Waking Ashland

Infobox musical artist
Name = Waking Ashland


Img_capt = From left to right: Lallier, Jones, Grosse, Lee
Img_size = 250
Landscape =
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = San Diego, California, USA
Genre = Rock, indie rock, piano rock
Years_active = 2003–2007
Label = Immortal Records
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.wakingashland.com WakingAshland.com]
Current_members = Jonathan Jones
Ryan Lallier
Nate Harold
Tim Very
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =

Waking Ashland was a piano rock band from San Diego, California, signed to Tooth and Nail Records and Immortal Records. They formed in 2003 and released two EPs and two full-length albums. Their final lineup consisted of singer/keyboardist Jonathan Jones, guitarist Ryan Lallier, bassist Nate Harold and drummer Tim Very. The band broke up in mid 2007.

History

Waking Ashland was formed in November 2003 by singer/keyboardist Jonathan Jones, guitarist Ryan Lallier and drummer Thomas Lee, all of whom were, at that time, music majors at California State University, Northridge. Robert Teegarden — a friend of the band — temporarily helped out to fill the vacant position on the bass guitar. Their band name stems from the aspect of connecting people through music, paired with a reference to the town of Ashland, Oregon. [cite web|url=http://www.chicagogigs.com/concerts/waking-ashland-tickets.htm|title=Waking Ashland Tickets|work=ChicagoGigs.com|accessdate=September 23|accessyear=2006] Influenced by as diverse acts as Joe Jackson, Coldplay, The Pixies and Hüsker Dü, Waking Ashland combines emotional piano melodies with sonic distortion guitars, creating a unique sound among their genre.

In early 2004, they self-recorded and released their debut EP "I Am for You". Simultaneously, the line-up was completed by guitarist Nick Rucker and bassist Derek Vaughn, replacing Teegarden. However, the two soon left the band, and a permanent bassist was found in Andrew Grosse, frontman Jones' former bandmate in their Christian accented high school band Formula316. [cite web|url=http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:57d3vwvwa9rk~T1|title=Waking Ashland Biography|work=Allmusic|author=Kenyon Hopkin|accessdate=September 23|accessyear=2006] Without record label distribution and solely through word of mouth promotion, the CD's first pressing of 1,000 copies (being only available through the band's website and at their concerts) sold out within a month. [cite web|url=http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:www.indievisionmusic.com/forum/viewtopic.php%3Fp%3D941%26sid%3D54babb148e6cc58f3ca898867d66701c|title=Waking Ashland – an interview with front man, Jonathan Jones (Google cache)|work=Indie Vision Music|accessdate=September 23|accessyear=2006] To date, the six-song CD managed to sell over 10,000 copies. [cite web|url=http://msopr.com/mso/waking_ashland/waking_ashland.htm|title=Waking Ashland Biography|work=The Mitch Schneider Organization|accessdate=September 23|accessyear=2006] Its success landed the band a booking agent and allowed them to drop out of college, to pursue a career in the music industry. As the result of their constant touring and — due to lucky circumstances — their participating in 2004's Warped Tour, word spread fast and garnered the attention of several record labels, including Tooth & Nail Records, home to such bands as Further Seems Forever, Mae and Underoath. Tooth & Nail signed Waking Ashland and released their first full-length album "Composure" — produced by Lou Giordano — in May 2005. The album scanned 2,400 units within its first week of sales, debuting at #19 on Nielsen SoundScan's Alternative New Artist chart and at #53 on their Top New Artist Album chart. [cite web|url=http://msopr.com/mso/waking_ashland/wa052505.htm|title=Waking Ashland Are Off to a Strong Start as "Composure" Logs Best First Week Sales in Tooth and Nail's History for a Debut Album|work=The Mitch Schneider Organization|accessdate=September 23|accessyear=2006] The album also hit #29 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart. [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:giftxqlsldje~T5 Billboard] , Allmusic.com]

On September 5 2005, a statement on the band's website announced that Grosse and Lee had left the band due to in-band conflicts. Temporary touring members included drummers Joe Greenetz from Sherwood and Rob Lynch from Harris, as well as bassists Jon Sullivan from Jack's Mannequin and Trevor Sellers from Number One Gun. On February 8 2006, Waking Ashland released a nine-song EP, titled "Telescopes", only in Japan. Immortal Records released "Telescopes" in the United States on June 13, 2006. The Japanese release had two bonus tracks, which were acoustic versions of "October Skies" and "I Am For You" from "Composure". While the release featured session musicians to back up Jones and Lallier, a permanent rhythm section was finally announced in a blog on the band's MySpace profile as Nate Harold and Tim Very.

Part of the band's success can be attributed to their pages on MySpace and PureVolume. As of September 2006, Waking Ashland's songs have been played over 1.3 million times on MySpace and over 1.2 million times on PureVolume. Their song "I Am for You" appeared on the first MySpace Records compilation and the Drive Thru Records/PureVolume compilation, "Bands You Love, Have Heard of, and Should Know".

Waking Ashland's second album, "The Well", was released by Immortal Records on April 17, 2007.

On July 9, 2007, Jones announced on their MySpace page that the band had broken up, citing irreconcilable differences. Jones is currently working with his newly formed band We Shot the Moon, consisting of him and Trevor Faris (Drums), Paul Wheatley (Guitar), Jason DeLaTorre(Guitar), and Adam Lovell (Bass) Jones and Lallier are also currently working on solo projects.

Ryan Lallier, Nathan Harold, and Tim Very are all now members of the band Big Surrender along with Adam Murphy (never part of Waking Ashland).

Members

*Jonathan Jones – vocals, keyboard
*Ryan Lallier – guitar
*Nate Harold – bass
*Tim Very – drums

Former members

*Andrew Grosse – bass
*Thomas Lee – drums
*Nick Rucker – guitar
*Derek Vaughn – bass
*Robert Teegarden – bass

Discography

Albums

*"Composure" (2005)
*"The Well" (2007)

EPs

*"I Am for You" (2004)
*"Telescopes" (2006)

ingles

From "Composure":
*"I Am for You"
*"Hands on Deck"From "Telescopes" EP:
*"Julian"From "The Well":
*"Your Intentions"

Compilation Albums

From "Nano-Mugen Compilation 2006":
*"I Am for You"

References

External links

* [http://www.wakingashland.com Official website]
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