I Am the Avalanche
Encyclopedia
History
I Am the Avalanche was formed by vocalist Vinnie CaruanaVinnie Caruana
Vinnie Caruana is an American singer. He was the vocalist for Long Island punk band The Movielife from their inception in 1997 until their break-up in 2003. He is now the lead singer and songwriter for the indie/post hardcore band I Am the Avalanche, a Brooklyn-based indie rock band whose first...
after the break-up of his previous band The Movielife
The Movielife
The Movielife was a Long Island Melodic hardcore band, composed of vocalist Vinnie Caruana, bassist Phil Navetta, guitarist Brandon Reilly, drummer Evan Baken, and guitarist Alex Amiruddin, until 2001 when Alex Amiruddin left and was replaced by Dan Navetta....
, and followed his short stint playing in Head Automatica
Head Automatica
Head Automatica is a Dance Rock band, formed by Glassjaw frontman Daryl Palumbo with Jarvis Holden, formerly of Give Up the Ghost or American Nightmare, Jim Greer, and Brandon Arnovick.-History:...
.
The other members of I Am the Avalanche are drummer Brett "Ratt" Romnes, guitarists Michael Ireland and Brandon Swanson (former fill-in for Further Seems Forever
Further Seems Forever
Further Seems Forever is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Pompano Beach, Florida and disbanded in 2006. Over the course of their career the band experienced several lineup changes, resulting in a different lead vocalist performing on each of their three studio albums...
) and Kellen Robson, former bassist of Long Island hardcore act Scraps And Heart Attacks. Aside from handling vocal duties, Caruana sometimes plays guitar on certain songs such as "This Is Dungeon Music," giving the band a three-guitar attack. He has also been seen playing guitar on "My Second Restraining Order." These are in line with the band's heavier, slower sound compared to the members' previous efforts.
The group's name comes from a lyric written by Caruana for a song which was later discarded. The phrase also appears in the poem "Oh, Immobility, Death's Vast Associate" by Stephen Dobyns
Stephen Dobyns
Stephen J. Dobyns is an American poet and novelist born in Orange, New Jersey, and residing in Westerly, RI.-Life:Was born on February 19, 1941 in Orange, New Jersey to Lester L., a minister, and Barbara Johnston...
however Caruana maintains that this is a coincidence and he was not aware of the poem until after naming the band.
The band toured the United Kingdom before they played America, playing 2 shows over the Halloween weekend in October 2004.
I Am the Avalanche released their self-titled debut album, produced by Barrett Jones, on Drive-Thru Records
Drive-Thru Records
Drive-Thru Records, established in 1996, was a California-based record label owned by siblings Richard and Stefanie Reines. It has produced various pop punk bands, many with a distinct SoCal sound....
on September 27, 2005. The album received significant press coverage.
I Am the Avalanche is hard at work on their next CD, which will probably include some of the songs they have been debuting on tour, like "Conan O'Brien", "Polar Beasts", "NYC", and "The Brooklyn Dodgers."
IATA have played the Vans' Warped Tour
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival. The tour is held in venues such as parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures are erected. The BMX/skateboarding shoe manufacturer Vans, among others, has sponsored the tour every year since 1995, and it is...
, and have also toured with Bleeding Through
Bleeding Through
Bleeding Through is an American metalcore band from Orange County, California. Formed in 1999, the band blends influences stemming from modern hardcore punk, symphonic black metal, and melodic death metal...
, Bayside
Bayside (band)
Bayside is an American punk rock band from Queens which formed in the winter of 2000. The band has released five full length albums since signing to Victory Records...
, The Sleeping
The Sleeping
The Sleeping is an American rock band from Long Island, New York, formed in 2003. The band was founded by Cameron Keym, Sal Mignano, and Joe Zizzo from the remains of Skycamefalling, after auditioning twenty-two potential singers, they came across Doug Robinson, former singer/guitarist of the band...
, No Use for a Name
No Use for a Name
No Use for a Name is a punk rock band from San Jose, California, United States formed in 1987 by Chris Dodge , Steve Papoutsis , Rory Koff and John Meyers...
, Halifax
Halifax (band)
Halifax is a four-piece rock band from Thousand Oaks, California. They formed in 2003 and currently are signed with Rocket Science Records. On their Myspace page the band announced that they will not be going with Drive-Thru Records on their 2009 release but are shipping the album off to other labels...
, The Fully Down
The Fully Down
The Fully Down was a Canadian rock band that was formed in suburban Ottawa in 1999, with the current lineup coming together in 2003. The band debuted in June 2004 on Pop Culture Records with No Fate...But What We Make for Ourselves. The album garnered favorable reviews, and they went on three weeks...
, Senses Fail
Senses Fail
Senses Fail is an American post-hardcore band from Ridgewood, New Jersey. Formed in 2002, the line up initially consisted of vocalist Buddy Nielsen, drummer Dan Trapp, guitarists Dave Miller and Garrett Zablocki and being completed by bassist Mike Glita. The band quickly issued their debut EP, From...
