Thousand Foot Krutch
(shortened as TFK
) is a Canadian rock band formed in 1997. They have released four major studio albums: Set It Off
(2000), Phenomenon
(2003), The Art of Breaking
(2005), The Flame In All of Us
(2007), and their upcoming fifth release Welcome to the Masquerade
(2009) is set for release on September 8, 2009. [1] Lead singer Trevor McNevan and drummer Steve Augustine are also members of their side project band FM Static.
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THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH TICKETS
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Overview
Trevor McNevan began the band in
Peterborough,
Ontario, a city northeast of
Toronto, where he went to
high school.
Joel Bruyere, born in Brantford, Ontario, was McNevan's childhood friend who had moved away but remained in contact with him. Drummer Steve Augestine is from
Hamilton, Ontario. Trevor's first band was
Trevor McNevan#Oddball, which featured Dave Smith on guitar, Tim Baxter on bass and Trevor's cousin, Three Days Grace's
Neil Sanderson, on drums. Oddball recorded only one album,
Shutterbug
, which was released in 1995. McNevan is the founding member of TFK (along with original guitarist Dave Smith), formed in 1997 in Peterborough, Ontario. McNevan came up with TFK's name "symbolizing the point in our lives that we realize we can't make it on our own strength". He has written and released 6 albums with thousand Foot Krutch to date and another three with his side Project
FM Static.
TFK has worked with producers
Aaron Sprinkle (
Mae/
Anberlin/
MxPx),
Gavin Brown (
Three Days Grace/
Billy Talent/
Thornley),
Arnold Lanni (
Our Lady Peace/
Finger Eleven/
Simple Plan), and
Ken Andrews (
Beck/
Chris Cornell/
Pete Yorn/
Tenacious D) on their last 3 Tooth and Nail-released records.
Thousand Foot Krutch has shared the stage with bands like
Three Days Grace,
Finger Eleven,
Trapt,
Econoline Crush,
Treble Charger,
The Tea Party,
Scratching Post,
Maestro,
Rascalz,
Rubber,
Dogwood,
Matthew Good Band,
Gob,
Skillet,
Korn,
P.O.D.,
Egypt Central,
Chevelle,
Sevendust,
10 Years,
Demon Hunter,
tobyMac and many more.
History
Shutterbug
(1995–1996)
Trevor McNevan#Oddball
was released in 1995 by band
Trevor McNevan#Oddball, which was the first version of TFK. The line-up included four members: Trevor McNevan (vocals, guitar), Dave Smith (guitar), Tim Baxter (bass) and Trevor's cousin,
Three Days Grace's
Neil Sanderson (drums), who also played in
Groundswell (the first version of Three Days Grace). Bands spend a lot of time together and even worked at McDonald's.
Trevor McNevan#Oddball disbanded in 1996.
That's What People Do
(1998–1999)
That's What People Do
was released independently in 1998 and is out of print. It sold over 5000 copies. TFK climbed the ladder of local notoriety throughout Ontario and abroad. Reaching the ears of Ontario commercial radio, CKWF 101.5 FM in their home town of Peterborough took a chance and added "Rhyme Animal", the band's first single from their independent recording, to their rotation. It clicked with listeners and within two months ended up being one of the five most requested songs of the year.
In 1999 TFK was chosen by 7 Ball Magazine as one of the top 25 bands in North America. They were also awarded "Best Indie Recording" and Trevor awarded "Vocalist of the Year" by the readers of The Wire Magazine. They were then awarded "Band of the Year" at the 2000 Wire Awards. They were also voted as the #1 band of the millennium on 100.3 FM in Barrie, Ontario.
Set It Off
(2000–2002)
Set It Off
was released on November 14, 2000. It was the group's debut label release. The sound of the album was distinct in its heavily hip-hop influenced nu metal, and though a few songs from the record (including "Puppet" and "Supafly") impacted at both secular and Christian radio, the band gained notoriety almost entirely through self-promotion and word of mouth. The band also printed a limited edition "Pre-release" version of "Set It Off" at a release party in Peterborough, Ontario for their local fans. TFK toured with
Finger Eleven,
Econoline Crush,
Treble Charger,
The Tea Party,
Matthew Good Band,
Gob and others.
