Hawthorne Heights Biography
Hawthorne Heights is an American emo band formed in Dayton, Ohio in June, 2001.[6] Their line-up currently consists of vocalist and guitarist JT Woodruff, lead guitarist Micah Carli, bassist and vocalist Matt Ridenour and drummer Eron Bucciarelli. In late 2007, guitarist and vocalist Casey Calvert died of accidental causes, leaving the band as a four-piece.[7] The band, who were originally named A Day in the Life,[6] have released three studio albums on Victory Records since changing their name to Hawthorne Heights.
The band found success with both of their first two albums, with 2004's The Silence in Black and White achieving Platinum certification, and their 2006 album If Only You Were Lonely achieving Gold certification,[8] after it peaked at #1 on the Billboard Top Independent Albums and #3 on the Billboard 200 charts.[9] They are also well known for their 2006 single "Saying Sorry", which reached Gold status[8] and peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart.[10] The band's third album, Fragile Future, was released on August 5, 2008,[11] surprisingly through Victory Records again, after a lengthy legal battle between the two parties.[12]
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History
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Originally known as A Day in the Life,[6] after one album (Nine Reasons to Say Goodbye), an EP, Paper Chromatography (which was later re-released as part of the compilation From Ohio With Love), and significant line-up changes, the band changed its name to Hawthorne Heights. On the DVD portion of The Silence in Black and White, drummer Eron Bucciarelli states that the band took their current name from the author Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Their first album The Silence in Black and White, was released in 2004. The album was slow to build sales at first; however, soon the video for the song Ohio Is for Lovers began getting airplay on MTV, and the band enjoyed breakout success at radio as well as a growing nationwide fan base, and the album became Victory Records' highest selling debut. The Silence in Black and White peaked at number 56 on the Billboard charts.
When their second album If Only You Were Lonely was released on Feb 28, 2006, it debuted at number 3 on the Billboard charts, powered by the lead single "Saying Sorry" which has received regular airplay on MTV, VH1 and Fuse. The band performed on the 2006 Nintendo Fusion Tour.
Death of Casey Calvert
While on their headlining tour with Escape the Fate, Amber Pacific, The Secret Handshake, and The A.K.A.'s in Washington, D.C., guitarist Casey Calvert was found dead on the band's tour bus on November 24, 2007. The band had kicked off their U.S. tour just the day before in Detroit, Michigan. [13][14] Toxicology and autopsy reports state Calvert died of Combined Drug Intoxication. [15] The official statement issued by the band says that Calvert died in his sleep and that his body was discovered before the band was to do a sound check prior to a show at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. The band was devastated. They took a couple days off to write a song about it. The song eventually became "4 Become 1" on their album Fragile Future.
Hawthorne Heights guitarist Casey Calvert died due to the "acute combined effects of opiate, citalopram and clonazepam intoxication," according to the just-released results of an autopsy performed by the office of the chief medical examiner in Washington, D.C. The autopsy listed Calvert's death as accidental. Dr. John Mendelson, a pharmacologist at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, told MTV News that "Cases like Calvert's are so rare that they're almost nonexistent. It's so rare that you can't even put a number on it,"[7] and that It's exceedingly rare that 26-year-olds die of anything medical. This kind of death is one in several million."[16] Both citalopram (also known by the brand name Celexa) and clonazepam (also known by the brand names Klonopin and Rivotril) are prescription drugs, the former an antidepressant and the latter used to treat seizure disorders and panic attacks.
Drummer Eron Bucciarelli issued the following statement: [17]
From the time of the incident we suspected a possible drug interaction as the cause. Casey wrestled with depression for as long as we knew him. He saw numerous doctors and took an ever-changing array of medicines to get better. He finally had his depression under control. According to the toxicology report, the cause of death was due to a fatal interaction between depression meds, anxiety meds and an opiate. Opiates being mentioned along with the term "substance abuse", coupled with "rockstar" stereotypes immediately conjure up images of hard drug use and addiction, which simply couldn't be further from the truth in Casey's instance. What the toxicology report doesn't show is that prior to us leaving for tour, Casey had a root canal, and was prescribed Vicodin (an opiate) for the pain. Once again, Casey was not involved in anything illegal nor was he a substance abuser.
JT Woodruff has stated that "We won't add another guitar player or add another screamer", and that "In our albums, it'll always say 'Casey Calvert: guitar/vocals.'"[18] Bucciarelli stated in another interview that, "We don't need another screamer...If the fans want screaming, they can provide it themselves."[19]
Fragile Future
Hawthorne Heights released a demo for their new song "Come Back Home" on their MySpace page in 2007. It was one of the fourteen tracks that were selected for the band's third studio album. A second song was released on their Myspace, a cover of the Smashing Pumpkins song "Bullet with Butterfly Wings", which was contributed to Myspace's Smashing Pumpkins tribute album.
