New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Earshot Media) DRIVE A's new album The World In Shambles arrives in stores today via the band's own imprint Dead Conflict Records (distributed by EMI.)
The LA rockers just wrapped up a tour with The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and are about to head out on the Rock Allegiance Tour with BUCKCHERRY, PAPA ROACH, PUDDLE OF MUD, P.O.D., RED and CROSSFADE. That tour gets underway August 24th in Grand Prarie, TX and runs through September 25th.
Drive A has also been tapped to perform at THE 2011 Epicenter Festival in Irvine, CA on September 24th with LIMP BIZKIT, STAIND, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, PAPA ROACH, BUCKCHERRY, P.O.D. AND MORE.
Check out Drive A's latest music video "Let's Have A Wreck (Trainwreck)" on MTV.com: www.mtv.com/videos/drive-a/630040/lets-have-a-wreck-trainwreck.jhtml.
For more information visit:
www.DriveARock.com
https://rockallegiance.com
www.EpicenterFestival.com
About Drive A:
Sometimes a chance meeting is more than it seems - in the case of Drive A, a random moment ignited a fuse resulting in a incendiary new band. Songs about rebellion, crunchy guitars and killer hooks have their foundation in old school punk and rock n' roll that the band reveres but their stage presence and delivery is fresh and in the now. With a fan following that is expanding exponentially, it's clear that the band is onto something. Drive A come roaring into 2011 with their brand new album, The World in Shambles, out on Dead Conflict Records this Spring.
The World in Shambles is the follow up to their debut album Loss of Desire (2009). The critically acclaimed album which featured singles "Are You Blind" and "Can't Sleep It Off" set the precedent for Drive A's form of high energy rock n' roll and provided the soundtrack for their energetic live show. Frontman Bruno Mascolo explains "although we're still proud of Loss of Desire, we feel we've come along way as musicians and songwriters, you can hear that we've played about 200 shows since our last record." The band freely admits that their singular mission upon entering the studio was to craft an album that bottled their firecracker live energy and onstage prowess. They collectively rejected polished, computerized techniques and technologies in favor of beautiful, genuine imperfections, all of which serve to make The World in Shambles that much more authentic.
"We wanted to make something that was raw, and that sounded like our band when we played live," Bruno Mascolo said. "Songwriting is the essence of the band but playing live is how we truly connect with people, with that in mind we recorded The World in Shambles completely live, there were no click tracks, so what you hear is what we sound like. It was about capturing the energy and not trying to achieve perfection."
Armed with a killer arsenal of songs, the band decided to drive their message with an image that is uncompromising and disciplined. "Today, it's all about how you look," Nott said. "It's like 'This is a metal band' or 'This is a rock band. People get so obsessed with what genre a band is a part of that they forget to even listen to the music. We got sick of wearing other band's shirts on stage because people started labeling us as part of that scene. We want people to care about our music, not about what bands we like. With the new album came the new image. We wear patches with our logo and we have another patch for a character on the album, called 'The Marked Man.'"
"He is the underdog, the guy who dwells on his problems until eventually he creates a target on himself. We have all gone through that," Mascolo concurred. "We wear the uniforms on stage because it puts every thing on the music but we aren't wearing meaningless patches, they hint at the message behind the band."
The band's logo is their take on the anarchy flag, but instead of paying lip service to the concept without ever doing anything to bring about change, Drive A hope to actually incite listeners to action. Mascolo said, "We're not going to say 'Fuck the government' on stage. We want to encourage fans who are living a one-sided life, who go to school, college and then get a job and wonder if that's it, to go after their dreams."
On The World in Shambles the band wanted to shake up their comfort zone, so instead of working with longtime friend Dennis Hill (producer of Drive A's 2009 debut Loss of Desire) the band recorded the album in two parts. The first session was recorded on analog equipment to tape at 1974 Studios in Silver Lake with Dave Cobb and the second session took place at Sunset Sound with Julian Raymond. Despite the band's "Fuck You" attitude towards concepts like conformity and fitting in with a "scene," Mascolo mentions that a current of positive energy courses through the album's veins. "There is a positive message at the end of every song," he admitted. "The idea of singing about a negative subject can sometimes be therapeutic, but most of the time it becomes cliche and loses the original meaning." "Revolt!" is about Mascolo's travels abroad, specifically in Europe, last summer. "It seemed more like a community over there," the singer mused. "There is a real lack of community here, people are just so about themselves, but it's not like that overseas." The title track "Let's Have a Wreck" is another personal song that lays its cards face up on the table. Mascolo revealed that the song is about "having an addiction to destroying situations or relationships," a construct that all of Drive A's fans are able to connect with.
The California quartet formed after singer/guitarist Bruno Mascolo and guitarist Jason Nott ran into each other one night outside of Hollywood's Troubadour in 2006. Bassist Taylor Knowles joined the band after seeing them open for Set Your Goals in Orlando. He became a fan based on their live performance and when the bass player position opened, he got in touch through the wonders of social networking and secured his slot in the rhythm section.
Drive A has steadily built a following of fans by touring with the likes of Alkaline Trio, The Used, Atreyu, Bullet For My Valentine and Escape the Fate over the past two years. It's the band's onstage power that has attracted an alliance of kids that continue to multiply with every tour. Nott summed up the band's relationship with their fans and the crowds, saying, "We're a breath of fresh air for them. We're only a couple years older than the kids listening and they can relate."
Drive A's hungry guitar snarl meshes with power chords that take up residence in your head for weeks at a time and surprisingly mature songwriting that reveals equal parts pathos and animosity towards the status quo. The World in Shambles is proof that Drive A are well on their way.
Drive A Tour Dates:
Rock Alliance Tour (8/24-9/21 & 9/25):
Aug 24 - Verizon Theatre - Grand Prairie, TX
Aug 26 - Zoo Amhitheatre - Oklahoma City, OK
Aug 27 - Buffalo Run Casino Ampitheatre - Miami, OK
Aug 30 - Family Arena St - Charles, MO
Sep 01 - On The Waterfront - Rockford, IL
Sep 02 - SOARING EAGLE CASINO - Mt Pleasant, MI
Sep 04 - AMP @ WHARF - Orange Beach, AL
Sep 05 - Green Iguana - Tampa, FL
Sep 07 - FAU Arena - Boca Raton, FL
Sep 09 - LAWRENCE JOEL COLISEUM - Winston Salem, NC
Sep 10 - Ntelos Wireless Pavillion - Portsmouth, VA
Sep 11 - The Brewery - Rochester, NY
Sep 13 - WEST VIRGINIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY - Parkersburg, WV
Sep 14 - PromoWest Pavillion - Columbus, OH
Sep 16 - Main Street - Armory Rochester, NY
Sep 18 - THE WOODS - Nashville, TN
Sep 20 - HEARTLAND EVENT CENTER OUTDOORS - Grand Island, NE
Sep 21 - THEATRE @ WORLD ARENA - Colorado Springs, CO
Sep 24 - Verizon Amphitheater - Irvine, CA - EPICENTER FESTIVAL 2011
Sep 25 - Power Balance - Pavilion
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