Relient K

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Relient K
Relient K live in May 2007. Left to right: Jon Schneck, Matt Hoopes, Matt Thiessen, Dave Douglas, John Warne.
Background information
Origin	Canton, Ohio, United States
Genre(s)	Christian pop punk Christian rock Pop punk Alternative rock
Years active	1997–present
Label(s)	Capitol Records Gotee Records Mono Vs. Stereo EMI
Associated acts	Matthew Thiessen and the Earthquakes Agnes Gypsy Parade Guerilla Rodeo Ace Troubleshooter Demon Hunter Inhale Exhale
Website	RelientK.com
Members
Matt Thiessen Matt Hoopes John Warne Jon Schneck Ethan Luck
Former members
Todd Frascone Stephen Cushman Brett Schoneman Jared Byers Brian Pittman Dave Douglas

Relient K (IPA: /rɛˈlaɪənt ˈkeɪ/) is an American Christian rock band from Canton, Ohio that formed in 1998. They are known for their pop-punk sound, with singles including Marilyn Manson Ate My Girlfriend, Sadie Hawkins Dance, In Love With The 80's (Pink Tux To The Prom), Must Have Done Something Right, and Pressing on. The band has received numerous awards including a Grammy Award nomination in 2003 for Best Rock Gospel Album and two Dove Awards.^[1][2][3]

The band broke into the mainstream in 2004 after Capitol signed them upon the release of their fourth record, Mmhmm, which debuted at #15 on the Billboard 200. It produced three top five hits on Christian radio and two top 20 hits on mainstream radio. Their fifth album, Five Score and Seven Years Ago, debuted at #6 on the U.S. Billboard 200. As of July 11, 2007, it had sold 152,560 copies in the US.^[4]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Beginnings (1998–2002) 1.2 Rising popularity and mainstream success (2002–2003) 1.3 Mmhmm (2004–2007) 1.4 Five Score and Seven Years Ago (2007–present) 2 Members 2.1 Current members 2.2 Former members 3 Other projects 3.1 The Complex Infrastructure Known as the Female Mind 3.2 Woodland Forest 3.3 Podcasts 3.4 Side projects 4 Discography 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Beginnings (1998–2002)

Relient K was founded in 1998 by Matthew Thiessen on guitar and piano, Brian Pittman on bass, and Matt Hoopes on guitar^[5] between the band's junior year in high school and their time at Malone College in Canton, Ohio.^{[citation needed]} Their friendships went even further into the past, though, as the three have known each other since they were in second grade.^[6] The band is named after guitarist Matt Hoopes' Plymouth Reliant K car, with the spelling intentionally altered to avoid trademark infringement over the Reliant name.

Todd Frascone joined for a short time in 1998 as a drummer but left after the band's first demo, All Work and No Play, was released. All Work and No Play was recorded by Mark Lee Townsend, the former live guitar player for dc Talk. Townsend knew the band members because his daughter was friends with the band (she later married guitarist Matt Hoopes). All Work and No Play, caught the attention of dc Talk's Toby McKeehan (tobyMac) who later signed the band to his label, Gotee Records.

Relient K released their debut EP entitled 2000 A.D.D. in 2000, with Stephen Cushman on drums. Soon after, they released Relient K, their first full-length CD. It was distinctly Christian rock and featured lyrics with a wide range of pop-culture references.^[7] Cushman left later that year to join the Christian metal band Narcissus. Brett Schoneman of Christian rock band Philmore filled in temporarily,^[8][9][10] followed by Jared Byers, drummer of the Christian rock band Bleach, until Dave Douglas joined in December of 2000.^[11]

In 2001, the band released their second album, The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek. This album launched both Relient K and their sound to a whole new level. There were still plenty of pop-culture references on this album.^[7] It contained many more softer songs and slightly lighter guitars.^[12] They would continue chords through tracks in order to fluidly transition in between songs, a trend that continued on their later albums.^[12]

[edit] Rising popularity and mainstream success (2002–2003)

Anatomy landed them in the Christian rock limelight, and Relient K was offered a clothing deal with Abercrombie & Fitch in 2001.^[7] Gotee, their label, accepted the offer on Relient K's behalf; Pittman recalls, "The choice was never really given to us. The label made the choice."^[13] After significant pressure from conservative Christian organizations such as Focus on the Family, Gotee backed out of the contract.

