| Meg and Dia | |
|---|---|
Dia (left) and Meg (right) at Sector 7G |
|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Draper, Utah, U.S. |
| Genres | Alternative rock, indie rock, acoustic |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Labels |
Doghouse (2005–2010) |
| Associated acts | MEGaTOm |
| Website | meganddia.com |
| Members | |
| Dia Frampton Meg Frampton Nicholas Price Carlo Gimenez Jonathan Snyder |
|
| Past members | |
| Kenji Chan Ryan Groskreutz Aaron McMurray Andrew Grosse (Warped Tour '06) |
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Meg & Dia is an American rock band formed in 2004. It was founded by sisters Meg and Dia Frampton, and is now a five-piece act with additional members Nicholas Price, Jonathan Snyder (formerly of Madison) and Carlo Gimenez.
Meg & Dia (also then known as The Meg & Dia Band) released its first album, Our Home Is Gone, in 2005. At the time, the band consisted of just the two Frampton sisters, and the album's tracks were mostly acoustic songs. Meg played guitar and provided back-up vocals while Dia sang. A year later, they released their second album, Something Real, their first album released under Doghouse Records.
The band signed with Warner Bros. Records in 2007 and released Here, Here and Here in 2009 via Sire Records. They are now signed under the name Dia Frampton to Universal Republic.
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Meg and Dia, sisters, are from St. George, Utah, and are the founding members of the band. They are of Korean and Anglo-Saxon ancestry. When they were children, Meg received a karaoke machine and Dia received a guitar as a Christmas gift. Dia began singing at local county fairs and retirement centers while Meg taught herself to play songs that were on the radio.[1] Their father was a DJ in South Korea, and the sisters often listened to his extensive record collection. The family of the Frampton sisters is composed of Meg, Dia, Jade, Rena, Nikki, Misty. Jade plays tennis for the University of Arkansas and she aspires to be a professional in the near future.[2]
“For Christmas when we were kids, ironically Dia got the guitar and I got the karaoke machine. We quickly learned, however, what we were natural at and destined to become. She became really focused on her voice and began singing little country ditties at local county fairs and retirement centers. I started out playing whatever was on the radio or whatever happened to be in my buddies' CD player. My dad was a DJ in his early twenties so he had quite an extensive record collection that I listened to occasionally. After I experienced my first heartbreak and I thought the world was going to end, the natural way to console my tattered heart was to write a song. Of course my parents, being the supportive and loving caretakers they are, showered me with much undeserved praise and encouraged me to keep writing. My sister and I heeded their advice and began writing and playing original songs together." – Meg[3]
Meg & Dia self-released their debut album, Our Home Is Gone, in 2005. Only 1,000 copies were ever produced (all of which were distributed by the Frampton girls themselves). The album featured a mostly acoustic style of music, as it was only Meg and Dia in the band. They toured extensively in support of it, sharing stages with such national acts as Limbeck, The Format, Melee, An Angle, Koufax, and Steel Train.
After a few acoustic shows playing the songs from their debut album, they decided they needed a bigger sound. They recruited drummer Nicholas Price, and later guitarist Kenji Chan in 2005. Nick was Meg's car mechanic after she was involved in a minor car accident (Which also is the result of the name for the EP What Is It? A Fender Bender). After Nick joined, Meg and Dia found bassist Ryan Groskreuetz.[2]
In January 2006 Meg and Dia recorded a second album, Something Real, with producer Stacy Jones of American Hi-Fi and Bill Leffler. As a teaser for the album, Meg & Dia released an EP titled What Is It? A Fender Bender, on both iTunes and the Tower Records website in July 2006. What Is It? A Fender Bender featured Monster and Indiana, and would also be part of their upcoming album. That album was soon-after released on August 8, 2006. Something Real is made up both new works and revamped versions of acoustic songs from Our Home is Gone. The songs "Indiana", "Masterpiece", and "Nineteen Stars" were rerecorded with a full band, while parts of "Timmy" were incorporated into the song "Roses".
In September 2006, it was announced on the Meg & Dia MySpace page that guitarist Kenji Chan was leaving the band to focus on his solo career. His departure was on amicable terms. The band found a replacement a Canadian guitarist Carlo Gimenez via YouTube,[4] and the band was once again a five-piece act.
