Brian Fallon

Brian Fallon

Brian Fallon in Dublin, Ireland, November 2010
Background information
Birth name Brian Fallon
Born (1980-01-28) January 28, 1980
Red Bank, New Jersey, United States
Origin New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
Genres Alternative rock, folk punk, punk rock, folk rock, heartland rock
Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter
Instruments Vocals, guitar, harmonica
Years active 1997–present
Labels Mercury records SideOneDummy
XOXO
Sabot Productions
Resist records
Associated acts The Gaslight Anthem
The Horrible Crowes
Molly and the Zombies
Lanemeyer
This Charming Man
Surrogate McKenzie
Amping Copper
Cincinnati Rail Tie
No Release
Chuck Ragan
Shady View Terrace
Notable instruments
Fender Telecaster
Gibson Les Paul
Gibson Melody Maker
Gibson J-45
Gibson ES-335

Brian Fallon (born January 28, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter of the rock band The Gaslight Anthem, with whom he has recorded five studio albums. He is also a member of the duo The Horrible Crowes, alongside The Gaslight Anthem's guitar technician and touring guitarist Ian Perkins.

Biography

Brian Fallon was born in Red Bank, New Jersey in 1980. His mother Debbie was in a folk band in the late 1960s called 'The Group Folk Singers'. Fallon spent his teen years in Hackettstown, New Jersey, where he became close friends with Tom "Tommy Gunn" DuHamel of the band Communication Redlight.[1] When Fallon was 17 he released a cassette under the stage name 'No Release'. He also once wanted to start a small record label to be called 'Old 45 Records'.[2]

Band affiliations and projects

No Release (1997)

At the age of 17 Fallon released a cassette titled The Coffeehouse Sessions under the name No Release. It was released under 'Mean Little Man Productions'. There are only about 200 copies of the limited release demo. There are 16 tracks on the demo which featured Chris Eissing as lead guitar on a few tracks.

Amping Copper (2001)

With the band Amping Copper, which has been called "basically...Surrogate McKenzie version 2", Fallon was involved with the recording of the 6-track self-titled CD, Amping Copper in 2001.

Brian Fallon – Cincinnati Rail Tie (2004)

After Amping Copper, Fallon wanted to record a solo EP, while maintaining the band feel. He asked a friend, Casey Lee Morgan, from the band Lanemeyer to play drums. Another friend, Mike Hemberger, played bass and produced the EP. One of Fallon's old guitar teachers, Tim Fogarty, played guitar on two tracks. Together they recorded The American Music EP in 2004, which featured Fallon's mother on backing vocals.[2]

This Charming Man (2004–2005)

In 2004, Fallon along with Michael Volpe, Chris Clementi and Mike Leboeuf founded This Charming Man. Fallon and Volpe remained the only original members when Benny Horowitz and Alex Levine joined in late 2005. In early 2006, Volpe decided to leave the band and Alex Rosamilia was brought on board, thus bringing together the present line-up of The Gaslight Anthem.

This Charming Man's only full release was Every Little Secret in 2005, with the original lineup. Another song by the original band called "She Coulda Raised the Titanic" later became "1930" on The Gaslight Anthem's album, Sink or Swim.

The Gaslight Anthem (2006–present)

Fallon has been the prominent song writer and vocalist for The Gaslight Anthem since their transition from This Charming Man. With the band he has recorded five studio albums, Sink or Swim, The '59 Sound, American Slang, Handwritten and Get Hurt. In 2009, he joined Bruce Springsteen on stage for the headlining set at the Hard Rock Calling Festival, performing the song "No Surrender." On July 29, 2015 the band announced an indefinite hiatus after their European summer tour, which ended with an appearance at Reading Festival on Sunday 30 August.[3]

The Horrible Crowes (2011–present)

On January 20, 2011, Fallon announced on his blog that he had formed the group The Horrible Crowes with his guitar tech, Ian Perkins.[4]

The first single "Behold the Hurricane" was made available for streaming through RollingStone.com on July 13, 2011.[5] On September 1, Rolling Stone streamed the album in its entirety. On September 20, the video for "Behold The Hurricane" was uploaded to The Horrible Crowes website.[6]

Their debut album, Elsie, was released on September 6, 2011 in the USA.

