EP, and the following year released its fifth studio album, How to Live with a Curse, through Abacus Recordings, an imprint of Century Media Records. Praising the lyrical themes on the album, Andrew Shaw stated "the overall feel of the disc was straightforward and truthful, something that there is all too little of in the industry." [15]
The band announced in February 2007 that they would be disbanding following the recording of several new songs with original guitarist Bellew and the release of a DVD documenting the band's history. [16] However, Lemmenes announced on March 17, 2008, that the band was unsure if they would be disbanding or not and that West was working on the DVD while a few songs had already been recorded with Bellew. They recorded a new EP, Against the Silence, marking the first songs recorded with Bellew since Speakeasy in 1999. [17] [18] Against the Silence was released on July 14, 2009. [19]
They released MCMXCV on September 1, 2017. The album was originally titled Stavesacre VI. [1] [20]
In September 2021 the band played a set at Furnace Fest in Birmingham, Alabama. [21]
Current
Former
Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
Heatseekers | Christian cont. | ||
1996 | Friction
| — | — |
1997 | Absolutes
| — | — |
1999 | Speakeasy
| 44 | 35 |
2002 | (stāvz'ā'kər)
| — | — |
2006 | How to Live with a Curse
| — | — |
2017 | MCMXCV
| — | — |
Year | Title | Label | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | Split/EP | Velvet Blue Music | Split EP with Denison Marrs. |
2001 | Collective | Tooth & Nail | Compilation album |
2002 | Live from Deep Ellum | XS | EP |
2004 | Bull Takes Fighter | Independent | EP, limited to 1,000 copies |
2009 | Against the Silence | Independent | EP |
Year | Title | Label |
---|---|---|
2005 | Live from Dallas | Zambooie |
The Orange County Supertones were a Christian ska band from Orange County, California. The band was signed to Tooth & Nail Records and its imprint, BEC Recordings, before becoming an independent band. The band temporarily disbanded in 2005, reunited in 2010 to resume touring and recording, and permanently disbanding in 2017. The OC Supertones were one of the first widely successful Christian ska bands.
The Crucified is an American Christian hardcore and crossover thrash band from Fresno, California that formed in 1984. Its lineup is vocalist Mark Salomon, guitarist Greg Minier, bassist Jeff Bellew, and drummer Jim Chaffin. The band are considered "pioneers of Christian hardcore." During their initial 1984–1993 tenure, the band played at the Cornerstone Festival several times, and also opened for non-religious punk and metal bands like D.R.I. and Pantera. The band broke up in 1993 due to personal differences, but reunited in 2009.
Argyle Park was an underground industrial rock supergroup founded in New York City in 1994 and active until 1996. Members of the group reformed under the name AP2 in 1998, and were active under that name until winter 2000. Signed to Christian music labels, the band suffered repeated controversies within the Christian music scene for not being positive and evangelistic enough in its lyrics and outlook as well as for including contributions from non-Christian musicians. The project was named after an actual park in Babylon, Long Island, where the members of Argyle Park grew up together.
Spy Glass Blue is an American post-punk/new wave/Britpop band formed by Allan Aguirre of Scaterd Few, credited for legitimizing and authenticating the post-punk genre in Christian alternative music (ACM) much in the same way that Scaterd Few defined punk rock in Contemporary Christian music (CCM). In the words of the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music, Spy Glass Blue is a "rare example of Christian goth music." As Allan's solo effort shows Allan's artier side where Scaterd Few showed his edgier side. Aguirre likens the band's presence to the restructuring of other Christian Alternative bands: Mortal to Fold Zandura or the Crucified to Stavesacre.
Misguided is Argyle Park's only album under that name. The album was released in 1994 by R.E.X. Records into the Christian rock market, and sits alongside other early 90s work by Circle of Dust and Mortal as being instrumental in introducing industrial music to the Christian music scene. The album was nominated for Best Metal/Hard Rock Album at the 27th Annual GMA Dove Awards in 1996.
Suspension of Disbelief is the lone release by American supergroup AP2, put out by Tooth & Nail Records in 2000. AP2 was a "sequel" to the band Argyle Park, who released their only album Misguided in 1994. Argyle Park consisted of Buka and Klayton, while AP2 featured primary players Buka and Level, with Klayton producing the record. In the winter of 2000, Tooth & Nail cut AP2 due to the low sales of this album. Since Buka had only wanted AP2 to release albums for Tooth & Nail, AP2 ended as a band after Tooth & Nail dropped them.
Truthless Heroes is the third studio album released by the American metal band Project 86. It was released on September 12, 2002 on Tooth & Nail Records and September 24, 2002 on Atlantic Records and debuted at number 146 on the Billboard Top 200, with over 7,000 copies sold.
Speakeasy is the third full-length album by Christian rock band Stavesacre. It was the band's final studio album to be released on Tooth & Nail Records. The band would later re-record "Keep Waiting", "Gold and Silver" and "Rivers Underneath" for the Collective compilation album, also released through Tooth & Nail.
