| Sinai Beach | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Riverside, California |
| Genres | Metalcore Hardcore punk Groove Metal |
| Years active | 2000–2006 (hiatus) |
| Labels | Victory Records Facedown Records Strike First Records |
| Associated acts | Falling Cycle, Engraved, Oblige |
| Website | http://www.sinaibeach.net/ |
| Members | |
| CJ Alderson Logan Lambert Mike Dunlap Daniel Barachkov Sean Durham |
|
| Past members | |
| Mike Risinger Jeff Santo |
|
Sinai Beach was a Christian metal band that was formed in Riverside, California in 2000. The band has stated on multiple occasions[1] that they are named after Mount Sinai, where Moses was given the Ten Commandments in the Bible.
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Sinai Beach was started by vocalist CJ Alderson, guitarist Logan Lambert, drummer Mike Dunlap, and bassist Jeff Santo. While the early members were in high school they went by the name "Half A Beach Away" but quickly changed it to be shorter. They recorded a 4 song demo and played mostly local shows. Their recording and performances gained attention of No Innocent Victim drummer, Jason Dunn. Shortly after signing with Dunn's label, Facedown Records, guitarist Mike Risinger joined on guitar. The five began to write material for their second recording that became the bands first full release, "When Breath Escapes".
As the fan base and support continued to grow Sinai Beach started to receive interest from several well known heavy music labels and eventually signed with Chicago based Victory Records. This allowed them the opportunity to tour with bands such as Zao, As I Lay Dying, Norma Jean, Haste the Day, Still Remains, Himsa, Bleeding Through, Comeback Kid and Terror. After several US and European tours, Sinai Beach released their second full album Immersed.
Sinai Beach gained some attention after a man attended one of their shows on a whim and found himself telling Alderson that his girlfriend was in the hospital dying. Alderson then went to the hospital after the show and prayed for his girlfriend while she lay in intensive care. In somewhat of a miracle (Sinai Beach is a Christian band), she was moved out of ICU the next morning, fully recovered from the incident; to this day, they both keep in contact with him.[2]
Early influences of the band include Overcome, Zao, Strongarm, Throwdown, and Living Sacrifice. But the members have stated that influences changed in later years to include Black Label Society, The Cult and Pantera, although have admitted in times past that they are heavily into death metal bands such as Suffocation, Nile, and Aborted.[3]
Currently Sinai Beach's members are on a permanent hiatus. Sinai Beach is listed as "Artist Alumni" on the Victory Records website and several of the members have moved away and married since the band last played together live. Alderson has moved to North Carolina with his wife, who attended Wake Forest University School of Law, where he is continuing his education at Winston Salem State University. Santo moved to Colorado where he also lives with his wife. Dunlap, Risinger, Lambert, and Sean Durham all remain in the Riverside area. Sean Durham is currently a teacher in Riverside where he teaches Journalism. Kaelo James has worked with Chiodos and is currently the front man for The Odessa Trail, a screamo band from Southern California. The band website, that was being revised in 2006, is now offline and their MySpace profile page is no longer being updated.