AFI (band)
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| AFI (A Fire Inside) |
|---|
AFI (A Fire Inside) is a rock band from Ukiah, California. They formed in 1991.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Early years
While still in high school, Davey Havok (vocals), Mark Stopholese (guitar) and Vic Chalker (bass) formed a hardcore punk outfit called AFI in 1991. At the time, the band had no drummer and didn't know how to play any instruments. Stopholese suggested his friend Adam Carson, as he had a drumkit. Stopholese learned guitar, Chalker learned bass and AFI made their first foray in recording with the split-EP Dork (1993) with the now defunct Loose Change, which included future AFI guitarist Jade Puget. Chalker soon lost interest and was replaced by songwriter-bassist Geoff Kresge.
AFI disbanded when its members attended different colleges, including the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Santa Cruz. Kresge moved to New York where he played with Blanks 77. After reuniting to perform a live show, the other members decided to drop out of college to play full-time with AFI.
Between 1993 and 1995 they released several vinyl EPs (Behind the Times; Eddie's Picnic All Wet; Fly in the Ointment; This is Berkeley, Not West Bay; AFI/Heckle) independently. Their first full length, Answer That and Stay Fashionable was released in 1995. The cover of Answer That and Stay Fashionable was a parody of the movie Reservoir Dogs. Very Proud of Ya soon followed in the next year.
After several tours in support of the album, Kresge decided to leave the group. His spot was filled by Burgan for the remaining Very Proud of Ya tour dates. Burgan went on to help AFI record Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes and was invited to become the full-time bassist. Eyes introduced AFI fans to a much more aggressive sound that included much more shouting as opposed to singing. The album is generally considered the first step in the band's progression away from their original sound.
[edit] Black Sails and Art of Drowning era
After recording the A Fire Inside EP (1998), Stopholese left the band and was replaced by Puget, his close friend. Following the new approach they had taken on the A Fire Inside EP, the band recorded Black Sails in the Sunset (1999), a musical turning point in the band's career. On this album, their original hardcore roots were still the base of their sound, but more of the Dark Romantic influences (a poem by French Dark Romantic Charles Baudelaire, entitled "De profundis clamavi," is present in the hidden track "The Midnight Sun") as well as that of the Deathrock & Horror Punk scenes were apparent .
All Hallows EP (1999) spawned the single "Totalimmortal," a track later covered by The Offspring for the Me, Myself and Irene soundtrack. It got a fair amount of radio play and exposed AFI to larger audiences. Offspring frontman Dexter Holland was featured as a backing vocalist on a number of Black Sails tracks.
In 2000, AFI released The Art of Drowning which debuted on the Billboard Charts at number 174 <ref>AFI's Billboard Album Chart History</ref>. The Days of the Phoenix was released as a single and video in order to promote the album. The Days of the Phoenix, like "Totalimmortal", had some moderate mainstream success, garnering the band both TV and radio airplay.
[edit] Mainstream success
Image:Newafilogo.gif In 2002, AFI left Nitro Records and released Sing the Sorrow (2003) on DreamWorks Records. The songs "Girl's Not Grey", "The Leaving Song Pt. 2" and "Silver and Cold" had some Billboard chart success and exposed the band to even larger audiences. They were nominated in the MTV Video Music Awards 2003 in the MTV2 award category for the video "Girl's Not Grey", which came to be the first VMA they won. On October 7, 2005, AFI went on KROQ for an interview on the radio. They aired an unreleased song from the Sing sessions: "Rabbits are Roadkill on Route 37", which would later be released as a UK & Australian bonus track for the group's seventh album Decemberunderground, which was released on May 29, 2006, in the UK and June 6, 2006 (06/06/06) in the U.S.
Reviewers have noted an even greater progression in sound for AFI in this album, featuring ColdPop and New Wave<ref> Allmusic.com Decemberunderground review</ref> elements. The album's first single Miss Murder reached #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Charts. <ref>AFI's Billboard Singles Chart History</ref>The release reflects the continually changing and growing fan base of the band, and the album debuted as No. 1 on the Billboard charts.<ref>Hasty, Katy. "AFI burns brightly with #1 debut", Billboard, 2006-06-14. Retrieved on 2006-07-08.</ref> The album has also been certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 copies of the album. In August of 2006, AFI's video for "Miss Murder" won Best Rock Video at the MTV Video Music Awards. In November, AFI's "Miss Murder" was nominated and won the Alumni Award at the MTVu Woodies Awards 2006.
[edit] Other notes
- Havok and Puget have a side project called Blaqk Audio. Burgan is also involved with his own solo project, Hunter Revenge. Carson's solo project, Smoking Kills, is currently being released exclusively on [1].
