The Ataris

The Ataris
Background Information
Origin	Anderson, Indiana
Genre	Pop Punk Alternative Rock
Years active	1995-present
Label(s)	Paper + Plastick Sanctuary Columbia Kung Fu Fat
Associated Acts	Park Ranger Mourning District
Website	http://facebook.com/theataris
Members
Kris Roe Jacob Dwiggins Brian Nelson Rob Felicetti
Former Members
Jasin Thomason Marko 72 Derrick Plourde Patrick Riley Marco Peña Mike Davenport Chris Knapp Sean Hansen Bob Hoag Angus Cooke John Collura Paul Carabello Shane Chikeles Eric Doucette Chris Swinney Aaron Glass

The Ataris are a pop punk band originally hailing from Anderson, Indiana. They have released five studio albums, and their most recent, Welcome the Night, was released on February 20, 2007.

History

Kung Fu Records (1995-2002)

Formed in 1995, the band originally consisted of singer/songwriter/guitarist Kristopher Roe and guitarist Jasin Thomason. Using a 4-track, they wrote and recorded demos in Kris' bedroom, using a drum machine while they searched for a full-time drummer. The band's first big break came in 1996 when Kris attended a show at the club Bogart's in Cincinnati, where he passed one of the band's demo tapes to a roadie from the band. The roadie gave the tape to Joe Escalante, bassist from the band The Vandals who owned their own label, Kung Fu Records. A few weeks later, Kris received a call from Kung Fu Records, who told him they were interested in putting out their record, even though he was really only searching for a drummer. The Ataris signed to Kung Fu and the label passed the tape along to various drummers. Eventually Kris decided upon ex-Lagwagon drummer Derrick Plourde. The band then proceeded to record their debut album Anywhere but Here, tracking the whole thing in less than a week. The album was released on April 29, 1997 and the band held a release show party at Missing Link Records in Indianapolis on May 2nd.

In June of 1997, Kristopher moved from Anderson, Indiana to Santa Barbara, California. Shortly afterward, Marko Desantis joined the band on bass for a short time. Jasin Thomason decided to leave the band to stay in Indiana, and the group toured as a three-piece for a short while. After a brief tour in October 1997, this lineup disbanded. Kris, out of money and living in a van, contemplated moving back to Indiana. But the band still had an upcoming tour booked with Dance Hall Crashers and Unwritten Law, so Kris decided to give the band one more shot. He got his friend from Santa Barbara, Mike Davenport, to play bass. Davenport shared a small rehearsal space on East Haley Street with his friend Marco Peña, who was in a different band. One day at the rehearsal space, Roe and Davenport heard the drummer of Pena's band, Chris Knapp, playing and immediately asked him to join The Ataris. While Roe and Davenport joked that Peña would be upset over them "stealing" his band's drummer, Peña surprised them by showing up at their practice the next day, strapping on his guitar, and playing along. It turned out Peña had learned all the songs from Anywhere But Here. He joined the band as a second guitarist and the foursome went on their scheduled tour. However, Peña soon left the band due to personal reasons and was replaced by Patrick Riley.

From there, the band gradually increased in popularity in the underground rock scene, a lot due to their consistent touring and personal, DIY approach to the band. They then found more success with their EP Look Forward to Failure. However, it wasn't until the release of Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits in the year 1999 that they started to gain widespread acclaim. The album's name comes from the name of a mobile home park along Highway 101 in Santa Barbara. Also, "...next 12 exits" refers to a nearby sign on Highway 101 North that reads "Santa Barbara, Next 12 Exits". The album contained personal, storytelling lyrics and heartfelt tales of relationships, discovery and things once left behind. After this album, Riley left the band to go back to school, and Marco Peña re-joined the band.

The band's third full length studio album, End is Forever, was released in 2001. This album painted more intensely personal side of the band's storytelling and personal relationships. Due to their persistent touring schedule, a lot of the arrangements and lyrics were worked out at the last minute while in the studio and then the vocals recorded while Kristopher had a bad cold. Roe maintains that he was not completely happy with half of the songs, although he went on to state that in spite of this, several of the songs such as "Fast Times at Dropout High" and "Road Signs and Rock Songs" were still to date some of the band's strongest of their earlier career.

So Long, Astoria (2003-2005)

In 2002, the lineup changed again, with John Collura replacing Peña on guitar. Prior to this, Collura had played in his own band, Beefcake, who'd toured with The Ataris. He'd also done time on tour as a guitar tech for The Ataris just prior to Pena's departure.

During this same period, the Ataris' contract with Kung Fu Records expired, and the band chose to sign with Columbia Records. Later that year, they began recording their fourth full-length album and major label debut, So Long, Astoria, released on March 4, 2003.

Produced by Lou Giordano, the album's production served as a stark contrast to any of the band's past releases. Where as previous efforts would be recorded in short time spans between tours, So Long, Astoria was known for its polished tracks and recording process.

So Long, Astoria was widely credited for introducing The Ataris to a larger mainstream audience and generating several successful singles, including "In This Diary" and "The Saddest Song." Musically, the album showcased very personal, encrypted and slightly more optimistic songwriting with a more refined, straightforward rock sound, not unlike Jimmy Eat World. This album also included their original hit cover song, originally recorded by Don Henley "The Boys of Summer," which much to the dismay of the band became their "accidental" second single after a radio station in Southern California started playing it, even though the band had already chosen the song "My Reply" as their second single. The single is their highest charting single to date, reaching #20 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The band toured behind this record for most of 2003 and into early 2004. That year also saw the release of their acclaimed live album, Live At The Metro, along with a spot on the Spiderman 2 soundtrack and an appearance at Hellfest. Though So Long, Astoria sold well in excess of 500,000 copies, the album itself was never certified Platinum.

