Thousand Foot Krutch

Thousand Foot Krutch (TFK)
Thousand Foot Krutch in June 2009 (From L to R) Vocalist Trevor McNevan and Bassist Joel Bruyere
Background information
Also known as	TFK Oddball (1995–1996)
Origin	Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Christian rock,[1] nu metal,[2] rap metal,[1] hard rock[3][4]
Years active	1995–present
Labels	DJD Recordings, Tooth & Nail, Independent
Associated acts	FM Static, The Drawing Room, Hawk Nelson, Manafest, Three Days Grace
Website	www.thousandfootkrutch.com
Members	Trevor "Teerawk" McNevan Steve Augustine Joel Bruyere
Past members	Neil Sanderson Dave Smith Pat Pedasiuk Geoff "Johnny Orbital" Laforet Christian Harvey Tim Baxter Myke Harrison Ty Dietzler

Thousand Foot Krutch (often abbreviated TFK) is a Canadian^[5] Christian rock band formed in 1995. They have released eight albums, most recently The End Is Where We Begin in 2012. They have also released one live album and two remix albums. Singer Trevor McNevan and drummer Steve Augustine are also members of their own side project band called FM Static and Joel Bruyere started his own solo project called "The Drawing Room" in 2009. The band has sold over a half a million albums as of October 26, 2007 (2007-10-26).^[6]

Overview

Trevor McNevan founded the band in Peterborough, Ontario, a city northeast of Toronto, where he went to high school. Joel Bruyere, born in Brantford, Ontario, was McNevan's childhood friend who had moved away but remained in contact with him. Drummer Steve Augustine is from Hamilton, Ontario. McNevan's first band was Oddball, which featured Dave Smith on guitar, Tim Baxter on bass and McNevan's good friend, Three Days Grace's Neil Sanderson, on drums. Oddball recorded only one album, Shutterbug, which was released in 1995. McNevan is the founding member of TFK (along with original guitarist Dave Smith), formed in 1997 in Peterborough, Ontario. McNevan came up with TFK's name "symbolizing the point in our lives that we realize we can't make it on our own strength".^[7] He has written and released seven albums with Thousand Foot Krutch to date and another four with his side project FM Static.

TFK has worked with Aaron Sprinkle (Mae/Anberlin/MxPx), Gavin Brown (Three Days Grace/Billy Talent/Thornley), Arnold Lanni (Our Lady Peace/Finger Eleven/Simple Plan), and Ken Andrews (Beck/Chris Cornell/Pete Yorn/Tenacious D) on their last three Tooth and Nail-released records.

History

Shutterbug (1995–1996)

Shutterbug was released in 1995 by Trevor McNevan. McNevan had friends Dave Smith (guitar), Tim Baxter (bass) and Neil Sanderson (of Three Days Grace) (drums), play on the album. There were 27 songs on the album, the first half rock, the second half hip-hop. McNevan recorded it at Barry Haggarty's studio in his home town of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. He worked at McDonalds and other jobs to pay for the studio time. The song "Lift It," first appeared here and was later re-recorded for Thousand Foot Krutch's first release That's What People Do and appeared again on Set It Off.^[8][9]

That's What People Do (1997–1999)

That's What People Do was written the year McNevan started TFK in 1997. It was released independently in 1998 and is out of print. It sold over 5000 copies. TFK climbed the ladder of local notoriety throughout Ontario and abroad. Reaching the ears of Ontario commercial radio, CKWF 101.5 FM in their home town of Peterborough took a chance and added "Rhyme Animal", the band's first single from their independent recording, to their rotation. It clicked with listeners and within two months ended up being one of the five most requested songs of the year. In 1999 TFK was chosen by 7 Ball Magazine as one of the top 25 bands in North America. They were also awarded "Best Indie Recording" and McNevan awarded "Vocalist of the Year" by the readers of The Wire Magazine. They were then awarded "Band of the Year" at the 2000 Wire Awards. They were also voted as the No. 1 band of the millennium on 100.3 FM in Barrie, Ontario.^[10]

Set It Off (2000–2002)

Set It Off was released on November 14, 2000. It was the group's first indie label release. The sound of the album was distinct in its heavily hip-hop influenced nu metal, and though a few songs from the record (including "Puppet" and "Supafly") impacted at both secular and Christian radio,^{[citation needed]} the band gained notoriety almost entirely through self-promotion and word of mouth. The band toured it extensively across North America and ended up garnering much label attention by selling 85,000 copies of the indie release out of their van.^[11] The band also printed a limited edition "Pre-release" version of "Set It Off" only sold at their release party at The Gordon Best Theatre in Peterborough, Ontario for their local fans. TFK toured with Finger Eleven, Econoline Crush, Treble Charger, The Tea Party, Matthew Good Band, Gob, Sum 41 and others. Three Days Grace, which was a cover band at that time, was TFK's regular support act.^{[citation needed]} McNevan helped with recordings of Three Days Grace's demo album. He is also featured on their song "This Movie" from this album. Around this same time, Dave Smith left the group; Making McNevan the only original member. Smith was replaced with Myke Harrison, who parted ways about a year later. After Dave Smith's departure, McNevan began writing all the guitar lines and the band has used a live guitar player instead of officially replacing him.

