Megaphone (band)
Encyclopedia
Megaphone is an American rock
band from Orlando, Florida
, founded in 2004. Their general influences include Foo Fighters
, Butch Walker
and Led Zeppelin
. They formed in late 2004 when founding member Matt Bloodwell (former drummer of the well known Orlando band Precious) traded his drums for a guitar and recruited local rock musicians from the Orlando music scene. Megaphone is: Paul Smith - Lead guitar, former touring guitarist for Seven Mary Three
- Mammoth/Atlantic, and Vonray
- Elektra Records
. James Woodrich - Bass guitar, formerly of My Hotel Year - Doghouse Records
. Scott Smith - Drummer, formerly of Cori Yarckin
and newest member of the band joining in March 2007.
, was just coming off the road with Vonray
in support of their first Electra release when drummer Matt Brown introduced him to Bloodwells' demos. Matt Brown had been the drummer for 3AE signed to RCA before tragedy ended the band to soon. Matt Brown joined megaphone and was with the band until March 2007 when he was replaced by former Cori Yarckin
drummer Scott Smith. James Woodrich from My Hotel Year joined the band as the bass player. "Everyone in this band has had such a great history individually, our hope is that our future together will be even better."
In addition to being the lead singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist for megaphone, Matt Bloodwell's primary instrument is drums which he began playing at the age of seven. He is currently a part-time percussionist for Blue Man Group
at Universal Studios in Orlando Florida and he is the drummer for the rock cover band Mulch, Sweat, n' Shears at Disney's Hollywood Studios
. Bloodwell has also arranged, performed and produced song Halloween-loween for Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom
's Villains Mix and Mingle show at Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
2006-2010 and his voice was heard singing lead vocals on Disney Tokyo's Haunted Rock'n Streets Halloween parade 2007.
magazine. They were also named second best live act in the same publication in 2007. (An improv comedy show took first place.)
megaphone has opened for such national acts as AC/DC
, Paul Stanley
, Ace Frehley
, The Joe Perry Project
, Crash Kings
, Seven Mary Three
, Everclear
, Edwin McCain
and The New Left. They've also made appearances at WJRR
101.1's Earthday Birthday 12 & 14, and the 2005, 2007-2009 Florida Music Festival Main Stage.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band from Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, founded in 2004. Their general influences include Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band originally formed in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the dissolution of his previous band. The band got its name from the UFOs and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War...
, Butch Walker
Butch Walker
Butch Walker is an American recording artist, songwriter, and record producer. He was the lead guitarist for the metal band SouthGang from the late 80s to early 90s as well as the lead vocalist and guitarist for rock band Marvelous 3 from 1997 until 2001.-Career:Walker grew up in Cartersville,...
and Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
. They formed in late 2004 when founding member Matt Bloodwell (former drummer of the well known Orlando band Precious) traded his drums for a guitar and recruited local rock musicians from the Orlando music scene. Megaphone is: Paul Smith - Lead guitar, former touring guitarist for Seven Mary Three
Seven Mary Three
Seven Mary Three, occasionally abbreviated to 7 Mary 3 or 7M3, is an American hard rock band. They have released seven studio albums and one live album, and are best known for their hit singles "Cumbersome", "Water's Edge", "Lucky", and "Wait"....
- Mammoth/Atlantic, and Vonray
Vonray
Vonray was a modern rock band from Orlando, Florida. The group formed around singer/songwriter Vaughan Rhea, originally from Tennessee, who had come to Orlando playing as an acoustic coffeeshop act. Inspired by grunge music, Rhea put together a band with his brother, Dave, and began playing...
- Elektra Records
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
. James Woodrich - Bass guitar, formerly of My Hotel Year - Doghouse Records
Doghouse Records
Doghouse Records is a Toledo, Ohio based record label, now run out of the New York City office. Since 2004 Doghouse has been a part of the Warner Music Group....
. Scott Smith - Drummer, formerly of Cori Yarckin
Cori Yarckin
Cori Ann Yarckin , is an American actress and singer. She first became known for her role in the short lived Nickelodeon TV series Noah Knows Best, where she played Camille Ruiz.-Background:...
and newest member of the band joining in March 2007.
Overview
Megaphone's founding member Matt Bloodwell was originally a drummer for punk rock band named Precious While in Precious, Matt Bloodwell was also writing songs. In October 2003, Matt left Precious to put together a band around the music he had been writing. "Being someone who everyone knows as a drummer but no one really knows as a song writer, I felt like if I wanted people to take me seriously as a song writer I had to do something really different. OK, so I'll sing and play guitar in megaphone." He then recruited local musicians. "I knew exactly what I wanted and I had a pretty good idea of who could pull it off. Now it was just a mater of are they going to like the material?" Guitarist Paul Smith, who has worked with Seven Mary ThreeSeven Mary Three
Seven Mary Three, occasionally abbreviated to 7 Mary 3 or 7M3, is an American hard rock band. They have released seven studio albums and one live album, and are best known for their hit singles "Cumbersome", "Water's Edge", "Lucky", and "Wait"....
