Alexisonfire

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Background information
Origin St. Catharines, Ontario
Canada
Genre(s) Post-Hardcore
Years active 2001 – Present
Label(s) Distort Entertainment,
Dine Alone Records,
Vagrant Records,
Sore Point Records
Associated
acts		 City and Colour
Jersey
Website theonlybandever.com
Members
George Pettit
Dallas Green
Wade MacNeil
Chris Steele
Jordan "Ratbeard" Hastings

Alexisonfire is a five-piece post-hardcore band from St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada established in 2001.

The band describes their music as aggressive and energetic[1], with a unique sound, that plays on the extremes of multiple vocalists, with Dallas Green providing melody with his soft singing, George Pettit's polar-opposite explosive screaming, and with Wade MacNeil lending his punk rock vocals to the mixture. Over the years their style has progressed, their lyrics have evolved, with subject matters from go-karting and relationship troubles, and musically they have developed a more mature and available sound. Their most recent music video reflects their stance shift and stylistic progression.

Despite popular belief, the bands name is pronounced "Alexis On Fire" not "Alex Is On Fire".[2] The band is managed by Joel Carriere, co-founder of the popular Canadian online music magazine Bedlam Society, and their label, Dine Alone Records. Alexisonfire's latest album, Crisis, debuted at number one on the Canadian charts, and the band is currently in the midst of their North American tour.

Contents

[edit] History

Alexisonfire consists of five friends who formed a band in late 2001 as the result of a three-band break up. They played their very first show on tour in Denver, Colorado on March 27, 2001. The band's name is a sort-of homage to Alexis Fire, who claimed to be the world's only lactating contortionist stripper [3]. This caused problems when she discovered that they were using her website name as their band name, and threatened to sue. However, since she had never trademarked the title, nothing became of these threats. The band released its first EP, Math Sheet Demos in 2002 so named because the CD was wrapped in former drummer, Jesse Ingelevics' math homework. The first, self-titled studio album Alexisonfire was released that same year. Initially they faced hard times and received virtually no radio airtime, which continues to stand true today regardless of their popularity. This didn't hold the band back though, they broke out, gaining notoriety in the underground, and eventually mainstream with the support of MuchMusic.

[edit] Fanbase

While their largest fanbase is in their home country of Canada, they are also becoming more popular in other parts of the world. In early 2005 they toured Europe and Australia with Rise Against. Numerous European venues sold out or had to be upgraded to accommodate the large number of fans. In October 2005, the band embarked on their first ever headlining tour of Europe with British bands, The Blood Roses and Johnny Truant. They were also on the 2006 Vans Warped Tour, where they have stated on their MySpace account that they turned down the mainstage for the Canadian venues.

[edit] Trivia

Each member of Alexisonfire has the word "Yeti" tattooed on themselves. They each got these tattoos in Glasgow, Scotland in October 2005 when on tour with Johnny Truant and The Blood Roses. Every member of Johnny Truant and The Blood Roses also have the same tattoo. On an episode of The New Music, which airs on MuchMusic, George and Dallas reveal that the inspiration for their "Yeti" tattoos came from the 1988 Gary Oldman film The Firm.

[edit] Awards/Nominations

Alexisonfire at the 2005 MMVAs
Enlarge
Alexisonfire at the 2005 MMVAs
  • 2004 Canadian Independent Music Awards: Won Best Video (for Pulmonary Archery)
  • 2004 Casby Awards: Won NXNE Favourite Indie Band
  • 2004 MuchMusic Video Awards: Won VideoFACT (for Counterparts and Number Them), Nominated Best Independent Video (for Counterparts and Number Them)
  • 2005 Juno Awards: Won New Group Of The Year
  • 2005 MuchMusic Video Awards: Won Best Independent Video (for Accidents), Nominated for Peoples' Choice Award - Favourite Canadian Group, MuchLOUD Best Rock Video (for Accidents)
  • 2005 SPIN.com Band of the Year: Nominated as SPIN.com's Band of the Year in the "ALL-AGES" category, but lost to Nightmare of You in Round One of voting 63% to 37%.

[edit] Band Members

[edit] Active Members

[edit] Departed Members

[edit] Jesse Ingelevics

As of June 14, 2005, Alexisonfire made a statement on their website that Jesse Ingelevics, the band's drummer is no longer part of the band. The news story cited that the band and Ingelevics had slowly grown apart, and that he wanted to spend more time with his family and his fiancée. Former drummer of Jersey, Jordan Hastings (amicably nicknamed Ratbeard), is now the current drummer of Alexisonfire. The song 'Keep It On Wax' off the new Crisis album is about Jesse Ingelevics.

[edit] Side Projects

The members of the band have two side projects:

[edit] City and Colour

City and Colour is Dallas Green's solo side project, under which he has released an EP, The Death of Me, and a studio album, Sometimes; both under the label Dine Alone Records. The Alexisonfire song, "Where No One Knows", was originally (in part) a song by Dallas Green (as City and Colour). That song is called Sam Malone.

[edit] The Black Lungs

The Black Lungs is a band formed by Wade MacNeil. Originally its members were George Pettit, Jordan "Ratbeard" Hastings and Sean McNabb of the now dissolved band Jersey. After playing a few shows the band broke up leaving only Wade MacNeil. The Black Lungs is now Wade MacNeil's solo project. Sammi Bogdanski plays the piano over Wade's vocals and guitar. Wade has recorded an album which will be released on Dine Alone Records sometime in the autumn 2006. Two tracks have been released onto MySpace.

[edit] Untitled George Side Project

George Pettit played a show on September 1, 2006 in a band with members of Attack in Black, Keep It Up and more. They played four songs and announced an album later this year.

[edit] Fucked Up

George Pettit, from time to time, plays bass for the Toronto hardcore band Fucked Up.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio Albums

Album Cover Date of Release Title Label Billboard Top 200 US Sales CAN Sales
September 9 2002 Alexisonfire Canada Distort Entertainment
USA Equal Vision Records
UK Sore Point Records		 - - Gold
June 29 2004 Watch Out! Canada Distort Entertainment
USA Equal Vision Records		 - - -
UK UK August 21 2006
Canada USA August 22 2006		 Crisis Canada Distort Entertainment
USA Vagrant Records		 #189 - Number 1

[edit] EPs

[edit] Soundtracks

  • Trailer Park Boys Soundtrack - "Sweet Leaf" (Black Sabbath cover)

[edit] Singles

[edit] Videography

Main article: Alexisonfire Videography

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ As seen on MuchMusic's Addrenaline
  2. ^ As taken from the official website's FAQ: "What kind of an idiot would name a band alex is on fire?"
  3. ^ Commonly known, but confirmed by Chris Steele in an inteview, viewable here

[edit] External links

Alexisonfire
George Pettit · Dallas Green · Wade MacNeil · Chris Steele · Jordan "Ratbeard" Hastings
Discography
Studio Albums: Alexisonfire · Watch Out! · Crisis

EPs: Math Sheet Demos · Pink Heart Skull Sampler · Brown Heart Skull Sampler · The Switcheroo Series: Alexisonfire vs. Moneen
Side Projects
City and Colour · The Black Lungs
Labels
Dine Alone Records · Equal Vision Records · Sore Point Records · Distort Entertainment
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../a/l/e/Alexisonfire.html"
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