Acidic is a Los Angeles based alternative rock band that consists of lead singer and guitarist Michael Gossard, guitarist and background vocalist Michael Thompson, bassist and background vocalist Ted Dubrawski, and drummer Matt Whitaker. Their album, Getting Lucky, is their second full-length album, released independently on March 23rd, 2010. Their first full length CD, Ironic Dreams, was self-produced and was released on April 14th, 2009.

History

Michael Gossard has known Dubrawski since elementary school. They started performing together in their high school’s rock band (Crespi) before Michael formed ACIDIC his freshman year. In 2008, looking to add a drummer to their new group, they conducted a city-wide search which found Matt Whitaker. Dubrawski is an accomplished surfer and is a student at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, where Gossard will be enrolled in the fall of 2010. Drummer Whitajker is a cancer survivor, having overcome leukemia when he was seven. Michael Thompson joined after seeing an advertisement for Acidic in Craig's List.

Acidic toured Southern California during 2009 in support of their debut album and played venues including The House of Blues on Sunset, Whisky A Go-Go, The Knitting Factory, The Palmer Room, The Derby, Club D in Azusa, Club Aura, The Canyon Club, Jewel's Catch One and the Orange County Fair. They also were a featured new performer on the Main Stage at Bamboozle Left 2009. Acidic ended 2009 by signing a production deal with the Australian duo The Wizardz of Oz (Andrew Bojanic & Liz Hooper) for their second CD, Getting Lucky.

The band appeared at more national events in 2010, including the Western Fairs Association convention in Reno NV in January, Michele Clark's Sunset Sessions in San Diego CA in February, and the South by SouthWest festival in Austin TX in March. Also that month, they were named the Whisky a Go Go's LA Weekly Band-of-the-Month. In April they began to promote "Getting Lucky." They played at Six Flags Magic Mountain over the Memorial Day weekend (one day after Michael Gossard graduated high school) and have been scheduled for a second appearance at the Orange County Fair. In June they won a NACA-sponsored Battle-of-the-Bands at Musicians Institute, earning them representation to the National Association of Campus Activities for a year. They also signed with the Variety Artists International agency in June for future touring and sponsorship. Also in 2010 the band played at the Project Save Our Surf Festival, the Sunset Strip Music Festival and the North Park Music Thing in San Diego. Acidic's first tour outside Southern California began in early July 2010 supporting Hawthorne Heights

Hawthorne Heights

Hawthorne Heights is an American rock band from Dayton, Ohio, formed in 2001. Their line-up currently consists of lead-singer and rhythm guitarist JT Woodruff, lead-guitarist and vocalist Micah Carli, bassist and backing vocalist Matt Ridenour, and drummer Eron Bucciarelli...

. The tour covered 12 cities in 8 Western states from Washington to New Mexico.

Getting Lucky

In March 2010 Acidic released their second album Getting Lucky, a 12 track CD featuring the ballad "Maybe", which debuted on the FMQB Hot AC radio spin chart in early May at #78 and eventually reached the top 40. "Tell Me" and "The Big Bang" were featured rock tracks for Triple A radio. Two songs, "Move On" and "Strata Red" are re-recordings of tracks that originally appeared on Ironic Dreams.

Charity

In 2008 and 2009, Acidic donated a portion of their online album sales to the East Valley Animal Shleter in Los Angeles. The band also has their own charity, Help Us Help, which contributes to various charities in the Los Angeles area. In 2009, they helped to raise funds for the One Love for Chi foundation, a charity that helps cover the medical expenses of Deftones bass player Chi Cheng. Acidic are also involved with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, which helped drummer Matt Whitaker and his family during his battle with cancer. The band has supported that organization since 2008, playing at Light the Night walk-a-thon events and Man/Woman of the Year fundraisers. They worked with Charitybuzz.com in the spring of 2010, auctioning a guest slot in the band at one of their Whisky a Go Go concerts, which was won by a 17-year-old guitarist from Seattle.

Reception

Future Rock Stars of America said of the band, "The instrumentals are very upbeat and have an old school rock tone to them...this young group sound like a band on the rise." All Access Magazine said Acidic has, "Produced a peppy, punky package of original tunes" and said of their live show, "Acidic's members concluded yet another stop on their ascent to the broader acclaim and popularity this energetic young Westside trio merits." Campus Circle Magazine said, "Acidic is a good band with a lot of energy. They are professionals with a clean style who are able to achieve an energetic stage presence while still appearing like three very approachable guys...their solid rock songs and jovial, happy stage demeanor left me feeling cheerful and optimistic." MuzikReviews.com said "Acidic has a solid release in Getting Lucky. There is an undeniable catchiness to ACIDIC’S whole album that fans of pop/rock/alternative music will love. For a band this young...to fit in with the likes of Green Day, Mest and The Deftones is quite a feat." The Ripple Effect said, "Precocious...pretty much describes this blazing sophomore album from just ending teenagers. Here are some serious rockers, locked in, and blasting it out with frenzied abandon."