In 2002 and 2008 they were then asked to do a rendition of the popular VeggieTales song "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" for the 2002 and the 2008 VeggieTales movie Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie and The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie. The song was released on three different albums, two in single form. The first version also included their song "Breakdown" being sung by Larry the Cucumber. There was also a promotional version which included the original version of "Breakdown". A cut-down version (missing the bridge) was included on the Christian rock compilation Veggie Rocks!. This song mixes the sounds of The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek and their third album, Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do.

In 2003, Relient K released Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do. The album had multiple covers of different colors, each depicting a Chrysler K-Car, the vehicle after which the band is named, in some kind of wreck. As pop-culture references became less specific, sound and vocals became far more defined.^[14][15] Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do (often called Two Lefts by fans) combined the soft, meaningful songs of The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek and threw in fast-paced songs with deep lyrics.^[14][15] It was nominated for a Grammy in the category of "Best Rock Gospel Album"^[1] and won the Dove Award for "Modern Rock Album of the Year" in 2004.^[2]

During this time, Relient K also released a limited edition red vinyl EP entitled The Vinyl Countdown, only released in one printing. The EP included two versions of the song, "Five Iron Frenzy is Either Dead or Dying." The album was dedicated to Jesse Alkire, contest winner and friend of Matthew Thiessen, who inspired the song "The Vinyl Countdown."^[16]

Since Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do was released in March of 2003, Relient K released a bonus disc for Christmas, entitled Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand. The album was packaged with Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do from November 2003 to December 2003.^[17]

[edit] Mmhmm (2004–2007)

In late 2004, the group released their long-expected fourth album, Mmhmm. Pop-culture references were even less specific than on their third album, if not non-existent. The album was significantly more on the serious side with very few of the silly songs the band was known for.^[18] The album is much more piano-driven in parts (including an entire song, "Let It All Out"), but more hard rock in others ("Which to Bury, Us or the Hatchet").^[18] In July 2005, the album was certified gold for shipping over 500,000 copies. It is reported that it has sold approximately 796,000 copies.^[19] Driven by newfound recognition from Mmhmm, Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do was also certified gold in spring 2005. Also, it was announced in 2006 that their second record, The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek, had reached the Gold rank as well as certified by the RIAA. In Norway Relient K was one of the 2004's best new bands along with Bloc Party, Hawthorne Heights, and Motion City Soundtrack.

Shortly before the album's release, longtime bassist Brian Pittman left the band, citing that he was tired of touring and wanted to start a landscaping company.^[6] He also joined Christian metal band Inhale Exhale shortly afterward. Matt Thiessen announced Pittman's departure in fall 2004, saying,

"After almost seven years of being in Relient K, our cherished and lifelong friend, Brian Pittman has decided to move on to other things. That IS crazy, huh? Brian decided to leave the band in July, so we've had plenty of time to let the initial shock die down. We're aware that a lot of you already knew, so we apologize for not announcing this sooner. There were many reasons. He thought long and hard about his decision, and he came to the conclusion that he would like to do other things than play bass for the band. We respect him for it. We'd be lying to say that we're not all completely bummed that Brian won't be a part of Relient K anymore. And though we know things won't be the same without him, it must be said that we have always valued our friendships with him more than our on-stage relationship. Anyway, all of us still hang out, and its like nothing is different at all. I feel like that's how you know that you've made a friend that will be there for the rest of your days. We want to thank Brian for all the years he gave the band. You're the best, buddy."

