April Divine
Encyclopedia
April Divine is a Swedish rock band based in the northern town of Örnsköldsvik
, Sweden
in 1998. They are currently signed to Supernova Records/Bonnier Amigo Music Group.
. April Divine have also contributed on the festival's promo CD. April Divine has also been playing at the Smack Festival. Likewise a compilation was made containing two of their songs. Later on, Bloody April was chosen to contribute with two songs on a compilation CD released by Diesel Wing Records in the spring of 2002.
In December 2002, the band were voted as the Best Unsigned Rock Band on Sweden's biggest radio station, P3
. April Divine also played at P3 on the show: "The Best of P3 Demo" in December 2003. Besides radio, the band has made some TV appearances.
April Divine are being promoted in England
by Georgios Sidiropoulos, who is most known in the industry as the London correspondent for the Greek Metal Hammer, Metal Invader, and Seventh Sign magazines and as a music zine and webzine contributor. In November 2003, Kid Antrim released the song Diane on their Rock compilation CD which is distributed to several record companies and radio stations around the United States
.
There were a few reasons for the change of the name from Starfuck to Bloody April. The main reason was to be further up in the search list for Google
. Others were censorship, and a new member, Ante, replacing their previous bassist. Furthermore, they changed their name from Bloody April
to April Divine because of the history of war with the name and not wanting to be affiliated with it.
In January 2006, they were signed to Swedish indie-label Ninetone Records. Union Entertainment Group was willing to distribute their album Chapter One, released on January 29th, in 2007. In January 2007, they opened for the band Staind
at Nalen in Stockholm
. Due to the success of this concert, Ema Telstar, a booking company, started a relationship with the band. This relationship led to a tour across Sweden.
2007 Andreas (Ante) Lundqvist left the band for personal reasons. He was replaced by Peter Uvén, who previously played in the band Powertrip. 2008 April Divine recorded a new album in Atlanta. The mission to produce it went to Rick Beato. In spring 2008 album was mixed, and April Divine hoped it would be released in autumn 2008.
February 26th, 2010, the band announced a new recorddeal with Supernova Records/Bonnier Amigo Music Group. On Mars 3rd April Divine opened for australian band Karnivool
, together with swedish band Librah at Debaser Medis in Stockholm. Their new single Redemption was released for purchase at iTunes and CDON in SwedenOn Mars 22nd and the new album Redemption was released on 19th of May. April Divine announced in October that they will be the supporting act for American rock band Alter Bridge
for the band's three performances in Sweden in November 2010.
Örnsköldsvik
Örnsköldsvik is a locality and the seat of Örnsköldsvik Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden with 28,617 inhabitants in 2005.Its natural harbour and archipelago is in the Gulf of Bothnia and the northern boundaries of the High Coast area. It is well known as an exporter of paper products...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 1998. They are currently signed to Supernova Records/Bonnier Amigo Music Group.
History
April Divine was founded in 1998 under the name Starfuck. They played all around Sweden and have become a popular act in the major festivals in Sweden. In the summer of 2004, Bloody April played at one of the biggest festivals in Sweden, StorsjöyranStorsjöyran
Storsjöyran, or just Yran is an annual Swedish musical event going back to the early sixties.-Festival history:...
. April Divine have also contributed on the festival's promo CD. April Divine has also been playing at the Smack Festival. Likewise a compilation was made containing two of their songs. Later on, Bloody April was chosen to contribute with two songs on a compilation CD released by Diesel Wing Records in the spring of 2002.
In December 2002, the band were voted as the Best Unsigned Rock Band on Sweden's biggest radio station, P3
SR P3 (radio station)
Sveriges Radio P3, P3 or SR P3 is a Swedish radio station owned by Sveriges Radio and is oriented towards young people...
. April Divine also played at P3 on the show: "The Best of P3 Demo" in December 2003. Besides radio, the band has made some TV appearances.
April Divine are being promoted in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
by Georgios Sidiropoulos, who is most known in the industry as the London correspondent for the Greek Metal Hammer, Metal Invader, and Seventh Sign magazines and as a music zine and webzine contributor. In November 2003, Kid Antrim released the song Diane on their Rock compilation CD which is distributed to several record companies and radio stations around the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
There were a few reasons for the change of the name from Starfuck to Bloody April. The main reason was to be further up in the search list for Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
. Others were censorship, and a new member, Ante, replacing their previous bassist. Furthermore, they changed their name from Bloody April
Bloody April
During the First World War, the month of April 1917 was known as Bloody April by the Royal Flying Corps . The RFC suffered particularly severe losses — about three times as many as the Imperial German Army Air Service over the same period — but continued its primary role in support of the ground...
to April Divine because of the history of war with the name and not wanting to be affiliated with it.
In January 2006, they were signed to Swedish indie-label Ninetone Records. Union Entertainment Group was willing to distribute their album Chapter One, released on January 29th, in 2007. In January 2007, they opened for the band Staind
Staind
Staind is an American rock band that was formed in 1995 in Springfield, Massachusetts. For 16 years, the band consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist Johnny April, and drummer Jon Wysocki...
at Nalen in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. Due to the success of this concert, Ema Telstar, a booking company, started a relationship with the band. This relationship led to a tour across Sweden.
2007 Andreas (Ante) Lundqvist left the band for personal reasons. He was replaced by Peter Uvén, who previously played in the band Powertrip. 2008 April Divine recorded a new album in Atlanta. The mission to produce it went to Rick Beato. In spring 2008 album was mixed, and April Divine hoped it would be released in autumn 2008.
February 26th, 2010, the band announced a new recorddeal with Supernova Records/Bonnier Amigo Music Group. On Mars 3rd April Divine opened for australian band Karnivool
Karnivool
Karnivool are an Australian progressive rock band formed in Perth in 1997. The group currently consists of Ian Kenny on vocals, Drew Goddard and Mark Hosking on guitar, Jon Stockman on bass guitar, and Steve Judd on drums. Karnivool emerged from a band Kenny and Goddard formed during high school...
, together with swedish band Librah at Debaser Medis in Stockholm. Their new single Redemption was released for purchase at iTunes and CDON in SwedenOn Mars 22nd and the new album Redemption was released on 19th of May. April Divine announced in October that they will be the supporting act for American rock band Alter Bridge
Alter Bridge
Alter Bridge is an American rock band that was formed in 2004 in Orlando, Florida by lead guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall, and drummer Scott Phillips, who are all also members of Creed. Lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Myles Kennedy, formerly of The Mayfield Four and the frontman...
for the band's three performances in Sweden in November 2010.
Current members
- Jocke (Joakim) Åström - guitar, vocals (1998–present)
- Johnny Johansson - guitar (2009–present)
- Peter Uvén - bass (2007–present)
- Per Karlsson - drums (1998–present)
Former Member
- Ante (Andreas) Lundqvist - bass (2006–2007)
- Nicke (Niklas) Westberg - guitar (1998–2009)