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Angels & Airwaves

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Angels & Airwaves
File:Angelsandairwaves2.jpg
Background information
Years active2005-present
MembersTom DeLonge
David Kennedy
Atom Willard
Ryan Sinn

Angels & Airwaves is an Alternative rock band created by former blink-182 and Box Car Racer guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge along with Over My Dead Body, Hazen Street and Box Car Racer guitarist David Kennedy, ex-Distillers bassist Ryan Sinn and current Offspring drummer Atom Willard. The band released their first single, "The Adventure," on May 18, 2006 and their debut album, We Don't Need to Whisper, on May 23, 2006.


History

Formation

File:AVA logo.jpg
Angels and Airwaves' logo

According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, DeLonge trademarked the name "Angels & Airwaves" on June 24, 2005 amidst the lingering confusion of blink-182's abruptly announced "indefinite hiatus". DeLonge quickly recruited friends and fellow musicians David Kennedy, Ryan Sinn and Atom Willard to round out the band's roster.

In an interview with British magazine Kerrang!, DeLonge commented about the band's beginning:

Just before all the blink-182 stuff happened when we were in Europe, I had a really weird epiphany. My heart was beating about a hundred miles a minute for three weeks straight and it had never happened to me before in my life. I really felt like I'd been touched by something and I felt I was meant to do something massive.[1]

Debut

Originally, "Valkyrie Missile" was slated for release via iTunes on December 13, 2005, DeLonge's 30th birthday. However, due to discussions with their record label, Geffen, the band decided to push the release date back to a later date. Instead, the Angels and Airwaves website produced the first ever glimpse at the movie currently in production, a 1-and-a-half minute long trailer featuring portions of the delayed song.

Angels & Airwaves released both a music video and a short film for their first single, "The Adventure"; the band also released a short film for "It Hurts" via the band's official website. Both are short sci-fi films and together form the first part of a proposed ten-part series, following the cast's struggle through an unfamiliar world. On October 3, 2006, the band released the third installment in the series, "The Gift".

File:Avacdcover.jpg
Angels & Airwaves' debut album We Don't Need to Whisper

"Do It for Me Now" was released as the second single in the US, while in the UK "It Hurts" was released as the second single. The music video for "It Hurts" is the short-film released on April 18th and was available to select on the UK music television channel Kerrang!.

Before the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, DeLonge revealed news about the current events of the band. "The War" would be the next single to be released and the short film was released October 27th, 2006.

In 2006, the band embarked on their first full-length tour, which was headlined by Taking Back Sunday and supported by Head Automatica and The Subways. Numerous one-stop dates at the Give It a Name 2006 festival were played. The band also played on The Late Show with David Letterman on May 15, 2006.

They also performed at two shows at London's Hyde Park and at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester supporting the Foo Fighters on their successful In Your Honor tour.

Future Plans

Among the plans for a big future, AVA have announced they are planning on releasing a film involving their music tenatively titled AvA. The World War II-based movie is being created primarily through the use of CGI. This "story" is apparently based upon DeLonge's life and will give viewers insight into the hiatus of blink-182. Currently, the only known cast member is Michael Ostman. The band is writing the script for the new movie and filming for this is currently underway [1].

Furthermore, in September, on a MySpace bulletin, DeLonge revealed a new song, which is 8 and a half minutes long and contains 3 movements called "Star of Bethlehem". The song debuted at a concert in Brisbane, Australia on October 19, 2006. The full song can now be heard on the band's MySpace, and an edited four minute version is included on the KROQ 2006 Christmas CD.

Recently, MTV asked Tom about the future of the band. DeLonge stated that the next part of his three-to-five year process would be revealed sometime this year. "It's bigger than just the band itself. It's a mixture of my businesses and the band, and when people laugh and say, 'Oh, yeah, what a big revelation that was!' ... they have no idea. I have access to developing this record far beyond what people can understand," [2]

After being asked about other future plans at a concert, DeLonge confirmed that "The Gift" is planned to be the next single after "The War". The band is also currently at work on their second record.


