Red (band)

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For the Canadian band, see Red (Canadian band)
RED

From left to right: Michael Barnes, Randy Armstrong, Anthony Armstrong, Jasen Rauch
Background information
Origin United States Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Genres Hard rock
Alternative metal[1]
Alternative rock[2]
Ambient
Christian rock
Nu metal
Years active 2004 - present
Labels Sony Music Entertainment
Essential
Associated acts Breaking Benjamin[3]
Website www.redmusiconline.com
Members
Michael Barnes
Anthony Armstrong
Randy Armstrong
Joe Rickard
Former members
Andrew Hendrix
Hayden Lamb

Red (usually capitalized RED[4]) is a Grammy-nominated Christian[5][6] rock band from Nashville, Tennessee established in 2004.

Contents

[edit] History

Red was officially formed by guitarist Anthony Armstrong [disambiguation needed], his bassist identical twin brother Randy Armstrong, lead vocalist Michael Barnes, and guitarist Jasen Rauch, according to the End of Silence album booklet, is the band's primary composer. Enlisting the talents of Grammy-nominated and Dove award-winning rock producer, Rob Graves, Red signed a development contract with Graves' independent production company. After recording several demo songs, the band was quickly signed by SONY BMG imprint, Essential Records. Hendrix was fired and after an extended search, the band chose Hayden Lamb (twin brother of former Paramore guitarist, Hunter Lamb) as his replacement on drums. As a result of his successful early work with RED, Graves was chosen to produce the band's debut album End of Silence. Recently, Jasen Rauch has been collaborating with lead singer/rhythm guitarist Ben Burnley, on Breaking Benjamin's new album "Dear Agony". It is said that Jasen co-wrote 1/3 of the songs of the new album. The songs Jasen co wrote were "I Will Not Bow", "Hopeless","Lights Out" and "Without You". Also Jasen composed three tracks for Pillar's new album Confessions. "Whatever It Takes", "Better Off Now", "Not Without A Fight" with fellow producer Rob Graves.

According to the band, their name represents the blood of Christ, and that it is also short for redemption.

[edit] End of Silence

The band's debut album End of Silence was released in 2006, and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of "Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album" at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.[7]

The album's first single, "Breathe Into Me," peaked at #15 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart and won the "Rock Recorded Song of the Year" award at the 38th annual GMA Dove Awards in 2007.[8] The music video is set to photographs in a film lab, where the band plays, while a faceless antagonist tried to destroy a young woman, Avital Ash. She fights for her life while Michael Barnes acts as a guardian angel of sorts [2]. "Breathe Into Me" also broke the top ten on Active Rock charts.

The band has toured with bands such as Flyleaf, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, Seether, Puddle of Mudd, Shinedown, Staind, Papa Roach and Sevendust. They have also made appearances at the teen conference Acquire the Fire.[citation needed]

On November 27, 2007, Red's van and trailer crashed on Interstate 24. There was major damage to the vehicles involved, and former drummer Hayden Lamb suffered injuries to his shoulder that forced him to sit out on their headlining tour.[9]

Red was voted for the best rock recorded song “Lost” at the 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards 2009.[10]

The song "Let Go" was featured in the Activision video game Baja 1000. The song "Pieces" was featured in the trailer for The Blind Side.

[edit] Innocence & Instinct

The band's newest album, Innocence & Instinct, was released on February 10, 2009 and debuted on the US Billboard 200 chart at #15 selling 39,000 copies in its first week. The album peaked higher on the charts than the band's previous album and has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. The album also peaked at #5 in its first week of release on iTunes overall top albums chart. The album features 10 songs, including the first rock radio single, "Death Of Me". The Deluxe Edition was released the same day, featuring 4 additional tracks: Including "Forever", the "Death of Me" music video, photo gallery and a behind-the-scenes "Making of Innocence & Instinct" video documentary. As of May 2009, the album has scanned over 120,000 copies.[11]

Red made Radio & Records history as the first band in Christian rock history to have a song debut at #1 when the band's single "Fight Inside" was released in November 2008.[12]

The album was inspired by a car crash involving the band where their van and trailer of gear were rolled over on a highway. Lamb was injured in the crash, leading to his departure from the band. Lamb was replaced with Joe Rickard; a friend and drum tech of Lamb's who was looking for another band to play in after leaving his previous group The Wedding. Rickard was only a touring and studio drummer up to this point in his career with Red, but was recently made an official member of the band.