Here, Here and Here was released on April 21, 2009, over a year after recording was completed. It was sold in three formats- CD, CD + DVD package, and on vinyl. The album marks the band's first new release since signing with Warner Bros. (distributed through Sire Records) and the first with the band's current lineup. Musically, the album differs from previous efforts, as a result of experimentation with new instruments (strings, synths, harmonica and alternative percussion) and the inclusion of guest vocals (Tom Higgenson on "Bored Of Your Love"). Tonally, the album includes more mature themes such as religion ("Black Wedding") and politics ("Are There Giants Too, In The Dance?"). In contrast to the heavily literature-inspired Something Real, only one song from here, here and here has been definitively linked to a novel ("Hug Me" was inspired by Brave New World), and several songs were written by Dia in response to her then recent breakup ("Going Away").[5] The title of the album comes from the eponymous closing track, which alludes to the composition process of Mozart in the lines: "'Here, Here, and Here.' He pointed to his heart and mind and ears."
The first single from the new album, "What If", was released on January 27, 2009.[6] The second single, "Black Wedding", was released a week later.[7] The video for "Black Wedding" was released exclusively on April 14, 2009 for play on MTV and MTV.com.[8]
The band gained popularity through self-promotion via MySpace; they were selected as the official MySpace band on the Warped Tour 2006. Being selected as the official MySpace band came about in a peculiar way; technical staff were supposed to shut down Meg & Dia's official MySpace due to a virus script posted by an unscrupulous character. However, the technical difficulties resulted in the band gaining the attention of Tom Anderson, co-founder of MySpace, who then entered them into a contest to become the official MySpace band at Warped Tour; Meg & Dia won.[9] Meg & Dia played at Warped Tour 2006 in the MySpace tent, which had a dirt floor in lieu of a stage.[10]
Meg & Dia returned the following year, playing the Hurley.com stage in the 2007 Warped Tour.[11] The band continued touring and played alongside Anberlin, Jonezetta, and Bayside on a national tour in early 2007, and with Say Anything and Saves The Day in Spring 2007.
On February 19, 2007 it was confirmed that Meg & Dia have signed a deal with Warner Bros. Records. The song "Roses" was featured on the TMNT movie soundtrack. In September, Meg and Dia provided back-up vocals for The Rocket Summer for their "Yahoo! Who's Next?" debut.[12] The video for "Monster" was nominated for the mtvU Viral Woodie Award in 2007. It advanced past the first round, but lost in the final round to We've Got A Big Mess On Our Hands by The Academy Is....[13] Meg & Dia finished the year on tour with The Spill Canvas, PlayRadioPlay!, and Treaty of Paris.
Meg & Dia are also involved in To Write Love on Her Arms and peta2. The band appeared in an anti-fur ad[14] and also sponsored a fashion contest on the peta2 website.[15]
Meg and Dia also signed a Gibson Guitar for Music Saves Lives while on the 2007 Vans Warped Tour which was auctioned off to help in the non-profit's effort to raise the nation's blood supply.
Their song, "The Mighty R-E-A-L", is the official anthem for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer.[16]
At the end of 2007, it was announced that Meg & Dia would open for Angels & Airwaves on a 2008 US tour.[17] The Color Fred and Ace Enders were also opening acts. Following this tour, the band headed to Los Angeles on March 17, 2008 to record Here, Here and Here.
In 2008, the band embarked on its first overseas tour in Europe, and received positive reviews by many European critics. They have traveled to such places as Amsterdam and Munich, increasing the band's international awareness.
Meg & Dia also made their first UK appearance at the annual Give It A Name festival in 2008. The band played in London on May 10 and Sheffield on May 11. Shortly afterward, Meg & Dia were part of a ten venue spin-off tour in England, Scotland and Wales, aptly titled 'Give It A Name Introduces' along with fellow American artists Four Year Strong, Mayday Parade and The Color Fred.
The band's last major tour before the release of their 2009 album was the Take Action 2009 tour. They accompanied headliners Cute Is What We Aim For and opening acts Anarbor, Every Avenue, and Breathe Carolina. A portion of all ticket sales was donated to non-profit organizations.
