| Ashes Divide
(commonly typeset as ASHES dIVIDE
, to fit their logo) is an American rock band formed by guitarist Billy Howerdel, who had also formed A Perfect Circle. Howerdel is the primary songwriter, musician, producer, and vocalist for the band. The touring lineup consists of Jeff Friedl on drums, Matt McJunkins on bass, Andy Gerold on lead guitar and Adam Monroe on piano/keyboards. [1] [2]
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ASHES DIVIDE TICKETS
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History
Under "Billy Howerdel Solo"
Billy Howerdel was known to start working on music for his solo project as early at 2005, after wrapping up touring for A Perfect Circle's 2nd cd, Thirteenth Step, and recording their 3rd cd, Emotive. He was quoted as saying that his solo music would be more uptempo than his previous work with A Perfect Circle, but many of those uptempo tracks ended up as instrumentals for the
Jak X: Combat Racing video game. He wrote many songs during this period, some of which he kept for the Jak X
[3]., and some of which he kept for his future solo project (which would become Ashes Divide). Songs that were left off of any Ashes Divide releases in favor of the Jak X Soundtrack include "Ascension", "Migraine", "Fracture", "The Chopper", and "Death From Above". In an IGN/Youtube interview with Matt Pinfield, he revealed that at one point "Denial Waits" was going to be for Jak X instead.
However, Billy, not used to working alone, ended up spending years tweaking his music so that he was happy with it, with constant revisions. An example of this is how the "Army" demo, originally done while still in A Perfect Circle, eventually evolved into "The Stone".
Under "Ashes Divide"
The band's first
single, "
The Stone", made its radio premiere on
January 22 2008.
[4] Their
debut album,
Keep Telling Myself It's Alright
, was released on
April 8. On February 22, Howerdel explained on Chicago radio station
Q101
that the date was pushed back from March 18 because of the record label.
[5]
The album features drumming by
Josh Freese, and a guest performance on the track "Sword" by
Devo Keenan (cello), the son of
Maynard James Keenan.
[6] In addition to Freese and Keenan, the record will also feature contributions from drummer Dean Sainz,
Concrete Blonde's
Johnette Napolitano (assisted with "Too Late"),
Alkaline Trio's
Matt Skiba (helped with editing lyrics of "The Prey") and former A Perfect Circle bassist
Paz Lenchantin (assisted with "Denial Waits").
Promotion
Ashes Divide was also featured on
Linkin Park's Projekt Revolution 2008 tour, performing on the Main Stage. They also performed with
Stone Temple Pilots and
Filter for the
K-rock's Return of the Rock event. In addition to the songs on "Keep Telling Myself It's Alright", they also frequently played a cover of
Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain", although in a vastly different state from the original, much in the vein of the covers on A Perfect Circle's 2004 release Emotive.
Ashes Divide toured extensively throughout 2008. However, towards the end of 2008, after Maynard James Keenan announcing that he and Billy Howerdel were working on music for A Perfect Circle, rumors of Ashes Divides breaking up arose.
[7] [8]
Discography
Albums
- 2008: Keep Telling Myself It's Alright
Singles
| Year
| Title
| US Main. [9]
| US Mod.
| Album
|
| 2008
| "The Stone"
| 7
| 10
| Keep Telling Myself It's Alright
|
| "The Prey"
| —
| —
|
| "Enemies"
| —
| —
|
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart.
|
References
- Billy Howerdel discusses new band lineup
- ASHES dIVIDE Video Interviews
- Billy Howerdel Q&A
- Afternoon Fix: Celebrity Birthdays, the 'First Sunday' Movie Minute, the latest news, and more.
- A Perfect Circle's Billy Howerdel Goes Solo As Ashes Divide
- A Perfect Circle Guitarist Eager To Launch New Project
- http://www.smnnews.com/2008/11/21/ashes-divide-break-up/
- http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.Net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=110519
- Billboard Music Charts