After a number personal, financial and artistic differences, this line-up decided to respectfully and creatively go its separate ways over the summer and fall of 2004. Davenport, interested in playing heavier music, became a founding member of the band Versus the World, while Knapp stopped playing music altogether and stayed in Santa Barbara. Details regarding the departures of Knapp and Davenport have been kept quiet for sometime, and neither camp has appeared interested in fueling any public debate or ill-will.

Looking for some time off, Kris headed back to Indiana while John moved back to New York; though the pair would later regroup to begin the recordings of the band's next album.

Welcome the Night (2005-2007)

After some time off, Kristopher and John later moved forward and began writing songs that would become part of the follow-up to So Long, Astoria titled Welcome The Night. They held some informal practices with some friends from New York, who played in the band Park Ranger. These sessions led to three members of Park Ranger joining The Ataris: Sean Hansen on bass, Shane Chickeles on drums, and Paul Carabello on third guitar. To round out the lineup, they added longtime friends Bob Hoag, formerly of Pollen and The Go Reflex (which was managed by Roe), on piano and keyboards, and Angus Cooke on cello. Cooke played cello on past Ataris records, and helped with production as well. Starting in 2005, the band began recording Welcome the Night at Seedy Underbelly in California, with producer Nick Launay. Writing and recording eventually took the better part of two years and was extended to multiple studios. The album was routinely delayed by Columbia, and some wondered if it would be shelved by the label altogether.

On June 10, 2006, the band announced that it had left Columbia Records due to the label's internal disintegration. In November 2006, The Ataris started their own imprint, Isola Recordings, through Sanctuary Records and RED Distribution, and simultaneously announced the official release date of their new album "Welcome the Night" as February 20th, 2007. Following the release of Welcome the Night, the band embarked on a tour of the United States and Europe.

The Graveyard of the Atlantic (since 2007)

Roe stated in a blog post that the band's new material would see a return to the more upbeat, urgent , rock sound from albums like End Is Forever. He said, "I feel that today where I am at is sort of coming around full circle and just having fun again and being newly inspired by the art that made me discover music in the first place.".

In Spring 2008, three members of a local Indiana band The Widow Jenkins joined The Ataris, replacing the Welcome The Night-era lineup after an amicable split. The band began recording demos for their next album at The Gallows Studio in Muncie, Indiana. Roe described the songs as "just very melodic, raw, catchy, upbeat, sing along rock songs" and "definitely everything the opposite of slick, polished and over produced."

In December 2008, the band recorded a batch of new songs at Flying Blanket Studios in Arizona. Some of which Roe has stated will likely become part of their forthcoming album "The Graveyard of the Atlantic"

Kristopher Roe played a number of acoustic shows throughout Europe and U.K. from January through March 2009. The full band then toured through South America, South Africa, an extensive U.S. tour and scattered dates on the Warped Tour in summer 2009.

Roe finished all of the guitars, bass, and drums for the existing thirteen songs in April 2009. Vocals have currently been recorded on four of those finished tracks. Roe has stated that he has written several other songs since and plans to record and add some of those tracks to The Graveyard of the Atlantic. Roe has confirmed the song "Fast Times at Dropout High", from the End is Forever album, will be re-recorded for the new album. The band recently uploaded an early, unmastered mix of "All Souls Day", as well as an untitled acoustic demo. Both of which will likely be included on their upcoming CD. This rough mix of "All Souls' Day" was also included on the 2009 Warped tour compilation CD.

In August, Roe posted a blog on the band's MySpace page informing that the new album will be named The Graveyard of the Atlantic. The album will be released in Japan by Bullion Records. The band is currently in talks with several labels in regards to the release of the album in the rest of the world.

On June 10, 2010 Kristopher Roe announced (through facebook.com/theataris) that a 7 inch containing two new songs will be released on July 6 on the Gainesville, FL label Paper + Plastick, in time for their summer tour with Gasoline Heart. The 7 inch contains full band recordings of the songs "All Souls' Day" and "The Graveyard of the Atlantic" and was made available November 25, 2010.

Band members

• Kris Roe – vocals, guitar, percussion (1995–present)
• Rob Felicetti – guitar (2010–present)
• Bryan Nelson – bass (2008–present)
• Jacob Dwiggins – drums (2008–present)

Former members

• John Collura – guitar, backing vocals, piano (2001–2007)
• Mike Davenport – bass (1998–2005)
• Chris Knapp – drums (1998–2005)
• Aaron Glass – guitar (2010)
• Chris Swinney – guitar, backing vocals (2008–2010)
• Eric Doucette - bass (2007)
• Paul Carabello – guitar, percussion, backing vocals (2005–2007)
• Shane Chikeles – drums (2005–2007)
• Angus Cooke – cello, percussion (2005–2007)
• Sean Hansen – bass, percussion, backing vocals (2005–2007)
• Bob Hoag – piano, keyboards, mellotron, percussion, backing vocals (2006–2007)
• Marco Peña – guitar (1998, 1999–2001)
• Patrick Riley – guitar (1998)
• Derrick Plourde – drums (1996–1997)
• Marko DeSantis – bass (1996–1997)
• Jasin Thomason – guitar (1995–1997)

Discography

Main article: The Ataris discography

Albums

Album	Record Label	Release Date
Anywhere But Here	Kung Fu Records	1997 / Reissued in 2002
Blue Skies, Broken Hearts...Next 12 Exits	Kung Fu Records	1999
End Is Forever	Kung Fu Records	2001
So Long, Astoria	Columbia Records	2003
Welcome the Night	Sanctuary Records	(2007)
The Graveyard of the Atlantic	TBA	2010 / 2011

External links

• The Ataris on Myspace
• The Ataris on Facebook
• The Ataris on Twitter
• Ataris interview 2001

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at The Ataris. 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.