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The Ataris

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The Ataris are a seven-piece indie rock/alternative rock band from the United States, originally hailing from Anderson, Indiana. They have released six full-length records, and their seventh, Welcome the Night, is expected in 2007.

Contents

[edit] History

The band originally consisted of singer/songwriter/guitarist Kristopher Roe and guitarist Jasin Thomason. Using a 4-track, they wrote and recorded demos in Kris's bedroom, using a drum machine as the drummer. The band was searching for a full-time drummer. The first step in their road to success came when Kris attended a Vandals show at a club in Cincinnati, where he passed one of the demo tapes to a roadie from the band. Warren Fiztgerald, guitarist from The Vandals part owned the label his band was signed to and so, a few weeks later, Kris received a call from the band's label Kung Fu Records, who told him they were interested in putting out their record, even though he was only searching for a drummer. However, the band ended up signing to the label after all. The label sent the tape to various drummers, and eventually the band decided upon Derrick Plourde. The band then proceeded to record their debut album Anywhere but Here, tracking the whole thing in less than a week.

In June of 1997, Kristopher moved from Anderson, Indiana to Santa Barbara, California. Shortly afterward, Marko Desantis joined the band on bass for a short time. Jasin Thomason left the band to stay in Indiana, and the group toured as a three-piece for a short while. After a brief tour in October 1997, this lineup disbanded. Kris then reformed the group with Mike Davenport on bass, Chris Knapp on drums, and Marco Peña on guitar. However, Peña soon left the band due to personal reasons and was briefly replaced by Patrick Riley.

From there, the band gradually increased in popularity in the underground rock scene, a lot due to a very consistent touring ethic and their very strong personal, DIY approach to their band. Then recording the well-acclaimed EP Look Forward to Failure. However, it wasn't until the release of Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits in the year 1999 that they started to gain widespread acclaim. The album contained personal, storytelling lyrics and heartfelt tales of relationships, discovery and things once left behind. After this album, Riley left the band to go back to school, and Marco Peña re-joined the band.

The band's third full length studio album, End is Forever, was released in 2001. This album painted a darker, more intensely personal side of the band's storytelling and personal relationships. Due to their persistent touring schedule, a lot of the arrangements and lyrics were worked out at the last minute while in the studio and then the vocals recorded while Kristopher had a bad cold. Roe maintains that he was not completely happy with half of the songs, although he went on to state that in spite of this, several of the songs such as "Fast Times at Dropout High" and "Road Signs and Rock Songs" were still to date some of the band's strongest of their earlier career.

In 2002, the lineup changed again, with John Collura replacing Peña on guitar. The Ataris' contract with Kung Fu Records expired, and the band chose to sign with Columbia Records. Later that year, they began recording their fourth full-length album and major label debut, So Long, Astoria, released on March 4, 2003. The title was a reference from the movie The Goonies. So Long, Astoria was responsible for giving them their break into the mainstream audience and generated several successful singles, including "In This Diary" and "The Saddest Song." The album showcased very personal, encrypted and slightly more optimistic songwriting with a more refined, straight-forward rock sound, not unlike the Foo Fighters or Jimmy Eat World. This album also included their cover of the Don Henley song "The Boys of Summer," which much to the dismay of the band became their "accidental" second single after a radio station in Southern California started playing it, even though the band had already chose the song "My Reply" as their second single.

The band toured behind this record for most of 2003. After many personal and artistic differences, this line-up decided to respectfully and creatively go its separate ways. Kristopher and John later moved forward and began writing songs that would become part of the follow-up to so long, astoria titled Welcome The Night. At this point, the band became predominantly based out of New York and Indiana. Reports indicate that the next release was intended to be as an entirely new band and not just a new line-up, but the record label encouraged it to be recorded as The Ataris.

Recording of Welcome the Night began in February 2005. Along with it came five new members: Sean Hansen on bass, Shane Chickeles on drums, Bob Hoag on piano and keyboards, Paul Carabello on third guitar, and Angus Cooke on cello. The group spent the better part of two years writing and recording at multiple studios.

On June 10, 2006, the band announced that it had left Columbia Records due to the label's internal disintegration, and were free agents.

In November 2006, The Ataris started their own label, Isola Recordings, through the Sanctuary group and RED distribution, and simultaneously announced the official release date of their new album "Welcome The Night" as February 20th, 2007.

[edit] Band Members

[edit] Current

[edit] Previous

[edit] Discography

[edit] DVDs

[edit] Compilations or unreleased tracks

  • A Beautiful Mistake - (Released as a B-side. This song was originally intended to be on So long, Astoria but was removed at the last minute.)
  • Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis - (Tom Waits cover from KROQ's Weenie Roast 2003)
  • The Night The Lights Went Out In NYC - (from the Spiderman 2 soundtrack)
  • The Radio Still Sucks - (from Short Music for Short People - was used in a commercial for iTunes)
  • Heaven is Falling - Bad Religion anti-war protest track from Rock Against Bush: Vol 1)
  • Carnage - ALL cover from the Warped Tour 2004 compilation)

[edit] External links

[edit] Official sites


The Ataris
Kristopher Roe | John Collura | Paul Carabello | Angus Cooke | Bob Hoag | Sean Hansen | Shane Chickeles
Previous Members
Jasin Thomason | Marko 72 | Derrick Plourde | Patrick Riley | Marco Peña | Mike Davenport | Chris Knapp
Discography
Studio Albums & EPs: Anywhere but Here | Look Forward To Failure | Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits | Let It Burn | End is Forever | All You Can Ever Learn Is What You Already Know | so long, astoria | Welcome The Night
Live Albums: Live At The Metro
Singles: San Dimas High School Football Rules | Teenage Riot | Summer Wind Was Always Our Song | In This Diary | The Boys of Summer | The Saddest Song
DVDs: Live At Capitol Milling
Record Labels
Columbia Records | Kung Fu Records | Fat Wreck Chords
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