Army of Freshmen
Encyclopedia
Army of Freshmen is an independent 6 piece rock band based out of Ventura, California that has played over 1,000 shows in 43 states and 11 countries.

Early Years (1997-2001)

Following his graduation from Lower Cape May Regional High School
Lower Cape May Regional High School
The Lower Cape May Regional High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Lower Township, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Lower Cape May Regional School District. LCMRHS serves students from four communities in Cape May County as part of the Lower Cape...

 in Cape May
Cape May
Cape May is a peninsula and island ; the southern tip of the island is the southernmost point of the state of New Jersey, United States. It runs southwards from the New Jersey mainland, separating Delaware Bay from the Atlantic Ocean...

, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, Chris Jay left his native New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 for California in 1997 with the goal of starting a band. Jay soon befriended and started the band with Owen Bucey, Dan Clark, Aaron Goldberg, Jon Blackburn and One' Nielsen and Mike Rini at the Teltron Internet Cafe, a local coffeehouse where Jay was performing his original songs (he had written over 500 before the band even formed).

Within months, Army of Freshmen made a name for themselves by garnering a strong local following in Ventura County, California. For the band's first 2 years of existence, Jay played guitar and Aaron Goldberg and Dan Clark were the band's horn section, but as their eclectic sound took on a pop rock quality, Goldberg took over on guitar and Clark added an additional keyboard to the band. In addition, Mike Rini took over for Jon Blackburn on drums. With no label, agent or management the band took their act on the road, booking their own tours.

Army of Freshmen (2001-2004)

In 2001, the band signed with a local label, Blue Hand Records, and released their self-titled debut which was produced by Jay Ferguson
Jay Ferguson (American musician)
Jay Ferguson is an American rock and roll musician, known for his work with Spirit and Jo Jo Gunne, and his 1978 solo hit "Thunder Island". His later career has been as a composer of music for television programs and films.-Childhood and early musical career:He was born in Burbank, California, in...

, a member of the popular 60's rock band Spirit
Spirit (band)
Spirit was an American jazz/hard rock/progressive rock/psychedelic band founded in 1967, based in Los Angeles, California.- The original lineup :...

.

They toured that summer in support of the album on the Moto Music Madness Tour which found AOF playing on the Ernie Ball Mobile stage during the intermission of a freestyle motocross event. The tour played over 50 dates across the USA.

At the beginning of 2003, Nielsen left the band on good terms to pursue another career and was replaced by Kai Dodson, another Ventura County musician who was a long time friend of the band, and whose previous band, 19th Hole, had performed with Army of Freshmen in the past. Around the same time, the album was discovered by the Sonic Label, a record label in Japan, which led to Army of Freshmen being invited to play Summersonic, one of Japan's largest music festivals, in 2003.

In the fall of 2003, the band would first tour with Bowling For Soup. This led to a close friendship between both bands resulting in the creation of the Get Happy Tour in 2006.

Beg, Borrow, Steal (2004-2006)

The band entered the studio to record their second album, Beg, Borrow, Steal in late 2003. It was produced by Angus Cooke and was released on the label 33rd Street Records, which was owned by the now-defunct music store chain Tower Records
Tower Records
Tower Records was a retail music chain that was based in Sacramento, California. It currently exists as an international franchise and an online music store....

. The album featured the single "Get Um Up," which was added to over 20 alternative radio stations and spent 5 weeks in the top 20 on the U.S. Alternative radio specialty charts before the label, along with Tower Records, went out of business.

Following the release of Beg, Borrow, Steal in 2004, the band returned to Japan supporting The Living End
The Living End
The Living End are an Australian rock band from Melbourne, Victoria, formed in 1994. The current lineup consists of Chris Cheney , Scott Owen and Andy Strachan...

, along with a co-headlining show with Sugarcult
Sugarcult
Sugarcult is an American rock band from Santa Barbara, California formed in 1998. The band currently consists of Tim Pagnotta , Airin Older , Marko DeSantis , and Kenny Livingston .-Formation :Tim Pagnotta met ex-drummer Ben Davis during a cigarette break at school...

 and Bowling For Soup in Sapporo, Japan where the band's record went to the top 10 in that city.

