P.O.D.

P.O.D.

Traa Daniels, Wuv Bernardo, Marcos Curiel, Sonny Sandoval
Background information
Origin Southtown, San Diego, California, United States
Genres Alternative metal,[1] nu metal,[1][2] rap metal,[3] Christian metal, reggae
Years active 1992–present
Labels Rescue, Atlantic, Columbia/INO, Razor & Tie, Tooth & Nail
Associated acts The Accident Experiment, Living Sacrifice, StillWell, Daylight Division, Southtown Generals
Website www.payableondeath.com
Members
Sonny Sandoval
Wuv Bernardo
Traa Daniels
Marcos Curiel
Past members
Jason Truby
Gabe Portillo

Payable on Death (stylized as P.O.D.)[4] is an American Christian metal[5][6] band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. Their Christian faith is an important part of their music.[4][7][8]

They have released seven studio albums and have sold over 10 million records worldwide. Over the course of their career, the band have also received three Grammy Award nominations, contributed to numerous motion picture soundtracks and toured internationally. With their third studio album, The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, they achieved their initial mainstream success; the album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2000.[9][10] Their following studio album, Satellite, continued the band's success with the hit singles, "Alive" and "Youth of the Nation", pushing it to go triple platinum.[10][11]

Contents

History

Early years (1991–1998)

In 1991, friends Marcos Curiel and Wuv Bernardo engaged in jam sessions, with Marcos covering guitar and Wuv playing the drums with no vocalist.[12] Calling themselves Eschatos, they started playing at keg parties doing Metallica and Slayer cover songs. After his mother's fatal illness, Sonny Sandoval converted to Christianity and was asked by his cousin, Wuv Bernardo, to join the band as a way to keep his mind straight as mentioned on their DVD, Still Payin' Dues. They got a bass player, Gabe Portillo, and eventually changed their name to P.O.D. After recording a demo tape, Traa Daniels joined the band in 1994 when they needed a bassist for some shows to replace Gabe. P.O.D. signed with Rescue Records, a label created by Wuv's father, Noah Bernardo Sr., who was also the band's first manager.[13] Between 1994 and 1997, they released three albums under the label, Snuff the Punk, Brown and Payable on Death Live.[9] Longtime manager Tim Cook was first introduced to the band when he booked them to play his club The Where-House in Bartlesville, Oklahoma following strong local word of mouth support.[13] He later described their performance by saying: "I stood at the back of the venue with tears in my eyes – it was the greatest thing I had ever seen."[13] By that point, Bernardo Sr. was looking for someone else to take P.O.D.'s career further and so Cook took over as manager.[13]

Shortly after the release of Payable on Death Live, Essential Records offered P.O.D. a $100,000 recording contract, but Sonny Sandoval spoke for them all when he politely but firmly told band manager Tim Cook to decline the offer because, “God has a bigger plan for P.O.D.”[14] When, in 1998, Atlantic Records A&R John Rubeli first came across P.O.D.'s demo "he didn't quite get it", as he later told HitQuarters.[13] It was only when he saw them play live at The Roxy on the Sunset Strip and witnessed not just an enthusiastic audience singing every word but the centre of a vibrant youth movement that he become convinced by the band.[13] The band was quickly signed to a major-label deal.[14] P.O.D. soon released The Warriors EP, a tribute EP to their loyal fans as a transitional album from Rescue Records to Atlantic Records.

Mainstream success (1999–2002)

P.O.D.'s third studio album, 1999's The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, spawned the hits "Southtown" and "Rock the Party (Off the Hook)", which was their first video to reach #1 on MTV's Total Request Live.[15] The song "School of Hard Knocks" was featured on the soundtrack for Little Nicky while both "Southtown" and "Rock the Party" appeared in the movie. All three music videos endured heavy play on MTV2 and the songs were rock radio hits. The album went on to become RIAA certified platinum.[9]

On the 11th September 2001 P.O.D. released their fourth studio album, Satellite. The album's first single, "Alive", went on to become one of MTV's and MTV2's top played videos of the year. The video's popularity, as well as the song's positive message, helped the song become a huge modern rock radio hit and it was Grammy nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2002.

