Chris Conley
Encyclopedia
Christopher Lane Conley is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 musician and songwriter/composer, and the lead-singer/rhythm guitarist in Saves the Day
Saves the Day
Saves the Day is an American rock band from Princeton, New Jersey, formed in 1994. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Chris Conley, guitarist Arun Bali, bassist Rodrigo Palma, and drummer Claudio Rivera....

. As he is the only remaining original member as well as major artistic contributor, Saves the Day
Saves the Day
Saves the Day is an American rock band from Princeton, New Jersey, formed in 1994. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Chris Conley, guitarist Arun Bali, bassist Rodrigo Palma, and drummer Claudio Rivera....

 has been referred to, in recent years, as "essentially the Chris Conley show".

Chris and David Soloway (former Saves the Day bandmate) have joined forces with Max Bemis
Max Bemis
Max Bemis is the lead singer and primary lyricist of the band Say Anything. He is also co singer along side Chris Conley of the supergroup Two Tongues, which features members from Say Anything and Saves the Day.-The Early Years:...

 and Coby Linder
Coby Linder
Jacob "Coby" Linder in Skokie, Illinois is best known as the drummer of the band Say Anything. He lists his influences as Travis Barker, Tony Williams, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, and Bryan Newman. According to Say Anything's website, his favorite genres include emo, "death-core...

 from the band 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...

 to form the supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....

 Two Tongues
Two Tongues
Two Tongues is an indie rock side project/supergroup consisting of members of Saves The Day and Say Anything. The band consists of Max Bemis and Coby Linder of Say Anything, along with Chris Conley of Saves the Day and former guitarist of Saves the Day David Soloway.-History:Before forming Two...

.

Background

Conley formed a band with a group of classmates at Princeton Day School
Princeton Day School
Princeton Day School is a private coeducational day school located in Princeton Township, New Jersey, serving students in grades pre kindergarten - 12. The largest division is the Upper School , with an enrollment of approximately 400...

. The band was originally titled Indifference, but later renamed the band Sefler. Conley has cited some of his early influences as the Smiths
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...

, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

, Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...

, Superchunk
Superchunk
Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, consisting of singer/guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Jon Wurster. Formed in 1989, they were one of the bands that helped define the Chapel Hill music scene of the 1990s...

, the Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...

, Sunny Day Real Estate
Sunny Day Real Estate
Sunny Day Real Estate is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington. In the 1990s, the group expanded upon the grunge style that was popular in the local scene to make a more melodic sound. While not the first band to be classified as emo, they were instrumental in establishing the genre. In...

, Archers of Loaf
Archers of Loaf
Archers of Loaf is an American indie-rock band originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, formed in 1990. The group toured extensively and released a total of four studio albums, a collection album, numerous singles and EPs, and a live album which was released after the band broke up in...

, Screeching Weasel
Screeching Weasel
Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Jughead.Since their formation, Screeching Weasel have broken up and reformed numerous times with numerous line-up changes. Ben Weasel has been the only constant...

, Jawbreaker
Jawbreaker (band)
Jawbreaker was an American punk rock band active from 1986 to 1996 and considered one of the most influential acts of the early-1990s emo movement...

, Gorilla Biscuits
Gorilla Biscuits
Gorilla Biscuits are a New York City-based vegan straight edge hardcore band consisting of Anthony "Civ" Civarelli, Walter Schreifels, Arthur Smilios, Alex Brown and Luke Abbey. The band is currently signed to Revelation Records.-Early career:...

 and Lifetime
Lifetime (band)
Lifetime is an American melodic hardcore/emo band from New Jersey. Lifetime was formed in 1990 and disbanded in 1997. In late 2005, they announced their reunion.-History:...

.