Returning from Japan, the band embarked on the entire Warped Tour
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival. The tour is held in venues such as parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures are erected. The BMX/skateboarding shoe manufacturer Vans, among others, has sponsored the tour every year since 1995, and it is...

 in 2004. During the tour's stop in Toronto, Canada, drummer Mike Rini was asked to leave the band. Mike Milligan, a Chicago-based drummer who had played with AOF on several shows with his previous band, Short Arm Trick, relocated to Ventura and officially replaced Rini in December 2004.

Shortly after the Warped Tour, the band toured the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 for the first time with The Littlest Man Band
The Littlest Man Band
The Littlest Man Band was started by Scott Klopfenstein of Orange County, California. Scott was a long-time member of Reel Big Fish, a popular ska punk band. Scott had written a number of songs over the years that didn't conform to the usual style of Reel Big Fish...

 and Suburban Legends
Suburban Legends
Suburban Legends are a third wave ska/pop band that formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1998, and are currently based out of Santa Ana, California.- History :...

.

Immediately after returning to the United States, the band finished their busiest year yet touring the country again with Lucky Boys Confusion
Lucky Boys Confusion
Lucky Boys Confusion is a rock band from the Chicago suburbs in DuPage County. Their music is a mix of rock, punk, ska, and hip hop. The band consists of bassist Jason Schultejann, drummer Ryan Fergus, vocalist Kaustubh Pandav, guitarist/vocalist Adam Krier, and guitarist Joe Sell...

.

In 2005 the band did a headlining summer tour still in support of Beg, Borrow, Steal and returned to the United Kingdom that fall for a sold out tour opening for Bowling For Soup. In support of the tour, they released an exclusive UK only EP, At the End Of the Day, which was recorded in Texas and produced by Jaret Reddick
Jaret Reddick
Jaret Ray Reddick is an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and lead songwriter for the Grammy Award-nominated pop punk band Bowling for Soup. He plays a Music Man Axis that has a flag of Texas design on...

 of Bowling For Soup.

Under the Radar (2006-2007)

In 2006, the band released their third album, Under the Radar, which was produced by Jay Ruston and recorded in Los Angeles, CA. Originally set to be released by an upstart independent record label, American Blood, the label folded prior to the album's release and gave Army of Freshmen full rights to the record, which they released independently.

That spring, the band returned to Japan for the third time on the Nutcase Entertainment Tour which was the band's new Japanese label after Sonic Label folded.

In the summer of 2006, Army of Freshmen and Bowling For Soup created and appeared on the first Get Happy Tour, a package tour that covered the United States and featured fan interaction events and a family friendly show.

The Get Happy Tour then went to the United Kingdom in February 2007 where it sold out in advance. Army of Freshmen's energetic live show received glowing praise from such music publications as Kerrang Magazine. At the Birmingham date of the Get Happy Tour, organizers of the Download Festival
Download Festival
The Download Festival is a three day rock music festival held annually at Donington Park, England . It usually takes place in June...

 caught the band's set, and a week later, Army of Freshmen was invited to appear at the 2007 Download Festival in England held in June.

In preparation for their debut United Kingdom festival appearance, Army of Freshmen co-headlined the Good to Go Tour
Good To Go Tour
The Good To Go Tour is a British multi-artist package concert tour that features a mix of established acts from the American punk/rock/ska/pop genres and rising UK bands.-History:...

 in May in the United Kingdom with Wheatus
Wheatus
Wheatus are an American rock group from Northport, New York. They are known for their 2000 single "Teenage Dirtbag" which was featured in the movie Loser, as well as in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill.-1995-2002: Formation and Wheatus:...

 and MC Lars
MC Lars
Andrew Robert MacFarlane Nielsen is an American rapper, known by his stage name MC Lars. He is the self-proclaimed originator of "post-punk laptop rap". He was one of the first underground rappers to sample and reference post-punk and emo bands...

. They also visited mainland Europe for the first time (Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands), then returned to the United Kingdom with Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California, best known for the 1997 hit "Sell Out". The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s, during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold certified album Turn the Radio Off. Soon after, the band...

 in June prior to the 2007 Download Festival.

In the summer of 2007, the band embarked on the second year of the Get Happy Tour. Then, in October, the Get Happy Tour went to mainland Europe for shows in France, the Netherlands and Germany. Immediately thereafter, the tour continued on to United Kingdom which saw Army of Freshmen playing to some of the largest crowds of their career.