The meaning behind Red's video, "Death of Me", is explained by Randy in an interview with NewReleaseTuesday.com: "We used (the) twins (and a double of vocalist Michael Barnes) to symbolize two opposing forces in the video, 'Death of Me.' In it, we see the positive side of things being chased by the negative side of things, and in the end there’s a battle. The battle doesn’t seem to resolve itself in the video. That’s because we will face struggles in our lives, even though we do find resolve in certain situations."[13]

The track "Shadows" was co-written by Breaking Benjamin guitarist/vocalist Ben Burnley.

It has been recently announced that the bonus track, "Forever" will be Red's next single, with a music video to follow in the upcoming months.

Red unveiled their new site on September 24 which they will now use as their main hub in connecting with the fans. Coinciding with the release of their new site, Red released the music video for their new single, "Forever", which was made using clips from their tour much like the video for "Let Go."

RED has announced in a recent podcast off of Kyte.com that Joe is a member of RED and Hayden will not be returning.

RED has announced Jasen Rauch will not be a touring member of the band anymore due to needing to spend more time with his family. Rauch will still be part of RED and will continue to write for RED as well. There will be no replacement.

RED is on tour with Saving Abel, Pop Evil, and Taddy Porter on the Class of 2009 Tour

RED also annouced on their website, that they will be touring with Pillar and The Wedding on their new tour "Nothing and Everything" Tour which will start up in January 2010

Jasen Rauch collaborated with Ben Burnley, on Breaking Benjamin's new album "Dear Agony". It is said that Jasen co-wrote 1/3 of the songs of the new album. The songs Jasen co wrote were "I Will Not Bow", "Hopeless", "Lights Out" and "Without You".[14]

[edit] Members

Current
  • Michael Barnes - Vocals (2004-Present)
  • Anthony Armstrong - Guitar (2004-Present)
  • Randy Armstrong - Bass, Piano (in studio), backing vocals (2004-Present)
Touring
Former
  • Andrew Hendrix - Drums (2004-2005)
  • Hayden Lamb - Drums (2005-2008)
Studio
  • Jasen Rauch - Guitar (2004-Present) - stopped touring in 2009, but still writes and records for the band

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

Year Album Label Chart peaks[15]
US US Indie US Christ US Heat
2006 End of Silence Essential 194 17 7 6
2009 Innocence & Instinct Sony Music Entertainment 15 1 1
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

[edit] Singles

Year Title Chart peaks[16] Album
US
Mod
US
Main
2006 "Breathe Into Me" 15 End of Silence
2007 "Let Go" 21
2008 "Already Over" 26 18
"Fight Inside" Innocence & Instinct
"Never Be The Same"
2009 "Death of Me" 37 9
"Forever" 21
"Mystery Of You"[17]
"Start Again"[18]
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:jjfwxqtsldhe~T1
  2. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hzfixqydldse
  3. ^ "Ben's Recent Collaborations". Breaking Benjamin's Official Website. http://www.shallowbay.com/2009/03/16/bens-recent-collaborations/. Retrieved 2009-03-21. 
  4. ^ Keker, Aaron (April 6, 2008). "Interview with RED". Europunk. http://www.europunk.net/interviews/215. Retrieved 2009-02-11. 
  5. ^ http://www.titletrakk.com/music-interviews/red-anthony-armstrong-interview.htm
  6. ^ http://www.apostlesthatrock.com/interviews/red.htm
  7. ^ Grammy Awards "GRAMMY.com - 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards Winners List", Retrieved May 18, 2007.
  8. ^ HM MAGAZINE[1] RETRIEVED JANUARY 09
  9. ^ TitleTrakk.com Music News: Update on: RED involved in serious car accident
  10. ^ http://www.gospelmusic.org/newsmedia/pressRoom_detail.aspx?iid=40927&tid=33
  11. ^ http://www.cmspin.com/newsmanager/anmviewer.asp?a=5245&z=26 Red: Second album info
  12. ^ http://www.breathecast.com/Christian.Music.News-Red.Makes.R&R.History.As.It.Debuts.Fight.Inside.At.No.1/1_2617.htm
  13. ^ http://www.newreleasetuesday.com/article.php?article_id=191 NEWRELEASETUESDAY.COM INTERVIEW WITH RED
  14. ^ http://www.theweekender.com/cover/EXCLUSIVE__Ben_Burnley_interview_transcript_09-18-2009.html
  15. ^ "Red - Charts & Awards - Billboard Albums" allmusic. Retrieved on December 28, 2008.
  16. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=745484&model.vnuAlbumId=1207745
  17. ^ http://www.yourmusiczone.com/go/ymz/news_more/reds_mystery_of_you_secures_third_no_1_single_off_innocence_instinct/
  18. ^ http://tunelab.com/2009/10/24/red-select-next-single-start-again/

[edit] External links