AFI (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| AFI | ||
|---|---|---|
 AFI in 2006: Jade Puget, Davey Havok, Adam Carson and Hunter Burgan.
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | Ukiah, California, USA | |
| Genre(s) | Alternative Rock Punk Rock Hardcore Punk |
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| Years active | 1991–present | |
| Label(s) | Interscope DreamWorks Nitro Adeline Records Wingnut Records Key Lime Pie Records |
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| Website | afireinside.net | |
| Members | ||
| Davey Havok Jade Puget Hunter Burgan Adam Carson |
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| Former members | ||
| Mark Stopholese Geoff Kresge Vic Chalker |
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AFI, in recent years short for A Fire Inside, is a punk rock American band from Ukiah, California that formed in 1991.
Contents |
History
Early years
While still in high school in Ukiah, California, Davey Havok (vocals), Mark Stopholese (guitar) and Vic Chalker (bass) formed a hardcore punk outfit called AFI in 1991. At the time, the band did not know how to play any instruments. Stopholese suggested his friend Adam Carson, who had a drum kit, join.[1] Stopholese learned guitar, Chalker learned bass, and AFI made their first EP in recording with the split-EP Dork (1993) with the now defunct Loose Change, which included future AFI guitarist Jade Puget. Chalker was soon replaced by Geoff Kresge.
AFI disbanded when its members attended different colleges, including UC Berkeley. Kresge moved to New York where he played with Blanks 77. After reuniting to perform a live show, the other members decided to drop out of college to play full-time with AFI. Between 1993 and 1995 they released several vinyl EPs (Behind the Times; Eddie Picnic's All Wet; Fly in the Ointment; This Is Berkeley, Not West Bay; AFI/Heckle; Bombing the Bay) independently. Their first full-length, Answer That and Stay Fashionable was released in 1995. Very Proud of Ya followed the next year.
After several tours in support of the album "Answer That and Stay Fashionable" Kresge decided to leave the group. His spot was filled by Hunter for the remaining Very Proud of Ya tour dates. Burgan went on to help AFI record Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes and was invited to become the full-time bassist. Black Sails in the Sunset introduced AFI fans to a much darker sound.[2]
Black Sails and Art of Drowning era
After recording the A Fire Inside EP (1998), Stopholese left the band and was replaced by Puget, his close friend. Following the A Fire Inside EP, the band recorded Black Sails in the Sunset (1999), a musical turning point. On this album, their original hardcore roots were still the base of their sound, but with Dark Romantic influences (a poem by Charles Baudelaire, "De profundis clamavi," is present in the hidden track "The Midnight Sun"). The influence of the Deathrock & Horror Punk scenes was also apparent.
All Hallows EP (1999) spawned the single "Totalimmortal," a track later covered by The Offspring for the Me, Myself and Irene soundtrack. It received a fair amount of radio play and exposed AFI to larger audiences. Offspring frontman Dexter Holland was featured as a backing vocalist on a number of Black Sails tracks.
In 2000, AFI released The Art of Drowning, which debuted on the Billboard Charts at number 174 [3]. The Days of the Phoenix was released as a single and video in order to promote the album. The Days of the Phoenix, like "Totalimmortal", had some moderate mainstream success, garnering the band both TV and radio airplay.
Mainstream success
In 2002, AFI left Nitro Records and released Sing the Sorrow (2003) on DreamWorks Records. The songs Girl's Not Grey, The Leaving Song Pt. 2, and Silver and Cold had some Billboard chart success and exposed the band to even larger audiences. They were nominated in the MTV Video Music Awards 2003 in the MTV2 award category for the video "Girl's Not Grey", which came to be the first VMA they won.
In 2006,their newest album, Decemberunderground, was released on Interscope Records. Reviewers have noted an even progression in sound for AFI in this album, featuring ColdPop and New Wave[4] elements. The album's first single "Miss Murder" reached #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Charts. [5]The release reflects the continually changing and growing fan base of the band, and the album debuted as No. 1 on the Billboard charts.[6] The album has been certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 copies of the album, and is expected to go platinum later this year. Also, the band's second single, "Love Like Winter", enjoyed tremendous success on MTV's Total Request Live and was retired after 40 days on the countdown.
On December 12, AFI released their first DVD I Heard a Voice, featuring a live performance shot in Long Beach, California.
On January 20, AFI played "Miss Murder" and "Love Like Winter" on Saturday Night Live.
The band is currently shooting a video for Decemberunderground's third single, "The Missing Frame."[7] They will continue touring through summer 2007, and then work on writing the next album. Puget has begun writing some material.[8] Furthermore, Puget has spoken of a possible EP for late 2007, which would cull together unreleased songs from the Decemberunderground sessions.
Discography
Studio Albums
| Album Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label | US Billboard Peak | US Sales |
 |
1995 | Answer That and Stay Fashionable | Wingnut Records, Rereleased in 1997 by Nitro Records) | - | - |
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1996 | Very Proud of Ya | Nitro Records | - | - |
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1997 | Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes | Nitro Records | - | - |
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1999 | Black Sails in the Sunset | Nitro Records | - | - |
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2000 | The Art of Drowning | Nitro Records | #174 | - |
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2003 | Sing the Sorrow | Dreamworks Records | #5 | Platinum |
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2006 | Decemberunderground | Interscope Records | #1 | Gold |
The Nitro Records and DreamWorks Records releases were all released in Cassette, 12" vinyl and CD formats.
