The Visitors were a rock band that formed in Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock, Arkansas

Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...

 in the summer of 1997. They played a brand of rock with very fuzzy tones and emphasized anthemic melodies with prevalent harmonies. Headed by singer-songwriter Jonathan Berry, they played many concerts around the state of Arkansas. After they disbanded guitarist Will Boyd

William Boyd (musician)

William James "Will" Boyd , is the former bass guitarist of alternative metal band Evanescence.Boyd became a full-time member of Evanescence in June 2003, but had co-written two of their unreleased songs, "October" and "So Close," prior to that...

 went on to join the band Evanescence

Evanescence

Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...

 and bassist Elliott Walker formed the group Caulfield's Aside. Berry went on to release a single entitled Hayseed in 2003. In 2004 Jonathan Berry formed a new lineup under The Visitors name in Austin, Texas.

Origins

The band was started by Jonathan Berry (vocals, guitar) and Jason Lapp (drummer). Jonathan and Jason had previously played in other projects including 13 O'Clock and one other prior performance under the Visitors moniker. They acquired the young and talented Elliott Walker to play bass and played their first performance on September 29, 1997 at Vino's in Little Rock. The Visitors recorded a demo tape that winter and were joined by new guitarist Will Boyd. Boyd actually agreed to join the band during the recording and so contributed only backing vocals to the demo. He does appear on the cover.

History and the Gone For Days EP

Throughout 1998 The Visitors continued to play shows to a growing audience, often playing with popular Little Rock metal acts such as Mindrage. As the summer of 1998 waned, buoyed by the addition of Boyd, The Visitors entered the studio to record the Gone For Days EP. Included on the cd were 4 new Berry compositions and 1 new Boyd tune, "Valentine's Day". Also included on the cd erroneously was a track off their demo tape "Some Other Day". In June, 1999 the band quietly dissolved under conflicting interests within.

The move to Austin, TX

Chief songwriter Jonathan Berry moved to Austin, TX in 2003 to lay groundwork for a new band and write new material. In late 2003 he travelled to Bryant, AR to record a single entitled Hayseed. In May 2004 a new lineup emerged with the help of new drummer Mark Evans and bassist Sean Angeles. After playing scattered shows for months they disbanded at the end of 2005.

Lineup

(1997-1999 - Little Rock, AR)

• Jonathan Berry - vocals, guitar
• Will Boyd
  William Boyd (musician)
  William James "Will" Boyd , is the former bass guitarist of alternative metal band Evanescence.Boyd became a full-time member of Evanescence in June 2003, but had co-written two of their unreleased songs, "October" and "So Close," prior to that...
  
   - guitar, vocals
• Elliott Walker - bass
• Jason Lapp - drums

(2004-2005 - Austin, TX)

• Jonathan Berry - vocals, guitar
• Seth Truett - guitar, vocals
• Sean Angeles - bass
• Mark Evans - drums

Releases

• Some Other Day (1997)

  Title	Release
  Gone for Days EP	1998 1998 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
  Wrestlerock Compilation	1998 1998 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
  Hayseed single	2003 2003 in music -January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested...