| Allister | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Genres | Pop punk, Punk Rock |
| Years active | 1996–2007, 2010–present |
| Labels | Drive-Thru, Universal J |
| Members | |
| Tim Rogner Scott Murphy Kyle Lewis Mike Leverence |
|
| Past members | |
| Eric Mueller John Hamada Chris Rogner David Rossi |
|
Allister is an American pop punk band from Chicago, Illinois. The four-piece formed in 1996 and were one of the first bands to sign to Drive-Thru Records. Besides releasing four studio albums — 1999's Dead Ends and Girlfriends, 2002's Last Stop Suburbia, 2005's Before the Blackout, and 2010's Countdown to Nowhere — Allister made a cameo appearance in the 2004 film Sleepover. On March 6, 2007, the band announced their intention to go on hiatus. In 2010, Allister reunited after a three-year hiatus.
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Allister was formed in Chicago, Illinois under their original name Phineas Gage by high school (James B. Conant H.S.) classmates John Hamada (vocals/guitar) and Tim Rogner (vocals/drums) with Eric "Skippy" Mueller (bass) in 1996. The following year, they changed their name to Allister, paying homage to Alasdair Gillis from the Canadian TV show You Can't Do That on Television. Upon being submitted a short demo tape, Drive-Thru Records decided to put out their debut release: a 7 inch vinyl record containing four songs, titled You Can't Do that on Vinyl (1998). Before the end of the year, Allister added another guitarist to the band, so Mueller took over guitar duties while Scott Murphy joined on bass.
In 1999, Drive-Thru Records released the band's full-length CD Dead Ends and Girlfriends with that very line-up. The catchy 28-minute album, which was recorded with a production budget of a mere $700, featured playful yet promising pop punk tunes, along with covers of the Fraggle Rock theme song and the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It that Way". Within the following years, Mueller quit Allister. Hamada eventually quit as well, after tracking some songs for the group's follow-up record. Rogner replaced Mueller on the rhythm guitar, while Rogner's younger brother Chris filled Hamada's shoes on lead guitar and David Rossi joined on drums.
With the aid of producer Chris Fudurich, the band recorded their second full-length album Last Stop Suburbia in 2002, showcasing a certain degree of growth in the songwriting of Rogner and Murphy. The album featured several fan-favorites, such as "Radio Player", "Overrated" and "Somewhere on Fullerton" (an ode to the legendary Chicago punk venue, Fireside Bowl), though the band had to part ways with both Rossi and Chris Rogner, who would concentrate on his own band August Premier. The band added Kyle Lewis (guitar) — formerly of Showoff, Now She's Gone and The Fold — and Mike Leverence (drums); formerly of PARR5, the following year. Last Stop Suburbia reached #9 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.[1]
In 2004, Allister toured the world (including Europe and Japan) and scored a small guest appearance on the big screen in the film Sleepover, before releasing their third album Before the Blackout (2005) and supporting it by co-headlining the "Before the Blackout, after the Breakup Tour" with Fenix*TX.
The group released a cover EP titled Guilty Pleasures only in Japan in late 2006, which was supported by a simultaneous Japanese tour. Before the departure, Rogner learned that he was becoming a father and decided to take a job where he was more available to his family. Allister decided to go on hiatus following another Japanese tour throughout March 2007 — for which former Allister member Chris Rogner took his brother's place — and a farewell show in Chicago. Murphy and Lewis joined the band The Get Go.
In 2008, Scott Murphy also recorded his solo EP entitled Guilty Pleasures II as a continuation of the band's past work. The album contains a number of Japanese and English cover-songs. The very popular song "Voyage", by Japanese megastar Ayumi Hamasaki was also included. Murphy released another follow-up EP, Guilty Pleasures 3, on December 3, 2008. Guilty Pleasures 3 was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipment of 100,000 copies on September 10, 2009[2] and Guilty Pleasures II was also certified Gold by RIAJ on December 10, 2009.[3]
Since 2005, former Allister bassist/guitarist Eric Mueller has written a popular MP3 blog called Can You See The Sunset From the Southside.
In 2010, Allister's reunion was announced, with the intention of releasing a new album in the US sometime in the summer. The band is now signed to Universal Japan. The band is also scheduled to play The Bamboozle Chicago on May 15 at the Charter One Pavilion.[4] Their new album, titled Countdown to Nowhere was released in Japan on July 16, 2010.[5] Tim stated after the Bamboozle Chicago set that they are planning on releasing the album state side late August early September. They are also planning on doing a lot of shows in the near future.