Switched (band)
Encyclopedia
Switched were a nu metal
/hard rock
music group from Cleveland, Ohio
.
already had rights to the name Switch, the band had to change their name to Sw1tched, and was later signed to Immortal/Virgin Records. After recording all of the bass for the Subject to Change album, bassist Shawn May left the band for unknown reasons, and was replaced by Chimaira
drum tech Jason French. French did play bass on one song on the album, though, since the band re-recorded the song "Walk Away" before the album was released.
Switched rose to prominence playing at popular festivals such as Ozzfest
in 2002 and on the Vans Warped Tour in 2001 and 2002. Their debut album titled, Subject to Change was released via Immortal
/Virgin Records
in 2002, and went on to sell over 100,000 records worldwide.
Sometime before the band began work on their second album, they fired bassist Jason French for unknown reasons. They then replaced him with former Stereomud/Stuck Mojo bassist Corey Lowery
, who would eventually leave the band to join Dark New Day
. They also parted ways with drummer Chad Szeliga sometime in this time period, and as a result, most of the drums on the "Ghosts in the Machine" album are programmed. During the recording phase for their second album, the band decided to go on an indefinite hiatus, mainly due to the band's poor relationship with Immortal Records. The hiatus more-or-less signaled that they had broken up, and members of the band went on to other projects.
Former bassist Shawn May, who had left the band in 2001 prior to the release of "Subject to Change", started a custom bass shop in Michigan. Drummer Chad Szeliga
joined popular post-grunge
group Breaking Benjamin
in 2004, bassist Corey Lowery
helped form alternative metal
group Dark New Day
, lead guitarist B.C. Kochmit joined then left hard rock
group "Rikets" to form his own projects, called "Tinjen", "Shambella", and "My Alter-Ego Experiment", and is currently the lead guitar player in Dark New Day
. Vocalist Ben Schigel found success as a producer working with bands such as Drowning Pool
, Chimaira
, Breaking Benjamin
, Rikets, Bleed the Sky
and Allele
.
With help from their first manager, Thom Hazaert, now co-president of Californian indie label
, Corporate Punishment Records
, the group reformed (with a modified lineup) and released their second album titled, Ghosts in the Machine
on January 10, 2006. The two-disc album contains rarities, b-sides and demos. The first disc includes eleven tracks that were intended for the band's second Immortal release, while the second disc includes four live songs plus several demos and the unreleased track "She Blinded Me with Science". The quality of the first disc can be described as "rough" as the tracks weren't yet mastered and still in the demo phase.
A repackaged version of Subject to Change was also released which features the b-side track "Spread", the Howard Benson
produced alternate versions of "Walkaway" and "Inside" and the Rick Will mix of "Inside". Two videos for "Inside" are also included.
but as of January 2010, according to Ben Schigel, there are no plans to continue with Sw1tched.
Bassist Corey Lowery
and guitarist B.C. Kochmit have since formed hard rock supergroup Eye Empire
with solo artist Dixie Duncan and former members of Submersed
singer Donald Carpenter and drummer Garrett Whitlock.
Nu metal
Nu metal is a subgenre of heavy metal. It is a fusion genre which combines elements of heavy metal with other genres, including grunge and hip hop...
/hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
music group from Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
.
History
Forming in 1999 as Sw1tch, the band played shows around Ohio and released a demo entitled Fuckin' Demo. The songs "Anymore", "Wrongside", "Inside", "Darkening Days", "Last Chance", and "Skins", which appear in their demo versions on this CD, went on to appear on the Subject to Change album. This demo was later re-released on disc two of the "Ghosts in the Machine" album in 2006. Since a funk bandSwitch (band)
Switch was an R&B/funk band that found fame recording for the Gordy label in the late 1970s releasing hit songs such as "There'll Never Be", "I Call Your Name" and "The Best Beat in Town" and influenced bands such as DeBarge, which featured members Bobby and Tommy's siblings.-Early years:Formed in...
already had rights to the name Switch, the band had to change their name to Sw1tched, and was later signed to Immortal/Virgin Records. After recording all of the bass for the Subject to Change album, bassist Shawn May left the band for unknown reasons, and was replaced by Chimaira
Chimaira
Chimaira is an American heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in 1998, the group is a notable member of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal scene. The band's name is derived from the word Chimera, a monstrous creature in Greek mythology...
drum tech Jason French. French did play bass on one song on the album, though, since the band re-recorded the song "Walk Away" before the album was released.
Switched rose to prominence playing at popular festivals such as Ozzfest
Ozzfest
Ozzfest is an annual festival tour of the United States featuring performances by many heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon Osbourne, both of whom also organize each yearly tour with their son Jack Osbourne...
in 2002 and on the Vans Warped Tour in 2001 and 2002. Their debut album titled, Subject to Change was released via Immortal
Immortal Records
Immortal Records is an independent record label out of Los Angeles, California. Founded by Happy Walters in 1994, the label had helped launched the careers of such influential acts as Korn, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Incubus over the years. The label had also released soundtracks, including Judgment...
/Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
in 2002, and went on to sell over 100,000 records worldwide.
Sometime before the band began work on their second album, they fired bassist Jason French for unknown reasons. They then replaced him with former Stereomud/Stuck Mojo bassist Corey Lowery
Corey Lowery
Corey Lowery is a hard rock bassist and vocalist, previously of the bands Still Rain, Stuck Mojo, Switched and Stereomud. Lowery currently plays bass and provides backing vocals in the band Eye Empire. Eye Empire was previously known as Violent Plan. Before Violent Plan, Corey was playing with...
, who would eventually leave the band to join Dark New Day
Dark New Day
Dark New Day is an American hard rock supergroup formed in 2004 featuring Brett Hestla of Virgos Merlot, Troy McLawhorn of DoubleDrive, Clint Lowery of Sevendust, Corey Lowery of Stereomud and Stuck Mojo, and Will Hunt of Skrape...
. They also parted ways with drummer Chad Szeliga sometime in this time period, and as a result, most of the drums on the "Ghosts in the Machine" album are programmed. During the recording phase for their second album, the band decided to go on an indefinite hiatus, mainly due to the band's poor relationship with Immortal Records. The hiatus more-or-less signaled that they had broken up, and members of the band went on to other projects.
Former bassist Shawn May, who had left the band in 2001 prior to the release of "Subject to Change", started a custom bass shop in Michigan. Drummer Chad Szeliga
Chad Szeliga
Chad Szeliga is an American professional drummer born in Elyria, Ohio and now from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He is best known for being the drummer for the bands Breaking Benjamin, OurAfter, and Black Label Society.-Switched:...
joined popular post-grunge
Post-grunge
Post-grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged in the mid-1990s as a derivative of grunge, using the sounds and aesthetic of grunge, but with a more commercially acceptable tone...
group Breaking Benjamin
Breaking Benjamin
Breaking Benjamin is an American rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, currently consisting of Benjamin Burnley and Chad Szeliga. The band has released four studio albums to date and a greatest hits album that was released on August 16, 2011. The group initially went on indefinite hiatus due...
in 2004, bassist Corey Lowery
Corey Lowery
Corey Lowery is a hard rock bassist and vocalist, previously of the bands Still Rain, Stuck Mojo, Switched and Stereomud. Lowery currently plays bass and provides backing vocals in the band Eye Empire. Eye Empire was previously known as Violent Plan. Before Violent Plan, Corey was playing with...
helped form alternative metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
group Dark New Day
Dark New Day
Dark New Day is an American hard rock supergroup formed in 2004 featuring Brett Hestla of Virgos Merlot, Troy McLawhorn of DoubleDrive, Clint Lowery of Sevendust, Corey Lowery of Stereomud and Stuck Mojo, and Will Hunt of Skrape...
, lead guitarist B.C. Kochmit joined then left hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
group "Rikets" to form his own projects, called "Tinjen", "Shambella", and "My Alter-Ego Experiment", and is currently the lead guitar player in Dark New Day
Dark New Day
Dark New Day is an American hard rock supergroup formed in 2004 featuring Brett Hestla of Virgos Merlot, Troy McLawhorn of DoubleDrive, Clint Lowery of Sevendust, Corey Lowery of Stereomud and Stuck Mojo, and Will Hunt of Skrape...
. Vocalist Ben Schigel found success as a producer working with bands such as Drowning Pool
Drowning Pool
Drowning Pool is a four-piece alternative metal band from Dallas, Texas.-Early days :Drowning Pool rose to fame while playing along with Ozzy Osbourne during an Ozzfest tour. Their 2001 debut album, Sinner was certified platinum within six weeks...
, Chimaira
Chimaira
Chimaira is an American heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in 1998, the group is a notable member of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal scene. The band's name is derived from the word Chimera, a monstrous creature in Greek mythology...
, Breaking Benjamin
Breaking Benjamin
Breaking Benjamin is an American rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, currently consisting of Benjamin Burnley and Chad Szeliga. The band has released four studio albums to date and a greatest hits album that was released on August 16, 2011. The group initially went on indefinite hiatus due...
, Rikets, Bleed the Sky
Bleed the Sky (band)
Bleed the Sky is an American groove metal band formed in Orange County, California in 2003. The band is currently signed to Nuclear Blast.-Formation and Paradigm in Entropy :...
and Allele
Allele (band)
Allele is an American alternative metal band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 2002. Their line-up consists of five members: Wally Wood , Kelly Hayes , Lane Maverick , Tim Tobin , Nathan Grimes . The band is currently signed to Goomba Music...
.
With help from their first manager, Thom Hazaert, now co-president of Californian indie label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
, Corporate Punishment Records
Corporate Punishment Records
Corporate Punishment Records is a Los Angeles, USA, based independent record label. The company was formed in 2004 by Thom Hazaert and Eric Nielsen, also co-founders of Loudside.com and Total Assault Street Teams...
