Project 86!

Stephen's May 23 Band of the Day

After much support, I started this blog. (Why I need so much support just to start a blog...I'm not sure, but we're here now, so let's start.

Stephen's Band of the Day has been going on for around a week now on my Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/stephen.martin.14224) and I'll be reposting some bands that I've already covered so I can go into more depth with them. Just so you're aware. 

Alright, for real this time.

Stephen's May 23 Band of the Day is . . . 

Project 86!

Currently Listening To: Hollow Again.

Song That Hooked Me: Little Green Men.

Fan Favorite: Spy Hunter.

I only think it is proper to start this blog off with the band that has influenced me more than any other band could. I first listened to them on a burnt disc that I received from a kid at school, who was on Maury a couple months ago trying to prove that his kids were his. Kinda find it ironic that this kid who had no plan for his life has paved the way that I travel mine.

I listen to a wide variety of music, so if you get on here and see a band that you don't like or a couple in a row that are in the same genre, just be patient and learn about some different styles that you aren't used to. Music is a huge deal to me. It creates and it destroys. It can build you up or it can tear you down. It's funny how you can be having a horrible day and a certain song will come on (let's so, for no particular reason that it's So What by P!nk. Remember, that was chosen by random) and it can change how you feel in an instant. I listen to music when I'm happy, when I'm sad, when I'm alone, when I'm riding with my friends in my car. Music is my breath. Growing up, and even today, all I want to do is tour the world with a band that a lead vocals for. (Remember, this is my dream. If you don't agree, well, good for you.) 

Back to P86: Anyways, I listened to the burnt CD and the first song to really catch my ear and not let go was Little Green Men. This song just really spoke to me because I've always found myself watching shows dealing with rebels and regime changes and revolutions. This song was fuel to that fire. So, of course, when I write now, I have to be careful not to write every song like that one. 

A couple years passed and my now girlfriend told me about a concert in Fayetteville, AR. It was These Cities Below (local band I had never heard of), Inhale Exhale, Showbread (back when they were good. They had just lost Ivory Mobley, so what good is a band when you only went to see their awesome black screaming frontman? Still pretty good.), then...Project 86. I didn't know it at the time, but this show was to be the archetype for all of my future dreams. I remember alot of awesome things about that show (Inhale Exhale's frontman, Ryland Raus, jumping on speakers and grabbing people by their hair and screaming in their face; accidentally elbowing some chick in the mouth and making her lip bleed; Showbread making jokes about how hot it was outside, ex.: Showbread: 'Man, it's so hot outside.' Crowd: 'How Hot?!' Showbread: 'It's so hot outside, I saw the devil walking down the street earlier and he said... 'Man, it's hot!' '), but the most epic moment, hands down, was when Project 86 walked onto the stage and played the intro to Spy Hunter. This was, and is, my favorite song by P86 and I was so pumped just to hear it that I almost missed Andrew Schwab walking on stage with a skull bandana around his face. About 18 seconds into the song, the three most powerful words Schwab ever wrote are screamed into the microphone and the entire crowd screams along. "ONE LAST DISGUISE!" The whole place went crazy and it was in that moment that I realized just how powerful words are. We were singing his lyrics. We were moving to his rhythm. We were his puppets for a half hour. He wrote this song and we knew it word-for-word. I couldn't have stopped singing it if I wanted to. I rode home that night with a sore thoat, a shirt drenched in sweat, and a new dream.

Ok, I'm gonna try again to give you some history of the band: Project 86 was founded by frontman, Andrew Schwab, as a way to inspire people to live their lives with hope. When asked about the band's name and the meaning of it, he said:

To “86″ something is to reject it, remove, it, etc. We applied that concept as if to say “despite possible rejection, we will stick to who we are as a band no matter what.”

     That was from an interview with Andrew Schwab done by Brandon Jones of Indie Vision Music in 2009. Here's the link if you're interested: http://www.indievisionmusic.com/2009/07/13/an-interview-with-andrew-schwab-of-project-86/

The band has gone through some major line-up changes recently, leaving Schwab as the only original member. This is the new Project 86, as of now:



        That was from an article in HMmagazine and written by Doug Van Pelt. Here's the link if you want it: http://www.hmmagazine.com/2012/05/project-86-to-release-new-album/

Project 86 has also gone through some major sound changes as well. They almost have jumped from genre to genre on each album. Originally, they were rapcore, very similar to Rage Against The Machines. They moved onto more of a solid rock feel when rapcore died and embraced a more hardcore feel, just to top it off. If you want to know more about their sound, give them a listen.

Schwab is not only a singer/songwriter. He also is an author and a journalist. His books include: We Caught You Plotting Murder, Do Not Disturb, It's All Downhill From Here, & Fame is Infamy. He writes for AP Magazine, HM Magazine, Relevant Magazine, was the "New Noise" editor for CCM Magazine, and has a blog column at Relevant Magazine. Here's his most recent article in Relevant Magazine: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/daily-devotional/28658-the-fear-of-being-ordinary

Schwab also runs his own blog, which I suggest you look at. He is a very influential writer who has grown through as a person through many adventures he has had with Project 86. http://www.andrewschwab.com/blog/   I would suggest looking at my favorite blog of his so far, 'The Second Greatest Commandment: Avoid Shooting a Cannon Through Your Neighbor's Window.'

Project 86's discography includes: Project 86, Drawing Black Lines, Truthless Heroes, Songs To Burn Your Bridges By, ...And The Rest Will Follow, The Kane Mutiny - EP, Rival Factions, This Time Of Year - EP, Picket Fence Cartel, 15.Live, and coming this summer to an online retailer near you, and hopefully some stores as well, (not sure what they'll do since it's an independent record that was completely supported by fans on Kickstarter) Wait For The Sirens.

Project 86 will release their new album, Wait For The Siren, on August 21, 2012. The new album will feature Andrew Welch (Disciple guitarist), Ryan "Blake" Martin (A Plea for Purging guitarist), Rocky Gray (Evanescence, We Are The Fallen, Living Sacrifice, plus alot more), Cody Driggers (The Wedding bassist) and guest vocal appearances by Bruce Fitzhugh (Living Sacrifice), and Brian "Head" Welch (Korn, Love and Death).

Tracklisting:

1. Fall, Goliath, Fall

2. SOTS

3. Omerta's Sons

4. Off the Grid

5. New Transmission

6. Defector

7. The Crossfire Gambit

8. Blood Moon

9. Above the Desert Sea

10. Ghosts of Easter Rising

11. Avalantia

12. Take the Hill

13. Wait for the Siren

http://www.facebook.com/notes/project-86/project-86-new-album-wait-for-the-siren-august-21-2012/10150845332221896

And now, I will leave you with one of my favorite music videos by Project 86: Evil (A Chorus of Resistance)