Counterfit

Not to be confused with Counterfeit.

Counterfit
Origin	Fairfield County, Connecticut San Diego, California
Genres	Post punk Progressive rock Post-hardcore Emo
Years active	1999–2004
Labels	Alphabet Records Negative Progression Records
Associated acts	First Wave Hello Helen Earth Band First Aid Kit
Website	counterfit.net
Past members
Adam Allen Marc Allen James Dennis Justin Rodriguez Daniel Reed

Counterfit was an American rock band from San Diego, California, formed in September 1999 and disbanded in November 2004. They released two EPs and one album on San Diego label Alphabet Records and San Francisco-based Negative Progression Records. Over the band's lifespan they toured the United States extensively. Their music is best described as fitting into the indie rock, post-hardcore, and emo genres.

Band history

Formation

Counterfit formed in September 1999 in Fairfield County, Connecticut, but soon relocated to San Diego, California to pursue a career in music. The band's lineup at this time consisted of Justin Rodriguez on bass guitar and lead vocals, Adam Allen and James Dennis on guitars, and Allen's brother Marc Allen on drums. The band's first EP, On the Downside, was released in 2000 on local label Alphabet Records. Shortly after its release Dennis left the band to attend college, and Daniel Reed was brought in to fill the vacant guitar position.

Album and tours

Their second EP, From Finish to Starting Line, was released the following year on Negative Progression Records. That summer the band played on the 2001 Warped Tour. Their first full-length album, Super Amusement Machine for Your Exciting Heart, followed in 2002, along with a second stint on that year's Warped Tour. On these tours Counterfit played alongside such bands as Tsunami Bomb, Saves the Day, Hot Rod Circuit, New Found Glory, Superdrag, The Mars Volta, Recover, and Finch.

Disbanding

In November 2004 the group decided to disband, and played their last show on December 11, 2004 at Ground Zero in El Cajon with the band Noise Ratchet, who were also playing their final show. Reed went on to play in First Wave Hello and Sayvinyl, while the Allen brothers launched their own project the Helen Earth Band. Marc Allen also joined Finch, drumming for them until the group's indefinite hiatus in 2006. In the winter of 2006 Rodriguez began recording and performing under the name Silverbird. A posthumous DVD/CD package of Counterfit material was released in 2007 entitled Managing the Details of an Undertaking. The DVD includes a documentary of their final tour, the entire farewell performance, and additional content. The CD portion includes rare and unreleased songs including demos and live recordings.

Band members

• Adam Allen - guitar, backing vocals (1999–2004)
• Marc Allen - drums, backing vocals (1999–2004)
• James Dennis - guitar, backing vocals (1999–2000)
• Justin Rodriguez - bass guitar, lead vocals (1999–2004)
• Daniel Reed - guitar, backing vocals (2000–2004)

Discography

Albums

Year	Title	Label	Format	Other information
2002	Super Amusement Machine for Your Exciting Heart	Negative Progression Records	CD/LP	Only album. LP version released in 2003 with different track order.

EPs

Year	Title	Label	Format	Other information
2000	On the Downside	Alphabet Records	EP	First EP, consisting of 5 demo songs.
2001	From Finish to Starting Line	Negative Progression Records	EP

Compilation albums

Year	Title	Label	Format	Other information
2007	Managing the Details of an Undertaking	One Bad Landing Records	CD/DVD	Posthumous compilation of rare and unreleased material. DVD includes documentary of the band's final tour, their entire final performance, the "Better Late Than Never" music video, and additional live footage.

Non-album tracks

Year	Album/Source	Label	Song(s)	Other information
2002	Playing 4 Square 2	Negative Progression Records	"This Dance"	Demo version, differs from album version.
2003	Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault: Jawbreaker Tribute	Dying Wish Records	"Million" (originally performed by Jawbreaker)	Tribute CD to the 1990s San Francisco band Jawbreaker.

Videography

Music videos

Year	Title	Album	Other information
2003	"Better Late Than Never"	Super Amusement Machine for Your Exciting Heart	Directed by Anne Montalvo.

External links

• Myspace page