Fuel (band)
Encyclopedia
Fuel is an American rock
band formed by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell
and bassist Jeff Abercrombie in 1989. Originally known as Small the Joy, they changed the group's name to Fuel sometime in 1994. They are well known for their hit songs "Shimmer
" from Sunburn, "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
", "Bad Day
" from Something Like Human
, and "Falls on Me
" from Natural Selection.
by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell
and drummer Jody Abbott. Singer/guitarist Brett Scallions
joined the group after Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie saw him in a bar in Jackson, Tennessee
in 1993. That same year, keyboardist/vocalist Erik Avakian joined the lineup and the band moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
in 1994 where they played at local Pennsylvania
bars and nightclubs. Their first EP
Porcelain was released in 1996 and sold well locally, spawning a small radio hit with "Shimmer
". The popularity of the EP brought them to the attention of Sony
's 550 imprint, which released their second EP Hazleton
the following year.
due to problems with Abbott. The band's full length debut, Sunburn, came out in 1998. "Shimmer" was again included and almost became a Top 40 hit; while, the other singles ("Bittersweet
", "Jesus or a Gun
", and "Sunburn,") received some airplay. The songs "Shimmer" and "Sunburn" are also featured on the charitable album Live in the X Lounge
. "Sunburn" was also featured in the movie Scream 3
, and the band contributed the non-LP track "Walk the Sky" to the Godzilla
film. The band hit the road in support of the release, but problems with Abbott continued. Once again Mover was enlisted, this time to play drums on tour while the band sought out a full time drummer to join. It should be noted that the liner notes for the cassette and CD issues of "Sunburn" list the band members as Carl Bell (guitar), Brett Scallions (vocals), Jeff Abercrombie (bass), and Kevin Miller (drums), although Jonathan Mover is credited with playing all the drums and percussion on the record. The band picture includes Miller, though he did not play on the record.
, and scored a Top 40 hit in the U.S. with "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
" which peaked at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart. Something Like Human peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200
and was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA
on September 25, 2001.
, was released in September 2003 and debuted at #15 on the U.S. Billboard charts. The extended lag time between Something Like Human and Natural Selection was due to legal problems and lead singer Scallions having to recover from surgery to repair a deviated septum
he suffered from an on-stage collision with Bell. The album spawned the hit "Falls on Me
", which peaked at #52 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Despite the exposure of the song, the album did not sell as well as Something Like Human did, and to date has not been awarded even Gold status
by the RIAA. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award
in 2004 for best engineered album, and the band contributed the song "Won't Back Down
" to the Daredevil
soundtrack earlier in the year. They released their greatest hits album The Best of Fuel on December 13, 2005.
had left the band. Although the band (now with a new lead singer) said that Scallions left on friendly terms, Bell has stated that there were problems with Scallions' voice, "Brett had some voice issues…struggling with his voice at times... he had kinda lost a little bit of it." Bell also wrote a letter on their website stating "We will all miss him and we wish him the best." Scallions refuted Bell's comments in an interview where he stated "...It wasn’t an enjoyable environment for me, and I don’t think for any of us really, except for Carl maybe – because Carl’s mind was set into his songs, his music, and that’s the way it was. For me, growing up and being a fan of music, being a fan of creativity, you wanna be a part of things, you wanna actually feel like you are in a band, and it just wasn’t feeling like that anymore."
contestant Chris Daughtry
, after he performed "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" on the show. The single shot up to the Top 10 download list on iTunes
and stayed there for a number of days. This also sparked interest in other Fuel songs, which began to appear in the Top 100 download chart on iTunes. On March 3, 2006, judge Randy Jackson
stated in an interview that Daughtry had been offered the opportunity to become Fuel's new lead singer. Fuel confirmed their interest on their official website. On May 11, 2006, Abercrombie and Bell appeared on the TV show Extra
to officially offer Daughtry the job. However, though flattered, Daughtry turned down this offer. The public offer to Chris Daughtry to be Fuel's next singer was a publicity stunt made at a point where the new singer was already chosen, had made three demos, and got green light from Sony. According to Carl Bell, they were seriously talking for several weeks, but as his popularity grew, Daughtry's label would not let Daughtry out of his contract.
By this time also, Tommy Stewart
, formerly of Godsmack
, was named as Fuel's drummer on Fuel's Myspace page.
to start recording their fourth album. Due to other commitments Stewart was not available to play drums on the album, so Tommy Lee
and Josh Freese
performed drums in his place. The band has posted photos from within the studio fairly often on the band's website and MySpace.
On March 9, 2007, Carl Bell officially announced that Fuel's next album, complete with new band members, was fully mixed and going to mastering, and on April 19, 2007, he posted on Fuel's official website that their new lead singer has been confirmed as Toryn Green
.
", was released into rock radio and internet download and peaked at #24 on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. A second single, "Gone," was released on October 23.
Fuel performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Friday August 10, 2007.
Angels & Devils debuted on the Billboard 200
at #42, selling about 15,000 copies in its first week.
catalog division Legacy Recordings
released the album Playlist: The Very Best of Fuel on their Playlist series.
guitarist Yogi, and former Candiria
drummer Ken Schalk to round out the lineup. The band has put together a list of tour dates for the fall where they are expected to be playing all the classic Fuel songs, from the band’s first three albums.
announced that Fuel, "re-grouped with original singer Brett Scallions
", will be performing at their annual MMR*B*Q concert. There were also rumors of other festival dates being in the works. The limited information given led to believe that the original Fuel had rejoined their forces. However, Carl Bell's stand in the alleged reunion raised questions, even more so since there was no official confirmation from the band at that time. To add to the dubiousness of the situation, Toryn Green
stated on his MySpace that it seemed to be Re-Fueled promoting their own shows under the name of Fuel.
On March 2, 2010, Brett Scallions announced via the Fuelies Message Board that the "Fuel" advertised will consist of the current Re-Fueled line-up: Brett Scallions, Yogi, Ken Schalk, and new Re-Fueled bassist Brad Stewart (formerly of Shinedown), leaving him the only member of the old Fuel left in the band. The band embarked on world tour in April 2010.
The situation was clarified further by Scallions: "It won’t be the same as the original Fuel. Unfortunately things aren’t really resolved between Carl and myself and Jeff has decided that he no longer wants to tour. All I’m asking from you guys is that you at least give me a chance to give you a great show. You gave Carl that chance when he was the only one on the stage. Some of you have already commented on how you won’t be making this one. Well, you just might miss something great."
The band had been on hiatus since the end of Angels & Devils tour. Carl Bell's messages at the Fuelies website suggested that there were problems, "between record legal issues", that were yet to be solved. In an interview for Rockin' Music Reviews from November 2007 Bell expresses his frustration over the limited support the latest album Angels & Devils received from the label. In another interview from November 2007, Bell tells Tunelab how right before Angels & Devils was released he lost his "A&R guy" of 9 years at Epic Records, Ben Goldman, who had signed Fuel to Sony 550 Music back in 1997. In Spring 2008, the band was in talks with Sony about releasing "Leave The Memories Alone" as the third single from the album, due to notable rise in sales after its appearance in "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair's
farewell video tribute in the March 31, 2008 episode of "Raw
" in WWE
programming, but that never came about. Instead, the negotiations to part ways with Epic after ten years were started. Until Scallions' announcement, there had been no updates on band status since March 2009.
"There is only one original of anything" exclaims Scallions, "and that includes Fuel. The original lineup with Carl, Jeff, Jody and myself will always be something special to all of us, and our first Fuelies (a term for Fuel fans) but it has been thirteen years since the original lineup was intact, and since then many great musicians have come and gone. The lineup I put together for Fuel is not meant to replace or diminish what any of the original members created. Just the opposite, it is to give our fans a live destination, and to keep the Fuel name alive for a new generation to discover. Maybe someday we'll all get on the same page and play together again, but life happens and the next thing you know you just can't jump on a bus and take off for a month, let alone a year."
Original bassist Jeff Abercrombie is currently the owner/operator of Thud Studios. Original lead guitarist and principal songwriter Carl Bell is producing new music for a diversified group of artists. Bell has also been busy writing for film and television.
When reached for comment Bell stated, " Look, Brett sang all of this stuff on the bands biggest records, so it's pretty clear that the fans want to hear him singing Fuel songs, and that is what they are going to get. Our fans are important and they deserve a Fuel, even if it isn't an original lineup. Who knows maybe someday there will be an all original reunion. I have learned to never say never."
In an interview given to Philadelphia's 93.3 WMMR backstage of MMRBQ on May 23, 2010, Scallions talks about using the name "Fuel". "This is Fuel. We are Fuel. I worked out a deal where everybody's happy. I just told everybody, look I wanna do this my way, let me give this a shot, so everybody gave me their blessing and I'm going out and having some fun." Scallions also states that there is no animosity between him and Carl Bell. "We worked out a deal. We made an agreement with each other and we both been very civil to each other in our conversations."
It was later announced on June 25, 2010 that former Shinedown
guitarist Jasin Todd had joined the band to replace Yogi Lonich on lead guitar.
Recently the band played a new song live, "a taste of things to come", as Scallions described the song, and entitled the song "Headache". It was said to be reminiscent of Sunburn and Something Like Human.
On Fuelies message board, Brett Scallions stated, "As some of you may know, we have been playing a new song I wrote called Headache. We just went into Matt Sorum's studio and recorded it! It came out so badass! I can't wait for you all to hear it. It has yet to be determined if it will be an actual Fuel song or if there will be another Fuel record. All of that will be determined and negotiated in the near future."
However shortly after, Scallions then posted that "Headache" will be apart of the upcoming World Fire Brigade album. However, on the new tour the band has played the song calling it "a taste of the future." This could mean that Headache will be apart of the upcoming album which Scallions stated is due out next summer. New songs were featured in the setlist entitled, "I Can See the Sun" and "What We Can Never Have". The band also started adding more songs from the Something Like Human album, including Scallions own penned, "Knives". Scallions is sure that a new Fuel album will indeed be released in the summer of 2012.
On the Fuelies message board, Scallions hinted that the band had been writing and also hinted at the possibility of a new Fuel record after a fan on the board requested the band return to Australia. It is currently unknown if the material will be written for Fuel or revert back to World Fire Brigade.
As of January 2011, Yogi Lonich has since returned to the band as lead guitarist. Jasin Todd has left the band on good terms.
As of March 2011, Brett Scallions has started a new band called World Fire Brigade The lineup for World Fire Brigade includes all current members of Fuel in addition to Smile Empty Soul vocalist/guitarist Sean Danielsen.
The re-formed Fuel performed at The Bamboozle
in East Rutherford, New Jersey
on May 1, 2011.
The band played Bethlehem Musikfest alongside Buckcherry, however Yogi Lonich was not on stage. A friend of Scallions, Martin Estrada sat in and played lead for the show. Brett Scallions announced on his official facebook page that Yogi Lonich was dismissed from the band. Scallions stated that Lonich was not committed or loyal to the band, and the two were in a "heated discussion" so therefore he is no longer playing with the band. Scallions also hinted that there is in fact a new Fuel record in the works and also introduced the band's new lead guitarist, Andy Andersson. The band will continue its tour and will also be playing new material during the sets. Scallions also noted that Lonich was never in World Fire Brigade, but rather recorded lead solos on some songs that will be released on the upcoming album.
In September Fuel performed an acoustic version of their new song "I Can See The Sun" at Legendary Dobb's. Fuel have also played this song at other shows.
Fuel have also been performing "What We Can Never Have" a new song, at various shows.