The band has signed on to perform at Warped Tour 2009.[18] This will be their third appearance, following 2006 and 2007.
Meg and Dia performed the song "Going Away" live at BETA Records TV Studios in Hollywood, California. The acoustic song segment was taken from in June 2009 for the BETA Records Music TV Series, directed by Eric MacIver and produced by Chris Honetschlaeger.
On October 16, 2009, the band put up a new song called "5 Reasons," which is, as Meg posted in a blog, about a conversation the sisters had with their mother over a break from tour.
Fall, 2009. Meg & Dia is touring with Nevershoutnever!, Now, Now Every Children, and Carter Hulsey.
Members of the Meg & Dia band are featured in Nevershoutnever's music video, "What is Love?"
In July 2010, Meg & Dia announced that they were dropped from their label, Warner Bros. Records. Meg & Dia remain unsigned. The band has confirmed that they have recorded a new record, independent of a label with producer Charlie Vela.
The band released their EP titled "It's Always Stormy in Tillamook" on November 2, 2010. For the first 500 people that ordered a physical copy from their website, a password and link was emailed to receive the secret song "Down The Open Road." Meg and Dia toured from November 9 – December 4 across the continental United States with Joey Ryan and The Spring Standards.
On April 5, 2011 the band released their 4th studio album titled Cocoon featuring 11 tracks
On June 29, 2011, Dia Frampton was named the runner-up of the television show, The Voice. She came in second to Javier Colon.
On December 6, 2011, Dia Frampton released her solo debut record, Red.
Soon after, on December 20, 2011, the EP titled "Be Careful, I Love You, Stay In Touch" was released by the band featuring songs that didn't make it on the band's last album, "Cocoon."
Dia Frampton (born October 2, 1987) is the lead singer of the band. She attended Dixie High School in St. George, Utah and Shadow Ridge High School in Las Vegas, Nevada; she graduated early by also homeschooling her senior year at the same time attending public school for her junior year in 2005 then moved to Salt Lake City with her sister to further their music career. She cites as influences Modest Mouse, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Joni Mitchell, The Avett Brothers, Rocky Votolato, Ben Folds, Etta James, Death Cab for Cutie, The Cranberries, and Cursive.[19] During live performances, Dia plays percussion instruments, such as the cowbell and tambourine, and occasionally a Casio Privia keyboard. She almost always performs without shoes on. Dia often recorded a "song diary," an impromptu recorded song, on her MySpace page. She explained, "It was something very raw, and to be honest, something that I was slightly embarrassed to put up because of the quality but I did anyways, for any of our listeners who would care to hear something not hot off the production belt, but something more organic and 'home made.' It made me feel better to share my feelings with people who could connect, and I think that is what happened with many."[20]
Dia was featured in "Where Are You Now?", a song by The Summer Set. The song was released on the band's album, "Love Like This", on October 13, 2009.
Dia was a contestant (and eventual runner-up) on the first season of The Voice on NBC, introduced as a children's story author. She was selected to be on the team of coach Blake Shelton, who stated, "when I heard your voice, I started to smile." Dia advanced through the show's quarter-finals and semi-finales after renditions of "Heartless" and "Losing My Religion". In the season finale, she sang "Inventing Shadows", an original song written by Fraser T. Smith. Notably, the aforementioned singles were the highest charting iTunes digital songs by any contestant on The Voice during its respective voting eligibility period, with "Inventing Shadows" topping the charts at #1. Following the season finale on June 29, 2011, "Inventing Shadows" debuted at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 with 137,000 downloads sold. As of July 7, 2011 Dia's The Voice digital releases have sold 480,000 downloads.[21] She will embark on a headlining tour with country musician Blake Shelton. Dia's single, "The Broken Ones," was released on November 15th, 2011, and her solo album, Red, was released on December 6th, 2011.
Meg Frampton (born April 3, 1985) plays guitar and does back-up vocals for the band. She attended and was a cheerleader at Dixie High School in St. George, Utah and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. She also writes most of the songs on the albums, and finds comfort in her novels. On stage, she alternates between a Vintage White Fender American Telecaster and a Gibson ES-335 Dot in sunburst, and a white Gibson Les Paul Custom, though she has also played a black Gibson Les Paul Studio in the past. For acoustic songs, she plays a Taylor 814ce acoustic. Meg often performs wearing cap sleeve dresses. Meg provides the lead vocals and plays keyboard for the song "Rebecca". Recently Meg has provided intro solos for some of the band's songs during live performances such as Roses and Monster. While taking a break from touring, Meg opened an online store called Chandler the Robot, where she sells necklaces that she both designed and created.
