The Wedding (band)
Encyclopedia
The Wedding is a Christian
band from Fayetteville, Arkansas
. Musically, The Wedding fuses elements of Christian punk
, Christian rock
, Alternative Contemporary Christian, pop punk
, ska
, piano rock, and post-hardcore
with their pop rock
base. The band was signed to independent Brave New World Records
, but the label was closed in 2009; leaving the band with no label.
The band has toured with the likes of Bachman–Turner Overdrive, Bleach
, John Reuben
, The Goodnight Fight, Last Tuesday
, Number One Gun
, Anberlin
, Spoken
, Disciple
, The O.C. Supertones
,Superchic[k]
, The Fold
, House of Heroes
and Falling Up. Their debut album, The Wedding was produced by Mark Lee Townsend
and featured several of their songs which became Christian radio
hits, including "Move This City" and "Song for the Broken". Their sophomore effort Polarity peaked at #41 on the U.S. Billboard Christian Albums chart and #26 on the Heatseekers chart.
After former singer Kevin Keihn got married, he decided to depart from the band. Landon Ginnings filled in for him on vocals until their current singer, Matt Shelton, formerly of Letter Kills
, joined the band.
beats. Elsewhere, the album delves into Celtic punk
("I'll Sleep When I'm Dead"), post-hardcore
("It's Time to Rock (OK?)") and a country
female choir ("Fireworks"), as well as the band's signature pop punk
nuances.
Lyrically, The Wedding use such themes as love, relationships, loyalty to the 479 Arkansas area code, confidence in God
and working hard.
Band have been playing some new songs called "Bethlehem", "Carlton Ford" .
At the 2010 Lifelight Festival in South Dakota, The Wedding played a cover of Fight For Your Right To Party, by The Beastie Boys.
The Wedding has been listed on the bill for the "Over My Head" tour with Brian Head Welch, Project 86, and The Letter Black.
Former
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...
band from Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...
. Musically, The Wedding fuses elements of Christian punk
Christian punk
Christian punk is a form of Christian music and a subgenre of punk rock with some degree of Christian lyrical content. Much disagreement persists about the boundaries of the subgenre, and the extent that their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies among bands...
, Christian rock
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...
, Alternative Contemporary Christian, pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
, ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
, piano rock, and post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
with their pop rock
Pop rock
Pop rock is a music genre which mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in its guitar-based rock songs. There are varying definitions of the term, ranging from a slower and mellower form of rock music to a subgenre of pop music...
base. The band was signed to independent Brave New World Records
Brave New World Records
Brave New World Records is a record label founded by Mark Lee Townsend and Mark Mattingly in Nashville, Tennessee in 2004. The label is distributed nationwide by Word Distribution a division of Word Entertainment.The label focuses mainly on Christian Rock and Alternative bands. Brave New World was...
, but the label was closed in 2009; leaving the band with no label.
The band has toured with the likes of Bachman–Turner Overdrive, Bleach
Bleach
Bleach refers to a number of chemicals that remove color, whiten, or disinfect, often via oxidation. Common chemical bleaches include household chlorine bleach , lye, oxygen bleach , and bleaching powder...
, John Reuben
John Reuben
John Reuben is an American hip hop artist signed to Gotee Records until late 2010. Reuben has sold over 200,000 copies of his first four albums. He released his sixth album, Sex, Drugs and Self-Control on December 22, 2009...
, The Goodnight Fight, Last Tuesday
Last Tuesday
Last Tuesday was a Christian punk band hailing from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They played their final show on March 10, 2007. Last Tuesday was formed in 1999 in Harrisburg...
, Number One Gun
Number One Gun
Number One Gun is a Christian rock band from Chico, California, that was most recently signed to Tooth & Nail Records. They self-released their debut EP Forever in 2002, before releasing their follow-up albums Celebrate Mistakes on Floodgate Records and Promises for the Imperfect on Tooth & Nail...
, Anberlin
Anberlin
Anberlin is an American rock band formed in Winter Haven, Florida in 2002. Since the beginning of 2007, the band has consisted of lead vocalist Stephen Christian, guitarists Joseph Milligan and Christian McAlhaney, bassist Deon Rexroat, and drummer Nathan Young.Members of Anberlin originally formed...
, Spoken
Spoken
Spoken is the past tense verbal form of "to speak".Spoken may also refer to:*Spoken , a Christian rock group from Arkansas*Spoken , an album by Spoken...
, Disciple
Disciple (band)
Disciple is a Christian metal / rock band from Knoxville, Tennessee, formed in 1992.-History:Disciple was formed in 1992 by high school friends Kevin Young, Brad Noah, and Tim Barrett. The band released their first CD, What Was I Thinking in 1995...
, The O.C. Supertones
The O.C. Supertones
The Orange County Supertones is a Christian ska band hailing from Orange County, California. The band was signed to Tooth & Nail Records before becoming an independent band for its final tour...
,
Superchick
Superchick, originally known as Superchic[k], is an American Christian alternative pop/rock band. Their music incorporates various styles such as pop, punk, rock, rap, and R&B. Their sound has been compared to mainstream artists No Doubt and Avril Lavigne with a heavier sound...