Plankeye (also spelled PlankEye and Plank Eye)1 was an American Christian rock band that formed in 1991 in Orange County, California. The band's name is derived from Matthew 7:3 in the New Testament:
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"
Neon Horse was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed by Mark Salomon, Jason Martin and Steven Dail. They were previously signed to Tooth & Nail Records with whom they have released two studio albums. Neon Horse's sound has been described as being influenced by the music of the 1980s.
Mark Salomon is an American singer best known as the lead singer of the hard rock bands Stavesacre and the Crucified. Other bands in which he has been a key member include the punk rock Outer Circle and rap-oriented Native Son and Neon Horse. In both Stavesacre and the Crucified, he served as primary lyricist as well.
Mortal was a Christian industrial/dance band fronted by Jerome Fontamillas and Jyro Xhan. Both members went on to found the alternative rock group Fold Zandura, and for a time were members of both bands simultaneously. The band is known for its lyrical intelligence, incorporating advanced theology with what has been billed as "Industrial Praise and Worship." According to CCM Magazine "Mortal has had a much greater influence... on industrial music than its modest output would suggest."
Children 18:3 is an American Christian punk band from Morris, Minnesota. Formed in 1999, the band consists of homeschooled siblings David (vocals/guitar), Lee Marie (vocals/bass), and Seth Hostetter (drums). Since signing to Tooth & Nail Records in 2007, the band has released four albums, Children 18:3 (2008), Rain's a Comin' (2010), On the Run (2012), and Come In (2015).
The Letter Black, formerly known as Breaking the Silence, is an American Christian rock band that was formed in 2006 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. The band consists of lead vocalist Sarah Anthony; her husband, lead guitarist and vocalist Mark Anthony; bassist Matt Beal and drummer William Fowler and rhythm guitarist Brandon Jordan.
Overcome are an American Christian metalcore band. They come from Phoenix, Arizona. The band started making music in 1993 until their decade-long hiatus from 2000 to 2010, when they commenced making music again. Tooth & Nail Records released the band's first two albums, Blessed Are the Persecuted in 1996 and When Beauty Dies in 1997. Facedown Records has released the other albums from the band signed the band. They released Immortal Until Their Work Is Done in 1999, More Than Death in 2001, The Great Campaign of Sabotage in 2011, and No Reserves. No Retreats. No Regrets. in 2013. They were one of the first "Spirit-Filled Hardcore" bands, along with Unashamed, Focused, Strongarm, and Zao. They were the first band signed to Facedown Records. The band is playing at Facedown Fest 2017.
The Blamed is an American Christian hardcore punk band currently based out of Chicago. During their tenure they have played primarily hardcore punk, pop punk, punk rock, and emo music with some influences from metal as well. They originally are from California having relocated to Illinois after guitarist Bryan Gray moved to Chicago. The band originally formed in 1994 and disbanded in 2003. Members during this era of the band included Bryan Gray, Christopher Wiitala, Trevor Wiitala, Jeff Locke, Jim Chaffin, John Hansen, and Matt Switaj. They have released three albums, with Tooth & Nail Records, 21 in 1994, Frail in 1996, and Give Us Barabbas in 2002. The band released four albums, with Grrr Records, ...Again in 1998, Forever in 1999, Germany in 2000, and Isolated Incident in 2001. The band reformed in the summer of 2016 to play a one-off set at Audio Feed music festival. This has since lead to the band reforming and recording a split EP with the Chicago hardcore band The Satire, a band sharing multiple members with the Blamed. The split EP was released in November 2018 through Indivision Music.
Focused was a hardcore punk band that originated out of Long Beach, California in 1991, with a Christian hardcore style. The band broke up in 1996, but reunited briefly in 2009.
Chatterbox also styled as CHATTERbOX was a project of the Crucified's Jeff Bellew. The project hosted many session musicians, including Stavesacre and the Crucified's Mark Salomon, and Argyle Park and Circle of Dust's Scott Albert. Bellew has also played on Argyle Park's album Misguided, along with Salomon, Dirk Lemmenes, and multiple other musicians.
Jim Chaffin is an American musician. He is the original drummer for the Crucified and Fasedown and has played with many other acts, such as Deliverance, the Blamed and Left Out.
Klank, also stylized as kLaNk or KLANK, is an American industrial metal band that originated out of Long Island, New York in December 1993. The project began after Daren Diolosa, the brainchild of Klank, departed from the fellow industrial band Circle of Dust. Diolosa carried the project as a solo project until around 1997, when he began performing live. Following the live performances, Pat Servedio joined as a full-time member, with Diolosa and Servedio joining as a team. The band would go through many members, eventually settling on the lineup of Diolosa, Servedio, and former Every Day Life drummer Eric Wilkins.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)