The Afters
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The Afters |
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The Afters are a Dove Award-winning Christian rock band founded by Joshua Havens and Matt Fuqua. Havens and Fuqua first worked together in a Starbucks coffee shop in Mesquite, Texas, where they played for customers, before deciding to form a band. They added Brad Wigg and Marc Dodd, who were also employed at the same Starbucks, under their original name of Blisse. Their song "Never Going Back to OK" was the most-played song on R&R magazine's Christian CHR chart for 2008.[1]
History
Screaming Mimes (1999-2000)
As a precursor to Blisse, Matt and Josh performed several shows around Dallas as The Screaming Mimes, a reference to a St. Francis of Assisi quote "Witness at all times. Sometimes use words." The songs during this period were largely the same as they would be performed and recorded as Blisse. While Brad was a founding member of the group, he took time away from the band to perform with his own blues project, playing lead guitar. Shows at the Door in Deep Ellum were filled in by Dallas bassist Eric Kitchens.
Blisse (2000-2002)
Under the name Blisse, the band recorded a six-song EP in 2000. From this they made enough money to cut their first album, When the World Is Wonderful, which was released independently in 2001. This album contains songs also released on their major label debut album I Wish We All Could Win. In 2002 they released a live concert DVD filmed at a local Dallas club called The Door.
I Wish We All Could Win (2002–2006)
The band changed its name after discovering that another "Blisse" already existed. Settling on "The Afters", they continued to play local clubs in the Dallas area. They were eventually discovered by INO Records and signed to a four-record deal. After this, word of the band got to Epic Records, which signed the band to a deal for mainstream promotion and distribution. Their first major label album, I Wish We All Could Win, was released on February 22, 2005. The first single from the album was "Beautiful Love" written by Josh Havens about a time when his wife was abroad doing humanitarian aid. The single's music video led The Afters to a 2005 MTVu "Streaming Woodie" award. In addition, "Beautiful Love" became the theme song for the MTV show, "8th and Ocean" about the life of female and male fashion models living in Miami, Florida. The song was also featured in the 2006 film, "Just My Luck". Furthermore, the song "Until The World" featuring the album was the theme song for the American drama television series that aired on the ABC Family Network "Beautiful People", created by "Michael Rauch".
Never Going Back to OK (2006–2008)
The Afters are currently promoted through INO Records and Columbia Records. In an update posted on their official website, the band went into the studio in August 2006 to start recording their second album, Never Going Back to OK. It was originally scheduled to be released on December 26, 2007 as per a post on their MySpace blog, but was ultimately delayed and released on February 26, 2008.[2]
The first single from the album, the title track "Never Going Back to OK" premiered on October 16, 2007 on Total Axxess. It was also released as a streaming file on The Afters' MySpace page on November 10, 2007.[3]. The song hit the R&R magazine charts in December 2007. It hit #1 on the R&R CHR chart in March 2008[4] and R&R magazine ranked it as the most played song on U.S. Christian CHR radio in 2008.[1]
In spring of 2008, the band began their own headlining tour along with Falling Up, Ruth, and Everyday Sunday.[5]
Light Up the Sky (2009-present)
The Afters stated in their Twitter account that they started recording their next album on October 27, 2009.[6] The album, called Light Up the Sky, was released on September 14, 2010.[7] The album's first single, the title track, has hit #1 on Billboard's Christian CHR radio, and also received an appearance on MTV's The Hills.[8]
Band members
- Joshua Havens - vocals / keys and guitars
- Matt Fuqua - vocals and guitars
- Jordan Mohilowski - drums
- Dan Ostebo - bass guitars
- Brad Wigg - guitars / bass guitars and vocals (former)
- Marc Dodd - drums (former)
Discography
Studio Albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Rock |
US Christ |
US Dig. |
US Heat |
US Alt. | ||||
| 2001 | When the World Is Wonderful
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005 | I Wish We All Could Win
|
— | — | 24 | — | 40 | — | ||
| 2008 | Never Going Back to OK
|
41 | 10 | 1 | 41 | — | 9 | ||
| 2010 | Light Up the Sky
|
— | — | 11 | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
Live albums and DVDs
- Live @ the Door (2002) (As Blisse)
EPs
- Never Going Back to OK - EP (2008)
Tours
The Afters have toured and played shows with artists such as MercyMe, Lifehouse, Vertical Horizon, Styxx, Anna Nalick, Better Than Ezra, Howie Day, Everclear, Jeremy Camp, TobyMac, Newsboys, Hawk Nelson, Family Force 5, Sanctus Real, Mainstay and others.[citation needed]
Awards
References
- ^ a b 2008 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs, R&R magazine, Retrieved January 6, 2009
- ^ Never Going Back To OK by The Afters NewReleaseTuesday.com, retrieved February 2, 2008
- ^ MySpace.com - The Afters
- ^ March 8, 2008 R&R chart as reported at Weekend 22; Retrieved March 11, 2008.
- ^ Tony Cummings (2008-03-16). "The Afters: The Dallas pop rockers who are Never Going Back To OK". CrossRhythms.co.uk. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
- ^ We officially started recording our new album today! by The Afters Twitter.com 2009
- ^ Christian Sonic » The Afters – Light Up the Sky [Single (2010)] Christiansonic.net Retrieved June 14, 2010
- ^ http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/news/2010/09/22.The%20Afters%20Land%20No.%201%20Spot%20on%20iTunes%20and%20CHR%20Radio.asp