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| The Matches | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Oakland, California, USA |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock, Pop punk |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Label(s) | Epitaph Records |
| Website | Official site |
| Members | |
| Shawn Harris Justin San Souci Jon Devoto Matt Whalen |
|
| Former members | |
| Matt Esposito | |
The Matches is a rock band of four members which was formed in 1997 in Oakland, California and is currently signed with Epitaph Records.
Contents |
History
Originally known as "The Locals", the band was formed in 1997 by Justin San Souci, Matt Whalen, Matt Esposito, and Shawn Harris. At the time, all four were in high school at Bishop O'Dowd. Matt Esposito then left the band (sometime between 2000 and 2002) to enroll in the US Naval Academy, and was replaced by Jon Devoto as a guitarist. In those early years, the band played what could be characterized as ska-influenced punk, creating songs like "A Girl I Know", "Studio 5866", and others. These songs can now be found in The Matches' Song Vault. Gradually, their style started shifting towards alternative rock. Their influences included fellow East Bay punk/pop-punk bands like Green Day and Rancid, as well as more mainstream bands and musicians like Elvis Costello, David Bowie, The Who and Joe Jackson. The name "The Locals" soon led to copyright infringement complications when Yvonne Doll, the frontwoman for the Chicago indie rock band also called "The Locals," contacted the band and asked that they change their name. The band gained notoriety for "commo-promo", or commotion promotion, in which they would bring their acoustic guitars and play outside of various Bay Area venues as concerts for larger acts were letting out. In conjunction with Oakland's (now defunct) iMusicast venue, the band started producing their own shows called L3 (Live, Loud & Local), which became a launchpad for many other Bay Area bands, as well as attracting such headlining acts as Link 80, Sugarcult, and Zebrahead. Eventually, under the new name "The Matches", they self-released their debut album, E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals. Then soon after landed a record deal on Brett Gurewitz's Epitaph Records, although they had already previously released the album E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals without a recording contract, Epitaph Records re-released it. The version released by Epitaph lacks the song "Superman", but adds the songs "Borderline Creep" and "More Than Local Boys", instead. As well as slight changes to lyrics on "The Jack Slap Cheer", and the last untitled track (often referred to as "Track 11", "Abraham's Song", or "Scratched Out"). Lead guitarist Jon Devoto has been quoted as saying "If you were to ask me five years ago where I would be in five years, I would have said 'In a band on Epitaph.'" They have shared the stage with likes of Lit, Yellowcard, Matchbook Romance, Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, Starting Line, MXPX, Motion City Soundtrack, +44 and many others, as well as playing on the Vans Warped Tour. The Matches have quickly made a name for themselves in the pop punk scenes throughout the United States and Europe.The band has also worked with rapper MC Lars on the song "Hot Topic is Not Punk Rock".
The Matches' second album, Decomposer, was released on September 12, 2006. The album features work by nine producers, including Tim Armstrong, Nick Hexum, Mark Hoppus, and John Feldmann, among other punk rock mainstays. The albums also marks a change to more experimental alternative rock sound, as opposed to the pop punk sound of their first album. The Matches were on the Vans Warped Tour 2007 supporting the album.
Present
The Matches are currently working on their new album. This album was previously titled "The Mad Silentist", but is now tentatively titled "A Band In Hope". The song "Their City" was released on the compilation "Punk The Clock Vol.3". It is presumed that this song will be on the upcoming album. The Matches are currently on tour in the UK with the band Biffy Clyro
New Record
The group recently announced that they are close to finishing a new album titled A Band In Hope (previously The Mad Silentist); though it has been said that the title might be changed again by the time of its release. This new album is said to be coming out in March of 2008, to be closely followed by a UK tour in the same month. On July 22nd, an acoustic video of a new song titled "To Build A Mountain" was revealed at "Live-Pulse". It is also available for viewing on YouTube. The band has said that the song "Who Let the Yankees In the Chip Shop?" will be on the upcoming record, and that they will be filming a video for it in the UK at the end of their tour with Biffy Clryo towards the end of November. In the video Shawn (Vocals) will be attempting to get beaten up and the video is just full of mayhem with clips of the band playing and drummer Matt seen playing with a decorated snare drum designed by Emilee Seymour who also did the artwork for Decomposer and a previous Matchbook Romance album. This information comes from a conversation with The Matches and Emilee on their tour with Biffy Clyro while in the UK. With this record's release approaching, great controversy appeared for the band. "Who Let the Yankees In the Chip Shop?" leaked on to the band's message boards and on Facebook.
Members
- Shawn Harris - rhythm guitar, vocals
- Justin San Souci - bass guitar, vocals
- Jon Devoto - lead guitar, backup vocals
- Matt Whalen - drums
Discography
Albums
DVDs
- Show Must Go Off!, Vol. 14 (2004)
Compilation tracks
- A Santa Cause - It's A Punk Rock Christmas - "December Is For Cynics" (2003)
- Agent Records Presents The NorCal Compilation 2003 - "Audio Blood" (2003)
- 2004 Warped Tour Compilation - "Audio Blood" (2004)
- 2005 Warped Tour Compilation - "Dog-Eared Page" (2005)
- Dead Bands Party: A Tribute to Oingo Boingo - "Violent Love" (2005)(**zebrahead was featured on this song**)
- Takeover Records 3-Way Issue #2 - "A Girl I Know", "Sick Little Suicide (Acoustic)", "Shoot Me in the Smile (Acoustic)" (2005)
- 2006 Warped Tour Compilation - "My Soft and Deep" (2006)
- Greetings From NorCal- The Northern California Compilation - "Didi" (2006)
- Unsound Compilation - "Little Maggots" (2006)
- Punk-O-Rama Vol. 9 - "Sick Little Suicide" (2006)
- Punk-O-Rama Vol. 10 - "Shoot Me in My Smile" (2006)
- 2007 Warped Tour Compilation - "Little Maggots" (2007)
- -"Got The Time"(2005)
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. Modern Rock | U.S. Mainstream Rock | |||
| 2004 | "Chain Me Free" | - | - | - | E. Von Dahl Killed the Locals |
| 2006 | "Papercut Skin" | - | - | - | Decomposer |
| 2007 | "Salty Eyes" | - | - | - | Decomposer |
