Further Seems Forever
was an American rock band formed in 1998 in Pompano Beach, Florida and disbanded in 2006. Over the course of their career the band experienced several lineup changes, resulting in a different lead vocalist performing on each of their three studio albums. Original singer Chris Carrabba recorded with the band for their first album The Moon is Down
in 2001 before leaving to start Dashboard Confessional. He was replaced by Jason Gleason, formerly of Affinity, who performed on the 2003 album How to Start a Fire
. Gleason left the band in 2004 due to interpersonal tensions and was replaced by former Sense Field vocalist Jon Bunch for the band's final studio album Hide Nothing
. None of the three vocalists can be said to have recorded more than one full album with the band, as posthumous compilation albums included contributions from multiple singers.
The band's music is often classfied as indie rock and is frequently associated with the emo genre. They have also been classified as a Christian rock act due to the individual band members' religious beliefs, frequent themes of Christianity in their lyrics, their association with the predominantly Christian Tooth & Nail Records label, and their performances at Christian-themed festivals such as Cornerstone. [1] Despite these associations, the group often claimed not to be an explicitly Christian band, but rather a rock band with Christian members. [2]
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FURTHER SEEMS FOREVER TICKETS
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Band history
Formation and singer #1: Chris Carrabba
The band formed in 1998 in
Pompano Beach, Florida after the breakup of the
Christian hardcore band
Strongarm. Strongarm
guitarists Josh Colbert and Nick Dominguez,
bassist Chad Neptune, and
drummer Steve Kleisath recruited
Vacant Andys vocalist Chris Carrabba to form Further Seems Forever. The first song the new band released was "Vengeance Factor" on the
Deep Elm Records compilation
An Ocean of Doubt: The Emo Diaries, Chapter Four
, which contributed to the band's association with the
emo genre. Their first release was a split
EP with fellow Floridians
Recess Theory entitled
From the 27th State
, released by
Takehold Records, and soon the band had signed a recording contract with
Seattle-based
Christian label
Tooth and Nail Records. By 2000, however, Carrabba had begun working on his own project
Dashboard Confessional and recorded the album
The Swiss Army Romance
, essentially a solo release which he considered too personal for Further Seems Forever. At this time the band struggled with interpersonal squabbles and difficulties touring, as Dominguez had a young family and was reluctant to tour outside the state. This forced the group to search for several fill-in guitarists to replace him on tour.
After returning from a solo tour in August 2000 Carrabba announced that he was leaving the group in order to focus on Dashboard Confessional full-time:
"I knew the only chance I had to make it in the music scene was go out there and do all the legwork to push yourself and make yourself known...I was willing to do that and they weren't. They were playing music around their jobs, not as their jobs. It was like, if we're gonna be a band, let's be a band. This isn't going to happen by itself."
Despite this decision, Carrabba joined the band the following month to record their debut album
The Moon is Down
, released in 2001 by Tooth & Nail. Relations between him and the other band members remained amicable, and Further Seems Forever would later open for Dashboard Confessional on several occasions.
In 2005 the band played a reunion show with Carrabba, performing
The Moon is Down
in its entirety.
Singer #2: Jason Gleason
After Carrabba's departure the band recruited Jason Gleason of
Affinity as their new vocalist. With Gleason they recorded cover versions of "
Say it Ain't So" and "
Bye Bye Bye" for the compilations
Rock Music: A Tribute to Weezer
and
Punk Goes Pop
. Dominguez then left the group to pursue a record label venture,
Pop Up Records. He continues to run the label with Derick Cordoba, who replaced him in Further Seems Forever. This lineup recorded the band's second album
How to Start a Fire
, released in 2003, and supported it with a national touring schedule. In early 2004, however, as work on a third album was beginning, the group had a falling out with Gleason which resulted in his departure. In a 2006 interview he blamed the split on "completely irrational behavior on a daily basis. Mistrust. Fights. Anger. Jealousy. A very unhealthy relationship."
[3] Gleason went on to form
ActionReaction in 2005 with his wife Crissie "Bella" Verhagen and bassist Salvatore Ciaravino, both formerly of
Element 101. The group released their debut album
Three is the Magic Number
in 2006.
Singer #3: Jon Bunch and breakup
To replace Gleason the band recruited vocalist Jon Bunch of the recently disbanded
Sense Field. With Bunch they released the 2004 album
Hide Nothing
and continued to tour internationally, performing with groups such as
Sparta,
Copeland, and
The Starting Line.