In November 2011, Brett reported that Ken Schalk was in the process of laying down the drums tracks for 2 new Fuel songs. It has also been reported that the new Fuel record is set for a tentative mid-2012 release.
band formed by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell
and bassist Jeff Abercrombie in 1989. Originally known as Small the Joy, they changed the group's name to Fuel sometime in 1994. They are well known for their hit songs "Shimmer
" from Sunburn, "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
", "Bad Day
" from Something Like Human
, and "Falls on Me
" from Natural Selection.
by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell
and drummer Jody Abbott. Singer/guitarist Brett Scallions
joined the group after Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie saw him in a bar in Jackson, Tennessee
in 1993. That same year, keyboardist/vocalist Erik Avakian joined the lineup and the band moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
in 1994 where they played at local Pennsylvania
bars and nightclubs. Their first EP
Porcelain was released in 1996 and sold well locally, spawning a small radio hit with "Shimmer
". The popularity of the EP brought them to the attention of Sony
's 550 imprint, which released their second EP Hazleton
the following year.
due to problems with Abbott. The band's full length debut, Sunburn, came out in 1998. "Shimmer" was again included and almost became a Top 40 hit; while, the other singles ("Bittersweet
", "Jesus or a Gun
", and "Sunburn,") received some airplay. The songs "Shimmer" and "Sunburn" are also featured on the charitable album Live in the X Lounge
. "Sunburn" was also featured in the movie Scream 3
, and the band contributed the non-LP track "Walk the Sky" to the Godzilla
film. The band hit the road in support of the release, but problems with Abbott continued. Once again Mover was enlisted, this time to play drums on tour while the band sought out a full time drummer to join. It should be noted that the liner notes for the cassette and CD issues of "Sunburn" list the band members as Carl Bell (guitar), Brett Scallions (vocals), Jeff Abercrombie (bass), and Kevin Miller (drums), although Jonathan Mover is credited with playing all the drums and percussion on the record. The band picture includes Miller, though he did not play on the record.
, and scored a Top 40 hit in the U.S. with "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
" which peaked at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart. Something Like Human peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200
and was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA
on September 25, 2001.
, was released in September 2003 and debuted at #15 on the U.S. Billboard charts. The extended lag time between Something Like Human and Natural Selection was due to legal problems and lead singer Scallions having to recover from surgery to repair a deviated septum
he suffered from an on-stage collision with Bell. The album spawned the hit "Falls on Me
", which peaked at #52 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Despite the exposure of the song, the album did not sell as well as Something Like Human did, and to date has not been awarded even Gold status
by the RIAA. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award
in 2004 for best engineered album, and the band contributed the song "Won't Back Down
" to the Daredevil
soundtrack earlier in the year. They released their greatest hits album The Best of Fuel on December 13, 2005.
had left the band. Although the band (now with a new lead singer) said that Scallions left on friendly terms, Bell has stated that there were problems with Scallions' voice, "Brett had some voice issues…struggling with his voice at times... he had kinda lost a little bit of it." Bell also wrote a letter on their website stating "We will all miss him and we wish him the best." Scallions refuted Bell's comments in an interview where he stated "...It wasn’t an enjoyable environment for me, and I don’t think for any of us really, except for Carl maybe – because Carl’s mind was set into his songs, his music, and that’s the way it was. For me, growing up and being a fan of music, being a fan of creativity, you wanna be a part of things, you wanna actually feel like you are in a band, and it just wasn’t feeling like that anymore."
contestant Chris Daughtry
, after he performed "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" on the show. The single shot up to the Top 10 download list on iTunes
and stayed there for a number of days. This also sparked interest in other Fuel songs, which began to appear in the Top 100 download chart on iTunes. On March 3, 2006, judge Randy Jackson
stated in an interview that Daughtry had been offered the opportunity to become Fuel's new lead singer. Fuel confirmed their interest on their official website. On May 11, 2006, Abercrombie and Bell appeared on the TV show Extra
to officially offer Daughtry the job. However, though flattered, Daughtry turned down this offer. The public offer to Chris Daughtry to be Fuel's next singer was a publicity stunt made at a point where the new singer was already chosen, had made three demos, and got green light from Sony. According to Carl Bell, they were seriously talking for several weeks, but as his popularity grew, Daughtry's label would not let Daughtry out of his contract.
By this time also, Tommy Stewart
, formerly of Godsmack
, was named as Fuel's drummer on Fuel's Myspace page.
to start recording their fourth album. Due to other commitments Stewart was not available to play drums on the album, so Tommy Lee
and Josh Freese
performed drums in his place. The band has posted photos from within the studio fairly often on the band's website and MySpace.
On March 9, 2007, Carl Bell officially announced that Fuel's next album, complete with new band members, was fully mixed and going to mastering, and on April 19, 2007, he posted on Fuel's official website that their new lead singer has been confirmed as Toryn Green
.
", was released into rock radio and internet download and peaked at #24 on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. A second single, "Gone," was released on October 23.
Fuel performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Friday August 10, 2007.
Angels & Devils debuted on the Billboard 200
at #42, selling about 15,000 copies in its first week.
catalog division Legacy Recordings
released the album Playlist: The Very Best of Fuel on their Playlist series.
guitarist Yogi, and former Candiria
drummer Ken Schalk to round out the lineup. The band has put together a list of tour dates for the fall where they are expected to be playing all the classic Fuel songs, from the band’s first three albums.
announced that Fuel, "re-grouped with original singer Brett Scallions
", will be performing at their annual MMR*B*Q concert. There were also rumors of other festival dates being in the works. The limited information given led to believe that the original Fuel had rejoined their forces. However, Carl Bell's stand in the alleged reunion raised questions, even more so since there was no official confirmation from the band at that time. To add to the dubiousness of the situation, Toryn Green
stated on his MySpace that it seemed to be Re-Fueled promoting their own shows under the name of Fuel.
On March 2, 2010, Brett Scallions announced via the Fuelies Message Board that the "Fuel" advertised will consist of the current Re-Fueled line-up: Brett Scallions, Yogi, Ken Schalk, and new Re-Fueled bassist Brad Stewart (formerly of Shinedown), leaving him the only member of the old Fuel left in the band. The band embarked on world tour in April 2010.
The situation was clarified further by Scallions: "It won’t be the same as the original Fuel. Unfortunately things aren’t really resolved between Carl and myself and Jeff has decided that he no longer wants to tour. All I’m asking from you guys is that you at least give me a chance to give you a great show. You gave Carl that chance when he was the only one on the stage. Some of you have already commented on how you won’t be making this one. Well, you just might miss something great."
The band had been on hiatus since the end of Angels & Devils tour. Carl Bell's messages at the Fuelies website suggested that there were problems, "between record legal issues", that were yet to be solved. In an interview for Rockin' Music Reviews from November 2007 Bell expresses his frustration over the limited support the latest album Angels & Devils received from the label. In another interview from November 2007, Bell tells Tunelab how right before Angels & Devils was released he lost his "A&R guy" of 9 years at Epic Records, Ben Goldman, who had signed Fuel to Sony 550 Music back in 1997. In Spring 2008, the band was in talks with Sony about releasing "Leave The Memories Alone" as the third single from the album, due to notable rise in sales after its appearance in "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair's
farewell video tribute in the March 31, 2008 episode of "Raw
" in WWE
programming, but that never came about. Instead, the negotiations to part ways with Epic after ten years were started. Until Scallions' announcement, there had been no updates on band status since March 2009.
"There is only one original of anything" exclaims Scallions, "and that includes Fuel. The original lineup with Carl, Jeff, Jody and myself will always be something special to all of us, and our first Fuelies (a term for Fuel fans) but it has been thirteen years since the original lineup was intact, and since then many great musicians have come and gone. The lineup I put together for Fuel is not meant to replace or diminish what any of the original members created. Just the opposite, it is to give our fans a live destination, and to keep the Fuel name alive for a new generation to discover. Maybe someday we'll all get on the same page and play together again, but life happens and the next thing you know you just can't jump on a bus and take off for a month, let alone a year."
Original bassist Jeff Abercrombie is currently the owner/operator of Thud Studios. Original lead guitarist and principal songwriter Carl Bell is producing new music for a diversified group of artists. Bell has also been busy writing for film and television.
When reached for comment Bell stated, " Look, Brett sang all of this stuff on the bands biggest records, so it's pretty clear that the fans want to hear him singing Fuel songs, and that is what they are going to get. Our fans are important and they deserve a Fuel, even if it isn't an original lineup. Who knows maybe someday there will be an all original reunion. I have learned to never say never."
In an interview given to Philadelphia's 93.3 WMMR backstage of MMRBQ on May 23, 2010, Scallions talks about using the name "Fuel". "This is Fuel. We are Fuel. I worked out a deal where everybody's happy. I just told everybody, look I wanna do this my way, let me give this a shot, so everybody gave me their blessing and I'm going out and having some fun." Scallions also states that there is no animosity between him and Carl Bell. "We worked out a deal. We made an agreement with each other and we both been very civil to each other in our conversations."
It was later announced on June 25, 2010 that former Shinedown
guitarist Jasin Todd had joined the band to replace Yogi Lonich on lead guitar.
Recently the band played a new song live, "a taste of things to come", as Scallions described the song, and entitled the song "Headache". It was said to be reminiscent of Sunburn and Something Like Human.
On Fuelies message board, Brett Scallions stated, "As some of you may know, we have been playing a new song I wrote called Headache. We just went into Matt Sorum's studio and recorded it! It came out so badass! I can't wait for you all to hear it. It has yet to be determined if it will be an actual Fuel song or if there will be another Fuel record. All of that will be determined and negotiated in the near future."
However shortly after, Scallions then posted that "Headache" will be apart of the upcoming World Fire Brigade album. However, on the new tour the band has played the song calling it "a taste of the future." This could mean that Headache will be apart of the upcoming album which Scallions stated is due out next summer. New songs were featured in the setlist entitled, "I Can See the Sun" and "What We Can Never Have". The band also started adding more songs from the Something Like Human album, including Scallions own penned, "Knives". Scallions is sure that a new Fuel album will indeed be released in the summer of 2012.
On the Fuelies message board, Scallions hinted that the band had been writing and also hinted at the possibility of a new Fuel record after a fan on the board requested the band return to Australia. It is currently unknown if the material will be written for Fuel or revert back to World Fire Brigade.
As of January 2011, Yogi Lonich has since returned to the band as lead guitarist. Jasin Todd has left the band on good terms.
As of March 2011, Brett Scallions has started a new band called World Fire Brigade The lineup for World Fire Brigade includes all current members of Fuel in addition to Smile Empty Soul vocalist/guitarist Sean Danielsen.
The re-formed Fuel performed at The Bamboozle
in East Rutherford, New Jersey
on May 1, 2011.
The band played Bethlehem Musikfest alongside Buckcherry, however Yogi Lonich was not on stage. A friend of Scallions, Martin Estrada sat in and played lead for the show. Brett Scallions announced on his official facebook page that Yogi Lonich was dismissed from the band. Scallions stated that Lonich was not committed or loyal to the band, and the two were in a "heated discussion" so therefore he is no longer playing with the band. Scallions also hinted that there is in fact a new Fuel record in the works and also introduced the band's new lead guitarist, Andy Andersson. The band will continue its tour and will also be playing new material during the sets. Scallions also noted that Lonich was never in World Fire Brigade, but rather recorded lead solos on some songs that will be released on the upcoming album.
In September Fuel performed an acoustic version of their new song "I Can See The Sun" at Legendary Dobb's. Fuel have also played this song at other shows.
Fuel have also been performing "What We Can Never Have" a new song, at various shows.
In November 2011, Brett reported that Ken Schalk was in the process of laying down the drums tracks for 2 new Fuel songs. It has also been reported that the new Fuel record is set for a tentative mid-2012 release.
band formed by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell
and bassist Jeff Abercrombie in 1989. Originally known as Small the Joy, they changed the group's name to Fuel sometime in 1994. They are well known for their hit songs "Shimmer
" from Sunburn, "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
", "Bad Day
" from Something Like Human
, and "Falls on Me
" from Natural Selection.
by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell
and drummer Jody Abbott. Singer/guitarist Brett Scallions
joined the group after Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie saw him in a bar in Jackson, Tennessee
in 1993. That same year, keyboardist/vocalist Erik Avakian joined the lineup and the band moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
in 1994 where they played at local Pennsylvania
bars and nightclubs. Their first EP
Porcelain was released in 1996 and sold well locally, spawning a small radio hit with "Shimmer
". The popularity of the EP brought them to the attention of Sony
's 550 imprint, which released their second EP Hazleton
the following year.
due to problems with Abbott. The band's full length debut, Sunburn, came out in 1998. "Shimmer" was again included and almost became a Top 40 hit; while, the other singles ("Bittersweet
", "Jesus or a Gun
", and "Sunburn,") received some airplay. The songs "Shimmer" and "Sunburn" are also featured on the charitable album Live in the X Lounge
. "Sunburn" was also featured in the movie Scream 3
, and the band contributed the non-LP track "Walk the Sky" to the Godzilla
film. The band hit the road in support of the release, but problems with Abbott continued. Once again Mover was enlisted, this time to play drums on tour while the band sought out a full time drummer to join. It should be noted that the liner notes for the cassette and CD issues of "Sunburn" list the band members as Carl Bell (guitar), Brett Scallions (vocals), Jeff Abercrombie (bass), and Kevin Miller (drums), although Jonathan Mover is credited with playing all the drums and percussion on the record. The band picture includes Miller, though he did not play on the record.