Track seven from this album, entitled "Unbelievable" - a cover of the EMF song of the same name - appeared on the soundtrack for the 2010 movie "Just Wright".^[12]

Phenomenon (2003–2004)

In 2003, the band signed with Seattle-based Tooth & Nail Records after long consideration and released their critically acclaimed second full-length CD, Phenomenon. Though something of a departure from the rap-heavy sound of Set it Off, Phenomenon still relied on McNevan's rhythmic vocals, albeit with a solid modern metal sound. Phenomenon was well received, and spawned 4 popular radio singles, including the anthemic "Rawkfist." The CD sold 200,000 units^[13][14] making it one of the best-selling albums in Tooth & Nail's history. They continued this success with the 2004 re-release of Set it Off through Tooth & Nail, allowing for a larger print run and adding 6 songs, including five from "That's What People Do", and one new song "Everyone Like Me", produced by Gavin Brown (Three Days Grace/Billy Talent/Thornley).

In this same time McNevan and Augustine started a side band called FM Static, which can be classified as a pop-punk or pop/rock band and is usually much more light-hearted. FM Static scored numerous No. 1 hits, including their songs "Crazy Mary", and "Something to Believe in." In 2004, they toured with Kutless on the "Sea of Faces" tour alongside Falling Up and FM Static.

The Art of Breaking (2005–2006)

On July 19, 2005, they released their third full-length album The Art of Breaking, produced by Arnold Lanni (Our Lady Peace/Finger Eleven/Simple Plan). This album makes almost a complete break from the nu metal sound of Phenomenon, focusing more on heavy elements. The record is the first to feature short guitar solos as well. The Art of Breaking was received well from fans, although some criticized the album's change of style. The single "Move" peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart early 2006^{[citation needed]}. Other singles included "Absolute" and "Breathe You In", which was released to alternative radio and was one of the band's first slower songs. During this time the band toured extensivley.

The Flame in All of Us (2007–2008)

After working in the studio with producer Ken Andrews (Beck/Chris Cornell/Pete Yorn/Tenacious D/Mae) they released The Flame in All of Us on September 18, 2007, with a move to a more mainstream rock sound, with some heavy influences from bands such as fellow Canadian artists Our Lady Peace & other various metal bands. The album features the singles "Falls Apart", "What do we Know?", "Favorite Disease" and "The Flame in All of Us". On January 20, 2008 "The Flame in All of Us" became the 1000th song to ever make it on the ChristianRock.Net Top 30 Chart. Also on Purevolume.com, Thousand Foot Krutch was the favourite artist on July 2, 2007 and August 26, 2007.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, McNevan became involved with TobyMac and helped him write the song "Ignition" found on Portable Sounds. The song has been used in many TV/film placements including Monday Night Football and NASCAR. Because of this, in the spring of 2007 the band was part of the TobyMac Portable Sounds tour. The tour was such a success that Toby asked them to do the fall tour as well.^[15]

The next tour was in the spring of 2008 when the band toured with Skillet and Decyfer Down. TFK performed with P.O.D., Chevelle, Sevendust, 10 Years, Daughtry, Red and many other bands on this album. After a lengthy summer playing festivals and one-offs, they were direct support for the very first Creation Festival: The Tour. The tour consisted of the following nine bands: Kutless, TFK, Pillar, KJ-52, Fireflight, Worth Dying For, Run Kid Run, Esterlyn, and Capital Lights. TFK was asked to headline the tour three shows in, but declined.^[16] TFK covered the Christmas song "Jingle Bell Rawk" for the Christmas album X Christmas, put out by Tooth & Nail Records.^[17]

Welcome to the Masquerade (2009–2011)

Thousand Foot Krutch's next album, titled Welcome to the Masquerade, first announced in early 2009. In April '09, McNevan appeared in a live chat with fans via TFKTV hosted by Mogulus Live Broadcast, where he revealed several facts about the record. The band reunited with Aaron Sprinkle to co-produce this album (Sprinkle had previously produced the TFK album Phenomenon) with Emery's Matt Carter assisting and Randy Staub (Metallica/Stone Sour/Nickelback/Our Lady Peace) mixing. The song "Fire It Up" was featured in video games such as EA Sports NHL 10 and a few others and was featured in the G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra movie trailer.^[18] The record was released on September 8, 2009 and peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard 200.^[19]

In summer 2009, McNevan underwent emergency surgery on his appendix, causing TFK to cancel at Creation West Festival (not to be confused with Creation Festival: The Tour).^[20] He returned to play shows a week later. The band did appear at many other festivals, including their debut appearance at Soulfest. Thousand Foot Krutch then announced a fall tour to support Welcome to The Masquerade and during fall 2009, TFK performed again on Creation Festival: The Tour, with Jars of Clay, Audio Unplugged, B.Reith, FM Static, and This Beautiful Republic, and also a Christmas holiday show with Thirty Seconds to Mars, Flyleaf, After Midnight Project, and The Veer Union.^[21]

On September 8, 2009, TFK's three albums, Phenomenon, The Art of Breaking, and The Flame in All of Us were re-released as a three-CD set called Deja Vu: The Thousand Foot Krutch Anthology.^[22]

Thousand Foot Krutch toured with Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle and Red in March 2010.