Above The Atmosphere (2008-2010)

In April 2008, Army of Freshmen announced that recording was complete on their fourth album, Above the Atmosphere. The 10 song record was recorded in Los Angeles during February and March 2008 and was produced by Jay Ruston. The band’s website and YouTube channel posted several photo and video blogs during the recording process. During that time Army of Freshmen also appeared at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas for a Get Happy Tour showcase that included Bowling For Soup, Presidents of the United States of America, Wheatus and Ludo.

Above The Atmosphere was self-released in June and is currently available on all digital retail stores, at all AOF live shows and on the band’s website. The band also embarked on their first headlining tour of the United Kingdom in June, as well as making a return appearance at the 2008 Download Festival where the band once again drew positive reviews and a large crowd.

Immediately after the UK tour in July 2008 the band went on a short 3 week headline tour in the United States that included a benefit show at Chris Jay’s high school in Cape May, New Jersey.

The video for the record’s single, “No One’s Famous” was released in the fall of 2008 and was a hit in the United Kingdom where it went to number 3 on Scuzz TV’s top 10 video show. It also reached number 7 on Kerrang TV’s top 20 video show.

The band then returned in November for another headline tour to support the new record and single.

In May 2009, the band toured China for the first time where they played to the biggest crowds of their career appearing at the Midi Festival and Zebra Festival where they were the only artist from the USA to perform. Their headlining set received rave reviews in the Chinese music press.

Close Encounter EP (2010-Present)

With no announcements, except for some teaser photos on the band’s website, they released, the Close Encounter EP on June 1, 2010. The EP was available for download for a pay-what-you-like model. The band returned to the United Kingdom for a short headline tour and an appearance at The Sonisphere Festival
Sonisphere Festival
The Sonisphere Festival is a touring music festival which takes place across Europe between June and August. The festival is owned by John Jackson and Kilimanjaro Live. It is jointly-promoted by K2 and Kilimanjaro Live...

 at Knebworth, England. It was the band’s 8th trip to the United Kingdom and once again their set received four stars from Kerrang Magazine and was hailed as one of the largest crowds of the day on their stage.

Most recently the band announced they would be returning to mainland Europe in April 2011 to perform at 20th Anniversary of Belgium’s Groezrock Festival
Groezrock
Groezrock is an annual music festival that takes place in Gestel, a part of Meerhout, Belgium. It started out as a small rock and pop festival with a few hundred people attending, but has evolved into a large punk rock festival, with attendances now exceeding 30000. Since 2003 there have been...

 as well as an appearance at France’s Artefacts Festival. Additional headline shows are expected to be announced as well. Five additional dates around the UK were announced by the band on the 18th January, between the 16th and 20 April. These dates will be in Folkestone, Southampton, Leeds, Manchester and London.

Members

  • Chris Jay
    Chris Jay
    Chris Jay is a musician, songwriter, producer, writer and actor best known as the frontman and founder of the rock band, Army of Freshmen.-Background/Army of Freshmen:...

     - vocals
  • Aaron Goldberg - guitar, vocals
  • Owen Bucey - keyboard, vocals
  • Dan Clark - keyboard, mini moog
  • Kai Dodson - bass
  • Mike Milligan - drums

Albums

  • The Army of Freshmen (2001)
  • Beg, Borrow, Steal (2004)
  • At the End of the Day (2005) [UK only EP]
  • Under the Radar (2006)
  • Above The Atmosphere (2008)
  • Close Encounter EP (2010)

Associations

In Army of Freshmen’s career they have toured with or opened for the following notable bands: AFI
AFI (band)
AFI is an American alternative rock band from Ukiah, California that formed in 1991. They have consisted of the same lineup since 1998: lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backup vocalist Adam Carson, with bassist Hunter Burgan and guitarist Jade Puget, who both play keyboard and contribute...

, Allister
Allister
Allister is an American pop punk band from Chicago, Illinois. The four-piece formed in 1996 and were one of the first bands to sign to Drive-Thru Records...

, Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band that formed in McHenry, Illinois, in 1996. The band's line-up consists of Matt Skiba , Dan Andriano , and Derek Grant...