Sefler was originally composed of Chris Conley, Bryan Newman, Chris Zampella and Justin Gaylord. They recorded a 3-track 7" entitled "13 Hours of Everything" one afternoon in a friend's basement. They then recorded a nine-track demo at Trax East Studio in New Jersey. While recording, a friend of the band (and later bassist), Sean McGrath, suggested that they change their name to Saves the Day
Saves the Day
Saves the Day is an American rock band from Princeton, New Jersey, formed in 1994. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Chris Conley, guitarist Arun Bali, bassist Rodrigo Palma, and drummer Claudio Rivera....

, which they did.

Saves the Day

Saves the Day
Saves the Day
Saves the Day is an American rock band from Princeton, New Jersey, formed in 1994. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Chris Conley, guitarist Arun Bali, bassist Rodrigo Palma, and drummer Claudio Rivera....

 signed to Equal Vision Records
Equal Vision Records
Equal Vision Records is a record label based in Albany, New York, which has a focus in metal or punk-based rock genres. Equal Vision Records was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo ....

 and recorded their first album Can't Slow Down, which was released in 1998 during their first US tour alongside bands Bane
Bane (band)
Bane, a hardcore punk band, began as a side project between Aaron Dalbec and Damon Bellardo. Aaron approached Matt Firestone to sing and they played under the moniker of Gateway for a few shows, before Firestone departed ways to focus on other projects...

 and Countervail. Lyrically the album included idealistic dreams, feeling inadequate, honesty and unhappiness, which reflected Conley's life at the time. The style of music is often considered very similar to that of the band Lifetime.

In 1999 the band released their second album Through Being Cool
Through Being Cool
Through Being Cool is the second album by Princeton, New Jersey-based rock band Saves the Day. It has a more melodic sound than their first release, Can't Slow Down, which was a more punk/hardcore driven record. The album was released one year after the band's first release even though they had...

. With this album, Conley's lyrics started becoming morbid and corporeal, and the style of music changed into a more pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...

 sound.

At age 19/20 he started listening to the Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 and has cited them as the main influence for In Reverie
In Reverie
-Unreleased tracks:There are three unreleased tracks that were recorded at the same time, but not released on the standard edition of the album: "Don't Go Outside", "Coconut", and "Blossom." The unreleased songs, however, could be downloaded for free on the band's homepage requiring only a legal...

.

During the writing of Sound the Alarm, Conley was heavily influenced by Bad Brains, The Damned, The Misfits and The Stooges.

Conley, with Saves the Day, has released 4 other albums. Lyrically, all are considered similar except for In Reverie, which is a more positive album. Conley cites a lack of turmoil in his life at the time as the cause of the change in tone., Conley made comment in Rolling Stone magazine that Saves the Day's release Sound the Alarm
Sound the Alarm
Sound the Alarm is the fifth studio album by the New Jersey emo band Saves the Day. It was released by Vagrant Records on April 11, 2006. It was produced by Steve Evetts who also produced Saves the Day's first two albums, Can't Slow Down and Through Being Cool...

, is "about the black clouds inside my mind, It was these intense fears and paranoia and diluted thoughts that were eating me alive. It was utter insanity." in regards to the failure of In Reverie
In Reverie
-Unreleased tracks:There are three unreleased tracks that were recorded at the same time, but not released on the standard edition of the album: "Don't Go Outside", "Coconut", and "Blossom." The unreleased songs, however, could be downloaded for free on the band's homepage requiring only a legal...

and subsequent release from DreamWorks.

Solo touring

While there are no plans for any solo recordings, Chris and David Soloway have toured throughout the USA, playing acoustic versions of Saves the Day songs. Conley, and an army of committed fans recently have posted performances via the bands website, the band's official YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 account and elsewhere on the YouTube site. Conley also finished up a solo three week acoustic tour with Matt Pryor of The Get Up Kids
The Get Up Kids
The Get Up Kids are an American alternative rock band from Kansas City, Missouri. Formed in 1995, the band was a major player in the mid-90's emo scene, otherwise known as the "second wave" of emo music...