, the group reformed (with a modified lineup) and released their second album titled, Ghosts in the Machine
Ghosts in the Machine
Ghosts in the Machine is the second album by the Ohio rock group Switched. This is a two-disc album, with the first disc featuring 11 tracks that were intended for the band's second release under their previous label, Immortal Records. The quality of these songs are rough, as they were still in the...
on January 10, 2006. The two-disc album contains rarities, b-sides and demos. The first disc includes eleven tracks that were intended for the band's second Immortal release, while the second disc includes four live songs plus several demos and the unreleased track "She Blinded Me with Science". The quality of the first disc can be described as "rough" as the tracks weren't yet mastered and still in the demo phase.
A repackaged version of Subject to Change was also released which features the b-side track "Spread", the Howard Benson
Howard Benson
Howard Benson is a two-time Grammy-nominated music producer and aerospace engineer.-Biography:Howard Benson has a degree in materials engineering from Drexel University and studied composition at the Philadelphia College for Performing Arts. Later he worked for Garrett AiResearch, where he worked...
produced alternate versions of "Walkaway" and "Inside" and the Rick Will mix of "Inside". Two videos for "Inside" are also included.
Current status
Switched declared a second hiatus after Ghosts in the MachineGhosts in the Machine
Ghosts in the Machine is the second album by the Ohio rock group Switched. This is a two-disc album, with the first disc featuring 11 tracks that were intended for the band's second release under their previous label, Immortal Records. The quality of these songs are rough, as they were still in the...
but as of January 2010, according to Ben Schigel, there are no plans to continue with Sw1tched.
Bassist Corey Lowery
Corey Lowery
Corey Lowery is a hard rock bassist and vocalist, previously of the bands Still Rain, Stuck Mojo, Switched and Stereomud. Lowery currently plays bass and provides backing vocals in the band Eye Empire. Eye Empire was previously known as Violent Plan. Before Violent Plan, Corey was playing with...
and guitarist B.C. Kochmit have since formed hard rock supergroup Eye Empire
Eye Empire
Eye Empire is an American rock supergroup, formed in 2009, consisting of former Dark New Day members Corey Lowery and B.C. Kochmit as well as Donald Carpenter formerly of Submersed. Garrett Whitlock, formerly of Submersed, and Dixie Duncan were Eye Empire's drummer and guitarist respectively from...
with solo artist Dixie Duncan and former members of Submersed
Submersed
Submersed was an American rock band from Stephenville, Texas. They disbanded in 2008.-History:Submersed was signed to Wind-up Records, and worked with Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti on its debut studio album, In Due Time, which featured the singles "You Run", "Hollow", and the title track...
singer Donald Carpenter and drummer Garrett Whitlock.
Band members
Last known line-up- Ben SchigelBen SchigelBen Schigel is an American musician, record producer and vocalist from nu metal band, Switched.He has produced for such bands as STEMM, Drowning Pool, Walls of Jericho, Chimaira, Breaking Point, Allele & many more at his home studio . He also has a up....
– Vocals - B.C. Kochmit – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
- Joe Schigel – Guitar
- Josh Jansen – Bass
- Angel Bartolotta - Drums
former members
- Chad SzeligaChad SzeligaChad Szeliga is an American professional drummer born in Elyria, Ohio and now from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He is best known for being the drummer for the bands Breaking Benjamin, OurAfter, and Black Label Society.-Switched:...
- drums (now in Breaking BenjaminBreaking BenjaminBreaking Benjamin is an American rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, currently consisting of Benjamin Burnley and Chad Szeliga. The band has released four studio albums to date and a greatest hits album that was released on August 16, 2011. The group initially went on indefinite hiatus due...
) - Corey LoweryCorey LoweryCorey Lowery is a hard rock bassist and vocalist, previously of the bands Still Rain, Stuck Mojo, Switched and Stereomud. Lowery currently plays bass and provides backing vocals in the band Eye Empire. Eye Empire was previously known as Violent Plan. Before Violent Plan, Corey was playing with...
- bass - Jason FrenchJason FrenchJason French is a former professional Canadian football slotback. He was drafted by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the second round of the 2001 CFL Draft. He played college football for the Murray State Racers....
- bass - Shawn May- bass
Discography
| Date of Release | Title | Label |
| 2000 | Fuckin' Demo | Independently Released |
| 2001 | Spread Your EP | Immortal Records |
| 2002 | Inside EP | Immortal Records |
| Feb 26, 2002 | Subject to Change | Immortal Records |
| Jan 10, 2006 | Subject to Change (Re-Release) | Corporate Punishment |
| Jan 10, 2006 | Ghosts in the Machine Ghosts in the Machine Ghosts in the Machine is the second album by the Ohio rock group Switched. This is a two-disc album, with the first disc featuring 11 tracks that were intended for the band's second release under their previous label, Immortal Records. The quality of these songs are rough, as they were still in the... |
Corporate Punishment |