, The Fold
The Fold
The Fold is a high energy rock-pop band from Chicago, Illinois. They have released two full length albums and one EP on Tooth & Nail Records, and an independent album in 2009. Their single "Gravity" from the album This Too Shall Pass reached #1 on the CHR Rock charts.-History:Their debut album This...
, House of Heroes
House of Heroes
House of Heroes is an alternative rock band from Columbus, Ohio. They were also known by the name No Tagbacks. They are generally considered to be Christian rock, though their lyrics are not always transparently Christian...
and Falling Up. Their debut album, The Wedding was produced by Mark Lee Townsend
Mark Lee Townsend
Mark Lee Townsend is known best as guitarist for the Christian rock band dc Talk, playing with them from 1996 until their hiatus in 2001. Mark's career started as a member/singer/guitarist/songwriter for the 80's Pop/Christian band Bash 'N The Code from 1986 through 1991. In between dc Talk tours,...
and featured several of their songs which became Christian radio
Christian radio
Christian radio is a category of radio formats that focus on transmitting programming with a Christian message. In the United States, where it is more established, many such broadcasters play popular music of Christian influence, though many programs have talk or news programming covering...
hits, including "Move This City" and "Song for the Broken". Their sophomore effort Polarity peaked at #41 on the U.S. Billboard Christian Albums chart and #26 on the Heatseekers chart.
After former singer Kevin Keihn got married, he decided to depart from the band. Landon Ginnings filled in for him on vocals until their current singer, Matt Shelton, formerly of Letter Kills
Letter Kills
Letter Kills was an alternative rock band from Southern California, formed in August 2002. They were signed to Island Records.The band cites their Christian beliefs as the reason they got together...
, joined the band.
Themes
The Wedding is musically eclectic. Their second release Polarity begins with an intro of ska horns (supplied by The Supertones' Dan Spencer) and hip hopHip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
beats. Elsewhere, the album delves into Celtic punk
Celtic punk
Celtic punk is punk rock mixed with traditional Celtic music. The genre was founded in the 1980s by The Pogues, a band of punk musicians in London who celebrated their Irish heritage. Celtic punk bands often play covers of traditional Irish folk and political songs, as well as original compositions...
("I'll Sleep When I'm Dead"), post-hardcore
Post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a genre of music that developed from hardcore punk, itself an offshoot of the broader punk rock movement. Like post-punk, post-hardcore is a term for a broad constellation of groups...
("It's Time to Rock (OK?)") and a country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
female choir ("Fireworks"), as well as the band's signature pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
nuances.
Lyrically, The Wedding use such themes as love, relationships, loyalty to the 479 Arkansas area code, confidence in God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
and working hard.
2010-present
The Wedding has been touring & playing in festivals often recording and mixing their next material The Distance (Ep) released on November 16, 2010Band have been playing some new songs called "Bethlehem", "Carlton Ford" .
At the 2010 Lifelight Festival in South Dakota, The Wedding played a cover of Fight For Your Right To Party, by The Beastie Boys.
The Wedding has been listed on the bill for the "Over My Head" tour with Brian Head Welch, Project 86, and The Letter Black.
Members
Current- Cody Driggers - Bass, vocals, (2003–present) (played guitar while Jeremy Ervin was bassist)
- Trevor Sarver - Guitar (2003–present)
- Adam Thron - Guitar (2007–present) (formerly of The Gentleman Homicide)
- Matt Jameson - Drums (2007–present) (formerly of The Gentleman Homicide & Upperroom)
- Matt Shelton - Lead vocals (2008–present) (formerly of Letter KillsLetter KillsLetter Kills was an alternative rock band from Southern California, formed in August 2002. They were signed to Island Records.The band cites their Christian beliefs as the reason they got together...
)
Former
- Clint Robinson - Drums (2003–2006) (now with Adoleo)
- Joe Rickard - Drums (2006–2007) (now with RedRed (band)Red is an American rock band from Nashville, Tennessee, formed in 2004. The band's lineup consists of singer Michael Barnes, guitarist Anthony Armstrong, bassist Randy Armstrong and drummer Joe Rickard. They are known for their Christian rock music which incorporates other sounds such as...
) - Jeremy Ervin - Bass (2006–2007)
- Kevin Kiehn - Lead vocals, piano (2003–2007) (now with Holy Spirit Chainbreaker)
Discography
- The Wedding (2005)
- Rumble in the South EP (2005)
- PolarityPolarity (album)Polarity is the second release from American punk rock band, The Wedding. Polarity was released on April 17, 2007. The new album showed a drastic change, vocally and musically, from the band's debut album. Polarity features guest appearances by Davy Baysinger from Bleach, duet vocals; Dan Spencer...
(2007) - The Sound, The Steel EPThe Sound, The Steel EPThe Sound, The Steel EP is an EP by the American rock band, The Wedding.The album features the sound of a train coming by in between tracks. It is the first release to feature Matt Shelton as lead singer, Adam Thron on guitar, and Matt Jameson on drums....
(2008) - Distance EP (2010)