, American Hi-Fi
American Hi-Fi
American Hi-Fi is an American pop punk band from Los Angeles, California, which originally hailed from Boston, Massachusetts. The band consists of vocalist Stacy Jones, guitarist Jamie Arentzen, bassist Drew Parsons, and drummer Brian Nolan...

, The Ataris
The Ataris
The Ataris are a rock band from Anderson, Indiana. They have released five studio albums, and their most recent E.P. was released on November 25, 2010 on the Gainesville, Florida based label, Paper + Plastick. It contained the brand new tracks "All Souls' Day" and "The Graveyard of The Atlantic"...

, The Aquabats
The Aquabats
The Aquabats are an American rock band formed in 1994 in Orange County, California. They have released five full-length studio albums and have toured internationally. They are best known for their mythology, in which they claim to be superheroes on a quest to save the world from evil through music...

, Billy Talent
Billy Talent
Billy Talent is a Canadian post-hardcore band from Streetsville, Ontario. They formed in 1993 with Ben Kowalewicz as the lead vocalist, Ian D'Sa on lead guitar, bassist Jon Gallant and drummer Aaron Solowoniuk ....

, Bloodhound Gang
Bloodhound Gang
Bloodhound Gang is a Collegeville, Pennsylvania-based American comedy band, although it began as a rap group and gradually changed its genre throughout the years...

, Bowling For Soup
Bowling for Soup
Bowling for Soup is an American pop-punk band which originally formed in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1994...

, The Buzzcocks, Cherry Poppin' Daddies
Cherry Poppin' Daddies
The Cherry Poppin' Daddies are an American band established in Eugene, Oregon, in 1989. Formed by Steve Perry and Dan Schmid , the band has experienced many membership changes over the years, with only Perry, Schmid and Dana Heitman currently remaining from the original line-up.The Daddies' music...

, Dogstar
Dogstar (band)
Dogstar was an alternative rock group active from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. The band performed at the 1996 Zwemdokrock Festival and at the 1999 Glastonbury Festival , and it released an EP and two albums...

 featuring Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...

, Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...

, Fenix TX, Fountains of Wayne
Fountains of Wayne
Fountains of Wayne is an American power pop band that formed in New York City in 1996. The band consists of members Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter and Brian Young.-Early years:...

, Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 1998, the band's constant members have been lead vocalist Joel Madden, lead guitarist and back-up vocalist Benji Madden, bass guitarist Paul Thomas and rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Billy Martin...

, Halifax
Halifax (band)
Halifax is a four-piece rock band from Thousand Oaks, California. They formed in 2003 and currently are signed with Rocket Science Records. On their Myspace page the band announced that they will not be going with Drive-Thru Records on their 2009 release but are shipping the album off to other labels...

, Hellogoodbye
Hellogoodbye
Hellogoodbye is a power pop band that was formed in Huntington Beach, California in 2001 by singer Forrest Kline. They were signed to Drive-Thru Records and released their first full-length album Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs! in 2006, in addition to their previously released EP Hellogoodbye...

, Home Grown
Home Grown
Home Grown was an American rock band formed in 1994 in Orange County, California. They released three full-length albums and several EPs before disbanding in 2005. Their music is often characterized as pop punk, lyrically favoring humor and silly or satirical subjects.-Formation:Home Grown was...

, The Impossibles, Kottonmouth Kings
Kottonmouth Kings
Kottonmouth Kings is an American rap rock group from Placentia, Orange County, California. Kottonmouth Kings officially formed in 1994, and describe themselves as "psychedelic hip-hop punk rock"...

, Lagwagon
Lagwagon
Lagwagon is an American punk rock band originally from Goleta, just outside Santa Barbara, California. They formed in 1990 and went on hiatus and reunited several times over the years...

, John Linnell
John Linnell
John Sidney Linnell is an American musician, is known primarily as one half of Brooklyn, New York alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants...

 (of They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...

), The Living End
The Living End
The Living End are an Australian rock band from Melbourne, Victoria, formed in 1994. The current lineup consists of Chris Cheney , Scott Owen and Andy Strachan...