The album's second single, "Youth of the Nation", was influenced in part by the school shootings at Santana High School, Columbine High School, and Granite Hills High School. It was Grammy nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2003. The 2002 singles, "Boom" and "Satellite", also became quite popular. In addition, the concluding track of the album, "Portrait," was Grammy nominated for Best Metal Performance in 2003. Satellite went on to become RIAA-certified triple platinum.[11] The author of Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music has described P.O.D. as "One of the biggest success stories in recent Christian music."[16]

Line-up and label changes (2003–2006)

On February 19, 2003, guitarist Marcos Curiel left the band due to his side project, The Accident Experiment and "spiritual differences." However, Marcos argued that he was actually kicked out of the band.[17][18] Sonny, Wuv and Traa were devastated about Curiel leaving, they considered breaking up the band, but decided to stay together and recruit another guitarist.[19] Curiel was replaced by Jason Truby, former member of Christian metal band Living Sacrifice, and assisted with the recording of "Sleeping Awake", from The Matrix Reloaded soundtrack. In an interview with Yahoo! Music, Sonny stated that Jason is the reason why the group is still together.[20]

On November 4, 2003, P.O.D. released their fifth studio album, Payable on Death, which saw the group shift from their well known rapcore sound to a darker, more melodic metal sound.[21] The album was hit with controversy due to its "occult" cover, which led as many as 85% of Christian bookstores across the United States to ban the album.[22] With the help of the album's hit single "Will You" and "Change the World", it went on to sell over 520,000 copies and was certified Gold.[23] Sometime after the tsunami in Asia, many singers, musicians, and actors/actresses, including Sonny and Wuv, participated in the recording of, "Forever in Our Hearts", with all proceeds going to benefit the tsunami relief.[24]

P.O.D.'s sixth studio album Testify was slated for a December 2005 release, but was pushed back to January 24, 2006. On November 15, 2005, P.O.D. released The Warriors EP, Volume 2, which featured demos from the upcoming album, to help build up the fans' anticipation for the pending January release. The album's first single, "Goodbye for Now" (with a vocal tag by a then-unknown Katy Perry) went on to become a #1 video on MTV's TRL, along with having a solid radio presence, it also became the band's unprecedented 4th number one video on Total Request Live.[25] The second single off the album, "Lights Out" was a minor hit, but was featured as the "official theme song" to WWE's Survivor Series on November 27, 2005. In another contribution to WWE, they performed fellow San Diego native Rey Mysterio's theme song "Booyaka 619" at WrestleMania 22.[25] To promote their latest album, P.O.D. went on a nationwide tour called the "Warriors Tour 2: Guilty by Association", which began in April, and included the bands Pillar, The Chariot and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster.[26]

On August 11, 2006, P.O.D. announced in their online newsletter that they had left Atlantic Records.[10][23] On September 16, 2006, P.O.D. announced that they have teamed up with Rhino Records to release a greatest hits record simply titled, Greatest Hits: The Atlantic Years, which was released on November 21, 2006. They shot a music video for their single "Going In Blind", one of the two new songs they included in the tenth album, and they had meetings with various record labels to begin working on new material for an album they hoped to release in mid 2007.[10]

In a statement made by the band's manager on their MySpace page, it was officially announced, on December 30, 2006, that Jason Truby had left the band. They had said "God worked it out because Jason decided to leave the band the same day Marcos asked to rejoin." Marcos performed with the band for the first time since his departure on the 2006 New Year's Eve episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!.[10] Marcos was scheduled to appear at this show before returning, which is why he was able to do it literally the day after he was announced as being back in the band.

