Further Seems Forever

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Further Seems Forever
Country United States
Years active 1998–2006
Genres Indie rock
Labels Tooth & Nail Records
Takehold Records
567 Records
Members Jonathan Bunch
Josh Colbert
Derick Cordoba
Steve Kleisath
Chad Neptune

Further Seems Forever (often abbreviated FSF) was a band based out of Pompano Beach, Florida, United States. They are often viewed as a Christian band due to their long association with Tooth & Nail Records and performances at festivals such as Cornerstone, but the group claims to be Christians not a Christian band. [2]. Their style of music has been classified as alternative, emo, and indie rock.

Contents

[edit] History

The band formed after the breakup of the Christian hardcore punk band Strongarm in 1998. Strongarm members Nick Dominguez, Chad Neptune, Josh Colbert, and Steve Kleisath were among FSF's first band members. Kleisath, had also been with the band Shai Hulud. Throughout their eight year run, the band went through three lead singers.

[edit] Lead Singer #1: Chris Carrabba

Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional fame was FSF's first lead singer. He remained with the band until the release of their first album, The Moon Is Down at which point he left to pursue Dashboard Confessional full time.

FSF remained on good terms with Carrabba. In an interview with Splendidezine.com Carrabba mentioned how the separation was on good terms:

"I mean, creatively, I really enjoyed it. When I spoke of "creative differences" I was speaking in general terms, and not exactly how it pertains to our particular situation. However, creatively I was very challenged in that band, and I really enjoyed the writing process. I miss it. I do. I’ll be honest. And they know it. We’ve talked about what do to do alleviate that, and is there a future for us, and there may be and there may not be. They’re still using a different singer, and the more they do that, the harder it would be for me to just step in and say "Hey, I’m going to do a few shows" without thinking about how he would feel about it. But I do miss the guys; that’s why we spend a lot of time together when I’m home."[3]

Carrabba practicing with the original members of FSF for the 2005 reunion show
Carrabba practicing with the original members of FSF for the 2005 reunion show

Despite his hesitation to sing at shows, he showed up and sang songs several times at various shows over the years while FSF continued on, and even played a reunion show with the band in 2005, featuring all songs from The Moon Is Down in order.

[edit] Lead Singer #2: Jason Gleason

In 2002, Jason Gleason of the hardcore band Affinity joined FSF as lead singer. In 2003, the FSF album How to Start a Fire was released to much acclaim.

A year into Gleason's stint with Further Seems Forever, original member Nick Dominguez left the band to pursue a record label venture, Pop Up Records. He now runs that label with fellow FSF member, Derick Cordoba.

Early in 2004, the band had a falling out with Gleason, sparking a heated and much talked about Internet debate. In regard to what exactly happened, facts are scarce and rumors are plentiful, due to the band limiting its comments on the subject for personal reasons. Though, Gleason chalked it up to "Mistrust. Fights. Anger. Jealousy. A very unhealthy relationship." in an interview with Punktastic.com.[1]. When Gleason left the band, touring guitarist Brandon Swanson left as well.

Derick Cordoba revealed the group was not a Christian band at all. "We are a rock band whose members happen to be Christians. But because there have been a lot of successful Christian acts—Evanescence and P.O.D.—over the past couple of years, people always want to know if we're a Christian band. We're not."[4]

In 2005, Jason started the band ActionReaction, with his wife Crissie "Bella" (Verhagen) Gleason (former vocalist of Element 101), and Salvatore Ciaravino (former bassist in Element 101). The band signed with Equal Vision Records' imprint label, Hope Division Records, and released their debut album, Three Is The Magic Number, on August 22, 2006.

[edit] Lead Singer #3: Jon Bunch

Jonathan Bunch, of indie band Sense Field, was added as the lead singer for the band. After Jason Gleason left, FSF's manager got Jon Bunch in touch with the band. His former group, Sense Field, had recently split. During this time, the band released the album "Hide Nothing" featuring Bunch on vocals. The group also recorded acoustic versions of "Light Up Ahead", "Bleed" and "Make it a Part/All Rise" after Bunch joined the band and released those songs on limited editions of "Hide Nothing" in an exclusive deal with Best Buy.

[edit] Disbanding

In late 2005, FSF went on a long hiatus. In January 2006, the band posted a message on their website announcing that their shows in early 2006 through the United States and Canada would be their last as a band. During its existence, FSF gave more than a thousand performances. The individual band members proceeded to new jobs. There would be no new album project, but a compilation entitled Hope This Finds You Well was released by Tooth & Nail Records in April 2006. The band also indicated there would be a DVD release of videos and live performance scenes, entitled "The Final Curtain". The band's final show was on June 17th in Atlanta, Georgia at The Masquerade, where DVD cameras were present to film the set.

[edit] Fields Forever

Former Further Seems Forever members; Jon Bunch (Sense Field) and Derick Cordoba in the Spring of 2006 formed Fields Forever; a duo project to play acoustic songs from Further Seems Forever and Sense Field. The group formed briefly for a tour across Europe, and songs from a few performances can be found on video sites like You Tube and Google Video.

[edit] Band members

[edit] Members at 2006 dissolution

[edit] Former members

[edit] Touring fill-ins

These people filled in for FSF members that couldn't tour. They took no part in the band's music writing process.

  • Jared Logan - drums (7 Angels 7 Plagues)
  • Ian Sirriani - guitar
  • Jack Hutson - guitar (Thought Crime)
  • Gene Francis - vocals
  • Brandon Swanson - guitar (I am the Avalanche)
  • Scott Nunn - guitar (Underoath, Malayne, and Sleeping by the Riverside)
  • Ian Fowles - guitar (Death by Stereo, and The Aquabats)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Reviews

  • Christian Music Today reviews Hope This Finds You Well
  • AVERSIONLINE reviews Hide Nothing
  • EmotionalPunk reviews How to Start a Fire
  • EmotionalPunk reviews The Moon is Down

[edit] Trivia

  • The third lead singer Jon Bunch once said in an interview that he would be the first singer to release more than one album with the group.
  • FSF's first lead singer, Chris Carrabba, is a playable character in the popular flash game series, Emogame. Jason Gleason is also available in the game's sequel.
  • The name "Further Seems Forever" came out of the original members' frustration with the fact that they were always on the road away from their loved ones. The time it took to reunite with them seemed like forever and "further seems forever" popped into their heads and just stuck.
  • Guitarist Derick Cordoba is a vegetarian and did a video interview with PETA.
  • The title of FSF's album "The Moon is Down" is taken from a 1942 novel of the same name by John Steinbeck.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1]: ActionReaction, accessed 13 October 2006
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