Civil Twilight (band)
Encyclopedia
Civil Twilight is a three-piece rock band
from Cape Town
, South Africa
. They are signed to Wind-up Records
, and have released their self-titled debut album, Civil Twilight.
and is especially known for their similar sound to early U2
. Their music has been described as having impassioned vocals and stirring, alt-rock songcraft. Brothers Andrew and Steven McKellar were raised in a musical household, having explored their father's jazz collection at a young age while listening to their classically trained mother play piano. In November 1996, Andrew launched a teenaged band with help from his high school classmate, guitarist Richard Wouters. The two scheduled an inaugural rehearsal for the following month; in the interim, Andrew discovered that his younger brother, Steven, could sing and write songs. The three musicians subsequently banded together, with Steven agreeing to master the bass and Wouters giving up the guitar (which Andrew also played) to learn drums.
, House
, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. As their profile mounted, the musicians relocated to Nashville.
Their songs have been featured in many TV spots, including One Tree Hill
and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. "Quiet In My Town" was prominently featured at the end of Season 6 Episode 3 Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. of One Tree Hill
on The CW Network. It played for 6 minutes during the coda – the scene of Quentin's funeral.
"Letters From The Sky" was featured at the end of Episode 11 of Harper's Island, after Wakefield kills Cal and Chloe commits suicide. In addition to this, the song was also featured on Season 7 of One Tree Hill
, in the opening scene of the episode, You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son. The song has also featured at the end of the film I Am Number Four.
"Letters From the Sky" was the iTunes
Free Download of the Week for the week of October 6–12, 2009.
The band's self-titled album was originally released independently in 2008. Having now signed to Wind-up Records
, this album was due to be re-released March 31, 2009; however, due to scheduling issues it was pushed back. It was eventually released July 21, 2009. They opened for label mates, Evanescence
, for a one-off show in New York on November 4, 2009.
They also opened for a Three Days Grace
concert in Ontario, California on April 25, 2010, where they played "Letters From the Sky" and many other of their songs.
In August 2010, Civil Twilight was featured in Venus Zine, a women's music and culture magazine. The three members hung out with Venus Zine for a round of drinks in New York City's Sixth Ward.
On June 9, 10, and 11, 2011, Civil Twilight played three shows at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.
|-
! Song
! Show / Promo
|-
|"Human"
| Without A Trace
House, MD
Wrestlemania 26
Brett Hart vs Vince McMahon
Promo
The Vampire Diaries
|-
| "Quiet In My Town"
| One Tree Hill
2010 Celebrity Rehab
|-
| "Letters From The Sky"
| Harper's Island
One Tree Hill
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
from Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. They are signed to Wind-up Records
Wind-Up Records
Wind-up Entertainment, Inc. is a record label based in New York City. It was formed in 1997 by Alan Meltzer, former owner of CD One Stop, following his 1996 purchase of Grass Records. Wind-up is currently the largest independently-owned record label in the world...
, and have released their self-titled debut album, Civil Twilight.
Origin
Originally hailing from Cape Town, South Africa, Civil Twilight is a power trio that draws parallels with Pilot SpeedPilot Speed
Pilot Speed is a Canadian rock band that formed in 1999 in Toronto, Ontario. The quartet's debut EP, For All That's Given, Wasted, was released in 2001 which gathered attention from MapleMusic Recordings who later signed them...
and is especially known for their similar sound to early U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
. Their music has been described as having impassioned vocals and stirring, alt-rock songcraft. Brothers Andrew and Steven McKellar were raised in a musical household, having explored their father's jazz collection at a young age while listening to their classically trained mother play piano. In November 1996, Andrew launched a teenaged band with help from his high school classmate, guitarist Richard Wouters. The two scheduled an inaugural rehearsal for the following month; in the interim, Andrew discovered that his younger brother, Steven, could sing and write songs. The three musicians subsequently banded together, with Steven agreeing to master the bass and Wouters giving up the guitar (which Andrew also played) to learn drums.
Career
Civil Twilight spent several years practicing in local church halls and garages before graduating to the local club scene, where they steadily became a well-respected act. Having finished their education, the bandmates then moved to Los Angeles in August 2005; shortly thereafter, they signed with the indie label One October and co-produced their debut record, Human. The album arrived in 2007 and received an extra boost when several songs were featured in prime-time television shows, including One Tree HillOne Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
, House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. As their profile mounted, the musicians relocated to Nashville.
Their songs have been featured in many TV spots, including One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. "Quiet In My Town" was prominently featured at the end of Season 6 Episode 3 Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. of One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
on The CW Network. It played for 6 minutes during the coda – the scene of Quentin's funeral.
"Letters From The Sky" was featured at the end of Episode 11 of Harper's Island, after Wakefield kills Cal and Chloe commits suicide. In addition to this, the song was also featured on Season 7 of One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
, in the opening scene of the episode, You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son. The song has also featured at the end of the film I Am Number Four.
"Letters From the Sky" was the iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
Free Download of the Week for the week of October 6–12, 2009.
The band's self-titled album was originally released independently in 2008. Having now signed to Wind-up Records
Wind-Up Records
Wind-up Entertainment, Inc. is a record label based in New York City. It was formed in 1997 by Alan Meltzer, former owner of CD One Stop, following his 1996 purchase of Grass Records. Wind-up is currently the largest independently-owned record label in the world...
, this album was due to be re-released March 31, 2009; however, due to scheduling issues it was pushed back. It was eventually released July 21, 2009. They opened for label mates, Evanescence
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...
, for a one-off show in New York on November 4, 2009.
They also opened for a Three Days Grace
Three Days Grace
Three Days Grace is a Canadian rock band, formed in Norwood, Ontario, Canada in 1992, originally under the name Groundswell. After a breakup in late 1997, the band regrouped in the same year under its current name and with a line-up consisting of guitarist and lead vocalist Adam Gontier, drummer...
concert in Ontario, California on April 25, 2010, where they played "Letters From the Sky" and many other of their songs.
In August 2010, Civil Twilight was featured in Venus Zine, a women's music and culture magazine. The three members hung out with Venus Zine for a round of drinks in New York City's Sixth Ward.
On June 9, 10, and 11, 2011, Civil Twilight played three shows at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee.
Members
- Steven McKellar – vocals, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Andrew McKellar – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals - Richard Wouters – drums, percussion
TV Spots
{| class="wikitable" border="1"|-
! Song
! Show / Promo
|-
|"Human"
| Without A Trace
Without a Trace
Without a Trace is an American television drama which originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series was set in New York City and concerned a fictitious FBI Missing Persons Unit.-Premise:...
House, MD
Wrestlemania 26
Brett Hart vs Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
Promo
The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries is a young adult vampire horror series of novels written by L. J. Smith. The story centers around Elena Gilbert, a high school girl torn between two vampire brothers. The series was originally a trilogy published in 1991, but pressure from readers led Smith to write a fourth...
|-
| "Quiet In My Town"
| One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
2010 Celebrity Rehab
|-
| "Letters From The Sky"
| Harper's Island
One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...