Hawthorne Heights and Victory Records patched up their relationship and the band's third album, Fragile Future, was released with the label on 5 August 2008.[11] Howard Benson produced the album.
Hawthorne Heights are announced to play Linkin Park's Projekt Revolution 2008 tour this year on the Revolution Stage with former labelmates Atreyu, Armor For Sleep, Street Drum Corps, and 10 Years. Joining Linkin Park on the Main Stage is Chris Cornell, The Bravery, Busta Rhymes, and Ashes Divide.
Controversy
Incident with Ne-Yo
In February 2006, as the band was readying the release of If Only You Were Lonely, Victory Records issued two statements to fans through the band's mailing lists as well as their MySpace profile, stating that "ROCK music needs your support"[20] and that "the #1 slot that belongs to us." They also pleaded with fans to go into chain stores and make sure Hawthorne Heights CDs are in stock and to sabotage the sales count of Ne-Yo's record In My Own Words, which was being released the same day. The statement said:
| “ | As for Ne-Yo, the name of the game is to decrease the chances of a sale here. If you were to pick up handful of Ne-Yo CDs, as if you were about to buy them, but then changed your mind and didn't bother to put them back in the same place, that would work. Even though this record will be heavily stocked and you might not be able to move all the stock, just relocating a handful creates issues: Even though the store will appear to be out of stock, the computer will see it as in stock and not re-order the title once it sells down and then Ne-Yo will lose a few sales later in the week."[21] | ” |
They ended their rallying cry with by quoting Winston Churchill: "Victory at all costs, Victory in spite of all terror, Victory however long and hard the road may be; for without Victory, there is no survival."[22] Later, group members claimed that the statements were issued by their record label, Victory Records, without their consent.[23] On August 7, 2006, the band announced they would be leaving Victory Records, and sued the label for breach of contract, copyright and trademark infringement, fraud and abuse.[24] Victory Records then countersued for breach of contract and libel in September 2006.[25] In October 2006, a Chicago judge dismissed two of the three main claims in the band's suit, ruling that the trademark and copyright violation allegations were unsound.[26] On March 5, 2007 a federal judge in Chicago ruled that Victory Records does not hold exclusive rights for the band's recording services and that the band can record for any label. Specifically, the Judge stated: "The agreement contains no exclusivity provision, nor does any of its language appear to prevent [the band] from recording elsewhere during the life of the agreement".[27] The judge later reaffirmed this ruling on May 17, 2007, stating that Hawthorne Heights is still contractually bound to deliver two albums to Victory, but may record albums which are released elsewhere.[28]
Wild Justice Records lawsuit
On October 16, 2007, Wild Justice Records sued Hawthorne Heights for breach of a verbal contract, stemming from a dispute over the management company's share of the band's revenues.[29]
Discography
Albums
| Release Date | Title | Label | Chart Positions | RIAA certification | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [9] | US Ind.[9] | UK [30] | UK Indie [31] | ||||
| June 1, 2004 | The Silence in Black and White | Victory Records | 56 | 3 | — | — | Gold[32] |
| February 28, 2006 | If Only You Were Lonely | Victory Records | 3 | 1 | 85 | — | |
| August 5, 2008 | Fragile Future | Victory Records | 23 | 4 | — | 13 | |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions[33] | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [10] | UK [34] | UK Rock | |||
| 2004 | "Ohio Is for Lovers" | 34 | - | - | The Silence in Black and White |
| 2005 | "Niki FM" | 40 | - | - | |
| 2005 | "Silver Bullet" | - | - | - | |
| 2006 | "Saying Sorry" | 7 | 87 | 38 | If Only You Were Lonely |
| 2006 | "This Is Who We Are" | - | - | - | |
| 2006 | "Pens and Needles" | - | - | - | |
| 2008 | "Rescue Me" | - | - | - | Fragile Future |
| "Somewhere In Between" | - | - | - | ||
Tribute albums
Videography
- This Is Who We Are (DVD)
Members
- For line-up changes that occurred before the band became known as Hawthorne Heights, see A Day In The Life.
- Current
- JT Woodruff - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitars (2001-Present)
- Micah Carli - Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals (2001-Present)
- Matt Ridenour - Bass, Backing Vocals (2001-Present)
- Eron Bucciarelli - Drums, Percussion (2001-Present)
- Former
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