The Peterborough Examiner reported on January 29 that an unspecified Thousand Foot Krutch song may be used in Iron Man 2.^[23]

In a concert video posted on February 1, 2010 the band was seen with new guitarist, Ty Dietzler, who replaced Nick Baumhardt as the touring guitarist. He has also played rhythm guitar for The Letter Black.^[24]

In the first week of April 2010, "Fire it Up" was released for the Rock band music store in Rock Band 2. On April 19, The Detroit Red Wings featured "The Invitation" and "Welcome to the Masquerade" during the pre-game introduction.^[25] On May 11, 2010, McNevan announced on his personal Facebook page: "We [TFK] covered "The Heat Miser Song" from the old classic Christmas special, gonna do one with FM too, but that's a surprise..." referring to their upcoming appearance on the album "X-Christmas 2" by Tooth and Nail Records. He has also stated that a live DVD for TFK is planned for the very near future and is being recorded on May 28 at YC Alberta at Rexall Place in Edmonton in front of an audience of 14,000 people.^[26] The live DVD is likely to be released in the fall of 2010 according to McNevan.^[27] TFK's song "Unbelievable" is to be used in the movie Just Wright.^[12] During the 2010 NBA playoffs, TFK's song "Move" is being used by ABC.^{[citation needed]} In 2010, TFK performed at Creation Festival: The Tour Presents the Welcome to the Masquerade Fall Tour. They are headlining the tour, which will also feature Disciple and Ivoryline,^[28] with Decyfer Down replacing Disciple during the last week of the tour.^[21] The band also stated that they have just started writing tracks for a new record.^{[citation needed]}

In January 2011 TFK joined the Rock And Worship Roadshow national tour headlined by MercyMe.^[29]

On March 2, 2011 Ty Dietzler announced via his website that he would be leaving the band at the end of the month.^[30] The band was searching for a replacement guitarist for Dietzler.^[31] On March 30, 2011 the band announced that Dietzler would be remaining with the band, and canceled the search for a replacement.^[32]

On June 7, 2011 the band released a live album/DVD called Live at the Masquerade.^[33]

On September 10, 2011 TFK headlined at the First Love Festival in Buena Vista, NJ along with Decyfer Down, Remedy Drive, Addison Road, Dave Pettigrew, and Compelled.^[34]

The End Is Where We Begin (2011–present)

At Soulfest 2011, Thousand Foot Krutch announced that they would be in-studio to start recording the album The End Is Where We Begin on August 8. The album was released on April 17, 2012.^[35] McNevan tweeted that the title would be "The End Is Where We Begin".^[36] On November 29, 2011 they announced that they would be leaving Tooth & Nail Records to release The End is Where We Begin independently.^[37] The band has set up a web page offering fans various pre-release packages in exchange for advance support for the costs in recording and releasing the album.^[38] The song "War of Change" was made available for free download in early December.^[39] Fans who donated to the band received early downloads of the songs "The End is Where We Begin" and "Courtesy Call" on January 7, 2012.

The album debuted No. 5 on iTunes in US, and No. 1 in Canada. "War of Change" was the Theme Song for the 2012 Edition of WWE Over the Limit.^[40]

On October 15, 2013, Thousand Foot Krutch released Made In Canada: The 1998-2010 Collection, a fourteen-track collection featuring two brand new songs, "Searchlight" and "Complicate You".^{[citation needed]}

Members

Current^[41]

• Trevor McNevan - vocals, guitar (studio) (1995–present)
• Joel Bruyere - bass guitar, backing vocals (1999–present)
• Steve Augustine - drums (2002–present)

Former

• Neil Sanderson - drums (1996–1997)
• Tim Baxter - bass guitar (1995–1998)
• Dave Smith - guitar (1996–2002)
• Christian Harvey - drums (1997–2000)
• Geoff "Johnny Orbital" Laforet - drums (2000–2002)

Touring

• Andrew Welch - guitar (2012-present)^[42]
• Paul Pedasiuk - bass guitar (1998–1999)
• Myke Harrison - guitar (2002–2003)
• Jamie Aplin - guitar (2003–2007)
• Nick Baumhardt - guitar, backing vocals, keyboards (2007–2010)
• Ty Dietzler - guitar (2011–2012)

Session

• Aaron Sprinkle - keyboards and additional guitars (Phenomenon, Welcome to the Masquerade, The End Is Where We Begin)
• Arnold Lanni - keyboards (The Art of Breaking)
• Ken Andrews - keyboards (The Flame in All of Us)
• Phil X - additional guitars (The Art of Breaking, The Flame in All of Us)
• Randy Torres - additional guitars (Welcome to the Masquerade)
• Pete Stewart - additional guitar on "Fire it Up" (Welcome to the Masquerade)
• Charlotte Martin - backing vocals on "Inhuman" (The Flame in All of Us)
• Adam Gontier - additional vocals on "Hurt", "Go" and "Absolute" (The Art of Breaking)

Timeline