Angels & Airwaves
Angels & Airwaves | |
|---|---|
| File:Angelsandairwaves2.jpg | |
| Background information | |
| Years active | 2005 – present |
| Members | Tom Delonge David Kennedy Atom Willard Ryan Sinn |
Angels & Airwaves (also known as AVA or AvA as seen in logos) is an alternative rock band created by blink-182 guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge alongside former Hazen Street and Box Car Racer guitarist David Kennedy, ex-Distillers bassist Ryan Sinn and Offspring drummer Atom Willard. The band released their first single, "The Adventure," on May 18, 2006. Their debut album, We Don't Need to Whisper, was released on May 23, 2006.
History
According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, DeLonge trademarked the name "Angels and Airwaves" on June 24, 2005 amidst the lingering confusion of blink-182's abruptly announced "indefinite hiatus". DeLonge quickly recruited friends and fellow musicians David Kennedy, Ryan Sinn and Atom Willard to round out the band's roster.
In an interview with British magazine Kerrang!, DeLonge commented about the band's beginning: "Just before all the blink-182 shit happened when we were in Europe, I had a really weird epiphany. My heart was beating about a hundred miles a minute for three weeks straight and it had never happened to me before in my life. I really felt like I'd been touched by something and I felt I was meant to do something massive."[1]
In addition to the corresponding release of the album, the band is currently working on a movie involving the band's music. The World War II-based movie is being created primarily through the use of CGI. This "story" is apparently based upon Tom's life and will give viewers insight into the hiatus of blink-182. Currently, the only known cast member is Michael Ostman.
Originally, "Valkyrie Missile" was slated for release iTunes on December 13, 2005, DeLonge's 30th birthday. However, due to discussions with their record label, Geffen, the band decided to push the release date back to a later date. Instead, the Angels and Airwaves website produced the first ever glimpse at the movie currently in production, a 1-and-a-half minute long trailer featuring portions of the delayed song.
The band released a music video for "The Adventure," as well as a short film for "It Hurts" that was released via the band's official website. Both are short sci-fi films and carry a chronological order. "The Adventure" comes before "It Hurts" and the films follow the cast's struggle through an unfamiliar world.
The band's full-length tour involving Taking Back Sunday has started, numerous one-stop dates have been played with the likes of My Chemical Romance, Lostprophets and Atreyu. The band also played on The Late Show with David Letterman on May 15.
Currently the band is on tour in the U.S. and Canada with Taking Back Sunday, Head Automatica, and The Subways. It has been announced that the band has plans to tour Japan and Australia early 2007.
On May 26, 2006 "We Don't Need To Whisper" was certified gold in Canada. The album has also gone two times platinum in the U.K.
"Do It For Me Now" will be released in the US as the second single and "It Hurts" will be released in the UK as the second single at the same time. The music video for "It Hurts" is in fact the short-film released on April 18th and was available to select on the UK music television channel Kerrang!.
The Gift will be the third short film according to the band's myspace. They are planning to release a short film for every song.
Experiencing music
Tom DeLonge stated in his PR Editorial Review, "So preachy, I know. And I don't mean for it to be. I wanted it to be the recording of an emotional event in my life. I love the idea of an album doing that, because I knew that if I could get 150,000 people in an arena to have the same feeling at the exact same moment, it would end up feeling like a religious event. I really want the room to be dark, with black light or a candle. People should have headphones on, and they should be really comfortable, maybe sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed. I spent a year and a half working on this record, trying my hardest to give people a moment of escapism. All I ask is 50 minutes of a lowered heart rate."[2]
Band members
- Tom DeLonge - Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals, Programming
- David Kennedy - Rhythm Guitar
- Atom Willard - Drums
- Ryan Sinn - Bass, Keyboards, Back-Up Vocals, Tamborine
Discography
Albums
| Date of Release | Title | Label | US Album Chart Position | US sales | UK Album Chart Position | UK sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 23, 2006 | We Don't Need To Whisper | Geffen Records | #4 | 342,4621 | #6 | 550,0001 |
1As of August 3, 2006.
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US Modern Rock | Pop 100 | UK Singles Chart | |||
| 2006 | "The Adventure" | 55 | 5 | 51 | 20 | We Don't Need To Whisper |
| 2006 | "It Hurts" (UK) | - | - | - | 59 | We Don't Need To Whisper |
| 2006 | "Do It For Me Now" (US) | - | - | - | - | We Don't Need To Whisper |
Trivia
- Recording of drums of the band's debut album, We Don't Need To Whisper, took place at the Foo Fighters' studio and at Tom's studio inside his house, also called "Never Pants Ranch".
- Angels and Airwaves' abbreviated name, AVA, is a partial reference to DeLonge's daughter, also named Ava. The abbreviation also, according to DeLonge, represents the band's initials with an inverted "A" in the middle.
- The album cover for We Don't Need To Whisper was stated by Tom to represent "the infinite potential of a human being."
- At some of the later concerts, at the very end of the show, a banner is dropped with "LOVE" written across it. The "V" in "LOVE" is formatted the same as the second "A" in the logo.