Recent years (2007–present)

On February 2, 2007 the band made a new record deal with INO Records.[27]

On June 1, 2007, at the Rockbox in San Diego, the band performed and revealed a new song entitled "Condescending", along with another new song performed on June 16, 2007, at the Journeys Backyard BBQ tour entitled "Addicted". They also revealed the title of their new album to be When Angels & Serpents Dance. On August 4, 2007, the band played at Angel Stadium of Anaheim's annual Harvest Crusade where they revealed a new song entitled "I'll Be Ready", originally thought to be entitled "When Babylon Come For I," for a crowd of 42,000.[28]

The album cover was officially revealed on December 10, 2007.[29] The title track was released for free download on their site in January 2008. The first single "Addicted" was released on February 19 and peaked at No. 30 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The album was released on April 8, 2008 entitled When Angels & Serpents Dance. On July 28, 2008, the group played a free public performance at the Orange County Choppers headquarters in Newburgh, NY, with OCC The Band opening. The band also played on August 16, 2008 at the Angel Stadium of Anaheim's annual Harvest Crusade. During September 2008 P.O.D played alongside Redline, Behind Crimson Eyes, Alter Bridge and Disturbed as part of the Music As A Weapon tour 2008 in Australia. In November 2008, P.O.D. started their first tour in South America with five shows in Brazil, one in Chile and one in Colombia. P.O.D. then went on hiatus after touring in South America. This was confirmed when they canceled the 2009 European tour with Filter.

On December 16, 2009 Wuv posted a video of him and guitarist Marcos Curiel stating that P.O.D. is now in the process of recording their next album.[30] In September 2010, Curiel discussed the plans and direction for the new album, saying that the musical style will take the band "back to our roots. A little bit of hip hop, a little bit of punk rock, or reggae".[31] He also added that Howard Benson, who produced the band's The Fundamental Elements of Southtown, Satellite and Payable on Death albums, would produce the record and that recording would begin in December.[31] On July 25, 2011, P.O.D. released their new song "On Fire" as a free download on their official website. This song is expected to appear on the band's new album, tentatively due in the spring of 2012.[32]

On October 6, 2011, P.O.D. announced a new multi-album artist deal with Razor & Tie.[33]

In March and April 2010, P.O.D. played an 11-date South America tour, visiting countries such as Argentina and Colombia. In 2011, the band will be visiting countries where the group has not previously performed, such as Bolivia.[34] But finally they suspended the shows for various cities in Brazil and Bolivia. In May 2011, P.O.D. Headlined the first annual Spring Jam Fest. Pieces of the performance were featured on CNN. P.O.D. then headlined on the third stage at Rock on the Range a week later. They appeared on the Rock of Allegiance tour during summer 2011.[35]

Style and influences

The band's name, Payable on Death (P.O.D.), derives itself from the Christian doctrine that how an individual lives their life on Earth determines their eternal destination.[4] P.O.D.'s style has evolved over the years, from the rap metal sound on their early albums to the nu metal and Reggae infused alternative metal styles for which they're most well known. Their latest album, When Angels & Serpents Dance, is a combination of alternative rock, reggae rock and Latin influenced metal with almost none of the rap metal or nu metal sound of their older releases. P.O.D.'s influences include Santana, Bad Brains, Bob Marley, The Police, Metallica, Rage Against the Machine and Black Sabbath.

Band members

Current members
Former members
Live/session members

Discography

Awards

American Music Awards
Echo Awards
San Diego Music Awards

Note: Album and single-specific awards and nominations are listed under their respective articles.

