Something Corporate

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Something Corporate
Background information
Origin	Orange County, California, United States
Genre(s)	Rock, piano rock, pop punk
Years active	1998–present
Label(s)	Drive-Thru, Geffen
Associated acts	Firescape, Jack's Mannequin
Website	SomethingCorporate.com
Members
Andrew McMahon Josh Partington Kevin "Clutch" Page Brian Ireland
Former members
William Tell Reuben Hernandez

Something Corporate is a rock band hailing from Orange County, California. While they categorize their own music as piano rock, the industry has filed them somewhere between the pop punk genres. They are currently signed to Drive-Thru Records and Geffen Records.

1 History
2 Members
- 2.1 Former members
3 Discography
4 External links

[edit] History

In September 1998, vocalist/pianist Andrew McMahon, bassist Kevin "Clutch" Page, and drummer Brian Ireland, former members of the band Left Here, merged with lead guitarist Josh Partington and rhythm guitarist Reuben Hernandez to form Something Corporate. The band's name is an ironic testament of its members' disdain for packaged, industry-driven, and thus "corporate" music. The band independently released a demo CD titled Ready... Break in September 2000. On March 27, 2001, Something Corporate announced an official change to the band's lineup with Hernandez being permanently replaced by his temporary fill-in William Tell.

The quintet soon signed with Drive-Thru Records, which released the band's official debut effort Audioboxer on October 2, 2001, which was promoted by nationwide tours, in-store performances at Tower Records stores and an appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn on February 25, 2002. The critically acclaimed EP (featuring the single "iF yoU C Jordan" and its music video starring American Pie's Chris Owen) and a clause in Drive-Thru Records' distribution deal led to a signing with their distributor MCA, which later merged with Geffen Records. On May 21, 2002, Something Corporate's major label debut album, Leaving Through the Window, was released, containing the singles "I Woke up in a Car" and "Punk Rock Princess". The album hit #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, #1 on the Billboard Alternative New Artist chart and #101 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, while "Punk Rock Princess" hit #33 on the UK singles chart. To bridge the gap between Leaving Through the Window and their follow-up album, Something Corporate released a half-hour home video on DVD, titled A Year in the Life on November 5, 2002. The B-sides compilation EP Songs for Silent Movies, only available in Japan, was released on May 21, 2003.

On October 21, 2003, Something Corporate's sophomore full-length effort, North, was released and debuted at #24 on the Billboard 200 with 42,000 copies sold. They launched the album with an appearance on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live, performing the songs "iF yoU C Jordan" and "Space", which remained the only single from the album. On February 4, 2004, Something Corporate confirmed that William Tell had left the band to pursue a solo career. Bobby "Raw" Anderson, formerly of River City High, replaced him as the band's touring guitarist. On May 20, 2004, Something Corporate filmed their concert at the Ventura Theater in Ventura, California. The footage was released on their second home DVD, Live at the Ventura Theater.

In summer 2004, the band was growing exhausted from spending years on the road, and they decided to take a break. However, the band promised the break would not be a permanent one. During the hiatus, Partington formed the band Firescape and recorded the five song EP Rearden's Conscience in 2005. McMahon, on the other hand, released a solo album Everything in Transit under the name Jack's Mannequin on August 23, 2005, a more piano-focused album that includes Mötley Crüe's Tommy Lee on percussion on seven out of the eleven songs. The day he finished recording, he went to the doctor about a sore throat that had caused him to lose his voice in the middle of promoting the album. According to McMahon, he had noticed changes in his health, but at the time did not think they were anything else than symptoms of exhaustion from working nights in conjunction with getting the album done. He was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The doctor was surprised he was still able to stand, let alone promoting the album like he had been. Still, he wanted the debut album to be finished and come out as planned. Soon after, he underwent a stem cell transplant from his younger sister Katie. The transplant was successful, and he soon played some small cancer-awareness gigs, including a guest spot on the WB's One Tree Hill, and eventually worked his way up to a summer of 2006 tour with O.A.R..

On October 14, 2006 the band reunited to perform three songs ("Konstantine", "I Woke Up in a Car" and "Hurricane") as the "special guest" at the Bamboozle Left festival in Pomona, California.

[edit] Members

Andrew McMahon at The University of Scranton USPB Sping Concert April 2005

Andrew McMahon – vocals, piano
Josh Partington – lead guitar
Clutch – bass
Brian Ireland – drums

[edit] Former members

Reuben Hernandez – rhythm guitar
William Tell – rhythm guitar, backing vocals

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Ready... Break (2000)
Leaving Through the Window (2002) #101 U.S.
North (2003) #24 U.S.

[edit] EPs

Audioboxer (2001)
Songs for Silent Movies (2003, Japan only)
Fillmore Theatre - November 5th, 2003 (2004)

[edit] DVDs

A Year in the Life (2002)
Live at the Ventura Theater (2004)

[edit] Non-album tracks

The Galaxy Sessions (2001)
"Konstantine" – released on Welcome to the Family (2001)
"Forget December" – released on KROQ's Kevin and Bean present: Fo' Shizzle St. Nizzle (2002)
"This Broken Heart", "Unravel" (Björk cover) and "Watch the Sky" – released on non-US versions of North (2003)
"Just like a Woman" (Bob Dylan cover) – released on Listen to Bob Dylan: A Tribute (2005)