Molly and the Zombies (2013–present)

Molly and the Zombies is an Americana/folk group that was formed in 2013 by Fallon with guitarist and Plow United frontman Brian McGee, former Ryan Adams and the Cardinals bassist Catherine Popper, and Scissor Sisters drummer Randy Schrager.[7] The band performed their first show in December 2013 in Asbury Park, New Jersey opening for the Bouncing Souls at The Stone Pony. According to Fallon, there is no record deal and there will be no record on CD or vinyl. He also said all of the band's music, which he wrote and didn't feel like using for The Gaslight Anthem, was inspired by Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited album. The band's name comes partially from the Roky Erickson song "I Walked With a Zombie" and a 1943 horror movie.[8]

Molly and the Zombies performed at The Bell House in Brooklyn, New York, on June 5, 2014 with Jared Hart of The Scandals and Dave Hause as opening acts. They released 5 songs for free online: "Long Drives," "Lucky," "Red Lights," "Sketchy," and "Smoke."[9]

Solo Album

Fallon took to Instagram in September 2015 to inform his followers that he has begun work on a solo album.[10] This will be his first major project since Gaslight Anthem went on hiatus. Fallon called in to Radio 104.5 in Philadelphia on December 10, 2015 to premiere the first song "A Wonderful Life" and confirmed the new album would be out in March 2016. He has been touring the album with his backing band the Crowes, which includes Gaslight Anthem guitarists Alex Rosamilia and Ian Perkins. He is currently working on his second solo LP, recording in New Orleans, LA.

Personal life

Brian performing on stage in 2009.

Brian Fallon is a Christian, but he avoids using references to his faith in his music. As he stated in an interview with spinner.com referring to The Gaslight Anthem's 2010 album American Slang, "There are no religious songs and there never would be because the four of us, we all have different views, completely different religions...I'm very cautious not to push that on the band."[11]

After ten years of marriage, Fallon and his wife Hollie got divorced in 2013. Much of the lyrics on The Gaslight Anthem's 2014 album, Get Hurt were inspired by the divorce. Fallon said “Sometimes, I don’t even know how it happened. I don’t even know how it got like this. All I know is that it did. And I now have to figure out: What do I do now?"[12][13]

Discography

With The Gaslight Anthem

As a solo artist

With The Horrible Crowes

Vocal appearances

Year Song Album Band Record label Credits
2000 "Alarm" — Lanemeyer Springman Records Vocal
2000 "Somebody to Shove" (Soul Asylum cover) — Lanemeyer Springman Records Vocal
2009 "No Surrender" London Calling: Live in Hyde Park Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band Columbia Records Vocal
2010 "The South Has Spoiled Me" Raise It High Chamberlain — Vocal
2011 "Meet You in the Middle" Covering Ground Chuck Ragan SideOneDummy Records Vocal
2013 "The Ghost of Tom Joad" (Bruce Springsteen cover) Long Forgotten Songs: B-Sides & Covers (2000-2013) Rise Against with Tom Morello & Wayne Kramer Interscope Records Vocal, Guitar
2014 "Old Light" From Parts Unknown Every Time I Die Epitaph Records Vocals

References

  1. ↑ "Gaslight Anthem guys teach old friends American Slang", accessed May 8, 2011.
  2. 1 2 Hugo, Alexander (December 1, 2010). "The Gaslight Anthem – 'Earlier Bands', 'Side Projects', 'Discography' (source of majority of information)". gaslightanthem.org. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
  3. ↑ Colin Stutz (2015-07-29). "Gaslight Anthem 'Taking a Break' After Tour". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  4. ↑ Fallon, Brian. "It's All About, ahem, Birds". Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  5. ↑ Stone, Rolling (2011-07-13). "Gaslight Anthem Singer Goes Cinematic with Horrible Crowes". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2011.
  7. ↑ Biese, Alex (May 30, 2014). "Brian Fallon talks Molly and the Zombies". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "The Gaslight Anthem singer Brian Fallon channels Bob Dylan in new americana project". NJ.com. 2014-06-04. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  9. ↑ Chang, Rich. "Molly and the Zombies Premiere New Songs". Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Instagram". Instagram. 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  11. ↑ "AOL Radio Stations | Free Internet Radio | AOL Radio". Spinner.com. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  12. ↑ Ozzi, Dan (August 6, 2014). "The Gaslight Anthem's Brian Fallon Just Wants a Normal Person Life". Noisey.Vice.com. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
  13. ↑ Mejia, Paula (June 16, 2014). "Brian Fallon Interview on New Gaslight Anthem Album". Red Bull. Retrieved August 10, 2014.
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