Strung Out

Strung Out
File:StrungOutLogo.jpg
Background information
Years active	1992–present
Members	Jason Cruz Jake Kiley Rob Ramos Chris Aiken Jordan Burns

Strung Out is a punk rock band from Simi Valley, California, USA formed in 1990. They are known mainly for their musical style, which fuses aspects of punk rock and heavy metal to form their primary sound. They have released nine albums on Fat Wreck Chords and appeared on numerous compilations and skate/surf videos. They have played on the Warped Tour and continue to tour internationally.

Biography

The band formed in 1990 in Simi Valley, California. The original lineup consisted of vocalist Jason Cruz, guitarists Jake Kiley and Rob Ramos, bassist Jim Cherry and drummer Adam Austin. After releasing a self-titled 7" record, they became one of the first bands to be signed to Fat Wreck Chords, the record label owned and operated by Fat Mike of the band NOFX. Austin left the band in 1992 and was replaced by Brad Morrison who also left the band and was replaced on drums by Jordan Burns, formerly of fellow Simi Valley natives Ten Foot Pole. Their first album, Another Day in Paradise, was released in May of 1994. Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues followed in 1996. In 1998 they released The Skinny Years...Before We Got Fat, a compilation album of their pre-Fat Wreck Chords material.

Strung Out playing at Club Duo in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

The band showed notable musical growth on their 1998 album Twisted by Design, which was both speedy and technical but also punk-based and with darker overtones. The album established a mixture of the fast, poppy sound the band had established with Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues but mixed it with more atonality and more abstract song structures. Bassist Jim Cherry left the band in 1999 and went on to play in Pulley and Zero Down, but died of heart failure in 2002. He was replaced by Chris Aiken, whose musical background had a strong impact on the 2000 album The Element of Sonic Defiance.

In 2002 the band released their fourth full-length album An American Paradox, their first release to appear in the Billboard Top 200. The initial production run contained a bonus song entitled "Don't Look Back". A video was filmed for the song "Cemetery" and was included on several punk rock video compilations. In 2003 they recorded and released a live album as part of the Fat Wreck Chords Live in a Dive series. Exile in Oblivion, was released in 2004, with a video filmed for the song "Analog." Strung Out recently finished recording their sixth full-length album, Blackhawks Over Los Angeles, which will be released June 12, 2007.

When they are not touring or making music, Jason Cruz enjoys life as an artist, Jordan heads his motocross company MOTO XXX, Rob Ramos works in the film industry, and Jake gives occasional musical lessons.

Band Members

Current Members

• Jason Cruz - vocals
• Jake Kiley - guitar
• Rob Ramos - guitar
• Chris Aiken - bass
• Jordan Burns - drums

Past Members

• Brad Morrison - drums (1992 - 1993)
• Jim Cherry - bass (1992 - 1999) (d. 2002)
• Adam Austin - drums (1990 - 1992)

Discography

Albums

• Another Day in Paradise (1994)
• Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues (1996)
• Twisted by Design (1998)
• An American Paradox (2002)
• Live In A Dive: Strung Out (2003)
• Exile In Oblivion (2004)
• Blackhawks Over Los Angeles (2007)

7"s and EPs

• Strung Out 7"
• split 7" with Jughead's Revenge
• split 7" with Blount (1995)
• Crossroads & Illusions (1998) CD-EP
• The Element of Sonic Defiance (2000) CD-EP
• Fat Club 7" (2001)

Compilations and Soundtracks

• The Skinny Years...Before We Got Fat (1998)

Non-album tracks and B-sides listed below:

• Punk Sucks compilation (1995) - "Support Your Troops"
• Punk Bites compilation (1996) - "Wrong Side Of The Tracks" (demo version)
• The Fearless Flush Sampler compilation (1997) - "Jacqueline", "Season Of The Witch"
• Punk Bites Vol. 2 compilation (1997) - "Just Like Me" (demo version)
• Fat Music Vol. III: Physical Fatness compilation (1998) - "Ultimate Devotion" (demo version)
• The Show soundtrack (1998) - "Betrayal"
• As a Matter of Fact compilation (1998) - "Jacqueline," "American Lie," "Through Your Fingers"
• Before You Were Punk 2 compilation (1999) - "Every Breath You Take" (originally performed by The Police)
• Short Music for Short People compilation (1999) - "Klawsterfobia"
• Fat Music Vol. V: Live Fat, Die Young compilation (2000) - "Novacain"
• Punk Goes Metal compilation (2000) - "Bark at the Moon" (originally performed by Ozzy Osbourne)
• Beyond Cyberpunk compilation (2001) - "Betrayal" (new version)
• Fat Music Vol. VI: Uncontrollable Fatulence compilation (2001) - "Your Worst Mistake"
• Punk Goes Acoustic compilation (2003) - "Velvet Alley" (acoustic version)
• Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1 compilation (2004) - "No Voice of Mine" (demo version)

• Punk Rock Mixtape 2006 compilation (2006) - "Analog"

Videography

Music Videos

• "Bring Out Your Dead" from Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues - appears on Peepshow VHS (Fat Wreck Chords 1997)
• "Mind Of My Own" from Twisted By Design - appears on Peepshow Vol. 2 VHS (Fat Wreck Chords 1998)
• "Cemetery" from An American Paradox - appears on Peepshow Vol. 3 DVD (Fat Wreck Chords 2003) and Cinema Beer Buddy DVD (Hopeless Records 2002)
• "Analog" from Exile In Oblivion
• "Calling" from Blackhawks Over Los Angeles

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

• Peak Position: The Billboard 200 #185 in 2002

Year	Album	Chart Positions
		Billboard 200	Top Independent Albums	Top Heatseekers
2002	An American Paradox	-#185	-#11	-#9
2004	Exile in Oblivion	-	-#22	-#15
2007	Blackhawks Over Los Angeles	-	-	-

External links

• Official website
• Interview With Jake
• Fat Wreck Chords – Strung Out's record label
• Interview with Strung Out (audio format only
• Our second interview with Strung Out