References

  1. ^ a b Sharpe-Young, Garry. "POD". MusicMight accessdate=2009-12-21. http://www.musicmight.com/artist/united+states/california/san+diego/p+o+d+. 
  2. ^ Udo, Tommy (2002). Brave Nu World. Sanctuary Publishing. pp. 10, 104. ISBN 186074415X. 
  3. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Fundamental Elements of Southtown > Overview". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r427680. Retrieved 2009-12-21. 
  4. ^ a b c The new metal masters. CMP. http://books.google.com/books?id=3Yw_qDQxNLAC&pg=PA29&dq=P.O.D.+Christian+Metal&hl=en&ei=y-vVTOOPHYT58AaArciPCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=P.O.D.%20Christian%20Metal&f=false. Retrieved 2010-07-01. "Almost militantly Christian, the band wears religion on its sleeve. Its name is an acronym for Payable on Death, a term that highlights the concept that how you live on Earth determines where you live after you die." 
  5. ^ Powell, Mark (2002). Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers. pp. 716–8. ISBN 1-56563-679-1. 
  6. ^ bianca. "Top 100 Christian Rock Albums of all time". HM Magazine. http://www.hmmagazine.com/2010/07/top-100-christian-rock-albums-of-all-time/. Retrieved May 18, 2011. "#2 Payable on Death - Satellite" 
  7. ^ Payable on Death - P.O.D. | AllMusic
  8. ^ by MacKenzie Wilson. "P.O.D.". AllMusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p296044. Retrieved 2011-07-06. 
  9. ^ a b c MacKenzie, Wilson. "P.O.D. Biography". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p296044. Retrieved 2007-12-04. 
  10. ^ a b c d e "P.O.D. leaves Atlantic Records and Curiel returns". Blabbermouth. Roadrunner Records. 2006-12-20. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=64125. Retrieved 2007-12-04. "P.O.D. was with Atlantic for four albums and two EPs. The band signed with Atlantic in 1998, after selling more than 40,000 copies of its independently released EPs. The group's Atlantic debut, "The Fundamental Elements of Southtown", came out in 1999 and went platinum, while 2001's "Satellite" was a multi-platinum success. But the group felt that personnel changes at Atlantic were responsible for recent sales dips — more than 500,000 copies of 2003's "Payable On Death" were sold, but less than 250,000 copies of the recent "Testify"." 
  11. ^ a b Jeckell, Barry A. (2002-09-19). "Satellite is certified triple-platinum". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1700062. Retrieved 2007-12-31. "The triple-platinum milestone was recently reached by hard rock act P.O.D.'s year-old "Satellite" (Atlantic)" 
  12. ^ Anonymous. "P.O.D.". San Diego Reader. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/bands/pod/. Retrieved 11 December 2009. 
  13. ^ a b c d e f "Interview with Tim Cook". HitQuarters. 3 May 2004. http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_TimCook_int.html. Retrieved 11 October 2011. 
  14. ^ a b Joseph, Mark. "Promotion Crew: P.O.D. Biography". Promotion Crew. http://promotionscrew.com/pod/ecard/. Retrieved 2008-01-04. 
  15. ^ Absolute TRL staff. "Rock the Party hits #1". ATRL.net. http://www.atrl.net/trlarchive/?s=recap&y=2000&m=07. Retrieved 2008-01-04. 
  16. ^ Powell, M. Allan (December 2002). "Jesus Climbs the Charts: The business of Contemporary Christian". The Christian Century (The Christian Century Foundation): 18–31. http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2627. Retrieved 12 Dec. 2009. 
  17. ^ Moss, Corey (2003-02-19). "Marcos leaves the group". Music Television. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1470028/20030219/pod.jhtml. Retrieved 2007-12-04. 
  18. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (2003-02-19). "Guitarist Marcos exits P.O.D.". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1819256. Retrieved 2007-12-31. 
  19. ^ Wiederhorn, Jon. "There's No Crying In Rock". Music Television. http://www.mtv.com/bands/p/pod/news_feature_031124/. Retrieved 2008-01-04. "Sandoval, drummer Wuv and bassist Traa were devastated and considered breaking up the band. But then they came to their senses. Though Curiel had been their friend for more than a decade, the remaining members realized they still wanted to make music together, and they had fans who wanted to hear it" 
  20. ^ "P.O.D. Saved By 'Matrix Reloaded' Song". Yahoo! Music. 2003-05-05. http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12026944. Retrieved 2008-01-06. "P.O.D. was on the brink of breaking up after splitting with guitarist Marcos earlier this year. The band was saved, however, by their experience recording a new track for the Matrix Reloaded with a new member" 
