Saosin

Saosin
Background Information
Origin	Newport Beach, California/Los Angeles, California
Genre	Post-Hardcore
Years active	2003–present
Label(s)	Death Do Us Part (2003) Capitol (2004-2007) Virgin (2008-2010)
Associated Acts	Anthony Green Circa Survive Open Hand
Website	http://www.saosin.com/
Members
Beau Burchell Justin Shekoski Chris Sorenson Alex Rodriguez
Former Members
Anthony Green Cove Reber Zach Kennedy

Saosin is an American post-hardcore band originally hailing from Newport Beach, California, formed in 2003. The band currently consists of guitarists Beau Burchell and Justin Shekoski, bassist Chris Sorenson, and drummer Alex Rodriguez. The band is currently preparing for auditions in January for a new vocalist. Among those auditioning, is former Tides of Man frontman Tilian Pearson. The band recorded their first E.P Translating the Name with original singer, Anthony Green. However, Green left the band following the decision of the band to sign up to a commercial label, Capitol. New singer Cove Reber fronted the band as they recorded their self titled debut album. Their second studio album, In Search of Solid Ground was released on September 8, 2009 on Virgin and contains three re-recorded tracks off their The Grey EP.

On July 21, 2010, Saosin parted ways with vocalist Cove Reber and have yet to find a new frontman.

Origin of name

Anthony Green, the former vocalist, had initially suggested the name "Saosin" (pronounced as "say-ocean) for the band. After he quit, Saosin changed the pronunciation to "say-o-sin" the actual word coming from Mandarin Chinese "小心" (pīnyīn romanization: xiǎo xīn) 小 (xiǎo) meaning small or tiny and 心 (xīn) meaning heart or mind usually referring to emotions and feelings. Together both characters are use to express caution or carefulness, rather than the actual meaning of a small heart. Both other pronunciations of the word are actually incorrect, as it is actually pronounced "shiao sheen". The word comes from a 15th century proverb about fathers telling their sons who are being married off for money not to get emotionally involved with their wives, who could die at any time.) Green explained the meaning behind this as being a reference to the fact that nothing is eternal, and that it is a mistake to become overly attached to any one thing, because that thing will eventually be lost. Whilst Green's interpretation of the word xiǎo xīn is obscure, xiǎo xīn is generally used in Chinese as a means to express caution. Green had previously used Saosin as a track name in his high school band, Audience of One's CD, I Remember When This All Meant Something.

History

Formation and Translating The Name (2003–2004)

The original lineup for Saosin, consisting of Burchell, Shekoski, Sorenson and former vocalist Anthony Green, was formed in the summer of 2003. On June 17, the band released their first commercial production, the EP Translating the Name. It was an immediate success and was immensely popular on online forums and music sites. Saosin first became popular through promotion and exposure through the Internet. They became known for their distinct musical styles long before their first studio-length album was released, and were popularised on social networking and music sites such as MySpace.

Session drummer Pat McGrath and Bassist Zach Kennedy left the band early on. Kennedy left for personal reasons, and he wanted to pursue a career in art. He was later replaced by Chris Sorenson. McGrath, who was a former drum technician for American thrash metal band Slayer, was never properly with the band; according to Burchell, he was hired only for the recording for the EP, as Alex Rodriguez had promised his band at the time Open Hand he would finish recording with them, then joined Saosin after the release of Translating the Name. Shortly after the EP's release, Saosin went on a U.S. tour with bands Boys Night Out and Anatomy of a Ghost.

In February 2004, the band's vocalist Anthony Green left Saosin and later formed the band Circa Survive. Green was very homesick and said he was missing his family. Green was also disenchanted with Saosin, evidenced by the use of cryptic imagery in the lyrics of the Translating the Name EP to convey his displeasure with the direction of Saosin. The other band members did, however, finish their Warped Tour obligation with Story of the Year's Philip Sneed taking the mic. A public, nationwide audition then took place.

New singer and Saosin EP (2004–2006)

After the audition process and several guest vocalists on demos, the then 19-year-old Cove Reber, previously the vocalist of the unsigned local bands Mormon in the Middle and Stamp Out Detroit, was announced as their new permanent lead singer. Cove had sent in his demo tape which was an acoustic demo with "Mookie's Last Christmas". The demo has since leaked onto the internet. It is widely speculated to have included a few songs from Translating the Name. When Beau first heard the demo, he thought it was Anthony pulling a trick on them.

