AFI (band)
|
|
AFI is an American Punk band formed in 1991 by Davey Havok (vocals), Markus Stopholese (guitar), Vic Chalker (bass) and Adam Carson (drums) in Ukiah, California. Bassist Vic was later replaced by Geoff Kresge. Geoff was replaced by Hunter Burgan. Formerly a street punk band, they recently have been writing slower guitar driven songs.
AFI formed when the members got bored in between skate sessions. Adam and Davey played school soccer together, and Adam used his brother's drum kit. Havok was in the school's choir. After doing a few live shows in parks and such, AFI broke up while its members moved away to different colleges, including University of California at Berkeley (where Havok began a double major of English and Psychology) and University of California at Santa Barbara. After reuniting to perform a very successful live show, the members decided to drop out of college and play in the band full-time. They released a few independently made vinyl EP's, and eventually released their debut full-length album Answer That and Stay Fashionable in 1995. Their second album, Very Proud of Ya, was released in 1995 (later re-released in 1996 by the Nitro Label), after which their bassist Geoff Kresge decided to leave the group for personal reasons. Their current bassist, Hunter Burgan, formerly of The Force (and currently, also doing the side projects of The Frisk and Hunter Revenge) filled in for Kresge for the tour in support of Very Proud of Ya. Hunter prefers to go by the single name Hunter. He helped AFI record Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes. Shortly after, he became their full-time bassist. Over the course of four following LPs, the band has established a dedicated fan-base following and is widely respected as one of the better rock bands of the 1990s.
After the recording of the A Fire Inside EP in 1998, Mark left the band to be replaced by guitarist Jade Puget, formerly of Redemption 87 and Loose Change, who was critical in forming the band's new sound over the following albums. Following on from the new approach they had taken on the aforementioned A Fire Inside EP (released on Adeline records) the band recorded their Black Sails in the Sunset (Nitro 1998) a musical turning point. On this album, and the following All Hallow's EP (Nitro 1999), other EPs and the seminal The Art of Drowning album (Nitro 2000) their original punk roots were still quite apparent in their musical approach, but more 80s horror punk seemed to appear in the lyrics. However, many fans feel their latest album Sing the Sorrow which was released on the much larger DreamWorks label on March 11, 2003 displays a different musical approach which has lost some of the punk rock aggression and connected more with its lyrical (and angsty) subject matter.
They are followed by a devoted fan base called the Despair Faction. Consisting of fans old and young, the Despair Faction attends every AFI show in its areas.
Hunter, who replaced Geoff (who went on to join Tiger Army but is now in the Horrorpops), is from Grass Valley in Northern California. He was in a number of bands, including The Force. Currently he has a solo band Hunter Revenge and is in The Frisk, as well as being in AFI full-time.
The meaning of the initials "AFI" means A Fire Inside. Some claim differently but, Davey Havok claims that the meaning of AFI has always been "A Fire Inside." However, earlier AFI records like Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes list contact information addressed to "Asking For It." They have also used the moniker "Anthems For Insubordinates."
2004 saw two AFI record two cover songs: The Cure's "Just Like Heaven" for the MTV Icon television show and Nine Inch Nails' "Head Like A Hole" for the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas soundtrack (this song appears only in the 2-disc set).
As of March 2005 the band is continuing to work on their new LP, the name of which is yet to be decided. The band claims they will incorporate more rock and electronica elements and adapt more of a 'cold-pop' into their sound. According to Havok, the new album is expected to be released late fall/early winter 2005 on Interscope Records.
Discography
- Dork EP released in 1993 on 7" vinyl
- Behind The Times EP released in 1993 on 7" vinyl
- Eddie Picnic's All Wet Live EP released in 1994 on 7" vinyl
- Fly In The Ointment EP released in 1995 on 7" vinyl
- Answer That and Stay Fashionable Album released in 1995, rereleased in 1997
- Very Proud of Ya Album released in 1996
- "He Who Laughs Last..." 1996 Video-Single (only)
- Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes Album released in 1997
- "Third Season" 1997 Video-Single (only)
- A Fire Inside EP released in 1998
- Black Sails EP released in 1999
- Black Sails in the Sunset Album released in 1999
- All Hallow's EP released in 1999
- "Totalimmortal" 1999 Video-Single (only)
- The Art of Drowning Album released in 2000
- "The Days Of The Phoenix" 2000 Video-Single (only)
- The Days Of The Phoenix EP released in 2001
- 336/Now The World EP released in 2002 on 10" vinyl
- Sing the Sorrow Album released in 2003
- Sing the Sorrow Special Edition. Book, CD, and DVD- Clandestine
- "Girl's Not Grey" 2003 CD/Video Single
- "The Leaving Song Pt. 2" 2003 CD/Video Single
- "Silver And Cold" 2003 Video-Single (only)
- AFI, Retrospective released on November 2, 2004
External links
- AFI Official Site (http://www.afireinside.net/)
- Daily Californian Article on AFI (http://dailycal.org/article.php?id=11436) from May 1, 2003fr:AFI