.
Beginning in 2009, Chris joined fellow front men Dustin Kensrue of Thrice
Thrice
Thrice is an American rock band from Irvine, California, formed in 1998. The group was founded by guitarist/vocalist Dustin Kensrue and guitarist Teppei Teranishi while they were in high school....

, Matt Pryor and Anthony Raneri from the band Bayside
Bayside
Bayside may refer to a number of places:In the United States:*Bayside, California*Bayside High School , several schools in the U.S...

 to form the Where's The Band? tour, where each play acoustic renditions of fan favorites. There have been three legs of this tour between 2009 and 2010, the latest taking place in December 2010.
December 1, 2010, Chris Conley announced he would be opening as a solo act for Dashboard Confessional
Dashboard Confessional
Dashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, led by singer-songwriter Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived from the song "The Sharp Hint of New Tears" from the debut album The Swiss Army Romance....

, on the West Coast end of the "swiss army romance tour" In January. This is Following his East Coast touring on the "Where's the band? Tour" in December.

Razia's Shadow

In 2008, Chris lent his voice to Forgive Durden
Forgive Durden
Forgive Durden is an indie rock band from Seattle, Washington, who got their name from the novel Fight Club. They are signed to Fueled By Ramen...

's musical project Razia's Shadow: A Musical
Razia's Shadow: A Musical
Razia's Shadow: A Musical is an album from Forgive Durden released on October 28, 2008. It is a musical featuring members of popular bands such as Panic! at the Disco, Say Anything, The Matches, mewithoutYou, Portugal. The Man, The Hush Sound, The Dear Hunter, and Gatsbys American Dream among others...

as the character "Toba The Tura"

Two Tongues

Two Tongues is a collaborative project between Chris, former guitarist of Saves the Day
Saves the Day
Saves the Day is an American rock band from Princeton, New Jersey, formed in 1994. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Chris Conley, guitarist Arun Bali, bassist Rodrigo Palma, and drummer Claudio Rivera....

 David Soloway, Max Bemis
Max Bemis
Max Bemis is the lead singer and primary lyricist of the band Say Anything. He is also co singer along side Chris Conley of the supergroup Two Tongues, which features members from Say Anything and Saves the Day.-The Early Years:...

 and Coby Linder
Coby Linder
Jacob "Coby" Linder in Skokie, Illinois is best known as the drummer of the band Say Anything. He lists his influences as Travis Barker, Tony Williams, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, and Bryan Newman. According to Say Anything's website, his favorite genres include emo, "death-core...

 of 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...

. Their debut album
Two Tongues (album)
Two Tongues, the debut self-titled studio album by supergroup Two Tongues, released on February 3 2009. -Track listing:...

 hit shelves February 3, 2009. Three tracks on their album releasing in February 2009 are available for listening on their Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

 page.

In Fall of 2010, Two Tongues
Two Tongues
Two Tongues is an indie rock side project/supergroup consisting of members of Saves The Day and Say Anything. The band consists of Max Bemis and Coby Linder of Say Anything, along with Chris Conley of Saves the Day and former guitarist of Saves the Day David Soloway.-History:Before forming Two...

 made their first performances as a surprise in the middle of 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...

's set each night of the Motion City Soundtrack
Motion City Soundtrack
Motion City Soundtrack is an American rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, formed in 1997. The band consists of founding members Justin Pierre and Joshua Cain , along with keyboardist and moog synthesist Jesse Johnson, bassist and backing vocalist Matthew Taylor, and drummer, percussionist and...

, 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...

, and Saves the Day
Saves the Day
Saves the Day is an American rock band from Princeton, New Jersey, formed in 1994. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Chris Conley, guitarist Arun Bali, bassist Rodrigo Palma, and drummer Claudio Rivera....

 tour. They performed the song "Crawl". Arun bali (current guitarist of Saves the Day
Saves the Day
Saves the Day is an American rock band from Princeton, New Jersey, formed in 1994. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Chris Conley, guitarist Arun Bali, bassist Rodrigo Palma, and drummer Claudio Rivera....