However, the inexperienced Cove Reber replacing the charismatic Anthony Green was hard for the band, especially for Reber himself, receiving a great deal of criticism. Many fans consider the time with Green to be something entirely different from what the band is today. There are still distinct fans of both eras (Green Era/Reber Era) debating on which is a better fit for the band as a whole.

After the Taste of Chaos tour the following winter, the band got signed to Capitol Records in March and toured the United States with the Warped Tour for the second time. Here, they released the Saosin EP. At first it was intended to be a free sampler, but Capitol Records did not allow this and released it as an EP. It contained Demo versions of songs later recorded on their first full length album. A video to their new single "Bury Your Head" was recorded during the tour. They kept on touring for the rest of 2005, mostly opening for Avenged Sevenfold and Coheed and Cambria.

Saosin LP and Come Close (2006–2008)

After a respite from touring between February and June, the Warped Tour 2006 and numerous demos and compilation appearances, Saosin released their first full-length album Saosin on September 26, 2006. The well-known music producer Howard Benson was hired for the production of the album. Benson had worked with several major rock bands such as My Chemical Romance and Blindside. The album sold 35,434 copies in its first week.

During the rest of 2006, Saosin toured on the International Taste of Chaos Tour, playing their first shows outside of America. They also toured the United States with Bleeding Through and Senses Fail. They kept on touring for the whole year of 2007, beginning with a tour with Senses Fail, Alexisonfire, The Sleeping and Drop Dead, Gorgeous. Saosin also invited the non-profit organization Invisible Children for a portion of the tour. In February they joined the Taste of Chaos 2007. Between April and June they toured in Europe, Australia, Japan and Indonesia.

When Saosin returned home they continued their headlining tour with Poison the Well, The Receiving End of Sirens, Fiore and Flight 409. In the later summer of 2007, they were part of Linkin Park's Projekt Revolution tour. After this they headlined yet another tour in USA and Canada with Alexisonfire, Envy on the Coast, Norma Jean and The Dear and Departed. Concert footage was recorded during the tour stop on November 3, 2007 at The Theater of Living Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The concert footage was compiled for a live album and concert movie entitled Come Close.

Saosin toured from January 26 to February 8, 2008 with Armor for Sleep, Meriwether, and The Bled; from February 9 to February 16 Fear Before joined the tour. They went to Australia between February and March, after which they performed in Singapore on March 7 as the opening performance for Incubus on their Light Grenades Tour. On their way home they also visited Bali, Hawaii and Mexico. After two final shows at home in California in April, they took a nine month break from touring.

The Grey EP and In Search of Solid Ground (2008–2010)

Saosin returned to touring in October 2008 alongside Underoath and The Devil Wears Prada.

In early 2009, they started recording their new album with producer Butch Walker. They partnered with Hurley to broadcast the recording process live on Hurley's website.

Saosin released a new EP titled The Grey EP on October 14, 2008. The EP was sold on tour and on iTunes and featured three new demos, as well as an acoustic version of "Come Close". The purpose of The Grey EP was to show demos they had been recording; a similar manner in which the Saosin EP contained demos for their debut LP.

Saosin released In Search of Solid Ground on September 9, 2009. The album sold 21,536 copies in its first week. Two songs were released as a download to anyone who bought a shirt, and a digital pre-order. The songs were "On My Own" and "Is This Real". These two songs were released as singles on iTunes August 4, 2009. On August 5 a new song titled "Changing" was made available for streaming on the internet. The single was then put up for download on iTunes August 11. Another track titled "The Worst of Me" was also released as part of a free Warped Tour song package on hurley.com/warpedtour. The song "Why Can't You See?" was made available on Last.fm.

Their most recent song "Move Slow" was released on the TV show NCIS's original soundtrack. Saosin's most recent single "Deep Down" was released in May 2010.

Saosin will tour Australia nationally during June 2010 in support of Story Of The Year's Australian tour. Also joining Story Of The Year and Saosin will be blessthefall.

Three unreleased Saosin songs have leaked onto the internet through the Hurley Live Recording Stream they broadcasted while recording In Search of Solid Ground. Fans have titled them "The Norma Jean Song," "Back to Greatness" and the third is still known as "Untitled."

Recently, Saosin stated on Twitter that they have parted ways with Virgin records and are going back into a DIY direction.