, Lucky Boys Confusion
Lucky Boys Confusion
Lucky Boys Confusion is a rock band from the Chicago suburbs in DuPage County. Their music is a mix of rock, punk, ska, and hip hop. The band consists of bassist Jason Schultejann, drummer Ryan Fergus, vocalist Kaustubh Pandav, guitarist/vocalist Adam Krier, and guitarist Joe Sell...

, Ludo
Ludo (band)
Ludo is an alternative rock band from St. Louis, Missouri. The band consists of lead vocalist/guitarist Andrew Volpe, lead guitarist/back up vocalist Tim Ferrell, moog/synth and back up vocalist Tim Convy, and drummer/back up vocalist Matt Palermo.-History:...

, The Matches
The Matches
The Matches are a United States-based band formed in 1997 in Oakland, California. It currently is composed of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Shawn Harris, lead guitarist and backup vocalist Jonathan Devoto, bassist and backup vocalist Dylan Rowe, and drummer Matt Whalen...

, MC Lars
MC Lars
Andrew Robert MacFarlane Nielsen is an American rapper, known by his stage name MC Lars. He is the self-proclaimed originator of "post-punk laptop rap". He was one of the first underground rappers to sample and reference post-punk and emo bands...

, Melee
Mêlée (band)
Mêlée is an American rock band from Orange County in California.-Band members:* Chris Cron * Ricky Sans * Ryan Malloy * Derek Lee Rock|Derek Lee -Studio Albums:-Extended Plays :...

, Mest
Mest
Mest was a pop punk band from Blue Island, Illinois. The band's lineup, prior to their breakup in 2006, consisted of vocalist and guitarist Tony Lovato, guitarist Jeremiah Rangel, bassist Matt Lovato, and drummer Nick Gigler...

, Midtown
Midtown (band)
Midtown was an American pop punk band from Springfield, New Jersey. Midtown was formed in November 1998 by three Rutgers University students, but soon became a quartet. The band took advantage of the fertile New Jersey punk scene to develop a sound that combined elements of pop punk and punk rock...

, MxPx
MxPx
MxPx is a pop punk band from Bremerton, Washington with connections to the Christian punk scene. The band has recorded eight studio albums, four EPs, four compilation albums, a live album, a VHS tape, a DVD and released 20 singles....

, Nerf Herder
Nerf Herder
Nerf Herder is a punk rock band from Santa Barbara formed in 1994 by Parry Gripp , Charlie Dennis and Steve Sherlock . They describe themselves as a "geek rock" band, and are known for simplistic modern punk-style songs with frequently humorous, juvenile and pop-culture-referencing lyrics...

, Ozma
Ozma (band)
Ozma is a rock band from Pasadena, California. The band's sound is a mix of new-wave–influenced power pop and Casiotone-driven melodies sustained by heavy guitar riffs. The complexity of Ozma's songs grew considerably during the band's initial nine-year history...

, Plain White Ts, The Presidents of the United States of America
Presidents of the United States of America (band)
The Presidents of the United States of America, commonly referred to as Pot USA or "PUSA" or The Presidents, are a twice Grammy-nominated American alternative rock band. The band formed in Seattle, USA, in 1993. The three-piece group currently comprises vocalist and "basitarist" Chris Ballew,...

, Pulley
Pulley (band)
Pulley is a Californian punk rock band formed in 1994. The band is known for straightforward, hard-edged melodic punk rock.-Band history:The band was formed upon vocalist Scott Radinsky's departure from Ten Foot Pole, brought about by that band's desire for a singer with a full-time focus on music...

, Punchline
Punchline (band)
Punchline is an American rock band from Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, that formed in 1998. The band released released their sixth full-length album Delightfully Pleased on August 10, 2010 on their own label, Modern Short Stories, and TDR Records....

, Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish
Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California, best known for the 1997 hit "Sell Out". The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s, during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold certified album Turn the Radio Off. Soon after, the band...

, River City High
River City High
River City High is a punk rock band from Richmond, Virginia. Like many Richmond punk bands, they incorporate other influences into their music, specifically classic rock...

, Rocket Summer, Royal Crown Revue
Royal Crown Revue
The Royal Crown Revue is a band formed in 1989 in Los Angeles, California. They are often credited with starting the Swing Revival movement. Live, RCR has been extremely successful: They participated in 1998's Vans Warped Tour, opened for the B-52s and The Pretenders and played at major US Jazz...