Pittman reunited with the band for one final show, which was the release party for "Mmhmm" at the Newport Music Hall in Columbus, Ohio on November 1, 2004. John Warne, lead singer and guitarist of Ace Troubleshooter, filled in as bassist for the remainder of 2004 and became full-time bassist in 2005. Also in 2005, Jon Schneck joined as a third guitarist, as well as a banjo and bell player, to create a fuller, more distinctive sound. This was also because the band planned to add more piano, and having another guitarist gave Matt Thiessen the freedom to do that.^[20]

Mmhmm features two top 40 hits which both made it on MTV's Top Ten. The track "Be My Escape" is the band's most popular mainstream song to date. Its music video entered MTV's Top Ten, and landed them an appearance on The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live. "Be My Escape" is also featured on Now! 19, a popular secular and quasi-annual compilation series. It was classified as a gold single in October of 2005.^[21] The music video for "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been" has also made its way onto the TRL countdown,^[22] many top 40 radio stations, and was included on Now! 21. Mmhmm was awarded a Dove Award in 2006 for the "Rock Album of the Year."^[3] The band was also nominated for "Artist of the Year" and "Band of the Year" at GMA Canada's 2006 Covenant Awards^[23] and Canada's Juno Awards for "Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year."^[24]

Between September and November 2006, Relient K played on the Nintendo Fusion Tour with Hawthorne Heights, Emery, Plain White T's, and The Sleeping.^[25]

[edit] Five Score and Seven Years Ago (2007–present)

Recording sessions for another studio album, Five Score and Seven Years Ago, started on June 18, 2007 and continued for parts of July and August. Some tracks on the album were produced by Howard Benson, (The All-American Rejects, My Chemical Romance, P.O.D.). Thiessen had said that the title of the album comes from the fact that it's the band's fifth album, it is the first time all five of them are on a record together, and it has been seven years since they formed the band.^[26]

While the band hoped for a November 2006 release, the official release date was announced as March 6, 2007.^[26] The album is considered, by the band, to be their happiest record to date. On March 2, 2007 the entire album (except the last track, "Deathbed") was made available for streaming on the band's MySpace. Five Score and Seven Years Ago debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling about 64,000 copies in its first week.^[27] The album also peaked at #2 on the iTunes Store chart.

The band's first single from the album, "Must Have Done Something Right," was released on the iTunes Store on November 28, 2006 and to radio on January 9, 2007. "Forgiven" was the first radio single directed at Christian stations. "Forgiven" was the most added song on Christian radio and entered Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart on January 11, 2007. The single received enough airplay to be the fourth most played song on Christian Hit Radio (CHR) stations in 2007 according to R&R magazine.^[28]

"Must Have Done Something Right" and "The Best Thing" were performed on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno respectively.

The second single from the album, "The Best Thing," was released to radio on April 10, 2007, taking the 7th most adds in its first week. Thiessen has said that "The Best Thing" is "the anti-Daniel Powter "Bad Day" song. It's straight-up positive." A video was filmed for the single.^[29] The second single released on Christian CHR radio stations was "Give Until There's Nothing Left", which was the 20th most played song on CHR radio stations in 2007.^[28]

Members of both Switchfoot and Relient K have been talking about touring together, and Switchfoot confirmed the rumors this fall during the Alive Festival. Relient K and Switchfoot will be co-headlining, but Switchfoot will be playing last every night. Ruth will be opening for them. It is expected to be given an official announcement complete with tour dates soon. Matt Thiessen stated in a blog entry on the Relient K website that there will be a fall tour but did not hint at any details except that the two bands are trying to figure out a way to incorporate Habitat for Humanity into the tour.^[30] On July 12, 2007, Switchfoot's website released a new video podcast^[31] and blog, and in the middle of the video podcast there is a short intermission where all the band members of Switchfoot and Relient K announced there will be a tour in the fall of 2007 with more details to come. Relient K and Switchfoot both played at the Los Angeles premier of the movie Evan Almighty on June 22, 2007.^[32] They will be playing at the Lizard Fair in Midland, Michigan on August 15, 2007 with Chris Daughtry.

In the early morning of June 28, 2007, Relient K's bus caught fire. Everyone made it out safely, but the band lost many instruments, laptops, cameras, phones, iPods, clothes, and merchandise. Matt Thiessen said he lost a laptop that had roughly 100 unfinished songs on it, and Dave Douglas lost his Battlefield drum set. In the midst of it, the band still laughed at the situation, calling it "cinematic".^[33] On a blog post on their website, Matt Thiessen stated that the next day after the fire, the band went to view the damage of their van and found that while 85% of their gear was intact, Douglas's drum kit set was not salvageable.^[34] A member of the Switchfoot forums first announced it, asking everyone to pray for the band. The band had just played Creation Northeast, and had to cancel their appearance at Cornerstone Festival in Illinois, which the band has named as one of their favorite shows to do. They did, however, play their next scheduled show in Greeley, CO on June 30, 2007. In the months following, the band played more Christian rock festivals.