Three Days Grace, which was a cover band at that time, was a TFK's opening band.
Trevor helped with recordings of Three Days Grace's
demo album. He is also featured on their song "This Movie" from this album. Around this same time, Dave Smith left the group; Making McNevan the only original member. Smith was replaced with Myke Harrison, who departed about a year later.
Phenomenon
(2003–2004)
In 2003, TFK signed with
Seattle-based
Tooth & Nail Records after long consideration and released their critically-acclaimed second full-length CD,
Phenomenon
. Though something of a departure from the rap-heavy sound of
Set it Off
,
Phenomenon
still relied on McNevan's rhythmic vocals, albeit with a solid modern metal sound.
Phenomenon
was well received, and spawned 4 popular radio singles, including the anthemic "
Rawkfist." The CD sold 200,000 units
[2] making it one of the best-selling albums in Tooth & Nail's history. They continued this success with the 2004 re-release of
Set it Off
through Tooth & Nail, allowing for a larger print run and adding 6 songs, including five from "That's What People Do", and one new song "Everyone Like Me", produced by
Gavin Brown (
Three Days Grace/
Billy Talent/
Thornley). Now touring majorly, the band needed a guitarist for live shows; because Myke Harrison had not been replaced and Trevor had recorded lead guitars on Phenomenon. So the trio enlisted Jamie Aplin, a member of a fellow Canadian band (h)eadspace who had played drums, as fill in guitarist. Jamie never recorded any records with TFK, making his releationship with the band heavily debated with fans.
In that time McNevan and Augustine started a side band called
FM Static, which can be classified as a pop-punk or pop/rock band and is usually much more light-hearted. FM Static scoring two #10 hits for their songs "Crazy Mary", and "Something to Believe in."
The Art of Breaking
(2005–2006)
On July 19, 2005, they released their third full-length album
The Art of Breaking
, produced by
Arnold Lanni (
Our Lady Peace/
Finger Eleven/
Simple Plan). This album makes almost a complete break from the nu metal sound of Phenomenon, focusing more on heavy elements. The record also features short guitar solos, which is the first TFK album to do so. The Art of Breaking was recieved well from fans, although some critisized the album's change of style. The single "
Move" peaked at #16 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart early 2006. Other popular singles include the debut song "Absolute", another fan favourite and Breathe You In, which was released to alternative radio and is the bands first lighter, slower single.
The band was on many tours, festivals and concerts, including concerts with
Korn,
Paramore,
Relient K,
AFI,
Yeah Yeah Yeahs,
Hawthorne Heights,
Dashboard Confessional,
Neverending White Lights,
Kill Hannah,
Trapt and others.
The Flame in All of Us
(2007–2008)
thumb
After working in the studio with producer
Ken Andrews (
Beck/
Chris Cornell/
Pete Yorn/
Tenacious D/
Mae) they released
The Flame in All of Us
on September 18, 2007, with a move to a more mainstream rock sound, with some heavy influences from bands such as fellow Canadian artists
Our Lady Peace & other various metal bands. The album is called by fans to defining (as Phenomenon and The Art of Breaking were so different, this album made clear the bands genre) and features the singles "Falls Apart", "What do we Know?", "Favorite Diesease" and "The Flame in All of Us". On January 20, 2008 "The Flame In All Of Us" became the 1000th song to ever make it on the ChristianRock.Net Top 30 Chart. Also on Purevolume.com Thousand Foot Krutch was the favorite artist on the 2nd of July 2007 and 26 August 2007.
In 2006, Trevor became involved with
TobyMac and helped him write the music for the song "Ignition" found on Toby's album "Portable Sounds". Because of this, in the spring of 2007 the band was part of the TobyMac Portable Sounds tour. The tour was such a success that Toby asked them to do the fall tour as well.
The next tour was in the spring of 2008 when the band toured with
Skillet and
Decyfer Down. TFK also performed with
Egypt Central,
P.O.D.,
Chevelle,
Sevendust,
10 Years,
Daughtry,
Red. After a lengthy summer playing festivals and one-off shows, they were then direct support for the very first Creation Festival: The Tour. The tour consisted of the following nine bands:
Kutless,
TFK,
Pillar,
KJ-52,
Fireflight,
Worth Dying For,
Run Kid Run,
Esterlyn, and
Capital Lights. TFK covered the Christmas song "Jingle Bell Rock" for the Christmas album
X Christmas, put out by Tooth & Nail Records.