, Rufio
Rufio
-History:Rufio was formed when bassist Jon Berry was a freshman in college and the other three members, Scott Sellers, Mike Jimenez, and Clark Domae were in their senior year of high school. Sellers and Domae had been acquainted for some time and found a shared talent in the guitar. Sellers met...

, Say Anything
Say Anything (band)
Say Anything is an American indie-punk band from Los Angeles, California, fronted by Max Bemis. The band was formed in 2000 with Bemis and four of his friends. Within two years, they self-released two EPs, Junior Varsity and In Your Dreams, and the full-length Baseball: An Album by Sayanything.In...

, The Stereo
The Stereo
The Stereo is a pop rock/rock and roll band started in 1999 by former ska/punk band frontmen Jamie Woolford and Rory Phillips . The pair were initially brought together on recommendation of their record label Fueled By Ramen. The duo then recorded their first album Three Hundred, released June 1999...

, Something Corporate
Something Corporate
Something Corporate is an American rock band from Orange County, California, formed in 1998. Their current line-up includes pianist and vocalist Andrew McMahon, guitarist Josh Partington, bassist Kevin Page and drummer Brian Ireland....

, Son Of Dork
Son of Dork
Son of Dork were a British pop punk band formed by James Bourne after his previous band, Busted, split in January 2005. The name of the band came from a scene in the movie Problem Child where the chant "Son of Dork" is used. Their debut single, "Ticket Outta Loserville", was released in November...

, The Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...

, The Starting Line
The Starting Line
The Starting Line is an American pop punk band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that formed in 1999.- Formation and history :In 1999, the band that would become The Starting Line was initiated in Churchville, Pennsylvania via an e-mail from guitarist Matt Watts to vocalist/bassist Kenny Vasoli...

, Sugarcult
Sugarcult
Sugarcult is an American rock band from Santa Barbara, California formed in 1998. The band currently consists of Tim Pagnotta , Airin Older , Marko DeSantis , and Kenny Livingston .-Formation :Tim Pagnotta met ex-drummer Ben Davis during a cigarette break at school...

, Sum 41
Sum 41
Sum 41 is a Canadian rock band from Ajax, Ontario. The band was formed in 1996 and currently consists of members Deryck Whibley , Tom Thacker , Jason McCaslin and Steve Jocz .In 1999, the band signed an international record deal with Island Records...

, Ultimate Fakebook, The Untouchables
Untouchables (band)
The Untouchables are a soul/mod revival band from the Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California area.They formed in 1981 as part of the embryonic L.A. mod revival, after being inspired by the ska revival/punk rock band The Boxboys. Since some couldn't play instruments, they either hastily learned, or...

, Wheatus
Wheatus
Wheatus are an American rock group from Northport, New York. They are known for their 2000 single "Teenage Dirtbag" which was featured in the movie Loser, as well as in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill.-1995-2002: Formation and Wheatus:...

, Yellowcard
Yellowcard
Yellowcard is an American pop punk/alternative rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1997, and based in Los Angeles, California since 2000. Their music features the use of a violin, unusual for the genre...

, and Zebrahead
Zebrahead
Zebrahead is an American punk rock band from Orange County, California, which fuses elements of Rapcore, Pop Punk, Alternative Rock, Alternative Metal, and Funk Metal.-1996–98: Formation:...

.

Army of Freshmen have had several guest appearances from other artists on their records:
  • Parry Gripp, lead singer of Nerf Herder, contributed vocals to the song “Hard To Say” on Beg, Borrow, Steal.
  • Jaret Reddick
    Jaret Reddick
    Jaret Ray Reddick is an American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and lead songwriter for the Grammy Award-nominated pop punk band Bowling for Soup. He plays a Music Man Axis that has a flag of Texas design on...

    , lead singer of Bowling For Soup, contributed vocals to the song, “At the End of the Day” on Under The Radar. He also contributed minor background vocals to the songs “Wrinkle In Time,” “Down at the Shore” and “Maybe in the Midwest”.
  • Marko 72
    Marko 72
    Marko DeSantis is a music professional best known as the lead guitarist for American modern rock band Sugarcult; he grew up in Santa Barbara, California....