) played guitar, Kenny Vasoli
Kenny Vasoli
Kenneth Robert "Kenny" Vasoli is the lead singer and bassist of The Starting Line, a pop punk band. Vasoli attended Hatboro-Horsham High School. At the age of 14, he was invited to join the band after Matt Watts read his AOL Instant Messenger profile. His previous bands include The Prize Fight and...

 (of 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...

, and Person L
Person L
Person L is an American rock band fronted by Kenny Vasoli, of the pop punk band The Starting Line. Vasoli is the band's lead singer and guitarist and formed Person L in winter 2006 as an outlet to explore other musical styles...

) played bass, Jake Turner (of 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...

) played guitar as well, Coby Linder
Coby Linder
Jacob "Coby" Linder in Skokie, Illinois is best known as the drummer of the band Say Anything. He lists his influences as Travis Barker, Tony Williams, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, and Bryan Newman. According to Say Anything's website, his favorite genres include emo, "death-core...

 played drums, while Chris Conley, and Max Bemis
Max Bemis
Max Bemis is the lead singer and primary lyricist of the band Say Anything. He is also co singer along side Chris Conley of the supergroup Two Tongues, which features members from Say Anything and Saves the Day.-The Early Years:...

 sang.

Work as a producer

Conley worked with The Promise Hero
The Promise Hero
The Promise Hero is a Rock band from Cleveland, Ohio.-History:The Promise Hero was established in 2006 by long time friends and collaborators Bobby Vaughn and Daniel Weiss after the breakup of The Honor Role in 2005, which included vocalist Justin Vaughn, Bobby's brother...

 to record a demo at his home studio "The Electric Ladybug".
Conley has also co-produced albums such as Dr Manhattan's album Jam Dreams
Jam Dreams (album)
Jam Dreams is an alternative rock album recorded by American band Dr Manhattan, co-produced by Chris Conley . It was released on August 18, 2009 by Cassette Deck.-Track listing:#"Electraumatized" - 2:02#"Texas" - 3:06#"After All" - 4:09...

.

Discography (Conley as primary composer)

  • Can't Slow Down (1998) on Equal Vision Records
    Equal Vision Records
    Equal Vision Records is a record label based in Albany, New York, which has a focus in metal or punk-based rock genres. Equal Vision Records was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo ....

  • I'm Sorry I'm Leaving EP (1998) on Immigrant Sun Records
  • Lisa's Birthday Tape (1998) self-released
  • Through Being Cool
    Through Being Cool
    Through Being Cool is the second album by Princeton, New Jersey-based rock band Saves the Day. It has a more melodic sound than their first release, Can't Slow Down, which was a more punk/hardcore driven record. The album was released one year after the band's first release even though they had...

    (1999) on Equal Vision Records
    Equal Vision Records
    Equal Vision Records is a record label based in Albany, New York, which has a focus in metal or punk-based rock genres. Equal Vision Records was founded in the early 1990s by Ray Cappo ....

  • Stay What You Are
    Stay What You Are
    Stay What You Are is the third album release from Princeton, New Jersey, based rock band Saves the Day, released in 2001. Singles and videos from the album were "At Your Funeral" and "Freakish". At the time of the recording, Saves The Day consisted of Chris Conley, Dave Soloway, Ted Alexander, Eben...

    (2001) on Vagrant Records
    Vagrant Records
    Vagrant Records is an indie rock label based in Los Angeles, California and is home to such artists as The Hold Steady, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Active Child, PJ Harvey, Reptar, School of Seven Bells, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Thrice, James Vincent McMorrow, Placebo, and many...

  • In Reverie
    In Reverie
    -Unreleased tracks:There are three unreleased tracks that were recorded at the same time, but not released on the standard edition of the album: "Don't Go Outside", "Coconut", and "Blossom." The unreleased songs, however, could be downloaded for free on the band's homepage requiring only a legal...

