This Is Me Smiling

Infobox musical artist
Name = This Is Me Smiling


Img_capt = (left to right) Dan Duszynski, Matt Schuessler, Adam Kaltenhauser and Sheldon Miller
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Background = group_or_band
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Origin = Chicago, Illinois, United States
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Genre = Alternative
Powerpop
Pop punk
Occupation =
Years_active = 2004-Present
Label = The Vinyl Summer
One Haven Music
Red Label
Columbia Records
Associated_acts = Retro Morning Bumpus Dig For Fire Crazy For Jane
URL = [http://www.thisismesmiling.net/ Official Website] [http://www.myspace.com/thisismesmiling This Is Me Smiling] on MySpace
Current_members = Dan Duszynski
Adam Kaltenhauser
Sheldon Miller
Matt Schuessler
Past_members = Sean O'Keefe
Notable_instruments =

This Is Me Smiling is an American pop-punk and powerpop band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 2004.

History

The Beginning

In 1998, while Duszynski and Schuessler were freshmen at Benet Academy in Lisle, Illinois, and Miller was a freshman at Plainfield High School in Plainfield, Illinois, the three friends formed a punk band called Retro Morning. The band released a Split EP with The Red Hot Valentines and had a track included on a Smoking Popes tribute album, both on Mike Felumlee's Double Zero Records. The band attracted a devoted, local Chicago following, but disbanded after its three core members graduated from high school.

The three friends came together as This Is Me Smiling in 2004 as another four piece powerpop outfit with Adam Kaltenhauser (formerly of Bumpus and Dig For Fire) on drums, bonded by their love of Ben Folds and The Beatles. The band’s quirky pop was embraced by the local punk scene, where TIMS formed relationships with similar local artists like The Academy Is…

Record Deal

This Is Me Smiling’s first big break came when their “Mixin’ Up Adjectives” was included on Epitaph’s cult series Punk-O-Rama 10 in the summer of 2005. In September, the band released their self-titled debut on indie label Vinyl Summer. The album caught the ear of executives at Columbia Records, who signed the act to imprint OneHaven, which re-released their debut in March 2007. [Mitch Michaels, [http://www.411mania.com/music/album_reviews/53850 This Is Me Smiling - This Is Me Smiling Review] , 411mania.com; May 3, 2007]

This Is Me Smiling has toured with many big names including Motion City Soundtrack, Jack's Mannequin, All American Rejects, Panic at the Disco, Bayside, Hey Mercedes, OK Go, and The Hush Sound. [ [http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2007/04/05/this_is_me_smiling_tour_dates/ This Is Me Smiling Tour Dates] , Starpulse.com; April 5, 2007]

econd Album

Currently, the band is working on a new album for release in early 2008. They spent time during the summer of 2007 working on new songs in Austin, Texas. The band has been dropped by Columbia Records, but plan on releasing another album anyways. On November 16, it was announced on their MySpace blog that the band had chosen the songs for the record and would begin recording in January, 2008, with hopes of finishing by the end of February. They also posted a demo for a song from the new record: "Andy Apathy".

As planned, the band relocated in early January to record their album at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. They also planned to document the recording process through a blog and posting pictures and videos. After about a month the band reported that they had left Pachyderm, citing their dissatisfaction with what they had recorded. They planned to continue working on their new record after solidifying their new plans.

In the meantime, the band posted videos of Duszynski performing two new songs, "Only Uphill" and "I'm Losing It Here", on their YouTube channel. According to their MySpace blog, the album was beginning to come together slowly and they were to continue to post videos of songs and recording sessions on YouTube. Later, however, the band announced that the sessions for the new album had fallen into chaos and would not continue until the band could decide if they could continue to work together.

Power Chord Academy

This Is Me Smiling played as a mystery guest at Power Chord Academy's first Chicago session in 2007.

Band Members

*Dan Duszynski – Vocals, Guitar
*Adam Kaltenhauser – Drums
*Sheldon Miller – Keyboards, Vocals
*Matt Schuessler – Bass

Discography

Albums

Compilations

External links

* [http://www.thevinylsummer.com/ The Vinyl Summer Website]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jpfwxqusldse This Is Me Smiling on All Music Guide]
* [http://www.spin.com/features/band_of_the_day/2007/03/070320_tims/ This Is Me Smiling's SPIN Magazine Artist of the Day article with interview and video of a new song live at SXSW]

References