    , guitarist of Sugarcult, contributed a guitar solo to the song, “Groundbreaking Sound” on Under The Radar.
  • Ben Harper, formerly of Yellowcard, contributed a guitar solo to “Waiting on Me” on Under the Radar.
  • Steve Klein, lead guitarist of New Found Glory
    New Found Glory
    New Found Glory is an American rock band from Coral Springs, Florida. Formed in the summer of 1997, founding members were lead vocalist Jordan Pundik, guitarists Chad Gilbert and Steve Klein, bassist Ian Grushka and drummer Joe Marino...

    , co wrote the song, “Don’t Fall Asleep Tonight” on Above The Atmosphere.
  • Brendan Brown, lead singer of Wheatus, co-wrote the songs, “It Never Rains In Los Angeles” and “No One’s Famous” on Above The Atmosphere and contributed background vocals on the songs, “Any Other Way,” “Don’t Fall Asleep Tonight,” “Center of Gravity,” “No One’s Famous” and “It Never Rains In Los Angeles”.
  • Matt Nelson
    Matthew Nelson
    Matthew Gray Nelson is an American singer-songwriter, musician and international multi-platinum recording artist. He is the son of actress Kristin Harmon and the late teen idol Ricky Nelson. Along with his twin brother Gunnar, he has been a member of Nelson since 1990. Their single, " Love and...

    , singer for Nelson
    Nelson (band)
    NELSON is a American hard rock band founded by singer/songwriters Matthew and Gunnar Nelson . NELSON featuring the twin lead front men had a No. 1 hit in the United States with " Love and Affection" during the week of September 29, 1990...

    , contributed background vocals to “Any Other Way,” “Turn It Up” and “Lost In A Crowd” on Above The Atmosphere.
  • Ben Pringle, keyboardist for The Rentals
    The Rentals
    The Rentals are an American rock band fronted by vocalist Matt Sharp, best known as the former bass player for rock group Weezer. The band is best known for their mid-1990s hit single, "Friends of P.". The group has released two albums, Return of the Rentals and Seven More Minutes on Maverick...

    , contributed some moog parts to “It Never Rains In Los Angeles” on Above The Atmosphere.
  • Russ Parrish
    Russ Parrish
    Russ Parrish is an American guitarist known by his stage name Satchel in the glam metal band Steel Panther...

    , guitarist for the band Steel Panther
    Steel Panther
    Steel Panther is a glam metal band from Los Angeles, California mostly known for their profane and humorous lyrics as well as their exaggerated on-stage personas...

     (formerly Metal Skool), contributed guitar solos to the songs, “Any Other Way” and “No One’s Famous” on Above The Atmosphere.
  • Armand John Anthony, guitarist of the band, Le Meu Le Purr contributed guitar solos to the songs, “Center of Gravity” and “It Never Rains In Los Angeles” on Above The Atmosphere.


Army of Freshmen was name checked in the song "We Could've Had It All" by the singer songwriter, Phil Cody on his Big Slow Mover record. Cody was major influence on Chris Jay's songwriting, having first seen Cody opening for Warren Zevon when Jay was still in high school. Jay and Cody have become close friends and Jay on guitar with Aaron Goldberg on drums backed Cody on several dates of his 2010 east coast tour.

Army of Freshmen’s song “Road Less Traveled” was quoted in the book High School Confidential written by Jeremy Iversen and published by Atria Books in 2006. Chris Jay and the band are also mentioned in the Thank You section.

In Film and TV

Chris Jay, Aaron Goldberg and Kai Dodson appear as partygoers at the Playboy Mansion at the beginning of the horror movie, The Telling
The Telling (film)
The Telling is a 2009 horror film starring Bridget Marquardt and Holly Madison from the E! television series The Girls Next Door. The film is also the producing debut of Bridget Marquardt who teamed up with veteran Producer Chuck Williams...

.

Army of Freshmen wrote and performed the theme song for the comedy film, How Beer Pong Saved My Life. Chris Jay and Kai Dodson appear in the film as well. It’s scheduled for a 2011 DVD release.

Army of Freshmen wrote and performed the theme song for the children’s film, Adventures of a Teenage Dragon Slayer
Adventures of a Teenage Dragon Slayer
Adventures of a Teenage Dragon Slayer is a 2010 Live action fantasy film directed by Andrew Lauer.- Cast :* Hunter Allan* Lea Thompson* Wendie Malick* Amy Pietz* Eric Lutes* Andrew Lauer- Trivia :...