, and scored a Top 40 hit in the U.S. with "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
" which peaked at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart. Something Like Human peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200
and was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA
on September 25, 2001.
, was released in September 2003 and debuted at #15 on the U.S. Billboard charts. The extended lag time between Something Like Human and Natural Selection was due to legal problems and lead singer Scallions having to recover from surgery to repair a deviated septum
he suffered from an on-stage collision with Bell. The album spawned the hit "Falls on Me
", which peaked at #52 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Despite the exposure of the song, the album did not sell as well as Something Like Human did, and to date has not been awarded even Gold status
by the RIAA. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award
in 2004 for best engineered album, and the band contributed the song "Won't Back Down
" to the Daredevil
soundtrack earlier in the year. They released their greatest hits album The Best of Fuel on December 13, 2005.
had left the band. Although the band (now with a new lead singer) said that Scallions left on friendly terms, Bell has stated that there were problems with Scallions' voice, "Brett had some voice issues…struggling with his voice at times... he had kinda lost a little bit of it." Bell also wrote a letter on their website stating "We will all miss him and we wish him the best." Scallions refuted Bell's comments in an interview where he stated "...It wasn’t an enjoyable environment for me, and I don’t think for any of us really, except for Carl maybe – because Carl’s mind was set into his songs, his music, and that’s the way it was. For me, growing up and being a fan of music, being a fan of creativity, you wanna be a part of things, you wanna actually feel like you are in a band, and it just wasn’t feeling like that anymore."
contestant Chris Daughtry
, after he performed "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" on the show. The single shot up to the Top 10 download list on iTunes
and stayed there for a number of days. This also sparked interest in other Fuel songs, which began to appear in the Top 100 download chart on iTunes. On March 3, 2006, judge Randy Jackson
stated in an interview that Daughtry had been offered the opportunity to become Fuel's new lead singer. Fuel confirmed their interest on their official website. On May 11, 2006, Abercrombie and Bell appeared on the TV show Extra
to officially offer Daughtry the job. However, though flattered, Daughtry turned down this offer. The public offer to Chris Daughtry to be Fuel's next singer was a publicity stunt made at a point where the new singer was already chosen, had made three demos, and got green light from Sony. According to Carl Bell, they were seriously talking for several weeks, but as his popularity grew, Daughtry's label would not let Daughtry out of his contract.
By this time also, Tommy Stewart
, formerly of Godsmack
, was named as Fuel's drummer on Fuel's Myspace page.
to start recording their fourth album. Due to other commitments Stewart was not available to play drums on the album, so Tommy Lee
and Josh Freese
performed drums in his place. The band has posted photos from within the studio fairly often on the band's website and MySpace.
On March 9, 2007, Carl Bell officially announced that Fuel's next album, complete with new band members, was fully mixed and going to mastering, and on April 19, 2007, he posted on Fuel's official website that their new lead singer has been confirmed as Toryn Green
.
", was released into rock radio and internet download and peaked at #24 on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. A second single, "Gone," was released on October 23.
Fuel performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Friday August 10, 2007.
Angels & Devils debuted on the Billboard 200
at #42, selling about 15,000 copies in its first week.
catalog division Legacy Recordings
released the album Playlist: The Very Best of Fuel on their Playlist series.
guitarist Yogi, and former Candiria
drummer Ken Schalk to round out the lineup. The band has put together a list of tour dates for the fall where they are expected to be playing all the classic Fuel songs, from the band’s first three albums.
announced that Fuel, "re-grouped with original singer Brett Scallions
", will be performing at their annual MMR*B*Q concert. There were also rumors of other festival dates being in the works. The limited information given led to believe that the original Fuel had rejoined their forces. However, Carl Bell's stand in the alleged reunion raised questions, even more so since there was no official confirmation from the band at that time. To add to the dubiousness of the situation, Toryn Green
stated on his MySpace that it seemed to be Re-Fueled promoting their own shows under the name of Fuel.
On March 2, 2010, Brett Scallions announced via the Fuelies Message Board that the "Fuel" advertised will consist of the current Re-Fueled line-up: Brett Scallions, Yogi, Ken Schalk, and new Re-Fueled bassist Brad Stewart (formerly of Shinedown), leaving him the only member of the old Fuel left in the band. The band embarked on world tour in April 2010.
The situation was clarified further by Scallions: "It won’t be the same as the original Fuel. Unfortunately things aren’t really resolved between Carl and myself and Jeff has decided that he no longer wants to tour. All I’m asking from you guys is that you at least give me a chance to give you a great show. You gave Carl that chance when he was the only one on the stage. Some of you have already commented on how you won’t be making this one. Well, you just might miss something great."
The band had been on hiatus since the end of Angels & Devils tour. Carl Bell's messages at the Fuelies website suggested that there were problems, "between record legal issues", that were yet to be solved. In an interview for Rockin' Music Reviews from November 2007 Bell expresses his frustration over the limited support the latest album Angels & Devils received from the label. In another interview from November 2007, Bell tells Tunelab how right before Angels & Devils was released he lost his "A&R guy" of 9 years at Epic Records, Ben Goldman, who had signed Fuel to Sony 550 Music back in 1997. In Spring 2008, the band was in talks with Sony about releasing "Leave The Memories Alone" as the third single from the album, due to notable rise in sales after its appearance in "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair's
farewell video tribute in the March 31, 2008 episode of "Raw
" in WWE
programming, but that never came about. Instead, the negotiations to part ways with Epic after ten years were started. Until Scallions' announcement, there had been no updates on band status since March 2009.
"There is only one original of anything" exclaims Scallions, "and that includes Fuel. The original lineup with Carl, Jeff, Jody and myself will always be something special to all of us, and our first Fuelies (a term for Fuel fans) but it has been thirteen years since the original lineup was intact, and since then many great musicians have come and gone. The lineup I put together for Fuel is not meant to replace or diminish what any of the original members created. Just the opposite, it is to give our fans a live destination, and to keep the Fuel name alive for a new generation to discover. Maybe someday we'll all get on the same page and play together again, but life happens and the next thing you know you just can't jump on a bus and take off for a month, let alone a year."
Original bassist Jeff Abercrombie is currently the owner/operator of Thud Studios. Original lead guitarist and principal songwriter Carl Bell is producing new music for a diversified group of artists. Bell has also been busy writing for film and television.
When reached for comment Bell stated, " Look, Brett sang all of this stuff on the bands biggest records, so it's pretty clear that the fans want to hear him singing Fuel songs, and that is what they are going to get. Our fans are important and they deserve a Fuel, even if it isn't an original lineup. Who knows maybe someday there will be an all original reunion. I have learned to never say never."
In an interview given to Philadelphia's 93.3 WMMR backstage of MMRBQ on May 23, 2010, Scallions talks about using the name "Fuel". "This is Fuel. We are Fuel. I worked out a deal where everybody's happy. I just told everybody, look I wanna do this my way, let me give this a shot, so everybody gave me their blessing and I'm going out and having some fun." Scallions also states that there is no animosity between him and Carl Bell. "We worked out a deal. We made an agreement with each other and we both been very civil to each other in our conversations."
It was later announced on June 25, 2010 that former Shinedown
guitarist Jasin Todd had joined the band to replace Yogi Lonich on lead guitar.
Recently the band played a new song live, "a taste of things to come", as Scallions described the song, and entitled the song "Headache". It was said to be reminiscent of Sunburn and Something Like Human.
On Fuelies message board, Brett Scallions stated, "As some of you may know, we have been playing a new song I wrote called Headache. We just went into Matt Sorum's studio and recorded it! It came out so badass! I can't wait for you all to hear it. It has yet to be determined if it will be an actual Fuel song or if there will be another Fuel record. All of that will be determined and negotiated in the near future."
However shortly after, Scallions then posted that "Headache" will be apart of the upcoming World Fire Brigade album. However, on the new tour the band has played the song calling it "a taste of the future." This could mean that Headache will be apart of the upcoming album which Scallions stated is due out next summer. New songs were featured in the setlist entitled, "I Can See the Sun" and "What We Can Never Have". The band also started adding more songs from the Something Like Human album, including Scallions own penned, "Knives". Scallions is sure that a new Fuel album will indeed be released in the summer of 2012.
On the Fuelies message board, Scallions hinted that the band had been writing and also hinted at the possibility of a new Fuel record after a fan on the board requested the band return to Australia. It is currently unknown if the material will be written for Fuel or revert back to World Fire Brigade.
As of January 2011, Yogi Lonich has since returned to the band as lead guitarist. Jasin Todd has left the band on good terms.
As of March 2011, Brett Scallions has started a new band called World Fire Brigade The lineup for World Fire Brigade includes all current members of Fuel in addition to Smile Empty Soul vocalist/guitarist Sean Danielsen.
The re-formed Fuel performed at The Bamboozle
in East Rutherford, New Jersey
on May 1, 2011.
The band played Bethlehem Musikfest alongside Buckcherry, however Yogi Lonich was not on stage. A friend of Scallions, Martin Estrada sat in and played lead for the show. Brett Scallions announced on his official facebook page that Yogi Lonich was dismissed from the band. Scallions stated that Lonich was not committed or loyal to the band, and the two were in a "heated discussion" so therefore he is no longer playing with the band. Scallions also hinted that there is in fact a new Fuel record in the works and also introduced the band's new lead guitarist, Andy Andersson. The band will continue its tour and will also be playing new material during the sets. Scallions also noted that Lonich was never in World Fire Brigade, but rather recorded lead solos on some songs that will be released on the upcoming album.
In September Fuel performed an acoustic version of their new song "I Can See The Sun" at Legendary Dobb's. Fuel have also played this song at other shows.
Fuel have also been performing "What We Can Never Have" a new song, at various shows.
In November 2011, Brett reported that Ken Schalk was in the process of laying down the drums tracks for 2 new Fuel songs. It has also been reported that the new Fuel record is set for a tentative mid-2012 release.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band formed by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell
Carl Bell (musician)
Carl Bell is an American musician and producer born January 9, 1967 in Kenton, Tennessee. He founded the hard rock band Fuel with long-time friend and band member Jeff Abercrombie. Bell was the principal songwriter and lyricist for the band and performed guitar and backing vocals from the band's...
and bassist Jeff Abercrombie in 1989. Originally known as Small the Joy, they changed the group's name to Fuel sometime in 1994. They are well known for their hit songs "Shimmer
Shimmer (song)
"Shimmer" is Fuel's first single from their album Sunburn. It was released on August 25, 1998.Written by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell, the single peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100.-Lyrical meaning:...
" from Sunburn, "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
"Hemorrhage " is a song by the rock band Fuel, released as the first single from their second album Something Like Human. The single spent twelve weeks at number one on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart and is the band's most successful song to date...
", "Bad Day
Bad Day (Fuel song)
"Bad Day" is a song by the American rock band Fuel originally released on their 2000 album Something Like Human.Written by guitarist Carl Bell, "Bad Day" was written before the band was signed to a major label...
" from Something Like Human
Something Like Human
Early promotional press editions of the album included the songs "Sister Mary Innocent" and the Scallions penned "Bruises", which ultimately were left off the final sequence of the album which was released to stores. Neither of these recordings have been released publicly by the band...
, and "Falls on Me
Falls on Me
"Falls on Me" is the lead single by Fuel from their 2003 album Natural Selection. It is the second overall single from the album with "Won't Back Down" having been originally released on Daredevil: The Album a few months prior....
" from Natural Selection.