, was just coming off the road with Vonray
Vonray
Vonray was a modern rock band from Orlando, Florida. The group formed around singer/songwriter Vaughan Rhea, originally from Tennessee, who had come to Orlando playing as an acoustic coffeeshop act. Inspired by grunge music, Rhea put together a band with his brother, Dave, and began playing...
in support of their first Electra release when drummer Matt Brown introduced him to Bloodwells' demos. Matt Brown had been the drummer for 3AE signed to RCA before tragedy ended the band to soon. Matt Brown joined megaphone and was with the band until March 2007 when he was replaced by former Cori Yarckin
Cori Yarckin
Cori Ann Yarckin , is an American actress and singer. She first became known for her role in the short lived Nickelodeon TV series Noah Knows Best, where she played Camille Ruiz.-Background:...
drummer Scott Smith. James Woodrich from My Hotel Year joined the band as the bass player. "Everyone in this band has had such a great history individually, our hope is that our future together will be even better."
In addition to being the lead singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist for megaphone, Matt Bloodwell's primary instrument is drums which he began playing at the age of seven. He is currently a part-time percussionist for Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group is an organization founded by Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton. The organization produces theatrical shows and concerts featuring popular music, comedy and multimedia; recorded music and scores for film and television; television appearances for shows such as The Tonight...
at Universal Studios in Orlando Florida and he is the drummer for the rock cover band Mulch, Sweat, n' Shears at Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
. Bloodwell has also arranged, performed and produced song Halloween-loween for Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom Park is one of four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort located near Orlando, Florida. The first park built at the resort, Magic Kingdom opened Oct. 1, 1971. Designed and built by WED Enterprises, the park's layout and attractions are similar to Disneyland in Anaheim, California...
's Villains Mix and Mingle show at Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party
Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is a separate-admission Halloween-themed event held annually during the months of September and October at the Magic Kingdom theme park of the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, outside Orlando, and at Disneyland Paris Resort outside Paris,...
2006-2010 and his voice was heard singing lead vocals on Disney Tokyo's Haunted Rock'n Streets Halloween parade 2007.
Notable shows
On August 12, 2004 megaphone played their first show at Wills Pub with New Roman Times and Spacebar. megaphone was named Best Rock/Pop act in Orlando 2007 and 2008 by The Orlando WeeklyOrlando Weekly
The Orlando Weekly is an alternative newsweekly distributed in the Greater Orlando area of Florida. It features local news, views, arts, entertainment, local music coverage, an events calendar and classifieds...
magazine. They were also named second best live act in the same publication in 2007. (An improv comedy show took first place.)
megaphone has opened for such national acts as AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
, Paul Stanley
Paul Stanley
Stanley Harvey Eisen , better known by his stage name Paul Stanley, is an American hard rock guitarist, singer, musician, painter and songwriter best known for being the rhythm guitarist and primary lead vocalist of the rock band Kiss. He is the writer or co-writer of many of the band's...
, Ace Frehley
Ace Frehley
Paul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...
, The Joe Perry Project
The Joe Perry Project
The Joe Perry Project is an American rock band formed by Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry. Perry started working on forming the band shortly before his departure from Aerosmith in 1979...
, Crash Kings
Crash Kings
Crash Kings is an American rock trio formed in Los Angeles, California in 2006. The members are vocalist-keyboardist Antonio Beliveau, his brother and bassist Mike Beliveau, and drummer Jason Morris....
, Seven Mary Three
Seven Mary Three
Seven Mary Three, occasionally abbreviated to 7 Mary 3 or 7M3, is an American hard rock band. They have released seven studio albums and one live album, and are best known for their hit singles "Cumbersome", "Water's Edge", "Lucky", and "Wait"....
, Everclear
Everclear (band)
Everclear is a rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1992 best known for their radio hits spanning more than a decade. For most of its existence, Everclear has consisted of Art Alexakis , Craig Montoya , and Greg Eklund . Eklund replaced original drummer Scott Cuthbert in 1994...
, Edwin McCain
Edwin McCain
Edwin McCain is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Career:While his albums are released under his name, he does have a permanent band, referred to as the Edwin McCain Band...
and The New Left. They've also made appearances at WJRR
WJRR
WJRR — branded 101one — is a commercial radio station located in Maitland, Florida broadcasting to the Orlando, Florida area. The station mainly airs an Active Rock playlist....
101.1's Earthday Birthday 12 & 14, and the 2005, 2007-2009 Florida Music Festival Main Stage.
Current members
- Matt Bloodwell – vocals, guitar
- Paul Smith - guitar, background vocals
- Eric van Lugo – bass, background vocals
- Scott Smith – drums
Former members
- Matt Brown – drums (2004–2007)
- James Woodrich – bass, background vocals (2004–2011)
Discography
- For Cryin' Out Loud (April 15, 2005)
- The Perfect Gift Christmas song - single (November 24, 2007)
- Exit Silent Mode (August 1, 2009)
Awards
- Best Pop Band and 2nd Best Mainstream Rock Band in the Orlando 2010 by The Orlando Weekly Magazine
- Best Rock/Pop act in Orlando 2008 by The Orlando Weekly Magazine
- Best Rock/Pop act & 2nd Best Live Act in Orlando 2007 by The Orlando Weekly magazine
- Net Music Countdown's Top Net Unknown for January 5, 2007