    (2003) on DreamWorks Records
    DreamWorks Records
    DreamWorks Records was an American record label. Founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks SKG, the label operated until 2005 when it was shut down...

  • Ups and Downs: Early Recordings and B-Sides (2004)
  • Bug Sessions Volume One (tour exclusive) (2006)
  • Sound the Alarm
    Sound the Alarm
    Sound the Alarm is the fifth studio album by the New Jersey emo band Saves the Day. It was released by Vagrant Records on April 11, 2006. It was produced by Steve Evetts who also produced Saves the Day's first two albums, Can't Slow Down and Through Being Cool...

    (2006) on Vagrant Records
    Vagrant Records
    Vagrant Records is an indie rock label based in Los Angeles, California and is home to such artists as The Hold Steady, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Active Child, PJ Harvey, Reptar, School of Seven Bells, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Thrice, James Vincent McMorrow, Placebo, and many...

  • Under the Boards
    Under the Boards
    Under the Boards is the sixth studio album by American indie rock band Saves the Day, released on October 30, 2007. A post on music website Punknews.org stated of the album and its relationship to the band's previous album, Sound the Alarm and subsequent album, Daybreak:The band is co-producing the...

    (2007) on Vagrant Records
    Vagrant Records
    Vagrant Records is an indie rock label based in Los Angeles, California and is home to such artists as The Hold Steady, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Active Child, PJ Harvey, Reptar, School of Seven Bells, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Thrice, James Vincent McMorrow, Placebo, and many...

  • Bug Sessions Volume Two and Three (2008)
  • Daybreak
    Daybreak
    -Albums:*Daybreak *Daybreak *Daybreak *Daybreak, an album by Paul Hardcastle*Daybreak, an album by Mezzoforte*Daybreak -Songs:...

    (2011) on Razor & Tie
    Razor & Tie
    Razor & Tie is a New York-based corporation founded in 1990 by Cliff Chenfeld and Craig Balsam. The company encompasses a record label with major label distribution , a home video company, a media buying company, a music publishing business, a marketing, promotion and sales team, and a direct...


Compilations featuring Conley's compositions

  • The Rebirth Of Hardcore:1999 on Supersoul Records, Good Life Recordings, Temperance Records (1999) (features "The Art of Misplacing Firearms")
  • Punk Uprisings: Incompatible, Vol. 2 (1999) (features "Shoulder to the Wheel")
  • City Rockers: A Tribute to the Clash (1999) (features cover of Clash
    The Clash
    The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...

    ' "Clash City Rockers")
  • Equal Visions Records Sampler (2000) (features "Always Ten Feet Tall")
  • Vagrant Records: Summer Sampler (2000) (features "Holly Hox, Forget Me Nots")
  • Another Year on the Streets (2000) (features "Sell My Old Clothes, I'm Off to Heaven", "A Drag in D Flat")
  • Another Year on the Streets Vol. 2 (2002) (features "Ups and Downs", "Nightingale")
  • Welcome To Vagrant Records (2003) (features "At Your Funeral")
  • Living Tomorrow Today: A Benefit for Ty Cambra (2003) (features "A Drag in D Flat")
  • Another Year on the Streets Vol. 3 (2004) (features "When It Isn't Like It Should Be")
  • A Compilation to Beat Cancer (2004) (features "Don't Go Outside")
  • Tony Hawk's American Wasteland
    Tony Hawk's American Wasteland
    Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, abbreviated to THAW, is a video game that was released for the PS2, Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo GameCube and PC on October 18, 2005. Part of the Tony Hawk series, the game was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision.The PC version of the game was ported and...

    (2005) (features cover of Dead Boys
    The Dead Boys
    The Dead Boys were an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. Among the first wave of early punk bands, the Dead Boys were initially active from 1976 to 1979, briefly reuniting in 1987, 2004 and 2005.-Formation and 1970s punk rock era:...

    ' "Sonic Reducer")
  • Warped Tour 2006 Compilation (2006) (features "The End")

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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