Early years
The origins of Fuel were formed in 1989 in Brownsville, TennesseeBrownsville, Tennessee
Brownsville is a city in Haywood County, Tennessee, United States. It is the county seat of Haywood County. The city is named after Jacob Jennings Brown, an officer who served during The War of 1812.-Geography:...
by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell
Carl Bell (musician)
Carl Bell is an American musician and producer born January 9, 1967 in Kenton, Tennessee. He founded the hard rock band Fuel with long-time friend and band member Jeff Abercrombie. Bell was the principal songwriter and lyricist for the band and performed guitar and backing vocals from the band's...
and drummer Jody Abbott. Singer/guitarist Brett Scallions
Brett Scallions
Brett Allen Scallions is an American musician. He is currently the lead vocalist for current lineup of Fuel after being the vocalist for the original incarnation of the band from 1993 to 2006. During that time, the band released multiple albums including the double platinum Something Like Human...
joined the group after Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie saw him in a bar in Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
in 1993. That same year, keyboardist/vocalist Erik Avakian joined the lineup and the band moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
in 1994 where they played at local Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
bars and nightclubs. Their first EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Porcelain was released in 1996 and sold well locally, spawning a small radio hit with "Shimmer
Shimmer (song)
"Shimmer" is Fuel's first single from their album Sunburn. It was released on August 25, 1998.Written by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell, the single peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100.-Lyrical meaning:...
". The popularity of the EP brought them to the attention of Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
's 550 imprint, which released their second EP Hazleton
Hazleton EP
Hazleton by Fuel was released in 1998. The EP was sold at some 1997 shows. It was recorded at C&C in Hazleton, PA.- Personnel :* Brett Scallions - vocals, rhythm guitar* Carl Bell - lead guitar* Jeff Abercrombie - bass guitar* Jody Abbot - drums...
the following year.
Sunburn (1998)
Upon signing to Epic, the band entered Longview Farm recording studios in Massachusetts, along with producer Steven Haigler and session drummer Jonathan MoverJonathan Mover
Jonathan Mover is an American drummer who has worked with a number of artists including Aretha Franklin, Fuel, Alice Cooper, Shakira, Julian Lennon, GTR, Everlast, The Tubes, Mick Jagger, Steve Howe, Peter Frampton, Oleander, Celine Dion, Elton John, Stuart Hamm, They Might Be Giants, Frank...
due to problems with Abbott. The band's full length debut, Sunburn, came out in 1998. "Shimmer" was again included and almost became a Top 40 hit; while, the other singles ("Bittersweet
Bittersweet (Fuel song)
"Bittersweet" is Fuel's second single from the album Sunburn.It peaked at #15 on the Billboard Rock Mainstream charts in 1998.-Track listing:# "Bittersweet"# "Bittersweet "# "Shimmer "...
", "Jesus or a Gun
Jesus or a Gun
"Jesus or a Gun" is Fuel's fourth single from the album Sunburn. It was released on April 20, 1999. The track stands out among other Fuel singles due to its fast tempo and heaviness. When played on MTV or radio stations, the title is censored to read "Jesus or a ..." and the chorus lyric mutes...
", and "Sunburn,") received some airplay. The songs "Shimmer" and "Sunburn" are also featured on the charitable album Live in the X Lounge
Live in the X Lounge
Live in the X Lounge is a series of albums released by Birmingham, Alabama's former alternative rock radio station, WRAX.Though the station can no longer be found on the air, this series of live performances was produced while the station was known as 107.7 The X...
. "Sunburn" was also featured in the movie Scream 3
Scream 3
Scream 3 is a 2000 American slasher film created by Kevin Williamson, directed by Wes Craven and written by Ehren Kruger, starring Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox Arquette and David Arquette, released on February 4, 2000 as the third, and originally, concluding installment in the Scream film series...
, and the band contributed the non-LP track "Walk the Sky" to the Godzilla
Godzilla (1998 film)
Godzilla is a 1998 science fiction monster disaster film film co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich. It is a loose remake of the 1954 giant monster classic Godzilla. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The film relates a tale of a nuclear incident...
film. The band hit the road in support of the release, but problems with Abbott continued. Once again Mover was enlisted, this time to play drums on tour while the band sought out a full time drummer to join. It should be noted that the liner notes for the cassette and CD issues of "Sunburn" list the band members as Carl Bell (guitar), Brett Scallions (vocals), Jeff Abercrombie (bass), and Kevin Miller (drums), although Jonathan Mover is credited with playing all the drums and percussion on the record. The band picture includes Miller, though he did not play on the record.
Something Like Human (2000)
In 2000, Fuel came back with their second album, Something Like HumanSomething Like Human
Early promotional press editions of the album included the songs "Sister Mary Innocent" and the Scallions penned "Bruises", which ultimately were left off the final sequence of the album which was released to stores. Neither of these recordings have been released publicly by the band...
, and scored a Top 40 hit in the U.S. with "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
"Hemorrhage " is a song by the rock band Fuel, released as the first single from their second album Something Like Human. The single spent twelve weeks at number one on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart and is the band's most successful song to date...
" which peaked at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart. Something Like Human peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
on September 25, 2001.
Natural Selection (2003)
The group's third album, Natural Selection, named after Darwinian theoryNatural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
, was released in September 2003 and debuted at #15 on the U.S. Billboard charts. The extended lag time between Something Like Human and Natural Selection was due to legal problems and lead singer Scallions having to recover from surgery to repair a deviated septum
Deviated septum
Nasal septum deviation is a common physical disorder of the nose, involving a displacement of the nasal septum.-Causes:It is most frequently caused by impact trauma, such as by a blow to the face. It can also be a congenital disorder, caused by compression of the nose during childbirth...
he suffered from an on-stage collision with Bell. The album spawned the hit "Falls on Me
Falls on Me
"Falls on Me" is the lead single by Fuel from their 2003 album Natural Selection. It is the second overall single from the album with "Won't Back Down" having been originally released on Daredevil: The Album a few months prior....
", which peaked at #52 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Despite the exposure of the song, the album did not sell as well as Something Like Human did, and to date has not been awarded even Gold status
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the RIAA. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in 2004 for best engineered album, and the band contributed the song "Won't Back Down
Won't Back Down (Fuel song)
"Won't Back Down" is a song by hard rock band Fuel. Written by guitarist Carl Bell, the song was originally released as the lead single for the 2003 film soundtrack Daredevil: The Album. Another version of the song was included on Fuel's third album that year, Natural Selection...
" to the Daredevil
Daredevil (film)
Daredevil is a 2003 American superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the film stars Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer who fights for justice in the courtroom and out of the courtroom as the masked vigilante Daredevil...
soundtrack earlier in the year. They released their greatest hits album The Best of Fuel on December 13, 2005.
Miller and Scallions leave
After disagreements (both public and private), drummer Kevin Miller was dismissed from the band in 2004. On February 7, 2006, Fuel announced through their website that singer Brett ScallionsBrett Scallions
Brett Allen Scallions is an American musician. He is currently the lead vocalist for current lineup of Fuel after being the vocalist for the original incarnation of the band from 1993 to 2006. During that time, the band released multiple albums including the double platinum Something Like Human...
had left the band. Although the band (now with a new lead singer) said that Scallions left on friendly terms, Bell has stated that there were problems with Scallions' voice, "Brett had some voice issues…struggling with his voice at times... he had kinda lost a little bit of it." Bell also wrote a letter on their website stating "We will all miss him and we wish him the best." Scallions refuted Bell's comments in an interview where he stated "...It wasn’t an enjoyable environment for me, and I don’t think for any of us really, except for Carl maybe – because Carl’s mind was set into his songs, his music, and that’s the way it was. For me, growing up and being a fan of music, being a fan of creativity, you wanna be a part of things, you wanna actually feel like you are in a band, and it just wasn’t feeling like that anymore."
Daughtry receives lead singer offer
Fuel had already laid down the instrumental tracks for their fourth album and soon started auditioning singers so the band could move forward. Abercrombie and Bell took notice of American IdolAmerican Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
contestant Chris Daughtry
Chris Daughtry
Christopher Adam "Chris" Daughtry is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Daughtry and as the fourth-place finalist on the fifth season of American Idol, from which he was eliminated on May 10, 2006...
, after he performed "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" on the show. The single shot up to the Top 10 download list on 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....
and stayed there for a number of days. This also sparked interest in other Fuel songs, which began to appear in the Top 100 download chart on iTunes. On March 3, 2006, judge Randy Jackson
Randy Jackson
Randall Darius "Randy" Jackson is an American bassist, singer, record producer, music manager, A&R executive, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is best known as a judge on American Idol and executive producer for MTV's America's Best Dance Crew...
stated in an interview that Daughtry had been offered the opportunity to become Fuel's new lead singer. Fuel confirmed their interest on their official website. On May 11, 2006, Abercrombie and Bell appeared on the TV show Extra
Extra (TV series)
Extra is an American entertainment television news program covering events and celebrities which debuted on September 5, 1994 in syndication. It is produced at Victory Studios in Glendale, California by Telepictures Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Distribution...
to officially offer Daughtry the job. However, though flattered, Daughtry turned down this offer. The public offer to Chris Daughtry to be Fuel's next singer was a publicity stunt made at a point where the new singer was already chosen, had made three demos, and got green light from Sony. According to Carl Bell, they were seriously talking for several weeks, but as his popularity grew, Daughtry's label would not let Daughtry out of his contract.
By this time also, Tommy Stewart
Tommy Stewart
Tommy Stewart is an American rock drummer, currently for the rock band Lo-Pro. He is probably best known for his stint with heavy metal band Godsmack...
, formerly of Godsmack
Godsmack
Godsmack is an American heavy metal band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin...
, was named as Fuel's drummer on Fuel's Myspace page.
New singer chosen
On June 8, 2006, Bell announced that the band has found a new lead singer but were waiting confirmation from the record label to announce it. Still, they officially entered the studio in mid-August with producer Scott HumphreyScott Humphrey
Scott Humphrey is a Canadian record producer and mix engineer. He began his music career as a keyboard player and programmer. He is best known for his work with multiplatinum recording artist Rob Zombie and has co-written, co-produced and mixed all of his records up until 2007's Zombie Live...
to start recording their fourth album. Due to other commitments Stewart was not available to play drums on the album, so Tommy Lee
Tommy Lee
Thomas Lee Bass , best known as Tommy Lee, is an American musician and founding member of glam metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap-metal band Methods of Mayhem, and has pursued solo musical projects...
and Josh Freese
Josh Freese
Josh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....
performed drums in his place. The band has posted photos from within the studio fairly often on the band's website and MySpace.
On March 9, 2007, Carl Bell officially announced that Fuel's next album, complete with new band members, was fully mixed and going to mastering, and on April 19, 2007, he posted on Fuel's official website that their new lead singer has been confirmed as Toryn Green
Toryn Green
Toryn Green is the vocalist for hard-rock band For The Taking, and the former vocalist for Fuel.He also was the touring lead vocalist for the band Apocalyptica and performed in both of its 2008 US Worlds Collide Tours...
.
Angels & Devils (2007)
On May 15, 2007, Bell announced the title of the new album - Angels & Devils - set to be released on August 7, 2007. On June 19, 2007, Fuel's first single from their new album, "Wasted TimeWasted Time (Fuel song)
"Wasted Time" is a song by Fuel and the lead single from their fourth studio album Angels & Devils, released on June 19, 2007. Written by guitarist Carl Bell, it is the first single by the band to feature new lead singer Toryn Green...
", was released into rock radio and internet download and peaked at #24 on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. A second single, "Gone," was released on October 23.
Fuel performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Friday August 10, 2007.
Angels & Devils debuted on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
at #42, selling about 15,000 copies in its first week.
Playlist: The Very Best of Fuel (2008)
On October 20, 2008, Sony'sSony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
catalog division Legacy Recordings
Legacy Recordings
Legacy Recordings is Sony Music Entertainment's catalog division. It was founded in 1990 by CBS Records under the leadership of Jerry Shulman, Richard Bauer, Gary Pacheco and Amy Herot to handle reissues of recordings from the vast catalogues of Columbia Records, Epic Records and associated...
released the album Playlist: The Very Best of Fuel on their Playlist series.