Compilations
| Album Cover | Date of Release | Title | Label | US Billboard Peak | US Sales |
 |
2004 | AFI (Retrospective) | Nitro Records | #88 | - |
This compilation, however, was not released with the band's permission. After AFI left Nitro Records, it was released (while they were still on Nitro's contract.)
Singles
| Year | Title | Billboard Top 100 | Modern Rock Tracks | Mainstream Rock Tracks | UK Singles Chart | Album |
| 1996 | "He Who Laughs Last..." | - | - | - | - | Very Proud of Ya |
| 1997 | "Third Season" | - | - | - | - | Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes |
| 1999 | "Totalimmortal" | - | - | - | - | All Hallow's E.P. |
| 2000 | "Days of the Phoenix" | - | - | - | 152 | The Art of Drowning |
| 2003 | "Girl's Not Grey" | - | 7 | 33 | 22 | Sing the Sorrow |
| 2003 | "The Leaving Song Pt. II" | - | 16 | 31 | 43 | Sing the Sorrow |
| 2003 | "Silver and Cold" | - | 7 | 39 | - | Sing the Sorrow |
| 2006 | "Miss Murder" | 24 | 1 (5 weeks) | 13 | 44 | Decemberunderground |
| 2006 | "Love Like Winter" | 68 | 4 | - | 76 | Decemberunderground |
| 2007 | "The Missing Frame" | - | 21 | - | - | Decemberunderground |
EPs
- Dork (1993)
- Behind the Times (later-1993)
- Eddie Picnic's All Wet (1994)
- This Is Berkeley, Not West Bay (1994)
- AFI/Heckle Split (1995)
- Bombing the Bay (1995)
- Fly in the Ointment (1995)
- A Fire Inside EP (1998)
- Black Sails EP (1999)
- All Hallow's EP (1999)
- The Days of the Phoenix EP (2001)
- 336/Now the World Picture Disc (2002)
Videography
DVDs
- Sing the Sorrow DVD edition (2003)
- I Heard a Voice (2006)
Videos
- He Who Laughs Last... from Very Proud of Ya (1996)
- Third Season from Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes (1997)
- Totalimmortal from All Hallow's EP (1999)
- The Days of the Phoenix from The Art of Drowning (2000)
- Girl's Not Grey from Sing the Sorrow (2003)
- The Leaving Song Pt. II from Sing the Sorrow (2003)
- Silver and Cold from Sing the Sorrow (2004)
- Miss Murder from Decemberunderground (2006) (Director's Cut contains Prelude 12/21)
- Love Like Winter from Decemberunderground (Director's Cut contains the ending of The Interview)
- The Missing Frame from Decemberunderground (2007)
Televised Performances
- MTV Hard Rock Live performing a half-hour set (2003)
- MTV Icon: The Cure performing a cover of "Just Like Heaven" (2004)
- MTV2 Live performing a one hour set (2006)
- MTV 2006 Movie Awards performing their #1 hit "Miss Murder" (2006)
- Spike Video Game Awards performing "Summer Shudder" (2006)
- MTV Goes Gold: New Year's Eve 2007 performing a cover of Blur's "Song 2", their then latest single "Love Like Winter", and collaborating briefly with rap group Three 6 Mafia. (2007)
- Saturday Night Live performing "Love Like Winter" and "Miss Murder". (2007)
- AOL Sessions Under Cover performing David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" and "Endlessly, She Said" Acoustically (2007)[9]
References
- ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10466716/more_havok/3
- ^ http://www.afireinside.net/bio
- ^ AFI's Billboard Album Chart History
- ^ Allmusic.com Decemberunderground review
- ^ AFI's Billboard Singles Chart History
- ^ Hasty, Katy. "AFI burns brightly with #1 debut", Billboard, 2006-06-14. Retrieved on 2006-07-08.
- ^ http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=16771
- ^ http://media.www.californiaaggie.com/media/storage/paper981/news/2007/02/28/ArtsEntertainment/Afi-To.Play.Freeborn.Hall.On.Thursday-2747867-page2.shtml
- ^ http://music.aol.com/sessions-under-cover/afi
External link
| AFI |
| Davey Havok | Jade Puget | Hunter Burgan | Adam Carson |
| Mark Stopholese | Vic Chalker | Geoff Kresge |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums and EPs: Dork | Behind the Times | Eddie Picnic's All Wet | This Is Berkeley, Not West Bay | AFI/Heckle Split | Bombing the Bay | Fly in the Ointment | Answer That and Stay Fashionable | Very Proud of Ya | Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes | A Fire Inside EP | Black Sails in the Sunset | Black Sails EP | All Hallow's EP | The Art of Drowning |The Days of the Phoenix EP | 336 | Sing the Sorrow | Decemberunderground |
| Singles: He Who Laughs Last | Third Season | Totalimmortal | The Days of the Phoenix | Girl's Not Grey | The Leaving Song Pt. 2 | Silver and Cold | Miss Murder | Love Like Winter | The Missing Frame |
| DVDs: Clandestine | I Heard a Voice |
| Related articles |
| Tiger Army | Despair Faction | Horrorpops | Loose Change | Dexter Holland | Nitro Records | Redemption 87 | Son Of Sam | Blaqk Audio |
| Categories: AFI | AFI Songs | AFI Albums |