Experiencing music

Tom DeLonge stated in his PR Editorial Review:

So preachy, I know. And I don't mean for it to be. I wanted it to be the recording of an emotional event in my life. I love the idea of an album doing that, because I knew that if I could get 150,000 people in an arena to have the same feeling at the exact same moment, it would end up feeling like a religious event. I really want the room to be dark, with black light or a candle. People should have headphones on, and they should be really comfortable, maybe sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed. I spent a year and a half working on this record, trying my hardest to give people a moment of escapism. All I ask is 50 minutes of a lowered heart rate.[3]

When videographer Zachary Timms interviewed Tom Delonge, Tom stated "There is one thing in this world that truly unites all of us: Music."

Band members

Band Assistance

Discography

Albums

Album Cover Date of Release Title Label UK Album Chart Peak Position UK sales US Album Chart Peak Position US sales
File:Avacdcover.jpg
 May 23rd 2006 We Don't Need to Whisper Geffen Records 6 100,000 4 430,000[4]
Autumn 2007 Untitled 2nd Studio Album Geffen Records

Singles

Year Title Chart Positions Album
US Hot 100 US Modern Rock US Pop 100 UK Singles Chart
2006 "The Adventure" 55 5 51 20 We Don't Need to Whisper
2006 "It Hurts" (UK only) - - - 59 We Don't Need to Whisper
2006 "Do It for Me Now" (US only) - 21 - - We Don't Need to Whisper
2006 "The War" - 19 - - We Don't Need to Whisper
2007 "The Gift" - - - - We Don't Need to Whisper

Trivia

  • Recording of drums of the band's debut album, We Don't Need To Whisper, took place at the Foo Fighters' studio and at Tom's studio inside his house, also called "Never Pants Ranch".
  • Angels and Airwaves' abbreviated name, AVA, is a partial reference to DeLonge's daughter, also named Ava.
  • The album cover for We Don't Need To Whisper was stated by Tom to represent "the infinite potential of a human being."
  • When beginning the recording sessions, "We Don't Need to Whisper" were the first words DeLonge said into a microphone when testing to see if everything was working correctly.
  • At some of the later concerts, at the very end of the show, a banner is dropped with "LOVE" written across it. The "V" in "LOVE" is formatted the same as the second "A" in the logo.
  • Star of Bethlehem has been performed at some of their later concerts, It has now been released in its entirety on "Kevin & Bean's Super Christmas" cd.

Angels and Airwaves in Pop Culture

  • "The War" is the theme song for the MTV reality football show "Two-A-Days" and has also been used as background music during select televised PGA events. It has also been featured in one of the videos on YouTube to get NHL defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick to the NHL All-star game.
  • In the 2006 NFL Opening Night Game, the instrumental intro for "The Adventure" was used while the Pittsburgh Steelers introduced members of their previous Super Bowl winning teams. This song was also played in an introduction to the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals on Fox prior to game 7 of the NLCS in 2006
  • ABC and ESPN promotional commercials for the 2006 FIFA World Cup included the instrumental opening of "The Adventure."
  • In his ESPN NHL Season Preview, John Buccigross used a verse from "The Adventure" to describe the Chicago Blackhawks.
  • The Adventure is used as the background music on the movie trailer for the movie "Chasing Temptations" starring Hayden Christensen and Misha Barton.
  • They recently placed a live show in the Windows Vista Launch Party in Times Square.
  • The Adventure was used as background music on ESPN's The Ultimate Highlights during Sportscenter.

References

  1. ^ http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/musicDetail.cfm?i=C9D964AF-03DA-7D8A-D00C674A699D7F06&a=8
  2. ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1543359/20061017/angels_and_airwaves.jhtml?headlines=true#/news/articles/1543359/20061017/angels_and_airwaves.jhtml?headlines=true
  3. ^ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F8DTDC/002-7841736-2419234?v=glance&n=5174
  4. ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1543359/20061017/angels_and_airwaves.jhtml?headlines=true#/news/articles/1543359/20061017/angels_and_airwaves.jhtml?headlines=true

External links



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