  21. ^ Collar, Matt. "Payable on Death Review". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r659730. Retrieved 2008-01-23. "A darker album than its predecessor, Payable is built largely around Truby's precise slabs of distorted guitar. More quintessentially "metal" in his approach — think Metallica — and more of a conscientious technician than Marcos, Truby unfortunately lacks some of the unexpected spark that Marcos brought to P.O.D." 
  22. ^ "P.O.D. Cover Artist Speaks Out On Christian Ban". Yahoo! Music. 2003-12-08. http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12052197. Retrieved 2008-01-23. "it's "ironic" that the album has been banned by 85 percent of Christian bookstores in the U.S., reportedly because the cover is "occult."" 
  23. ^ a b Cohen, Jonathan (2006-08-11). "P.O.D. parts way with Atlantic Records". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002985668. Retrieved 2007-12-31. "Hard rock act P.O.D. has parted ways with Atlantic Records, to which it has been signed since 1999. According to a statement sent to members of the group's email list, the group became disillusioned with changes at the label." 
  24. ^ Jeckell, Barry A. (2005-01-26). "'Forever' Unites Artists For Tsunami Relief". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000777469. Retrieved 2008-01-02. "Recording artists from R&B crooner Brian McKnight to screamer Sonny Sandoval of rock act P.O.D. have lent their talents to a single that will raise funds for the tsunami relief effort in Eastern Africa and Southern Asia." 
  25. ^ a b WWE staff report. "P.O.D. to play Mysterio to the ring at WrestleMania". WWE. http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/archive/podmysterio. Retrieved 2008-01-25. "After the performance, P.O.D. will bring their unique sound to a new recording of Rey Mysterio’s “Booyaka 619” entrance theme. The band’s immense popularity is evidenced by its four No. 1 videos on MTV's program “Total Request Live,” which is an unprecedented achievement for a rock band." 
  26. ^ MTV News staff report (2006-02-13). "P.O.D. on tour". VH1. http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1524248/20060213/pod.jhtml. Retrieved 2007-12-17. "P.O.D. will hit the road this spring with Pillar, the Chariot and Maylene and the Sons of Disaster as part of the Warriors Tour 2: Guilty by Association run." 
  27. ^ "P.O.D. inked deal with Columbia Records". IGN Music. 2007-03-07. http://music.ign.com/articles/771/771027p1.html. Retrieved 2008-01-02. "The "classic" configuration of Sonny, Wuv, Traa, and returning original guitarist Marcos, who all last recorded together on 2001's Satellite, will begin working on a new album currently slated for a Summer 2007 release." 
  28. ^ Laurie, Greg (2007-08-06). "Saturday had the largest crowd from the three days". Harvest Crusades. http://www.harvest.org/crusades/2007/anaheim/. Retrieved 2007-12-04. "Music lent support to the talks presented by Laurie each night at the Harvest Crusade, reinforcing the message of God's love. From raucous hip-hop and rock from multi-platinum band P.O.D., to lively pop-infused music and dance steps from tobyMac, to an audience sing-a-long with the David Crowder Band, the Christian music represented at the crusade kept audiences on their feet." 
  29. ^ "P.O.D. To Release New Album In April". Blabbermouth. Roadrunner Records. 2008-01-02. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=87555. Retrieved 2008-01-02. "Spiritual rockers P.O.D. (a.k.a. Payable On Death) released their new album, "When Angels & Serpents Dance", on April 8 via INO/Columbia Records." 
  30. ^ "Niet compatibele browser". Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/video/video.php?v=102915233063415&ref=mf. Retrieved 2011-07-06. 
  31. ^ a b Darby, Heidi (2010-09-17). "POD and Norma Lopez". Lifeabove11.com. http://www.lifeabove11.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=107:pod-interview&catid=39:interviews. Retrieved 2011-07-06. 
  32. ^ "P.O.D.: New song available for free download". Roadrunnerrecords.com. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=161184. Retrieved 2011-10-02. 
  33. ^ "P.O.D. signs new multi-album deal with Razor and Tie". Payableondeath.com. http://payableondeath.com/p-o-d-signs-new-multi-album-deal-with-razor-and-tie/. Retrieved 2011-06-10. 
  34. ^ Siete, Página (2010/31/12). "Banda cristiana P.O.D. se presenta en La Paz en abril". Página Siete. http://www.paginasiete.bo/2011-01-01/Cultura/NoticiaPrincipal/26Cul01311210-2.aspx. Retrieved 2011/29/03. 
  35. ^ "Rock Allegiance tour with P.O.D. and Red". http://www.hmmagazine.com/2011/06/rock-allegiance-tour-with-p-o-d-and-red-add-dates/. Retrieved 7-05-11. 
  36. ^ “”. "‪P.O.D. win Echo Award 2003 (Germany) - 1st Major Music Award‬". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qQEoqlamjg. Retrieved 2010-08-05. 

External links