. The song is featured throughout the film as well as the song “10,000 Years.” The film is scheduled for release on DVD in March 2011.

An instrumental cover of the song “You Are So Beautiful
You Are So Beautiful
"You Are So Beautiful" is a song written by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher and Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys. It was first recorded by Preston and made popular in a version by Joe Cocker....

” appears in the film, “You and I”
You and I (film)
You and I is a 2011 drama-film directed by Roland Joffé, depicting a fictionalised version of real events adapted from the novel t.A.T.u. Come Back. The film features Mischa Barton, Shantel VanSanten, Julia Volkova and Lena Katina...

 which is set for a 2011 release.

Their song, “No One’s Famous” appears in the film, “Son of Mourning” which is set for a 2011 release.

Army of Freshmen wrote and performed the theme song to the upcoming kid’s cartoon show, Gorillaville.

The band has a cameo in Bowling For Soup's video, "High School Never Ends
High School Never Ends
"High School Never Ends" is a song by the Texas pop band Bowling for Soup. The song was the first single off their ninth album, The Great Burrito Extortion Case, and was released on September 19, 2006...

" The video treatment/concept was written by Chris Jay.

Army of Freshmen appear and perform on Bowling For Soup’s live concert DVD, Live and Very Attractive
Live and Very Attractive
-Release history:-Personnel:Bowling for Soup* Jaret Reddick — vocals and guitar* Erik Chandler — bass and vocals* Chris Burney — guitar and vocals* Gary Wiseman — drums...

, filmed during the Get Happy Tour’s 2007 date at the sold out Apollo Theater in Manchester, England. During the song, “Ohio,” Bowling For Soup hands over their instruments to Army of Freshmen who finish the song. Members of Army of Freshmen are also seen in some of the behind the scenes footage.

Members of Army of Freshmen are seen briefly in behind the scenes footage of The Living End’s DVD, From Here On In, during the sequences filmed in Japan.

Other Ventures

Owen Bucey, Aaron Goldberg and Kai Dodson formed and are members of the band, The Calamity. They released their debut record, Songs From The Gold Coast, on Missing Words Records in 2009. In the Calamity, Goldberg plays drums while Dodson plays guitar and Bucey is the lead singer. The Calamity plays regularly in the Ventura area.

Aaron Goldberg and Chris Jay have teamed together to produce, co write with and record several artists in different genres. Credits include artists like Delaney Gibson, Exit 4, New Liberty, Lost, Michelle Dawn Mooney, Sarah Ashleigh, Kevin Conaway, Sean Deleon, Orlando Napier, Danielle Taylor and Tom O'Connor. Bucey, Dodson, Milligan and Clark have all performed on several of the releases produced by Goldberg and Jay.

Aaron Goldberg has also produced the bands, Dirty Words, Ten Four And Out, Redemtion, Loser Token, AMFX, Sunset on Suburbia and Allbright. Chris Jay provided guest vocals on the Ten Four And Out song, “One of the Crowd”.

Mike Milligan produced the debut record, All We’ve Got Is This, of the Chicago band, Plunket. Chris Jay provided guest vocals on record’s single, “Baby Steps”.

Chris Jay co wrote songs with the soul and R&B band, Jeff Hershey and the Heartbeats. Their debut record scheduled for a 2011 release.

Chris Jay and Aaron Goldberg created the animated, adult comedy, cartoon show, The Spank Finatra Show. Songs from the show, as well as the animatic pilot episode, are available online.

Chris Jay wrote a weekly music column for the VC Reporter, a weekly newspaper in Ventura County, California, from 1999 to 2001. He still contributes frequently to the paper and has interviewed hundreds of artists. In 2003 he was sued for 10 million dollars by Mike Love of the Beach Boys over an article he wrote on Love and the current line up of the Beach Boys. The case never went to trial and was settled out of court, but all the members of Army of Freshmen had to give depositions during the discovery period of the case. Jay is reluctant to speak of the matter, and most Army of Freshmen fans and Beach Boy fans are unaware that the lawsuit ever existed.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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