, The Forecast
The Forecast
The Forecast is an American Western Indie Rock band from Peoria, Illinois. The Forecast's sound is most recognizable for containing strong two and three part harmonies performed by combinations of their multiple vocalists, as heard in tracks such as "Red as the Moon" and "One Hundred Percent". The...
, Bouncing Souls, The Loved Ones
The Loved Ones (American band)
The Loved Ones is a punk band based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in late 2003, the band currently consists of Dave Hause , David Walsh , Chris Gonzalez , and Mike Sneeringer...
and, most recently, Saves the Day
Saves the Day
Saves the Day is an American rock band from Princeton, New Jersey, formed in 1994. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Chris Conley, guitarist Arun Bali, bassist Rodrigo Palma, and drummer Claudio Rivera....
.
In October 2008, IATA headed out on a month long tour with Four Year Strong and This is Hell
I Am the Avalanche played all over Australia in February 2009, as part of the Soundwave Fesitval. In the Sydney leg of the Soundwave Festival, during their set, IATA played three of the aforementioned demo tracks ("Winter Summer", "The Brooklyn Dodgers" and "You've Got Spiders"). Caruana also gave word of new album being released in the near future.
Recently, Caruana played an acoustic show in Connecticut where he announced to the crowd that he had recently done vocals for part of a new Set Your Goals song. Word on the street is that he'll be doing a little side project with Steve Choi of The RX Bandits.
Set Your Goals recently released a song off their new record via Myspace, entitled, "This Will Be The Death Of Us," on which Caruana does guest vocals.
Mike Ireland has started a solo project called Spirit Houses. spirithouses.bandcamp.com
The band recently posted the demo version of the song "Brooklyn Dodgers" onto their Myspace page. Also, in a myspace bulletin promoting his side project, Ireland stated that "New Avalanche" was "Coming soon."
On March 6, 2011 I Am The Avalanche was the opening band for Paramore
Paramore
Paramore is an American rock band from Franklin, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band consists of lead vocalist Hayley Williams, bassist Jeremy Davis, and guitarist Taylor York...
during their concert in Puerto Rico.
The band is currently recording and self producing their 2nd full length album, Avalanche United, in New Jersey with I Surrender Records, followed by a full US tour in the fall of 2011. On August 22, 2011, the band released a song from Avalanche United titled "Holy Fuck".
Avalanche United was released on October 11th, 2011 to positive reviews. The 1st Five acknowledged the long wait between records and the growth it allowed in their review. "Yes, six years was a long time to wait for a new I Am The Avalanche record. But if they can make another leap like the one between their self titled debut and Avalanche United I’ll wait as long as they like."
Studio albums
- I Am the AvalancheI Am the Avalanche (album)I Am the Avalanche is an eponymous album by I Am the Avalanche, released on September 27, 2005 on Drive-Thru Records. The release date marks the two year anniversary of the break-up of singer Vinnie Caruana's previous band, The Movielife.-Track listing:...
(September 27, 2005) - Avalanche UnitedAvalanche United-Track listing:#"Holy Fuck" – 2:58#"Brooklyn Dodgers" – 3:06#"Amsterdam" – 2:59#"I'll Be Back Around" – 2:34#"Is This Really Happening?" – 3:08#"This One's On Me" – 2:32#"Dead Friends" – 3:49#"You've Got Spiders" – 2:23...
(October 11, 2011)
EPs
- The Early November/I Am the AvalancheThe Early November/I Am the AvalancheThe Early November/I Am the Avalanche is a split record between Hammonton, New Jersey's The Early November and Long Island, New York's I Am the Avalanche. It was released on July 26, 2005 on the both bands' record label Drive-Thru Records...
(July 26, 2005) - Bayside/I Am the AvalancheBayside/I Am the AvalancheBayside/I Am the Avalanche is a limited edition EP by I Am the Avalanche that was distributed on tour.-Track listing:Bayside:#"I Will Follow You Into The Dark" I Am the Avalanche:"Drinking Song"...
(Summer 2007)
Trivia
Vinnie Caruana does guest vocals on the song "The Walking Wounded" by BaysideBayside (band)
Bayside is an American punk rock band from Queens which formed in the winter of 2000. The band has released five full length albums since signing to Victory Records...
, from the album of the same name.
Caruana also does guest vocals on the song "This Will Be The Death Of Us" by Set Your Goals, from the album of the same name.
External links
- I Am the Avalanche's profile at MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- I Am the Avalanche's profile at PureVolumePureVolumePureVolume was the first independently run website of its type, allowing for the upload and stream of music files. It was created in 2003 by Jennifer Welch , in conjunction with the Unborn Media team; Brett Woitunski, Nate Hudson, and Mitchell Pavao; all from the University of...
- I Am the Avalanche bio at MTV
- I Am the Avalanche Interview (Jun 2008)