Nicholas Price (born May 27, 1984) is the drummer for the band. He was raised in Salt Lake City, Utah and began playing drums at the age of 14. He was also in the 2004 University of Utah's Drumline. Drumming influences: John Bonham, Chad Smith, Jose Pasillas, Jimmy Chamberlin, Dave Grohl, Joe Morello, Stewart Copeland, Steve Jordan, Matt Chamberlain, Joseph Modeliste. Nick plays Gretsch Drums, Sabian Cymbals and uses Vater drumsticks. Nick met Meg and Dia when Meg crashed her car in the grocery store parking lot and ended up bringing it to Nick to fix.
Jonathan Snyder (born July 29, 1986) is the bassist of the band. He was born and raised in Bergen County, NJ. He began playing bass at age 13 in a local pop punk band Duckhunt. After some member changes and heavy life experiences, Duckhunt became Madison based in Dumont, NJ. The band toured for the better part of four years, including Hellogoodbye's first East Coast stint, until they amicably broke up in September 2006. Meg & Dia found Jonathan through Aric Phillips who worked for Doghouse Records, their label, at the time. Nick contacted him through eharmony.com and he became a member of the band.[4] On stage, Jonathan plays a Fender Jazz Bass through an Mesa amplifier. Jonathan Snyder also loves pizza, puppies, bubble baths, and gardening.
Carlo Gimenez (born September 1, 1982) is the lead guitarist for the band. He was born to Filipino parents and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He began playing guitar at the age of 9. He states influences as Paul Gilbert, Joe Satriani Stevie Ray Vaughan, George Benson, David Sanborn, Hiram Bullock and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Nick found Carlo on YouTube when he was browsing videos, yet he was very flattered. Carlo had several videos of himself playing, which impressed Nick, who sent him messages asking him to join.[4] On stage, Carlo usually plays a Gibson Les Paul.
| Band Role | Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007–Present | ||
| Lead vocals, keyboards | Dia Frampton | |||||
| Rhythm guitar, vocals | Meg Frampton | |||||
| Bass | Ryan Groskreutz | Aaron McMurray | Jonathan Snyder | |||
| Drums | Nick Price | |||||
| Lead guitar | Kenji Chan | Carlo Gimenez | ||||
Meg and Dia have stated in interviews that many of their songs are influenced by literature, and that it has had a big influence on their lives. Many of their songs are based on books: "Monster" was based on the Cathy Ames character in East of Eden by John Steinbeck; "Indiana" was based on Indiana by George Sand; and "Rebecca" was based on Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. "Tell Mary" was based on Mary by Vladimir Nabokov. "Hug Me" is based on Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.
"Courage Robert" was influenced by and written about Robert Schumann, a famous pianist and composer.[4] The song "Here, Here and Here" references Mozart.
| Date of Release | Title | Label |
| August 12, 2005 | Our Home Is Gone | Garden Grove |
| August 8, 2006 | Something Real | Warner Bros. Doghouse Records |
| April 21, 2009 | Here, Here and Here | Warner Bros.
(distributed by Sire Records) |
| April 5, 2011 | Cocoon |
| Date of Release | Title |
| 2006 | What Is It? A Fender Bender |
| 2006 | Warped Tour Sessions |
| 2007 | If You're Poor, Find Something to Sue Somebody For |
| 2010 | It's Always Stormy in Tillamook |
| 2011 | Be Careful, I Love You, Stay In Touch. |
| Date of Release | Title | Label |
| December 6, 2011 | Red | Universal Republic Records |
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | CAN | |||
| 2011 | "Heartless" | 57 | 10 | Non-album releases by The Voice |
| "Losing My Religion" | 54 | 10 | ||
| "Inventing Shadows" | 20 | 4 | ||
| "I Won't Back Down" (w/ Blake Shelton) | 57 | 67 | ||
| "The Broken Ones" | - | - | Red | |
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