The band released a Let it Snow, Baby... Let it Reindeer, a Christmas album, on October 23, 2007. The CD contained all of the tracks from Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand as well as 6 new songs.^{[35][36][37][38]} This Christmas themed re-release has so far been met with success, peaking at #15 on iTunes music store and #96 on the Billboard 200.^[39]

The band also took part in McDonald's Summer 2007 music tour. Every band involved in the tour has the chance to be involved in a future McDonald's ad. Votes by viewers will be counted to decide who will win. All live shows are available for viewing.^[40]

Relient K, Switchfoot and Ruth recently recorded a song together titled "Rebuild". It is available for download on Switchfoot's website, fans can choose between paying for the song (with proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity) or downloading it for free.

On October 18, 2007 drummer Dave Douglas announced his departure on the band's website due to a desire to pursue his side-project Gypsy Parade with his wife Rachel. There is no animosity between any of the members, and he finished to tour with the band until his last show on December 29, 2007.^[41][42] On February 12, 2008 it was announced that Ethan Luck, former guitarist of The O.C. Supertones and current guitarist for Demon Hunter, would be replacing Douglas as the band's new drummer.^[43] Luck and Warne were in a short lived band together called Guerilla Rodeo.

The band had recorded the theme song in 2002 and is being used for the VeggieTales theatre film The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything and is frequently played in trailers.

The band has announced plans to play at Warped Tour 2008.^[43]

On Matthew Thiessen's Blog, it has been announced that Relient K are currently in the studio working on 2 new projects, one of which is a B-Side record called "The Bird and the Bee Sides", while the other is an EP called "The Nashville Tennis EP" (a pun on the Nashville Tennessee-P). "The Bird and the Bee Sides" will have 13 tracks while "The Nashville Tennis EP" will have 13 and will come packaged together.^{[44] [45]} A press release confirms the release date for The Birds and the Bee Sides and The Nashville Tennis EP is July 1st, 2008, as well as the track listings and the fact that a scavenger hunt will be held in June to find b-side tracks that will not be released on the album.^[46] The band also put up a track from "The Nashville Tennis EP" album, called "The Scene and Herd". ^[47] Recently the band has been playing new songs, called "Where Do I Go From Here" and "The Scene And Herd" during live concerts, and Matt Thiessen has announced that the band may be working on a new album. Matt also has jokingly announced during a concert that the album would feature 50 new songs.^[48]

[edit] Members

[edit] Current members

• Matt Thiessen – lead vocals, guitar, piano (1998–present)
• Matt Hoopes – guitar, backing vocals (1998–present)
• John Warne – bass guitar, backing vocals (2004–present)
• Jon Schneck – guitar, banjo, bells, backing vocals (2005–present)
• Ethan Luck - drums (2008–present)

[edit] Former members

• Todd Frascone – drums (1998)
• Stephen Cushman – drums, backing vocals (1998–2000)
• Brett Schoneman - drums (2000) Fill In
• Jared Byers – drums (2000) Fill In
• Brian Pittman – bass guitar (1998–2004)
• Dave Douglas - drums, backing vocals (2000–2007)

[edit] Other projects

[edit] The Complex Infrastructure Known as the Female Mind

In 2004, Relient K released a book entitled The Complex Infrastructure Known as the Female Mind. The book clues in the confused male Relient K fans on some of the inner workings of the female species. The band gives advice on the opposite sex through personal experience, stereotypes (including Rocker and Vanilla Pudding), and Biblical advice—presented in the attitude found in their music. The title of the book is taken from the last line of the song "Mood Rings," which is found on their third album, Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do.

[edit] Woodland Forest

In June 2006, Relient K released the first episode of their own flash cartoon. The cartoon features all five band members, and takes place in a fictional land known as Woodland Forest. It is animated by bassist John Warne. There have only been two episodes thus far, and can be found on YouTube.^[49][50] The cartoons also feature "Merle the Squirrel," (who is now on Relient K t-shirts, and has his own MySpace page)^[51] as well as "Crosby the Reindeer".

