Straylight Run
Straylight Run is a piano-rock band based in Rockville Centre, NY (Long Island) and is currently signed to Chicago-based Victory Records.
Biography
Straylight Run was formed in May 2003 and consists of John Nolan, Michelle Nolan (John's sister), Shaun Cooper,Will Noon (of Breaking Pangaea). John Nolan and Cooper were part of Taking Back Sunday until early 2003, where Nolan was the second vocalist and played guitar while Cooper was the bassist. While still in TBS, Nolan wrote several songs that he didn't feel would go well with the band. After their departure, John and Shaun recorded several demos with Taking Back Sunday drummer Mark O'Connell. The band began to take its present form when drummer Will Noon was invited to join after his former band, Breaking Pangaea, broke up. Soon after, John's sister Michelle joined Straylight Run.
The band gained tremendous popularity after posting six demo songs for free download on their official site. By September of that year, they were playing to sold-out crowds in various cities in the northeastern United States.
Due to John's and Shaun's involvement in their previous band they were bound by contract to release an album under Victory Records. They began to record their first album in April 2004 and released their self-titled debut album Straylight Run on October 12, 2004 after a one-month postponement. The album sold over 11,000 copies in the first week, and made the Billboard Top 100 Albums list.
The band name was taken from a chapter in William Ford Gibson's book Neuromancer.
Band members
- John Thomas Nolan
- Lead vocalist, guitar and piano.
- Born: February 24, 1978
- Formerly of Taking Back Sunday
- Better than Fred Mascherino will ever be
- Jesse Lacey, lead singer of Brand New is Nolan's best friend, though a fight once broke up their friendship for some time. You can live this battle vicariously through the song "Seventy Times 7" by Brand New, and the response song "There's no 'I' In Team" by Taking Back Sunday. Although some people claim Taking Back Sunday released the song first, and Brand New "stole" their lyrics, Your Favorite Weapon by Brand New was released before Tell All Your Friends by Taking Back Sunday. Similar lyrics such as "Is that what you call tact? You're as subtle as a brick in the small of my back, so let's end this call, and let's end this conversation" can be heard in both songs, but the words were supposedly originally spoken by Lacey during a phone call to Nolan, regarding an incident of Lacey's girlfriend cheating with Nolan. In the end, the lyrics were basically shared, not stolen, and John and Jesse have since made up and are presumably good friends today. They were also originally in a band together in New York.
- Shaun Cooper
- Bass guitar.
- Born: November 12, 1980
- Formerly of Taking Back Sunday
- Prefers automatic transmission
- Michelle Nolan
- Vocals, piano and guitar.
- Born: September 13, 1980
- Prefers manual transmission
- Ridiculously good looking
- Was involved in an ugly incident where a fan stormed on stage and forced her to kiss him at a December 2004 show in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
- Used to date Adam Lazzara of Taking Back Sunday until he cheated on her with another girl, rumored to be the girl that was Jesse Lacey's ex - but was actually just a groupie.
- Formerly a dancer, dance teacher, and also a hairdresser
- Will "The Ninja" Thomas Noon
- Drums and percussion.
- Born: June 20, 1979.
- Formerly of the band Breaking Pangaea
- Does not drink or smoke.
- World's greatest living drummer (according to Modern Drummer Magazine, April 2005)
Albums
- Demo - (2003) (Unsigned)
- Straylight Run - 2004 (Enhanced CD - Victory)
- Prepare To Be Wrong EP - October 4, 2005 (Enhanced CD - Victory)
Singles
- 2005 "Existentialism On Prom Night"
- 2005 "Hands In The Sky (Big Shot)"