Welcome To The Masquerade
(2009-present)
Thousand Foot Krutch has finished recording their new album titled
Welcome to the Masquerade, First announced in early 2009. In April '09, Trevor appeared in a live chat with fans via TFKTV hosted by Mogulus Live Broadcast. In the chat, he revealed several facts about the record. The band has reunited with Aaron Sprinkle to produce this album (Sprinkle had previously produced the TFK album
Phenomenon). Trevor stated that the album will be very heavy, aggressive, and will contain some elements from Phenomenon.
Emery's Matt Carter and well-known producer and mixer Randy Staub (
Metallica/
Stone Sour/
Nickelback/
Our Lady Peace) are also working with TFK on Welcome to the Masquerade. It has been announced by TFK and various online stores that the album will be released on September 8th. The record is now available for pre-order. The album has received promotion from other places as well, most notably that the song "Fire It Up" will be featured in video games such as
NHL 10 and a few others and is as well featured in the
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra movie trailer.
Thousand Foot Krutch announced a fall tour to support Welcome to The Masquerade and during fall 2009, TFK will again be performing on Creation Festival: The Tour, with
Jars of Clay, AA Talks,
B.Reith,
FM Static, and
This Beautiful Republic.
Musical style and influences
TFK's Sound has changed over the years. Form Rapcore, and alternative rock on their first album to Nu Metal and Alternativer Metal on their later albums. Their upcoming album is a combination of their signature Hard Rock style combined with electronic and heavy metal influences.
Band's influences include
Aerosmith,
Led Zeppelin,
Pearl Jam,
Soundgarden,
Creed,
Our Lady Peace,
Finger Eleven and
KoRn among others.
Members
;Current
[3]
- Trevor McNevan - vocals, Guitar (Studio) (1995-present)
- Joel Bruyere - Bass Guitar, backing vocals (1999-present) – founded a solo project called The Drawing Room.
- Steve Augustine - drums (2001-present)
;Touring
- Nick Baumhardt - Guitar (2007-present)
- Jamie Aplin - Guitar (2003-2007)
;Former
- Dave Smith - Guitar (1995-2001)
- Mike Harrison - Guitar (2001-2003)
- Tim Baxter - Bass Guitar (1995-1998)
- Pat Pedasiuk - Bass Guitar (1998-1999)
- Christian Harvey - drums (1997-1999)
- Geoff "Johnny Orbital" Laforet - drums (1999-2001)
;Session
- Aaron Sprinkle - keyboards and additional guitars (2003; 2009)
- Arnold Lanni - keyboards (2005)
- Ken Andrews - keyboards (2007)
- Phil X - additional guitars (2005; 2007; 2009)
- Charlotte Martin - backing vocals on InHuman (The Flame in All of Us) (2007)
- Adam Gontier - role unknown on Hurt and Go (The Art of Breaking) (2005)
Discography
Studio albums
- 1998 That's What People Do
- 2000 Set It Off
- 2003 Phenomenon
- 2005 The Art of Breaking
- 2007 The Flame in All of Us
- 2009 Welcome to the Masquerade
Awards and recognition
Gospel Music Association Canada Covenant Awards
- 2005 Artist Of The Year
- 2005 Group Of The Year
- 2005 Modern Rock Album Of The Year: The Art of Breaking
- 2006 Video Of The Year: Move
- 2008 nominee, Group Of The Year
- 2008 nominee, Hard Music Album Of The Year: The Flame In All Of Us
- 2008 nominee, Hard Music Song Of The Year: "Falls Apart"
Juno Awards
- 2005 nominee, Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the year: Phenomenon
- 2006 nominee, Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the year: The Art of Breaking
- 2008 nominee, Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the year, The Flame in All of Us
Taco Bell's Feed The Beat
- 2008 Best Of The Beat (with Fireflight and Hit The Lights) [4]
References
- Thousand Foot Krutch
- Soul Purpose » THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH | The Art of Breaking
- http://www.thousandfootkrutch.com/home#/bio
- http://www.christiantoday.com/article/thousand.foot.krutch.wins.taco.bell.best.of.the.beat/22007.htm