[edit] Podcasts

Relient K has made a total of nine audio podcasts and five video podcasts. The nine audio podcasts were made during the band's time on the Matt Hoopes Birthday Tour. They included interviews with the band members, their guitar techs, and various other people who help them on tour. There were also interviews with the other touring bands, The Rocket Summer and Maxeen.

The five video podcasts include various scenes in the studio, as well as the band doing things outside the studio, much like the video podcasts made by Switchfoot. The first two video podcasts showed the band in the studio preparing for the recording of Five Score and Seven Years Ago, and Dave Douglas recording the drum parts, respectively. The third video podcast was a collection of footage and discussions from the Nintendo Fusion Tour, and a Mario Kart DS Tournament between the five band members. The fourth video podcast showed Jon Schneck and Dave Douglas preparing for a boxing match (which is also included and completed in the Wal-Mart "Devastation and Reform" video), and the fifth video podcast showed the completion of the battle. There is a sixth unreleased video podcast including John Warne fulfilling his lifelong dream of walking into a room with the AutoZone Theme Song playing. It shows Warne recording the song with the assistance of Dave Douglas and Jon Schneck. It can be found on YouTube at the present time, and it is currently unofficially released on the site, as it has not made it to the band's official site.

[edit] Side projects

Apart from Relient K, Matt Thiessen has a piano-focused solo project called Matthew Thiessen and the Earthquakes. He started it in 1998, around the time Relient K was started. He has released seven songs either online or on various CD releases. Thiessen also has The Makeout Girls, a less serious side project that features himself and his friend, Kevan Peden. They have released one known song, which was the hidden track known as "Silly Shoes" from Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do.

Former drummer Dave Douglas created a project called Agnes, a solo rock project that somewhat resembles the sound of Relient K's earlier music with his own twist. Douglas also started a project called Gypsy Parade, a softer project that he started with his wife, Rachel. They have released two demo songs on their MySpace with more expected. Douglas amicably left Relient K to further pursue this project.

Three tracks were featured on the compilation album My Other Band, Vol. 1 on Mono vs Stereo records in 2006, from both Matt Thiessen's side project Matthew Thiessen and the Earthquakes, and Dave Douglas' side project Agnes.

[edit] Discography

Main article: Relient K discography

Studio albums

• Relient K (2000)
• The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek (2001)
• Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do (2003)
• Mmhmm (2004)
• Five Score and Seven Years Ago (2007)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official band website
• Relient K at MySpace
• Relient K discography at MusicBrainz
• Band of the Day's 10 Questions with Relient K
• Interview with Matt & John
• Interview @ Christian Music Today (02/07)
• Acoustic Performance + Interview

v • d • e Relient K Matt Thiessen · Matt Hoopes · John Warne · Jon Schneck · Ethan Luck Todd Frescone · Stephen Cushman · Brett Schoneman · Jared Byers · Brian Pittman · Dave Douglas Studio albums Relient K · The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek · Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do · Mmhmm · Five Score and Seven Years Ago · The Bird and The Bee Sides EPs 2000 A.D.D. · The Creepy EP · Employee of the Month EP · The Vinyl Countdown · Apathetic EP · Must Have Done Something Right EP · The Nashville Tennis EP Other All Work and No Play (Demo) · Open Mic Karaoke: Relient K, Vol. 1 (Karaoke CD) · Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand (Christmas CD) · Let it Snow, Baby... Let it Reindeer (Christmas CD) Selected singles "My Girlfriend" · "Pressing On" · "Sadie Hawkins Dance" · "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" · "Chap Stick, Chapped Lips, and Things Like Chemistry" · "Be My Escape" · "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been" · "The Truth" · "High of 75" · "I So Hate Consequences" · "Life After Death and Taxes (Failure II)" · "Must Have Done Something Right" · "Forgiven" · "The Best Thing" · "I Need You" · "Give Until There's Nothing Left" · "Devastation and Reform" Related articles Discography · Matthew Thiessen and the Earthquakes · Rebuild