[4]
In 2005 the band played a reunion show with Carrabba at which they performed
The Moon is Down
in its entirety. That November they announced a hiatus, which was followed by an announcement in January 2006 that their upcoming tour of the
United States and
Canada with Bunch would be their final performances, as the members' families and other commitments had eclipsed their interests in the band. As Neptune stated:
"As I sit here reflecting back on my time with FSF, saying to myself 'what happens when your dreams have come true already?' Well my answer is 'it probably wasn't my dream all along.' Sure maybe it was part of my calling but the truth is that making a family has been the goal ever since I can remember. My family is what I live for now and I am very glad to do so." [5]
Tooth & Nail released a "best of" retrospective album that April entitled
Hope This Finds You Well
, and the band's final performance occurred on
June 17,
2006 at The Masquerade in
Atlanta, Georgia. This performance was recorded and released as a live album and
DVD released by
567 Records in April 2007, entitled
The Final Curtain
.
Following the band's breakup Bunch and Cordoba formed
Fields Forever, a duo project performing acoustic renditions of Further Seems Forever and Sense Field songs which toured across
Europe. Other members went on to other projects, with Kleisath joined a group called
En Masse in early 2006, and Cordoba joining
Kicked Out Heel Drag in early 2007.
Band members
(1998 - 2001) From the 27th State
The Moon is Down
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- Chris Carrabba - Vocals
- Josh Colbert - guitar
- Nick Dominguez - guitar
- Chad Neptune - bass
- Steve Kleisath - drums
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(2002 - 2004) How to Start a Fire
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- Jason Gleason - vocals
- Josh Colbert - guitar
- Derick Cordoba - guitar
- Chad Neptune - bass
- Steve Kleisath - drums
|
(2004 - 2007) Hide Nothing
The Final Curtain
|
- Jon Bunch - vocals
- Josh Colbert - guitar
- Derick Cordoba - guitar
- Chad Neptune - bass
- Steve Kleisath - drums
|
- Chris Carrabba - vocals (1998-2001)
- Josh Colbert - guitar (1998-2006)
- Nick Dominguez - guitar (1998-2001)
- Steve Kleisath - drums (1998-2006)
- Chad Neptune - bass (1998-2006)
- Jason Gleason - vocals (2002-2004)
- Derick Cordoba - guitar (2002-2006)
- Jon Bunch - vocals (2004-2006)
Notable fill-ins
Due to certain band members' occasional inability to tour, the band relied on several fill-ins including:
- Ian Sirianni - guitar
- Jack Hutson - guitar
- Gene Francis - vocals
- Brandon Swanson - guitar
- Scott Nunn - guitar
- Ian Fowles - guitar
- Thomas Rankine - bass
Discography
Studio albums
Year
| Title
| Label
| Other information
|
2001
| The Moon is Down
| Tooth & Nail
| First album. Only album with original vocalist Chris Carrabba. Released on vinyl by Dead Droid Records.
|
2003
| How to Start a Fire
| Only album with second vocalist Jason Gleason. Released on vinyl by
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2004
| Hide Nothing
| Final studio album. Only studio album with third vocalist Jon Bunch. Released on vinyl by Pop Up Records.
|
Compilation albums
Year
| Title
| Label
| Other information
|
2006
| Hope This Finds You Well
| Tooth & Nail Records
| Posthumous "best of" compilation. Also includes rare and unreleased tracks.
|
2007
| The Final Curtain
| 567
| Live album recorded at final performance. Also includes rare and unreleased tracks and concert DVD.
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EPs & 7" vinyl
Year
| Title
| Label
| Other information
|
1999
| From the 27th State
| Takehold
| First release. Split EP with Recess Theory.
|
2000
| Fall 2000 Tour Sampler
| Tooth & Nail
| 2-song single released in support of Fall 2000 tour.
|
2002
| Further Seems Forever / Twothirtyeight
| Split with Twothirtyeight. First release with vocalist Jason Gleason.
|
Non-album tracks
Year
| Album/Source
| Label
| Song(s)
| Other information
|
1999
| An Ocean of Doubt
| Deep Elm
| "Vengeance Factor"
| First song released by original lineup, with vocalist Chris Carrabba.
|
2002
| Rock Music: A Tribute to Weezer
| Dead Droid
| "Say it Ain't So"
| Originally performed by Weezer. First recording with vocalist Jason Gleason. A previously recorded version with Carrabba on vocals appears on Hope This Finds You Well
.
|
2002
| Punk Goes Pop
| Fearless
| "Bye Bye Bye"
| Originally performed by *NSYNC. Recorded with vocalist Jason Gleason.
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Videography
Music videos
Year
| Title
| Album
|
2001
| "Snowbirds and Townies"
| The Moon is Down
|
2003
| "The Sound"
| How to Start a Fire
|
2004
| "Light Up Ahead"
| Hide Nothing
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References
- Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo
- Further Finds a Front Man
- ActionReaction
- Further Seems Forever biography
- ''The Final Curtain''