The departure of Cove Reber and unconfirmed speculation and rumors (2010-present)

On July 21, 2010, guitarist Beau Burchell made the following announcement: "Well, a few days ago, Alex, Justin, Chris and I got back into the studio for our first group writing/jam session. We have all been writing things on our own, but it was cool to get into a room and play with loud amps all together again. I am very excited about this record, for a few different reasons. After 5 years with Cove, we have decided to part ways. So it will be a new experience for us, not knowing what to expect in the vocal dept, who will replace him, or if we will even find a replacement this century." Reber was asked to leave due to his diminishing stage performance and vocal abilities. According to Justin Shekoski, "We didn't feel he could represent the music that we have recorded well on stage. On November 2, saosin's facebook page states that they "finished Two NEW Songs, Instrumentals, ones called JUD JUD JUD. Lots of Riffs, Rolls and ROFLCOPTERS. Might put one up in a few days. STOKED! - Beau"

On November 25th, strikegently.com reported that Charles Furney, lead singer of Secret and Whisper, had been recruited to fill Reber's abandoned vocalist spot. One day later, on November 26th, Saosin themselves denied these claims on their Facebook page:

Thanks for the update from strike gently But, unfortunately, we DO NOT have a new singer yet, and its not Chris from Secret & Whisper. INFORMATION POLLUTION! Stick to the squirt videos, homeboy - SAOSIN

There has been speculation of Tides of Man vocalist, Tilian Pearson quitting his band to audition for Saosin's frontman. Tilian states: "For the record, I didn't quit Tides Of Man. I expressed interest in pursuing the open spot in Saosin to the guys in Tides. The reactions were mixed, and I got kicked out of the band. They didn't want a singer/leader to be in the band with that kind of doubt in his mind. Though I don't like it, I respect their decision. In a more perfect world I would have had full trust and support from my friends in Tides and would've been able to pursue the open spot in Saosin, and possibly stay in both bands (this all would depend on whether it even worked out with Saosin in the first place).

As of now, I have never even met a member of Saosin. We got connected up months ago from a member of Oh, Sleeper. I have recorded a demo and, so far, a couple of the guys said they loved it and that it has potential. I didn't hear from the other two. They could hate it for all I know or could be completely indifferent. From what I have gathered each member has a totally different opinion regarding me so far. I am meeting up with all of them in January and we will see how it goes from there. I think it could potentially turn into something amazing, or it could turn into nothing.

The future is completely uncertain for me, but it is fucking exciting and I am grateful for the position I am in. All I can say is nothing is going to stop me, and I am confident that, if necessary, I will be able to start with absolutely nothing to create a brand new project that will blow away anything I have been a part of in the past." Also, Justin Shekoski has confirmed the speculation and clarified by saying: "Here's the truth, since I can't stand rumors. Tilian has been hitting us up. A lot. It looks like he wants the job pretty badly if he would quit his band. BUT....the REALITY is we haven't even met the guy in person. Everybody is talking about step #54 (joining the band). When we haven't even taken care of step #2 (actually meeting).

The next thing on the To-Do list is rehearsing songs that we have already released. We will record the session. Which is a great test for a singer just because of the pressure factor. Also it's a great way for us to hear what he sounds like in a "band" setting. We've done this with everyone that we have considered for the position.

January is the set time for step #2. Wish us luck, We are going to need it."

Band members

Current members Beau Burchell - vocals, guitar, programming (since 2003) Justin Shekoski - vocals, guitar (since 2003) Chris Sorenson - vocals, bass, keyboards (since 2003) Alex Rodriguez - drums, percussion (since 2003) Former members Anthony Green – lead vocals (2003–2004) Cove Reber – lead vocals (2004–2010) Zach Kennedy – bass (2003)

Touring members Philip Sneed – lead vocals (2004, fill-in only) Ken Floyd – guitar (2010, fill-in only) Pat McGrath – drums (2003, sessions only)

Discography

Main article: Saosin discography

Studio albums

• Saosin (2006)
• In Search of Solid Ground (2009)

External links

• Saosin's official website
• Saosin's official MySpace page
• Saosin exclusive interview at The Grixer Music Mag
• Synthesis.net July, 2007 Podcast Interview with Anthony Green formerly of Saosin
• Top 10 of 2008: Saosin's Cove

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Saosin. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Less Than Jake Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.