Saosin

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Saosin
Saosin performing on the Projekt Revolution Tour on August 15, 2007 at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York.
Background information
Origin	Newport Beach, California, USA
Genre(s)	Alternative rock Post-hardcore
Years active	2003–present
Label(s)	Capitol
Associated acts	Audience of One Circa Survive Open Hand Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer
Website	saosin.com
Members
Cove Reber Beau Burchell Justin Shekoski Chris Sorenson Alex Rodriguez
Former members
Anthony Green Pat Magrath Zach Kennedy

Saosin is a five-piece band from Newport Beach, California. They formed during the summer of 2003, and are characterised by their powerful high-pitched vocals and melodic guitars. Their musical style has variously been described as post-hardcore,^[1] emo,^[2] and screamo.^[3]

Contents 1 Origin of name 2 History 2.1 The Beginning- Translating The Name (2003–2004) 2.2 New Singer- Saosin EP (2004–2006) 2.3 Full Length Album- Saosin (2006) 2.4 Saosin Tour Cycle 2006-2007 2.5 Come Close Live DVD 2.6 Saosin 2008 Tour and New Album 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 Compilation tracks 3.3 Demos 3.4 Other use of Saosin tracks 3.5 Music videos 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Origin of name

Anthony Green, former vocalist, had initially suggested the name Saosin for the band.^[4] The name is derived from the Chinese phrase xiao xin, meaning careful, which could also be literally translated in English to small heart. Green explained the meaning behind this as being in 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.^[4] Anthony had previously used Saosin as a track name in his high school band, Audience of One's first and only CD, I Remember When This All Meant Something.^[5][6]

[edit] History

[edit] The Beginning- Translating The Name (2003–2004)

The original lineup for Saosin, consisting of Burchell, Shekoski and former vocalist Anthony Green, was formed in the summer of 2003.^[7] On June 17, the band released their first commercial production, the EP Translating the Name.^[8] 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.^[9]

Drummer Pat Magrath and Bassest Zach Kennedy left the band early on. Kennedy left for personal reasons, and he wanted to pursue a career in art.^[10] He was later replaced by Chris Sorenson. Magrath, 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, and he was replaced by Alex Rodriguez after the release of Translating the Name.^[11]

Shortly after the EP's release, Saosin went on a U.S. tour with bands Boys Night Out and Anatomy of a Ghost.

[edit] New Singer- Saosin EP (2004–2006)

In February 2004, the band's vocalist Anthony Green left Saosin and later formed the band Circa Survive. Anthony was very homesick and said he was missing his family. He says he felt bad for leaving his friends in a tough situation without a singer, but he "would have gone crazy had he stayed any longer." The other bandmembers 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.

After the audition process and several guest vocalists on demos, the 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 frontman Anthony Green was hard for the band, especially for Cove himself, receiving a great deal of criticism. Many fans consider the time with Anthony to be something entirely different from what the band is today, and comparisons between the both singers are still widely being done, not least at YouTube.

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 didn't 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 the rest of for the rest of 2005, mostly opening for Avenged Sevenfold and Coheed and Cambria.

[edit] Full Length Album- Saosin (2006)

After a respite from touring between February and June, the Warped Tour 2006 and numerous demos and compilation appearances, Saosin finally 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 have worked with several major rock bands such as My Chemical Romance and Motörhead. The album sold over 35,000 copies in its first week. The record saw a change to a softer, less hardcore oriented tone, yet the band clams to be just as heavy as before during live performances.^[12]

After the release of the album, the band became more steady and confident than before. Saosin marked a new beginning after the insecure period after the departure of Anthony in early 2004.

[edit] Saosin Tour Cycle 2006-2007

During the rest of 2006, Saosin toured on the International Taste of Chaos Tour, playing outside of USA for the first time. 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.

In February they joined the Taste of Chaos 2007.

Between April and June they toured in Europe, Australia, Japan and Indonesia.

When they came home they continued their headlined tour together with Poison the Well, The Receiving End of Sirens, Fiore and Flight 409.

In the later summer of 2007, they were part of the Projekt Revolution tour, headlined by Linkin Park. Other appearances include Placebo, My Chemical Romance and HiM.

After this they headlined yet another tour in USA and Canada with Alexisonfire, Envy on the Coast, Norma Jean and The Dear and Departed.

