30 Foot Fall

30 Foot Fall (styled as 30footFALL) is an American punk rock band that began in Houston, Texas.^[1]

History

The band played their first show on Mother's Day in 1993^[2][3] and were composed of Rubio Cisneros (Drummer), Tony Avitia (Guitar), Butch Klotz (Vocals). Shortly after releasing their first demo, Damon Delapaz who was also playing for Fenix-TX joined as the band's drummer making Cisneros bassist. Ativia left the group to start I-45 and Chris Laforge picked up as guitarist. Touring Houston, Dallas, and Austin, 30 Foot Fall's popularity grew; they started as openers for larger bands such as Screeching Weasel and Sum-41 among others. Stylistically, the band developed sounds similar to NOFX, and Minor Threat.

After making several demos, 30 Foot Fall released several albums over several record labels starting with: Elementary School Love 7 released in 1994 by Yo Mama's Records. In 1995, on Fuzzgun Records released their first studio Divided We Stand, which got favorable reviews in spite of the low quality of the album. In 1996 they also released their second EP, the Junior High Sucked 7. The title track explains vocalist Klotz's troubles at Seton Catholic Junior High in Houston, TX. After hearing a Demo Bob Becker of Fearless Records signed 30 Foot Fall to a record deal and in 1997 produced their next album Acme-143, which sold well and put 30footFALL as an established punk act.

The band toured extensively and developed a strong underground following touring alongside other notable bands such as Bigwig and Diesel Boy.. They released the EPs "Unrealism" and "Cartoons" in 1997 and 1998, respectively. Two of the three songs from the Cartoon EP would see their release on their next album. Around this time Fenix-TX was picked up by MCA records and Damon Delapaz took the opportunity to move to California and record their new album. They picked up drummer Brian Davis formerly of Middlefinger.

30footFALL received an offer from Dexter Holland of The Offspring to release their next full-length album on his Nitro Records whom Holland's band was affiliated with. In 1999 the band released Ever Revolving, Never Evolving which was noted as their most popular album and placed 30footFALL in the big leagues. The release was followed by numerous shows and tour dates including a tour with The Vandals.^[2] and a tour with Straight Faced which ran through September 1999. Touring what seemed like endlessly would eventually wear on the guys so they decided to stick with home lives & their families. Chris LaForge left the band at this time to seek other musical ventures so they brought in Jason Davis (brother of drummer Brian Davis) formerly of Middlefinger to take over guitar duties when they resumed playing locally in spring of 2000. This line-up recorded The Doppler Effect in 2002. At this time, 30footFALL would choose not to tour the country anymore and didn't tour for the new album. Instead, the band chose to play occasional Houston/Dallas/Austin shows and their annual 30footFALL Christmas show at Fitzgerald's in Houston, TX. In 2003, they released 10yearsandstillFALLING, a live album which documents their ten years as a band.

At their 2005 Christmas Show, Klotz announced that he would be moving to Virginia, ending his 12 years in the Houston punk scene. He also announced LaForge would return as lead guitarist in 2006, making the band a 5 piece for the first time.

Over the past few years the band has only played occasionally, namely in Texas venues and always the annual 30footFALL Christmas Show^[2] at Fitzgerald's in Houston, Texas. In 2008 and 2009, the band began to play more shows again by touring the Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio areas.

On December 25, 2010 at the 16th annual Christmas Show, the band self-released their first new record in several years entitled "Jesus, Elvis, and Richard Petty EP" which is their first album of material since 2002's The Doppler Effect. The band has yet to release a full length follow-up to said album. In 2012, 30footFALL were featured in the documentary, "When We Ruled H-Town", which showcases the notoriety of Houston punk bands and their rise to popularity in the 1990s.

On July 20, 2013, 30footFALL celebrated their 20th anniversary at Fitzgerald's with the reunited for one night Bickley, Klotz's cover band, The Smiffs, and local punk favorites Skeleton Dick. The band celebrated their 19th Christmas Show that year without LaForge, who was out of state at the time. The band also performed The Doppler Effect in its entirety and announced a new EP and a tour in April, although the touring plans and EP eventually fell through.

On June 30, 2014, Klotz announced on his personal Facebook account that he would be returning to Houston after nearly nine years in Virginia. 30footFALL acknowledged this and announced a Back To School Bash planned for August 30, 2014 at Fitzgerald's. The band played a brief set in October at The Continental Club with former drummer Damon DeLaPaz, excluding Jason and Brian Davis, thus recreating their classic line up. The band played their 20th Christmas Show with Spunk, Dead To The World, and Idiginis. Jason Davis was absent from the show, as he is fathering his newborn child. They also played their classic 1999 album Ever Revolving, Never Evolving in its entirety.

The band plans to release their 2002 LP The Doppler Effect on vinyl soon, along with more shows. They are also working on a full-length album, which will be their first LP in 12 years and first full length with LaForge since Ever Revolving, Never Evolving.

The band has announced on their Facebook page that they will be playing more shows in 2015, the first taking place at Griff's Bar on St. Patrick's Day with the Velostacks. They debuted two new songs at this show, titled "Champion Song" and "National Treasure". 30footFALL played with Black Pussy, Skeleton Dick, and Ape Machine at Walter's in August and then played with Holder, Khobretti, and once again a reunited Bickley at their annual Christmas Show.

2016 has brought the band more activity, as they've played at Eastdown Warehouse in March, The Nightingale Room in June, White Oak Music Hall in September, and were on the Remember the Punks Festival in San Antonio with classic bands like The Vandals, Sloppy Seconds, TSOL, MxPx, and Anti Nowhere League, among others.Their fifth studio album is still in the works, but clips can be found on Chris La Forge's soundcloud.

2017 should be an eventful year for 30FootFALL. They played with Screeching Weasel in February before playing at The Korova in San Antonio, Texas on March 17, 2017. It is worth noting that Jason Davis was not playing with the band. It is unknown if he is still with the band. Drummer Brian Davis confirmed that they have enough material for a new album, and are in the process of tracking the new album.

Chris LaForge died at age 42 on May 29, 2017. His final show with the band was at the Nightingale Room in April 2017. Despite uncertainty regarding their future, 30footFALL played their scheduled June show at Saint Arnold's brewery with Skeleton Dick guitarist Chris Vasquez and Arnett Vaughn filling in on guitars. They will also be playing a memorial show for Chris in July.

30footFALL has confirmed they will release a new album and that Chris' guitar tracks will be featured.

Band members

Current members

• James "Butch" Klotz – lead vocals (1993–present)
• Rubio Cisneros – bass guitar(1994–present); drums (1993-1994)
• Jason Davis – guitar (2000–present)
• Brian Davis – drums (1998–present)

Former Members

• Tony Avitia - guitar (1993-1994)
• Mitch  – bass guitar (1993-1994)
• Damon DeLaPaz - drums (1994-1998)
• Chris "Delron" LaForge - guitar(1994-1999, 2006–2017)