Re-Fueled (2009)
Since concluding the tour for Angels & Devils, Fuel had shown little activity. News related to Fuel came up when in 2009, former frontman Brett Scallions got together with Jeff Abercrombie to start playing Fuel material under the group name Re-Fueled. According to Scallions, "Jeff and I have remained friends, he called me up a while back and we decided - let’s go out and have fun because he and I haven't played together in a while. It just seemed like the timing was right." Scallions has also recruited former BuckcherryBuckcherry
Buckcherry is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1995. The band released two albums, Buckcherry and Time Bomb , before partially dissolving in the summer of 2002. In 2005, lead vocalist Josh Todd and lead guitarist Keith Nelson reformed Buckcherry and released a new album...
guitarist Yogi, and former Candiria
Candiria
Candiria are an American band from Brooklyn, New York. They blend various styles of music, including heavy metal, hardcore, jazz, hip hop and ambient. Candiria have often dubbed their sound "urban fusion".- History :...
drummer Ken Schalk to round out the lineup. The band has put together a list of tour dates for the fall where they are expected to be playing all the classic Fuel songs, from the band’s first three albums.
Re-Fueled to become new Fuel?
In February 2010, Philadelphia's WMMRWMMR
WMMR is an active rock radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, broadcasting at 93.3 MHz FM. The station is owned by Greater Media....
announced that Fuel, "re-grouped with original singer Brett Scallions
Brett Scallions
Brett Allen Scallions is an American musician. He is currently the lead vocalist for current lineup of Fuel after being the vocalist for the original incarnation of the band from 1993 to 2006. During that time, the band released multiple albums including the double platinum Something Like Human...
", will be performing at their annual MMR*B*Q concert. There were also rumors of other festival dates being in the works. The limited information given led to believe that the original Fuel had rejoined their forces. However, Carl Bell's stand in the alleged reunion raised questions, even more so since there was no official confirmation from the band at that time. To add to the dubiousness of the situation, Toryn Green
Toryn Green
Toryn Green is the vocalist for hard-rock band For The Taking, and the former vocalist for Fuel.He also was the touring lead vocalist for the band Apocalyptica and performed in both of its 2008 US Worlds Collide Tours...
stated on his MySpace that it seemed to be Re-Fueled promoting their own shows under the name of Fuel.
On March 2, 2010, Brett Scallions announced via the Fuelies Message Board that the "Fuel" advertised will consist of the current Re-Fueled line-up: Brett Scallions, Yogi, Ken Schalk, and new Re-Fueled bassist Brad Stewart (formerly of Shinedown), leaving him the only member of the old Fuel left in the band. The band embarked on world tour in April 2010.
The situation was clarified further by Scallions: "It won’t be the same as the original Fuel. Unfortunately things aren’t really resolved between Carl and myself and Jeff has decided that he no longer wants to tour. All I’m asking from you guys is that you at least give me a chance to give you a great show. You gave Carl that chance when he was the only one on the stage. Some of you have already commented on how you won’t be making this one. Well, you just might miss something great."
The band had been on hiatus since the end of Angels & Devils tour. Carl Bell's messages at the Fuelies website suggested that there were problems, "between record legal issues", that were yet to be solved. In an interview for Rockin' Music Reviews from November 2007 Bell expresses his frustration over the limited support the latest album Angels & Devils received from the label. In another interview from November 2007, Bell tells Tunelab how right before Angels & Devils was released he lost his "A&R guy" of 9 years at Epic Records, Ben Goldman, who had signed Fuel to Sony 550 Music back in 1997. In Spring 2008, the band was in talks with Sony about releasing "Leave The Memories Alone" as the third single from the album, due to notable rise in sales after its appearance in "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair's
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
farewell video tribute in the March 31, 2008 episode of "Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
" in WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
programming, but that never came about. Instead, the negotiations to part ways with Epic after ten years were started. Until Scallions' announcement, there had been no updates on band status since March 2009.
New Fuel confirmed
On April 8, 2010, the reformation of Fuel was finally confirmed in an official press release. Also the Fuel MySpace and Facebook were updated with the new line-up and tour dates. The new band website is www.fuelrocks.com."There is only one original of anything" exclaims Scallions, "and that includes Fuel. The original lineup with Carl, Jeff, Jody and myself will always be something special to all of us, and our first Fuelies (a term for Fuel fans) but it has been thirteen years since the original lineup was intact, and since then many great musicians have come and gone. The lineup I put together for Fuel is not meant to replace or diminish what any of the original members created. Just the opposite, it is to give our fans a live destination, and to keep the Fuel name alive for a new generation to discover. Maybe someday we'll all get on the same page and play together again, but life happens and the next thing you know you just can't jump on a bus and take off for a month, let alone a year."
Original bassist Jeff Abercrombie is currently the owner/operator of Thud Studios. Original lead guitarist and principal songwriter Carl Bell is producing new music for a diversified group of artists. Bell has also been busy writing for film and television.
When reached for comment Bell stated, " Look, Brett sang all of this stuff on the bands biggest records, so it's pretty clear that the fans want to hear him singing Fuel songs, and that is what they are going to get. Our fans are important and they deserve a Fuel, even if it isn't an original lineup. Who knows maybe someday there will be an all original reunion. I have learned to never say never."
In an interview given to Philadelphia's 93.3 WMMR backstage of MMRBQ on May 23, 2010, Scallions talks about using the name "Fuel". "This is Fuel. We are Fuel. I worked out a deal where everybody's happy. I just told everybody, look I wanna do this my way, let me give this a shot, so everybody gave me their blessing and I'm going out and having some fun." Scallions also states that there is no animosity between him and Carl Bell. "We worked out a deal. We made an agreement with each other and we both been very civil to each other in our conversations."
It was later announced on June 25, 2010 that former Shinedown
Shinedown
Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 2001 and founded by members Brent Smith , Brad Stewart , Jasin Todd , and Barry Kerch . A few line-up changes followed, and the band's current line-up consists of Smith and Kerch, the band's only two remaining original...
guitarist Jasin Todd had joined the band to replace Yogi Lonich on lead guitar.
Recording plans
In the May 2010 interview for 93.3 WMMR, Scallions told how the next Fuel record with the new lineup is coming together as a collaborative effort. "We have been writing on the bus during this tour, and we've got so many really, really cool riffs and songs are molding together in a really awesome way, I'm so excited. (...) This is four guys that love to write which we're doing together as a band."Recently the band played a new song live, "a taste of things to come", as Scallions described the song, and entitled the song "Headache". It was said to be reminiscent of Sunburn and Something Like Human.
On Fuelies message board, Brett Scallions stated, "As some of you may know, we have been playing a new song I wrote called Headache. We just went into Matt Sorum's studio and recorded it! It came out so badass! I can't wait for you all to hear it. It has yet to be determined if it will be an actual Fuel song or if there will be another Fuel record. All of that will be determined and negotiated in the near future."
However shortly after, Scallions then posted that "Headache" will be apart of the upcoming World Fire Brigade album. However, on the new tour the band has played the song calling it "a taste of the future." This could mean that Headache will be apart of the upcoming album which Scallions stated is due out next summer. New songs were featured in the setlist entitled, "I Can See the Sun" and "What We Can Never Have". The band also started adding more songs from the Something Like Human album, including Scallions own penned, "Knives". Scallions is sure that a new Fuel album will indeed be released in the summer of 2012.
On the Fuelies message board, Scallions hinted that the band had been writing and also hinted at the possibility of a new Fuel record after a fan on the board requested the band return to Australia. It is currently unknown if the material will be written for Fuel or revert back to World Fire Brigade.
2011
After nearly two years, Carl Bell finally publicly addressed the new Fuel as well as the fans. In order to show that there was no bad blood between them Carl posted a message on their Myspace which read, Hello all! Hope all is well with all of you. Just wanted to say I hope you all had a great Christmas season and here's hoping that 2011 is your best year yet!! Happy New Year!!! May it be peaceful, prosperous, and all in all a perfect year for all of you. As always, thanks again for your interest in Fuel. Your concern is always appreciated by me. All the best this New Year, Carl. It is still unclear when Fuel plan to record new material, or whether or not Carl Bell will be included in the line up in the near future.As of January 2011, Yogi Lonich has since returned to the band as lead guitarist. Jasin Todd has left the band on good terms.
As of March 2011, Brett Scallions has started a new band called World Fire Brigade The lineup for World Fire Brigade includes all current members of Fuel in addition to Smile Empty Soul vocalist/guitarist Sean Danielsen.
The re-formed Fuel performed at The Bamboozle
The Bamboozle
The Bamboozle is an annual rain-or-shine, three-day music festival held in New Jersey. Every year, new bands compete for spots during the two days. The event evolved out of the Skate and Surf Festival.- The Characters:...
in East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....
on May 1, 2011.
The band played Bethlehem Musikfest alongside Buckcherry, however Yogi Lonich was not on stage. A friend of Scallions, Martin Estrada sat in and played lead for the show. Brett Scallions announced on his official facebook page that Yogi Lonich was dismissed from the band. Scallions stated that Lonich was not committed or loyal to the band, and the two were in a "heated discussion" so therefore he is no longer playing with the band. Scallions also hinted that there is in fact a new Fuel record in the works and also introduced the band's new lead guitarist, Andy Andersson. The band will continue its tour and will also be playing new material during the sets. Scallions also noted that Lonich was never in World Fire Brigade, but rather recorded lead solos on some songs that will be released on the upcoming album.
In September Fuel performed an acoustic version of their new song "I Can See The Sun" at Legendary Dobb's. Fuel have also played this song at other shows.
Fuel have also been performing "What We Can Never Have" a new song, at various shows.
In November 2011, Brett reported that Ken Schalk was in the process of laying down the drums tracks for 2 new Fuel songs. It has also been reported that the new Fuel record is set for a tentative mid-2012 release.
Current lineup
- Brett ScallionsBrett ScallionsBrett Allen Scallions is an American musician. He is currently the lead vocalist for current lineup of Fuel after being the vocalist for the original incarnation of the band from 1993 to 2006. During that time, the band released multiple albums including the double platinum Something Like Human...
- lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1993–2006, 2010–present) - Andy Andersson - lead guitar, keyboards (2011-present)
- Brad StewartBrad StewartBrad Stewart is a professional musician best known for his work with hard rock band Shinedown. However, he now plays in Amaru, Society Red, Fuel, and Burn Season-Shinedown:Brad was the second member to join Shinedown after vocalist Brent Smith...
- bass guitar, backing vocals (2010–present) - Ken Schalk - drums, percussion (2010–present)
Former members
- Yogi Lonich - Lead guitar, backing vocals (2010, 2011)
- Jasin Todd - lead guitar (2010)
- Toryn GreenToryn GreenToryn Green is the vocalist for hard-rock band For The Taking, and the former vocalist for Fuel.He also was the touring lead vocalist for the band Apocalyptica and performed in both of its 2008 US Worlds Collide Tours...
- lead vocals (2006–2010) - Carl BellCarl Bell (musician)Carl Bell is an American musician and producer born January 9, 1967 in Kenton, Tennessee. He founded the hard rock band Fuel with long-time friend and band member Jeff Abercrombie. Bell was the principal songwriter and lyricist for the band and performed guitar and backing vocals from the band's...
- lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1993–2010) - Jeff Abercrombie - bass guitar (1993-2010)
- Tommy StewartTommy StewartTommy Stewart is an American rock drummer, currently for the rock band Lo-Pro. He is probably best known for his stint with heavy metal band Godsmack...
- drums, percussion (2006–2010) - Kevin Miller - drums, percussion (1998–2004)
- Jonathan MoverJonathan MoverJonathan Mover is an American drummer who has worked with a number of artists including Aretha Franklin, Fuel, Alice Cooper, Shakira, Julian Lennon, GTR, Everlast, The Tubes, Mick Jagger, Steve Howe, Peter Frampton, Oleander, Celine Dion, Elton John, Stuart Hamm, They Might Be Giants, Frank...
- drums, percussion (1997–1998) - Jody Abbott - drums, percussion (1993–1997) (as Small the Joy and Fuel)
- Erik Avakian - keyboards (1993–1996) (as Small the Joy)
Touring members
- Rev Jones - bass guitar (2004)
- Tommy StewartTommy StewartTommy Stewart is an American rock drummer, currently for the rock band Lo-Pro. He is probably best known for his stint with heavy metal band Godsmack...
- drums (2005) - Ronny Paige - bass (2007–2008)
- Jonathan MoverJonathan MoverJonathan Mover is an American drummer who has worked with a number of artists including Aretha Franklin, Fuel, Alice Cooper, Shakira, Julian Lennon, GTR, Everlast, The Tubes, Mick Jagger, Steve Howe, Peter Frampton, Oleander, Celine Dion, Elton John, Stuart Hamm, They Might Be Giants, Frank...
- drums (2011)
Chronology
Fuel is an American rockRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band formed by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell
Carl Bell (musician)
Carl Bell is an American musician and producer born January 9, 1967 in Kenton, Tennessee. He founded the hard rock band Fuel with long-time friend and band member Jeff Abercrombie. Bell was the principal songwriter and lyricist for the band and performed guitar and backing vocals from the band's...
and bassist Jeff Abercrombie in 1989. Originally known as Small the Joy, they changed the group's name to Fuel sometime in 1994. They are well known for their hit songs "Shimmer
Shimmer (song)
"Shimmer" is Fuel's first single from their album Sunburn. It was released on August 25, 1998.Written by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell, the single peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100.-Lyrical meaning:...
" from Sunburn, "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
"Hemorrhage " is a song by the rock band Fuel, released as the first single from their second album Something Like Human. The single spent twelve weeks at number one on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart and is the band's most successful song to date...
", "Bad Day
Bad Day (Fuel song)
"Bad Day" is a song by the American rock band Fuel originally released on their 2000 album Something Like Human.Written by guitarist Carl Bell, "Bad Day" was written before the band was signed to a major label...
" from Something Like Human
Something Like Human
Early promotional press editions of the album included the songs "Sister Mary Innocent" and the Scallions penned "Bruises", which ultimately were left off the final sequence of the album which was released to stores. Neither of these recordings have been released publicly by the band...
, and "Falls on Me
Falls on Me
"Falls on Me" is the lead single by Fuel from their 2003 album Natural Selection. It is the second overall single from the album with "Won't Back Down" having been originally released on Daredevil: The Album a few months prior....
" from Natural Selection.
Early years
The origins of Fuel were formed in 1989 in Brownsville, TennesseeBrownsville, Tennessee
Brownsville is a city in Haywood County, Tennessee, United States. It is the county seat of Haywood County. The city is named after Jacob Jennings Brown, an officer who served during The War of 1812.-Geography:...
by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell
Carl Bell (musician)
Carl Bell is an American musician and producer born January 9, 1967 in Kenton, Tennessee. He founded the hard rock band Fuel with long-time friend and band member Jeff Abercrombie. Bell was the principal songwriter and lyricist for the band and performed guitar and backing vocals from the band's...
and drummer Jody Abbott. Singer/guitarist Brett Scallions
Brett Scallions
Brett Allen Scallions is an American musician. He is currently the lead vocalist for current lineup of Fuel after being the vocalist for the original incarnation of the band from 1993 to 2006. During that time, the band released multiple albums including the double platinum Something Like Human...
joined the group after Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie saw him in a bar in Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
in 1993. That same year, keyboardist/vocalist Erik Avakian joined the lineup and the band moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
in 1994 where they played at local Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
bars and nightclubs. Their first EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Porcelain was released in 1996 and sold well locally, spawning a small radio hit with "Shimmer
Shimmer (song)
"Shimmer" is Fuel's first single from their album Sunburn. It was released on August 25, 1998.Written by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell, the single peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100.-Lyrical meaning:...
". The popularity of the EP brought them to the attention of Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
's 550 imprint, which released their second EP Hazleton
Hazleton EP
Hazleton by Fuel was released in 1998. The EP was sold at some 1997 shows. It was recorded at C&C in Hazleton, PA.- Personnel :* Brett Scallions - vocals, rhythm guitar* Carl Bell - lead guitar* Jeff Abercrombie - bass guitar* Jody Abbot - drums...
the following year.
Sunburn (1998)
Upon signing to Epic, the band entered Longview Farm recording studios in Massachusetts, along with producer Steven Haigler and session drummer Jonathan MoverJonathan Mover
Jonathan Mover is an American drummer who has worked with a number of artists including Aretha Franklin, Fuel, Alice Cooper, Shakira, Julian Lennon, GTR, Everlast, The Tubes, Mick Jagger, Steve Howe, Peter Frampton, Oleander, Celine Dion, Elton John, Stuart Hamm, They Might Be Giants, Frank...
due to problems with Abbott. The band's full length debut, Sunburn, came out in 1998. "Shimmer" was again included and almost became a Top 40 hit; while, the other singles ("Bittersweet
Bittersweet (Fuel song)
"Bittersweet" is Fuel's second single from the album Sunburn.It peaked at #15 on the Billboard Rock Mainstream charts in 1998.-Track listing:# "Bittersweet"# "Bittersweet "# "Shimmer "...
", "Jesus or a Gun
Jesus or a Gun
"Jesus or a Gun" is Fuel's fourth single from the album Sunburn. It was released on April 20, 1999. The track stands out among other Fuel singles due to its fast tempo and heaviness. When played on MTV or radio stations, the title is censored to read "Jesus or a ..." and the chorus lyric mutes...
", and "Sunburn,") received some airplay. The songs "Shimmer" and "Sunburn" are also featured on the charitable album Live in the X Lounge
Live in the X Lounge
Live in the X Lounge is a series of albums released by Birmingham, Alabama's former alternative rock radio station, WRAX.Though the station can no longer be found on the air, this series of live performances was produced while the station was known as 107.7 The X...
. "Sunburn" was also featured in the movie Scream 3
Scream 3
Scream 3 is a 2000 American slasher film created by Kevin Williamson, directed by Wes Craven and written by Ehren Kruger, starring Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox Arquette and David Arquette, released on February 4, 2000 as the third, and originally, concluding installment in the Scream film series...
, and the band contributed the non-LP track "Walk the Sky" to the Godzilla
Godzilla (1998 film)
Godzilla is a 1998 science fiction monster disaster film film co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich. It is a loose remake of the 1954 giant monster classic Godzilla. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The film relates a tale of a nuclear incident...
film. The band hit the road in support of the release, but problems with Abbott continued. Once again Mover was enlisted, this time to play drums on tour while the band sought out a full time drummer to join. It should be noted that the liner notes for the cassette and CD issues of "Sunburn" list the band members as Carl Bell (guitar), Brett Scallions (vocals), Jeff Abercrombie (bass), and Kevin Miller (drums), although Jonathan Mover is credited with playing all the drums and percussion on the record. The band picture includes Miller, though he did not play on the record.
Something Like Human (2000)
In 2000, Fuel came back with their second album, Something Like HumanSomething Like Human
Early promotional press editions of the album included the songs "Sister Mary Innocent" and the Scallions penned "Bruises", which ultimately were left off the final sequence of the album which was released to stores. Neither of these recordings have been released publicly by the band...
, and scored a Top 40 hit in the U.S. with "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
"Hemorrhage " is a song by the rock band Fuel, released as the first single from their second album Something Like Human. The single spent twelve weeks at number one on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart and is the band's most successful song to date...
" which peaked at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart. Something Like Human peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
on September 25, 2001.
Natural Selection (2003)
The group's third album, Natural Selection, named after Darwinian theoryNatural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
, was released in September 2003 and debuted at #15 on the U.S. Billboard charts. The extended lag time between Something Like Human and Natural Selection was due to legal problems and lead singer Scallions having to recover from surgery to repair a deviated septum
Deviated septum
Nasal septum deviation is a common physical disorder of the nose, involving a displacement of the nasal septum.-Causes:It is most frequently caused by impact trauma, such as by a blow to the face. It can also be a congenital disorder, caused by compression of the nose during childbirth...
he suffered from an on-stage collision with Bell. The album spawned the hit "Falls on Me
Falls on Me
"Falls on Me" is the lead single by Fuel from their 2003 album Natural Selection. It is the second overall single from the album with "Won't Back Down" having been originally released on Daredevil: The Album a few months prior....
", which peaked at #52 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Despite the exposure of the song, the album did not sell as well as Something Like Human did, and to date has not been awarded even Gold status
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the RIAA. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in 2004 for best engineered album, and the band contributed the song "Won't Back Down
Won't Back Down (Fuel song)
"Won't Back Down" is a song by hard rock band Fuel. Written by guitarist Carl Bell, the song was originally released as the lead single for the 2003 film soundtrack Daredevil: The Album. Another version of the song was included on Fuel's third album that year, Natural Selection...
" to the Daredevil
Daredevil (film)
Daredevil is a 2003 American superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the film stars Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer who fights for justice in the courtroom and out of the courtroom as the masked vigilante Daredevil...
soundtrack earlier in the year. They released their greatest hits album The Best of Fuel on December 13, 2005.
Miller and Scallions leave
After disagreements (both public and private), drummer Kevin Miller was dismissed from the band in 2004. On February 7, 2006, Fuel announced through their website that singer Brett ScallionsBrett Scallions
Brett Allen Scallions is an American musician. He is currently the lead vocalist for current lineup of Fuel after being the vocalist for the original incarnation of the band from 1993 to 2006. During that time, the band released multiple albums including the double platinum Something Like Human...
had left the band. Although the band (now with a new lead singer) said that Scallions left on friendly terms, Bell has stated that there were problems with Scallions' voice, "Brett had some voice issues…struggling with his voice at times... he had kinda lost a little bit of it." Bell also wrote a letter on their website stating "We will all miss him and we wish him the best." Scallions refuted Bell's comments in an interview where he stated "...It wasn’t an enjoyable environment for me, and I don’t think for any of us really, except for Carl maybe – because Carl’s mind was set into his songs, his music, and that’s the way it was. For me, growing up and being a fan of music, being a fan of creativity, you wanna be a part of things, you wanna actually feel like you are in a band, and it just wasn’t feeling like that anymore."
Daughtry receives lead singer offer
Fuel had already laid down the instrumental tracks for their fourth album and soon started auditioning singers so the band could move forward. Abercrombie and Bell took notice of American IdolAmerican Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
contestant Chris Daughtry
Chris Daughtry
Christopher Adam "Chris" Daughtry is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Daughtry and as the fourth-place finalist on the fifth season of American Idol, from which he was eliminated on May 10, 2006...
, after he performed "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" on the show. The single shot up to the Top 10 download list on 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....
and stayed there for a number of days. This also sparked interest in other Fuel songs, which began to appear in the Top 100 download chart on iTunes. On March 3, 2006, judge Randy Jackson
Randy Jackson
Randall Darius "Randy" Jackson is an American bassist, singer, record producer, music manager, A&R executive, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is best known as a judge on American Idol and executive producer for MTV's America's Best Dance Crew...
stated in an interview that Daughtry had been offered the opportunity to become Fuel's new lead singer. Fuel confirmed their interest on their official website. On May 11, 2006, Abercrombie and Bell appeared on the TV show Extra
Extra (TV series)
Extra is an American entertainment television news program covering events and celebrities which debuted on September 5, 1994 in syndication. It is produced at Victory Studios in Glendale, California by Telepictures Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Distribution...
to officially offer Daughtry the job. However, though flattered, Daughtry turned down this offer. The public offer to Chris Daughtry to be Fuel's next singer was a publicity stunt made at a point where the new singer was already chosen, had made three demos, and got green light from Sony. According to Carl Bell, they were seriously talking for several weeks, but as his popularity grew, Daughtry's label would not let Daughtry out of his contract.
By this time also, Tommy Stewart
Tommy Stewart
Tommy Stewart is an American rock drummer, currently for the rock band Lo-Pro. He is probably best known for his stint with heavy metal band Godsmack...
, formerly of Godsmack
Godsmack
Godsmack is an American heavy metal band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin...
, was named as Fuel's drummer on Fuel's Myspace page.
New singer chosen
On June 8, 2006, Bell announced that the band has found a new lead singer but were waiting confirmation from the record label to announce it. Still, they officially entered the studio in mid-August with producer Scott HumphreyScott Humphrey
Scott Humphrey is a Canadian record producer and mix engineer. He began his music career as a keyboard player and programmer. He is best known for his work with multiplatinum recording artist Rob Zombie and has co-written, co-produced and mixed all of his records up until 2007's Zombie Live...
to start recording their fourth album. Due to other commitments Stewart was not available to play drums on the album, so Tommy Lee
Tommy Lee
Thomas Lee Bass , best known as Tommy Lee, is an American musician and founding member of glam metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap-metal band Methods of Mayhem, and has pursued solo musical projects...
and Josh Freese
Josh Freese
Josh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....
performed drums in his place. The band has posted photos from within the studio fairly often on the band's website and MySpace.
On March 9, 2007, Carl Bell officially announced that Fuel's next album, complete with new band members, was fully mixed and going to mastering, and on April 19, 2007, he posted on Fuel's official website that their new lead singer has been confirmed as Toryn Green
Toryn Green
Toryn Green is the vocalist for hard-rock band For The Taking, and the former vocalist for Fuel.He also was the touring lead vocalist for the band Apocalyptica and performed in both of its 2008 US Worlds Collide Tours...
.
Angels & Devils (2007)
On May 15, 2007, Bell announced the title of the new album - Angels & Devils - set to be released on August 7, 2007. On June 19, 2007, Fuel's first single from their new album, "Wasted TimeWasted Time (Fuel song)
"Wasted Time" is a song by Fuel and the lead single from their fourth studio album Angels & Devils, released on June 19, 2007. Written by guitarist Carl Bell, it is the first single by the band to feature new lead singer Toryn Green...
", was released into rock radio and internet download and peaked at #24 on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. A second single, "Gone," was released on October 23.
Fuel performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Friday August 10, 2007.
Angels & Devils debuted on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
at #42, selling about 15,000 copies in its first week.
Playlist: The Very Best of Fuel (2008)
On October 20, 2008, Sony'sSony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
catalog division Legacy Recordings
Legacy Recordings
Legacy Recordings is Sony Music Entertainment's catalog division. It was founded in 1990 by CBS Records under the leadership of Jerry Shulman, Richard Bauer, Gary Pacheco and Amy Herot to handle reissues of recordings from the vast catalogues of Columbia Records, Epic Records and associated...
released the album Playlist: The Very Best of Fuel on their Playlist series.
Re-Fueled (2009)
Since concluding the tour for Angels & Devils, Fuel had shown little activity. News related to Fuel came up when in 2009, former frontman Brett Scallions got together with Jeff Abercrombie to start playing Fuel material under the group name Re-Fueled. According to Scallions, "Jeff and I have remained friends, he called me up a while back and we decided - let’s go out and have fun because he and I haven't played together in a while. It just seemed like the timing was right." Scallions has also recruited former BuckcherryBuckcherry
Buckcherry is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1995. The band released two albums, Buckcherry and Time Bomb , before partially dissolving in the summer of 2002. In 2005, lead vocalist Josh Todd and lead guitarist Keith Nelson reformed Buckcherry and released a new album...
guitarist Yogi, and former Candiria
Candiria
Candiria are an American band from Brooklyn, New York. They blend various styles of music, including heavy metal, hardcore, jazz, hip hop and ambient. Candiria have often dubbed their sound "urban fusion".- History :...
drummer Ken Schalk to round out the lineup. The band has put together a list of tour dates for the fall where they are expected to be playing all the classic Fuel songs, from the band’s first three albums.
Re-Fueled to become new Fuel?
In February 2010, Philadelphia's WMMRWMMR
WMMR is an active rock radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, broadcasting at 93.3 MHz FM. The station is owned by Greater Media....
announced that Fuel, "re-grouped with original singer Brett Scallions
Brett Scallions
Brett Allen Scallions is an American musician. He is currently the lead vocalist for current lineup of Fuel after being the vocalist for the original incarnation of the band from 1993 to 2006. During that time, the band released multiple albums including the double platinum Something Like Human...
", will be performing at their annual MMR*B*Q concert. There were also rumors of other festival dates being in the works. The limited information given led to believe that the original Fuel had rejoined their forces. However, Carl Bell's stand in the alleged reunion raised questions, even more so since there was no official confirmation from the band at that time. To add to the dubiousness of the situation, Toryn Green
Toryn Green
Toryn Green is the vocalist for hard-rock band For The Taking, and the former vocalist for Fuel.He also was the touring lead vocalist for the band Apocalyptica and performed in both of its 2008 US Worlds Collide Tours...
stated on his MySpace that it seemed to be Re-Fueled promoting their own shows under the name of Fuel.
On March 2, 2010, Brett Scallions announced via the Fuelies Message Board that the "Fuel" advertised will consist of the current Re-Fueled line-up: Brett Scallions, Yogi, Ken Schalk, and new Re-Fueled bassist Brad Stewart (formerly of Shinedown), leaving him the only member of the old Fuel left in the band. The band embarked on world tour in April 2010.
The situation was clarified further by Scallions: "It won’t be the same as the original Fuel. Unfortunately things aren’t really resolved between Carl and myself and Jeff has decided that he no longer wants to tour. All I’m asking from you guys is that you at least give me a chance to give you a great show. You gave Carl that chance when he was the only one on the stage. Some of you have already commented on how you won’t be making this one. Well, you just might miss something great."
The band had been on hiatus since the end of Angels & Devils tour. Carl Bell's messages at the Fuelies website suggested that there were problems, "between record legal issues", that were yet to be solved. In an interview for Rockin' Music Reviews from November 2007 Bell expresses his frustration over the limited support the latest album Angels & Devils received from the label. In another interview from November 2007, Bell tells Tunelab how right before Angels & Devils was released he lost his "A&R guy" of 9 years at Epic Records, Ben Goldman, who had signed Fuel to Sony 550 Music back in 1997. In Spring 2008, the band was in talks with Sony about releasing "Leave The Memories Alone" as the third single from the album, due to notable rise in sales after its appearance in "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair's
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
farewell video tribute in the March 31, 2008 episode of "Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
" in WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
programming, but that never came about. Instead, the negotiations to part ways with Epic after ten years were started. Until Scallions' announcement, there had been no updates on band status since March 2009.
New Fuel confirmed
On April 8, 2010, the reformation of Fuel was finally confirmed in an official press release. Also the Fuel MySpace and Facebook were updated with the new line-up and tour dates. The new band website is www.fuelrocks.com."There is only one original of anything" exclaims Scallions, "and that includes Fuel. The original lineup with Carl, Jeff, Jody and myself will always be something special to all of us, and our first Fuelies (a term for Fuel fans) but it has been thirteen years since the original lineup was intact, and since then many great musicians have come and gone. The lineup I put together for Fuel is not meant to replace or diminish what any of the original members created. Just the opposite, it is to give our fans a live destination, and to keep the Fuel name alive for a new generation to discover. Maybe someday we'll all get on the same page and play together again, but life happens and the next thing you know you just can't jump on a bus and take off for a month, let alone a year."
Original bassist Jeff Abercrombie is currently the owner/operator of Thud Studios. Original lead guitarist and principal songwriter Carl Bell is producing new music for a diversified group of artists. Bell has also been busy writing for film and television.
When reached for comment Bell stated, " Look, Brett sang all of this stuff on the bands biggest records, so it's pretty clear that the fans want to hear him singing Fuel songs, and that is what they are going to get. Our fans are important and they deserve a Fuel, even if it isn't an original lineup. Who knows maybe someday there will be an all original reunion. I have learned to never say never."
In an interview given to Philadelphia's 93.3 WMMR backstage of MMRBQ on May 23, 2010, Scallions talks about using the name "Fuel". "This is Fuel. We are Fuel. I worked out a deal where everybody's happy. I just told everybody, look I wanna do this my way, let me give this a shot, so everybody gave me their blessing and I'm going out and having some fun." Scallions also states that there is no animosity between him and Carl Bell. "We worked out a deal. We made an agreement with each other and we both been very civil to each other in our conversations."
It was later announced on June 25, 2010 that former Shinedown
Shinedown
Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 2001 and founded by members Brent Smith , Brad Stewart , Jasin Todd , and Barry Kerch . A few line-up changes followed, and the band's current line-up consists of Smith and Kerch, the band's only two remaining original...
guitarist Jasin Todd had joined the band to replace Yogi Lonich on lead guitar.
Recording plans
In the May 2010 interview for 93.3 WMMR, Scallions told how the next Fuel record with the new lineup is coming together as a collaborative effort. "We have been writing on the bus during this tour, and we've got so many really, really cool riffs and songs are molding together in a really awesome way, I'm so excited. (...) This is four guys that love to write which we're doing together as a band."Recently the band played a new song live, "a taste of things to come", as Scallions described the song, and entitled the song "Headache". It was said to be reminiscent of Sunburn and Something Like Human.
On Fuelies message board, Brett Scallions stated, "As some of you may know, we have been playing a new song I wrote called Headache. We just went into Matt Sorum's studio and recorded it! It came out so badass! I can't wait for you all to hear it. It has yet to be determined if it will be an actual Fuel song or if there will be another Fuel record. All of that will be determined and negotiated in the near future."
However shortly after, Scallions then posted that "Headache" will be apart of the upcoming World Fire Brigade album. However, on the new tour the band has played the song calling it "a taste of the future." This could mean that Headache will be apart of the upcoming album which Scallions stated is due out next summer. New songs were featured in the setlist entitled, "I Can See the Sun" and "What We Can Never Have". The band also started adding more songs from the Something Like Human album, including Scallions own penned, "Knives". Scallions is sure that a new Fuel album will indeed be released in the summer of 2012.
On the Fuelies message board, Scallions hinted that the band had been writing and also hinted at the possibility of a new Fuel record after a fan on the board requested the band return to Australia. It is currently unknown if the material will be written for Fuel or revert back to World Fire Brigade.
2011
After nearly two years, Carl Bell finally publicly addressed the new Fuel as well as the fans. In order to show that there was no bad blood between them Carl posted a message on their Myspace which read, Hello all! Hope all is well with all of you. Just wanted to say I hope you all had a great Christmas season and here's hoping that 2011 is your best year yet!! Happy New Year!!! May it be peaceful, prosperous, and all in all a perfect year for all of you. As always, thanks again for your interest in Fuel. Your concern is always appreciated by me. All the best this New Year, Carl. It is still unclear when Fuel plan to record new material, or whether or not Carl Bell will be included in the line up in the near future.As of January 2011, Yogi Lonich has since returned to the band as lead guitarist. Jasin Todd has left the band on good terms.
As of March 2011, Brett Scallions has started a new band called World Fire Brigade The lineup for World Fire Brigade includes all current members of Fuel in addition to Smile Empty Soul vocalist/guitarist Sean Danielsen.
The re-formed Fuel performed at The Bamboozle
The Bamboozle
The Bamboozle is an annual rain-or-shine, three-day music festival held in New Jersey. Every year, new bands compete for spots during the two days. The event evolved out of the Skate and Surf Festival.- The Characters:...
in East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....
on May 1, 2011.
The band played Bethlehem Musikfest alongside Buckcherry, however Yogi Lonich was not on stage. A friend of Scallions, Martin Estrada sat in and played lead for the show. Brett Scallions announced on his official facebook page that Yogi Lonich was dismissed from the band. Scallions stated that Lonich was not committed or loyal to the band, and the two were in a "heated discussion" so therefore he is no longer playing with the band. Scallions also hinted that there is in fact a new Fuel record in the works and also introduced the band's new lead guitarist, Andy Andersson. The band will continue its tour and will also be playing new material during the sets. Scallions also noted that Lonich was never in World Fire Brigade, but rather recorded lead solos on some songs that will be released on the upcoming album.
In September Fuel performed an acoustic version of their new song "I Can See The Sun" at Legendary Dobb's. Fuel have also played this song at other shows.
Fuel have also been performing "What We Can Never Have" a new song, at various shows.
In November 2011, Brett reported that Ken Schalk was in the process of laying down the drums tracks for 2 new Fuel songs. It has also been reported that the new Fuel record is set for a tentative mid-2012 release.
Current lineup
- Brett ScallionsBrett ScallionsBrett Allen Scallions is an American musician. He is currently the lead vocalist for current lineup of Fuel after being the vocalist for the original incarnation of the band from 1993 to 2006. During that time, the band released multiple albums including the double platinum Something Like Human...
- lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1993–2006, 2010–present) - Andy Andersson - lead guitar, keyboards (2011-present)
- Brad StewartBrad StewartBrad Stewart is a professional musician best known for his work with hard rock band Shinedown. However, he now plays in Amaru, Society Red, Fuel, and Burn Season-Shinedown:Brad was the second member to join Shinedown after vocalist Brent Smith...
- bass guitar, backing vocals (2010–present) - Ken Schalk - drums, percussion (2010–present)
Former members
- Yogi Lonich - Lead guitar, backing vocals (2010, 2011)
- Jasin Todd - lead guitar (2010)
- Toryn GreenToryn GreenToryn Green is the vocalist for hard-rock band For The Taking, and the former vocalist for Fuel.He also was the touring lead vocalist for the band Apocalyptica and performed in both of its 2008 US Worlds Collide Tours...
- lead vocals (2006–2010) - Carl BellCarl Bell (musician)Carl Bell is an American musician and producer born January 9, 1967 in Kenton, Tennessee. He founded the hard rock band Fuel with long-time friend and band member Jeff Abercrombie. Bell was the principal songwriter and lyricist for the band and performed guitar and backing vocals from the band's...
- lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1993–2010) - Jeff Abercrombie - bass guitar (1993-2010)
- Tommy StewartTommy StewartTommy Stewart is an American rock drummer, currently for the rock band Lo-Pro. He is probably best known for his stint with heavy metal band Godsmack...
- drums, percussion (2006–2010) - Kevin Miller - drums, percussion (1998–2004)
- Jonathan MoverJonathan MoverJonathan Mover is an American drummer who has worked with a number of artists including Aretha Franklin, Fuel, Alice Cooper, Shakira, Julian Lennon, GTR, Everlast, The Tubes, Mick Jagger, Steve Howe, Peter Frampton, Oleander, Celine Dion, Elton John, Stuart Hamm, They Might Be Giants, Frank...
- drums, percussion (1997–1998) - Jody Abbott - drums, percussion (1993–1997) (as Small the Joy and Fuel)
- Erik Avakian - keyboards (1993–1996) (as Small the Joy)
Touring members
- Rev Jones - bass guitar (2004)
- Tommy StewartTommy StewartTommy Stewart is an American rock drummer, currently for the rock band Lo-Pro. He is probably best known for his stint with heavy metal band Godsmack...
- drums (2005) - Ronny Paige - bass (2007–2008)
- Jonathan MoverJonathan MoverJonathan Mover is an American drummer who has worked with a number of artists including Aretha Franklin, Fuel, Alice Cooper, Shakira, Julian Lennon, GTR, Everlast, The Tubes, Mick Jagger, Steve Howe, Peter Frampton, Oleander, Celine Dion, Elton John, Stuart Hamm, They Might Be Giants, Frank...
- drums (2011)
Chronology
Fuel is an American rockRock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band formed by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell
Carl Bell (musician)
Carl Bell is an American musician and producer born January 9, 1967 in Kenton, Tennessee. He founded the hard rock band Fuel with long-time friend and band member Jeff Abercrombie. Bell was the principal songwriter and lyricist for the band and performed guitar and backing vocals from the band's...
and bassist Jeff Abercrombie in 1989. Originally known as Small the Joy, they changed the group's name to Fuel sometime in 1994. They are well known for their hit songs "Shimmer
Shimmer (song)
"Shimmer" is Fuel's first single from their album Sunburn. It was released on August 25, 1998.Written by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell, the single peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100.-Lyrical meaning:...
" from Sunburn, "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
"Hemorrhage " is a song by the rock band Fuel, released as the first single from their second album Something Like Human. The single spent twelve weeks at number one on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart and is the band's most successful song to date...
", "Bad Day
Bad Day (Fuel song)
"Bad Day" is a song by the American rock band Fuel originally released on their 2000 album Something Like Human.Written by guitarist Carl Bell, "Bad Day" was written before the band was signed to a major label...
" from Something Like Human
Something Like Human
Early promotional press editions of the album included the songs "Sister Mary Innocent" and the Scallions penned "Bruises", which ultimately were left off the final sequence of the album which was released to stores. Neither of these recordings have been released publicly by the band...
, and "Falls on Me
Falls on Me
"Falls on Me" is the lead single by Fuel from their 2003 album Natural Selection. It is the second overall single from the album with "Won't Back Down" having been originally released on Daredevil: The Album a few months prior....
" from Natural Selection.
Early years
The origins of Fuel were formed in 1989 in Brownsville, TennesseeBrownsville, Tennessee
Brownsville is a city in Haywood County, Tennessee, United States. It is the county seat of Haywood County. The city is named after Jacob Jennings Brown, an officer who served during The War of 1812.-Geography:...
by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell
Carl Bell (musician)
Carl Bell is an American musician and producer born January 9, 1967 in Kenton, Tennessee. He founded the hard rock band Fuel with long-time friend and band member Jeff Abercrombie. Bell was the principal songwriter and lyricist for the band and performed guitar and backing vocals from the band's...
and drummer Jody Abbott. Singer/guitarist Brett Scallions
Brett Scallions
Brett Allen Scallions is an American musician. He is currently the lead vocalist for current lineup of Fuel after being the vocalist for the original incarnation of the band from 1993 to 2006. During that time, the band released multiple albums including the double platinum Something Like Human...
joined the group after Bell and bassist Jeff Abercrombie saw him in a bar in Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in Madison County, Tennessee, United States. The total population was 65,211 at the 2010 census. Jackson is the primary city of the Jackson, Tennessee metropolitan area, which is included in the Jackson-Humboldt, Tennessee Combined Statistical Area...
in 1993. That same year, keyboardist/vocalist Erik Avakian joined the lineup and the band moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
in 1994 where they played at local Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
bars and nightclubs. Their first EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Porcelain was released in 1996 and sold well locally, spawning a small radio hit with "Shimmer
Shimmer (song)
"Shimmer" is Fuel's first single from their album Sunburn. It was released on August 25, 1998.Written by guitarist/songwriter Carl Bell, the single peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100.-Lyrical meaning:...
". The popularity of the EP brought them to the attention of Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
's 550 imprint, which released their second EP Hazleton
Hazleton EP
Hazleton by Fuel was released in 1998. The EP was sold at some 1997 shows. It was recorded at C&C in Hazleton, PA.- Personnel :* Brett Scallions - vocals, rhythm guitar* Carl Bell - lead guitar* Jeff Abercrombie - bass guitar* Jody Abbot - drums...
the following year.
Sunburn (1998)
Upon signing to Epic, the band entered Longview Farm recording studios in Massachusetts, along with producer Steven Haigler and session drummer Jonathan MoverJonathan Mover
Jonathan Mover is an American drummer who has worked with a number of artists including Aretha Franklin, Fuel, Alice Cooper, Shakira, Julian Lennon, GTR, Everlast, The Tubes, Mick Jagger, Steve Howe, Peter Frampton, Oleander, Celine Dion, Elton John, Stuart Hamm, They Might Be Giants, Frank...
due to problems with Abbott. The band's full length debut, Sunburn, came out in 1998. "Shimmer" was again included and almost became a Top 40 hit; while, the other singles ("Bittersweet
Bittersweet (Fuel song)
"Bittersweet" is Fuel's second single from the album Sunburn.It peaked at #15 on the Billboard Rock Mainstream charts in 1998.-Track listing:# "Bittersweet"# "Bittersweet "# "Shimmer "...
", "Jesus or a Gun
Jesus or a Gun
"Jesus or a Gun" is Fuel's fourth single from the album Sunburn. It was released on April 20, 1999. The track stands out among other Fuel singles due to its fast tempo and heaviness. When played on MTV or radio stations, the title is censored to read "Jesus or a ..." and the chorus lyric mutes...
", and "Sunburn,") received some airplay. The songs "Shimmer" and "Sunburn" are also featured on the charitable album Live in the X Lounge
Live in the X Lounge
Live in the X Lounge is a series of albums released by Birmingham, Alabama's former alternative rock radio station, WRAX.Though the station can no longer be found on the air, this series of live performances was produced while the station was known as 107.7 The X...
. "Sunburn" was also featured in the movie Scream 3
Scream 3
Scream 3 is a 2000 American slasher film created by Kevin Williamson, directed by Wes Craven and written by Ehren Kruger, starring Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox Arquette and David Arquette, released on February 4, 2000 as the third, and originally, concluding installment in the Scream film series...
, and the band contributed the non-LP track "Walk the Sky" to the Godzilla
Godzilla (1998 film)
Godzilla is a 1998 science fiction monster disaster film film co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich. It is a loose remake of the 1954 giant monster classic Godzilla. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The film relates a tale of a nuclear incident...
film. The band hit the road in support of the release, but problems with Abbott continued. Once again Mover was enlisted, this time to play drums on tour while the band sought out a full time drummer to join. It should be noted that the liner notes for the cassette and CD issues of "Sunburn" list the band members as Carl Bell (guitar), Brett Scallions (vocals), Jeff Abercrombie (bass), and Kevin Miller (drums), although Jonathan Mover is credited with playing all the drums and percussion on the record. The band picture includes Miller, though he did not play on the record.
Something Like Human (2000)
In 2000, Fuel came back with their second album, Something Like HumanSomething Like Human
Early promotional press editions of the album included the songs "Sister Mary Innocent" and the Scallions penned "Bruises", which ultimately were left off the final sequence of the album which was released to stores. Neither of these recordings have been released publicly by the band...
, and scored a Top 40 hit in the U.S. with "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
"Hemorrhage " is a song by the rock band Fuel, released as the first single from their second album Something Like Human. The single spent twelve weeks at number one on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart and is the band's most successful song to date...
" which peaked at #30 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart. Something Like Human peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
on September 25, 2001.
Natural Selection (2003)
The group's third album, Natural Selection, named after Darwinian theoryNatural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
, was released in September 2003 and debuted at #15 on the U.S. Billboard charts. The extended lag time between Something Like Human and Natural Selection was due to legal problems and lead singer Scallions having to recover from surgery to repair a deviated septum
Deviated septum
Nasal septum deviation is a common physical disorder of the nose, involving a displacement of the nasal septum.-Causes:It is most frequently caused by impact trauma, such as by a blow to the face. It can also be a congenital disorder, caused by compression of the nose during childbirth...
he suffered from an on-stage collision with Bell. The album spawned the hit "Falls on Me
Falls on Me
"Falls on Me" is the lead single by Fuel from their 2003 album Natural Selection. It is the second overall single from the album with "Won't Back Down" having been originally released on Daredevil: The Album a few months prior....
", which peaked at #52 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Despite the exposure of the song, the album did not sell as well as Something Like Human did, and to date has not been awarded even Gold status
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the RIAA. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in 2004 for best engineered album, and the band contributed the song "Won't Back Down
Won't Back Down (Fuel song)
"Won't Back Down" is a song by hard rock band Fuel. Written by guitarist Carl Bell, the song was originally released as the lead single for the 2003 film soundtrack Daredevil: The Album. Another version of the song was included on Fuel's third album that year, Natural Selection...
" to the Daredevil
Daredevil (film)
Daredevil is a 2003 American superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the film stars Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer who fights for justice in the courtroom and out of the courtroom as the masked vigilante Daredevil...
soundtrack earlier in the year. They released their greatest hits album The Best of Fuel on December 13, 2005.
Miller and Scallions leave
After disagreements (both public and private), drummer Kevin Miller was dismissed from the band in 2004. On February 7, 2006, Fuel announced through their website that singer Brett ScallionsBrett Scallions
Brett Allen Scallions is an American musician. He is currently the lead vocalist for current lineup of Fuel after being the vocalist for the original incarnation of the band from 1993 to 2006. During that time, the band released multiple albums including the double platinum Something Like Human...
had left the band. Although the band (now with a new lead singer) said that Scallions left on friendly terms, Bell has stated that there were problems with Scallions' voice, "Brett had some voice issues…struggling with his voice at times... he had kinda lost a little bit of it." Bell also wrote a letter on their website stating "We will all miss him and we wish him the best." Scallions refuted Bell's comments in an interview where he stated "...It wasn’t an enjoyable environment for me, and I don’t think for any of us really, except for Carl maybe – because Carl’s mind was set into his songs, his music, and that’s the way it was. For me, growing up and being a fan of music, being a fan of creativity, you wanna be a part of things, you wanna actually feel like you are in a band, and it just wasn’t feeling like that anymore."
Daughtry receives lead singer offer
Fuel had already laid down the instrumental tracks for their fourth album and soon started auditioning singers so the band could move forward. Abercrombie and Bell took notice of American IdolAmerican Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
contestant Chris Daughtry
Chris Daughtry
Christopher Adam "Chris" