| Alien Ant Farm | |
|---|---|
| Origin |  Riverside, California, USA |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock Alternative metal Post-grunge Rapcore |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Label(s) | Universal |
| Website | www.alienantfarm.com |
| Members | |
| Dryden Mitchell Mike Cosgrove Joe Hill Alex Barreto |
|
| Former members | |
| Tye Zamora Terry Corso |
|
Alien Ant Farm is an alternative metal group that formed in the southern California city of Riverside in 1996. Their name comes from an idea former member Terry Corso had about aliens and the earth--"I was daydreaming at my dull desk job with my feet up, and I thought to myself, 'Wouldn't it be cool if the human species were placed on earth and cultivated by alien intelligence?' Maybe the aliens added us to an atmosphere that was suitable for us, and they've been watching us develop and colonize, kind of like what a kid does with an ant farm".[1]
Contents |
History
In the late 1990s, the band released their underground debut album, entitled Greatest Hits. It went on to win Best Independent Album in the L.A. Music Awards. In 2000, after forging a friendship with the Alternative Rock band Papa Roach, Alien Ant Farm signed with DreamWorks SKG for their first studio album, ANThology. In 2001, their cover of the Michael Jackson song, "Smooth Criminal", was a #1 single in Australia and New Zealand, a #3 single in the UK, and #1 on the US Modern Rock charts. The music video features numerous homages to Michael Jackson and his videos. The song was featured on the soundtrack of the first season of WWE Tough Enough and in the movie American Pie 2. Their following single "Movies" was a Top 5 hit in the UK and a Top 20 hit in New Zealand. The band began touring in promotion of these two singles and their album, which later went platinum. In spring of 2002, the band contributed "Bug Bytes" to the first Spider-Man soundtrack. In May 2002, the band was involved in a bus accident while touring in Spain. The driver, 26-year-old Christopher Holland, was killed, and lead singer Dryden Mitchell suffered a fractured C2 vertebra. Alien Ant Farm soon returned to the studio to work on their next album, truANT, which was released in 2003 and produced by Stone Temple Pilots' Robert and Dean DeLeo. The video for "These Days", the first single from the album, was filmed on top of a nearby building during the Red Carpet at the 2003 BET Awards. "Glow" was a mainstream radio success, achieving long lasting Top 20 success in New Zealand. Two months after this album was released, however, their record label closed its doors. In October 2003, guitarist Terry Corso split with the band citing "irreconcilable differences". Soon after, he joined Powerman 5000 for a time. Joe Hill was named the new guitarist in 2005 (formerly in Spiderworks). In 2004, the band recorded the song "Dark in Here" for the Punisher video game. Unfortunately, the band was forced to wait for Geffen to allow them to record another album (after Universal Music bought DreamWorks and assigned the band to its Geffen Records label). In 2005, the band recorded with producer Jim Wirt (who recorded their independent, debut release "greatest hits") and planned to release the album during that summer. However, for some reason, Geffen decided not to put the album out and also denied the band the rights to release it themselves. The band hit the road and made bootleg copies of the album material available to all of their fans. This unofficial release was dubbed 3rd Draft by fans.
Recent history
In late 2005, Geffen finally agreed to let the band release the album on another Universal label, Universal Music Enterprises (its catalogue division). On May 4, 2006, information began showing up on music store websites and release calendars about an upcoming release from the band. The band also released information about a DVD that same day. On May 30, 2006 the new album, Up in the Attic, was released digitally on iTunes. The first single was "Forgive and Forget", the one added track to 3rd Draft. In April 2006, bassist Tye Zamora left the band and decided to go to college. He was replaced by Alex Barreto (formerly of hardcore bands Chain of Strength, Hardstance, and Inside Out). On June 29, 2006, the band performed on G4's Attack of the Show, and on July 18 Up In The Attic was released worldwide, along with BUSted: The Definitive DVD. Included on the DVD were music videos for "Forgive and Forget", "Around the Block", and "She's Only Evil". Notably, the three videos feature only Dryden Mitchell and Mike Cosgrove. Since the July release of Up in the Attic, considered a flop compared to previous successes of the band, very little has happened. Their website remained unupdated from November 2006 until April 2007, the update promoting the Alien Ant Fans website, created by a long time Polish fan, Bartek. The band released "Around the Block", the second single from Up in the Attic, on iTunes Store in 2007.
Videos
A.A.F. is known for its quirky videos, such as the Michael Jackson tributes in "Smooth Criminal", the film homages (Willy Wonka, Edward Scissorhands, The Karate Kid, ghostbusters) in the primary version of "Movies", and the personified appliances in "Glow". They also crashed the BET awards for their music video of "These Days".
Band members
Current members
- Dryden Mitchell - lead vocals, backing vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar (1996-present)
- Joe Hill - lead & rhythm guitars, backing vocals (2005-present)
- Alex Barreto - bass, backing vocals (2006-present)
- Mike Cosgrove - drums, percussion (1996-present)
Former members
- Tye Zamora - bass, keyboards, piano, percussion, kalimba, backing vocals (1996-2006)
- Terry Corso - lead & rhythm guitars, slide guitar, backing vocals (1996-2003)
Discography
Albums
| Release Date | Title | U.S. Billboard Peak | U.S. Certification |
| 1999 | Greatest Hits | ||
| March 6, 2001 | ANThology | #11 | Platinum |
| August 9, 2003 | truANT | #42 | |
| Never released | 3rd Draft | ||
| July 18, 2006 | Up in the Attic | #114 |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | US Mainstream Rock | UK Singles Chart | |||
| 2001 | "Smooth Criminal" | #23 | #1 (4 weeks) | #18 | #3 | ANThology |
| 2002 | "Movies" | - | #38 | #18 | #5 | ANThology |
| 2002 | "Attitude" | - | - | - | - | ANThology |
| 2003 | "These Days" | - | #29 | #38 | #35 | truANT |
| 2003 | "Glow" | - | - | - | - | truANT |
| 2006 | "Forgive And Forget" | #103 | - | - | - | Up In The Attic |
| 2007 | "Around the Block" | - | - | - | - | Up In The Attic |
External links
- Official website
- Alien Ant Farm at MySpace
- rehearsals.com performances
- Alien Ant Farm at Rolling Stone
References
- ^ http://youtube.com/alienantfarmvideos YouTube account owned by Alien Ant Farm
| Alien Ant Farm |
|---|
| Dryden Mitchell | Joe Hill | Alex Barreto | Mike Cosgrove |
| Terry Corso | Tye Zamora |
| Discography |
| Greatest Hits (1999) | ANThology (2001) | truANT (2003) | 3rd Draft (unreleased) |Up in the Attic (2006) |
| Singles |
| "Smooth Criminal", "Movies", "Attitude", "These Days", "Glow", "S.S. Recognize", "Forgive and Forget" |
| Label(s) |
| Universal Records |