In the end of 2007 they toured in UK and Canada.

[edit] Come Close Live DVD

Chris Sorenson, bassist of Saosin, confirmed that a live show would be released in 2008. It was released on March 11, 2008. The disk set consists of hi-definition concert footage and audio from their November 3rd show at The Theater of Living Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It also contains various live songs on a CD, plus new versions of some of Saosin's favourite songs.

[edit] Saosin 2008 Tour and New Album

Saosin confirmed that they would tour from January 21 to February 8 with Armor for Sleep, Meriwether, and The Bled; from February 9 to February 16 Fear Before the March of Flames would join 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 have stopped touring. They announced on their MySpace, "We are currently writing our second full length record and hope to have it out by early 2009, Stick around."

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Date of Release	Title	Label	US Billboard Peak	Top Independent Albums	Top Internet Albums	Top Heatseekers	Top Rock Albums
June 17, 2003	Translating the Name (EP)	Death Do Us Part	-	#36	#2	#27	-
September 6, 2005	Saosin (EP)	Capitol	-	-	-	#9	-
September 26, 2006	Saosin	Capitol	#22	-	#20	-	#7
March 11, 2008	Come Close (Live Album)	Capitol	-	-	-	-	-

[edit] Compilation tracks

• A Santa Cause: It's a Punk Rock Christmas (2003) – "Mookie's Last Christmas" with Anthony Green on Vocals
• Music on the Brain Volume 1 (2004) – "I Can Tell There Was An Accident Here Earlier" with Cove Reber on Vocals
• The Mission Family Spring Sampler 05 (2005) – "Penelope (Acoustic)" (Pinback Cover) with Cove Reber on Vocals
• The Best of Taste of Chaos (2006) – "I Wanna Hear Another Fast Song (Live)" (UK Edition Only)
• Take Action! Volume 5 (2006) – "Sleepers (Demo)"
• Chew It Out!: Stride Gum CD Sampler (2007) – "Sleepers (Live Recording)"
• Sessions@AOL (2007) - "Time After Time (Acoustic)" (Cyndi Lauper cover)

[edit] Demos

• 2003 Instrumental Demos (With Justin and Beau, not yet called Saosin)
• "I Can Tell There Was An Accident Here (Demo) " with Anthony Green on Vocals (2003)
• "I Have Become What I've Always Hated" with Anthony Green on Vocals (Just Chris and Anthony played on this) (2003)
• 2004 Instrumental Demos
• "Mookie's Last Christmas (Acoustic Audition)" with Cove Reber on Vocals (2004)"
• "Come Close" Instrumental Demo (2005)
• Capitol Demos (Including "Uphill Battle") (2005)

Saosin has released many instrumental and individual demos, but no official demo tapes. A more detailed list can be found here.

[edit] Other use of Saosin tracks

• Atticus... Dragging the Lake Volume 3 (2005) – "Bury Your Head"
• 2007 KROQ New ROQ (2006) – "Voices"
• The Best of Taste of Chaos Two (2007) – "Follow and Feel"
• ATV Offroad Fury PRO (2007) - "Sleepers"
• Burnout Dominator (2007) - "Collapse"
• Saw IV: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2007) – "Collapse"
• Burnout Paradise (2008) - "Collapse"

[edit] Music videos

• "Seven Years" (2003) from Translating the Name
• "3rd Measurement in C" (2003) from Translating the Name
• "Bury Your Head" (2005) from Saosin EP
• "Voices" (Live Water Street Music Hall - Rochester, NY) (2006) from Saosin
• "Voices" (2007) from Saosin
• "You're Not Alone" (2007) from Saosin

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Saosin's official website
• Saosin's official MySpace page
• Synthesis.net July, 2007 Podcast Interview with Anthony Green formerly of Saosin

v • d • e Saosin Cove Reber · Beau Burchell · Justin Shekoski · Chris Sorenson · Alex Rodriguez Anthony Green · Zach Kennedy · Pat Magrath Studio albums Saosin EPs Translating the Name · Saosin Live albums Come Close Singles "Seven Years" · "3rd Measurement in C" · "Bury Your Head" · "Voices" · "You're Not Alone" Labels Death Do Us Part · Capitol Related articles Circa Survive · Open Hand