Shinedown

Shinedown

Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 2001 by Brent Smith, Brad Stewart, Jasin Todd, and Barry Kerch. The band has released three albums on Atlantic Records. They have released popular singles such as "45", "Save Me", "Devour", and "Second Chance." Every single they have released has climbed into the Top 5 of the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

To date, Shinedown has sold over six million albums worldwide.

History

Formation (2001–2002)

In May 2004, Brad Stewart shed significant light on the formation of the band during an interview with Metal-Rules.com:

The band started with Brent Smith, our lead singer. He had a development deal with a different band on Atlantic and the label decided to move forward with Brent and not with the rest of his band. They allowed him to write with other people, develop his songwriting craft, and find the musicians that he wanted to work with. This led him to Jacksonville where he met Brad, the bass player, through a mutual friend of Brent’s A&R guy, local Jacksonville producer Pete Thornton. The two hit it off and guitarist Jasin Todd would join the band next. Jasin was in another band and wanted to concentrate on his guitar playing and didn’t want to sing and play any more in his other band. Jasin’s fiancé owned the studio where Brad and Brent were making the demos and Jasin got the chance to play with us. We just fit together. His attitude, style, and personality were exactly what we were looking for. Barry was our lucky #7 drummer. The 7th drummer we tried out. He blew us away. He was confident, powerful and had mad chops. We finally had a working band. We continued to make demos in Jacksonville and Orlando and Atlantic gave the green light to record our record. This was about 3 years ago.

Leave a Whisper (2003–2004)

Leave a Whisper was released on July 15, 2003 and received a warm critical reception on the back of successful singles such as "Fly from the Inside" and the emotionally-charged, MTV-banned "45". The album quickly gained momentum and was certified platinum by the RIAA in October 2005. A year after the album's initial release, it was re-released to capitalize on the strength of a new single, a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's classic "Simple Man". The band dedicated the song to their late friend, Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell, who died in 2004. This new edition also featured an acoustic version of "45" and a new mix of "Burning Bright".

The band's rigorous touring earned them much respect in the hard rock community, especially after the band opened for Van Halen in 2004. The band also released a live DVD called Live From The Inside in 2005 that documented a full-length concert held at The House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Us and Them (2005–2007)

After the hugely successful Leave a Whisper and accompanying tour, the band went back into the studio in 2005 to record their second album. On October 4, 2005, the band released Us and Them, which went on to produce three singles; "Save Me", "I Dare You", and "Heroes". The lead single, "Save Me", maintained the #1 position of the Active Rock Charts for twelve weeks straight, setting a record for the band. The two other singles had similar success - "I Dare You" was notably performed on American Idol by Chris Daughtry. Us and Them was certified Gold by the RIAA in November 2006.

The album has three versions for release; the regular thirteen-track version, a limited edition with three bonus acoustic tracks, and a store-specific version with two bonus tracks: "Break" and "Carried Away". After the album's release the band took part in 2006's SnoCore Tour with Seether, Flyleaf, and Halestorm. After the tour, the band joined Trapt for the Equinox Tour. The band then proceeded to play their first overseas concert at the London Astoria on June 6, 2006, supporting Alter Bridge. In the summer of 2006, the band then opened for Godsmack and Rob Zombie on their tour of North America, effectively ending their rigorous touring schedule.

On December 12, 2006, Shinedown played a concert in Knoxville, Tennessee at The Tennessee Theatre which was filmed for a DVD the band was expected release later in 2007. However, after a show in Waukesha, WI on July 21, 2007, the band made it known that the DVD was scrapped by Atlantic Records. "We don't want to put anything out if the band is gonna be presented in the wrong way," Smith said. "I might be able to bootleg it later on ... but as of now I don't see it coming out." In late 2007 after taking some time off, the band returned to studio to record a new album.

The Sound of Madness (2007–present)

The band began recording their new album in Los Angeles on September 20th, 2007. Their first single, "Devour", was released on May 6, 2008, and has proven a successful single, with it becoming their second #1 on the active rock chart. "Devour" was also the theme song for the WWE pay-per-view Night of Champions 2008 The video for the song was released in June 25, 2008. On June 17, 2008, the album in its entirety was put up on their MySpace page for listening. Shinedown's third album, The Sound of Madness, was released on June 24, 2008. "The Sound of Madness" is based on 13 songs Smith submitted plus a bonus song - "Son Of Sam"- that were written in the studio during the recording process. The band played various festivals across North America before embarking on a tour in support of the new album.

Regarding the album, lead singer Brent Smith was quoted in an interview with Billboard.com as saying; "It's time to just go over the top, literally go above and beyond what a human being thinks they're capable of recording. We want to do a huge hard rock record that has a lot of crossover potential, but also some of the most insanely intense and heavy material that this band has ever tried - and see if we can pull it off." Smith noted that the group had more than forty songs to consider after writing sessions in Atlanta, Nashville and Los Angeles, but this was narrowed down to eleven songs for the standard album, and 14 songs for the deluxe edition.

During the fall of 2008 the band went on a tour of Europe, supporting Disturbed, but have since returned and are now preparing for the next U.S. leg of touring for The Sound of Madness.

On December 18, 2008 it was announced via the band's website that lead guitarist Nick Perri would leave the band after that night's show after less then a year with the group. Statements released from Smith and Perri both cited personal reasons as the main factors in Perri's departure with Perri's statement highlighting that his decision had "nothing to do with the band."

In January 2009, the band embarked on a European tour to promote their "Sound of Madness" album. Support came from Brighton rock four-piece The Crave. The dates that Shinedown played in the UK were the first time the band has played as a headlining act in Europe. Shinedown have recently been confirmed as playing at Download Festival 2009.

On May 5, 2009, Shinedown filmed a new live DVD, due for release in August 2009, at The Tabernacle in Atlanta, Georgia. Halestorm and No. 1 Contender opened the show.

Members

Current

• Brent Smith – Vocals (2001 - present)
• Zach Myers - Guitar (2005 - Present)
• Barry Kerch - Drums (2001 - Present)
• Eric Bass - Bass Guitar (2008 - present)

Former

• Brad Stewart - Bass Guitar (2001 - 2007)
• Jasin Todd - Guitar (2001-2008)
• Nick Perri – Guitar (2008)

(* Zach Myers was touring guitarist from 2005-2007, and bassist from 2007-2008. In 2008 he became the permanent rhythm guitarist and later the band's only guitarist when Nick Perri departed on December 18.)

Discography

Main article: Shinedown discography

Studio albums

• 2003: Leave a Whisper (Platinum)
• 2005: Us and Them (Gold)
• 2008: The Sound of Madness (Gold)

External links

• Shinedown.com - Official website
• Devour Review
• Shinedown Concert Review
• Shinedown at EDBD XIII Gallery by FloridaEntertainmentScene.com