- AFI's "The Leaving Song Pt. 2" and "Summer Shudder" are featured in the Madden NFL video game series.
- AFI's "The Boy Who Destroyed The World" is featured in Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3.
- They are followed by a devoted fan base called the Despair Faction. Consisting of many fans, the Despair Faction are privy to many added band bonuses which include contacting the band on their website.
- AFI was named Best Veg Band of 2006 by peta2.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio Albums
| Album Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label | US Billboard Peak | US Sales |
| 1995 | Answer That and Stay Fashionable | Wingnut Records (Re-released in 1997 on Nitro Records)
| - | - |
| 1996 | Very Proud of Ya | Nitro Records | - | - |
| 1997 | Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes | Nitro Records | - | - |
| 1999 | Black Sails in the Sunset | Nitro Records | - | - |
| 2000 | The Art of Drowning | Nitro Records | #174 | - |
| 2003 | Sing the Sorrow | Dreamworks Records | #5 | Platinum |
| Image:Decemberunderground Cover.jpg | 2006 | Decemberunderground | Interscope Records | #1 | Platinum |
The Nitro Records and DreamWorks Records releases were all released in Cassette, 12" vinyl and CD formats.
[edit] Compilations
| Album Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label | US Billboard Peak | US Sales |
| 2004 | AFI (Retrospective) | Nitro Records | #88 | - |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Billboard Hot 100 | Modern Rock Tracks | Mainstream Rock Tracks | UK Singles Chart | Album |
| 1996 | "He Who Laughs Last" | - | - | - | - | Very Proud of Ya |
| 1997 | "Third Season" | - | - | - | - | Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes |
| 1999 | "Totalimmortal" | - | - | - | - | All Hallow's EP |
| 2000 | "Wester" | - | - | - | - | The Art of Drowning |
| 2000 | "The Days of The Phoenix" | - | - | - | 152 | The Art of Drowning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Girl's Not Grey" | - | 7 | 33 | 22 | Sing the Sorrow |
| 2003 | "The Leaving Song Pt. 2" | - | 16 | 31 | 43 | Sing the Sorrow |
| 2003 | "Silver and Cold" | - | 7 | 39 | - | Sing the Sorrow |
| 2006 | "Miss Murder" | 24 | 1 (5 weeks) | 13 | 44 | Decemberunderground |
| 2006 | "Love Like Winter" | 106 | 5 | - | 76 | Decemberunderground |
[edit] EPs
- Dork (1993)
- Behind the Times (later-1993)
- Eddie Picnic's All Wet (1994)
- This Is Berkeley, Not West Bay (1994)
- Bombing the Bay (1995)
- Fly in the Ointment (1995)
- A Fire Inside EP (1998)
- Black Sails EP (1999)
- All Hallow's EP (1999)
- The Days of the Phoenix EP (2001)
- 336/Now the World Picture Disc (2002)
[edit] DVD
- Clandestine (2003)
- I Heard a Voice (2006)
[edit] Videos
- He Who Laughs Last... 1996 Video-Single (only)
- Third Season 1997 Video-Single (only)
- Totalimmortal 1999 Video-Single (only)
- The Days of the Phoenix 2000 Video-Single (only)
- Girl's Not Grey 2003 CD/Video Single
- The Leaving Song Pt. 2 2003 CD/Video Single
- Silver and Cold 2004 Video-Single (only)
- Miss Murder 2006 CD/Video-Single
- Love Like Winter 2006 CD/Video-Single
[edit] Footnotes
<references/>
[edit] External links
| AFI |
| Davey Havok | Jade Puget | Hunter Burgan | Adam Carson |
| Mark Stopholese | Vic Chalker | Geoff Kresge |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums and EPs: Dork | Behind the Times | Eddie Picnic's All Wet | This Is Berkeley, Not West Bay | Bombing the Bay | Fly in the Ointment | Answer That and Stay Fashionable | Very Proud of Ya | Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes | A Fire Inside EP | Black Sails in the Sunset | Black Sails EP | All Hallow's EP | The Art of Drowning |The Days of the Phoenix EP | Sing the Sorrow | Decemberunderground |
| Singles: He Who Laughs Last | Third Season | Totalimmortal | The Days of the Phoenix | Girl's Not Grey | The Leaving Song Pt. 2 | Silver and Cold | Miss Murder | Love Like Winter | The Missing Frame |
| Related articles |
| Tiger Army | Despair Faction | Horrorpops | Loose Change | Dexter Holland | Nitro Records | Redemption 87 | Son Of Sam |
| Categories: AFI | AFI Songs | AFI Albums |
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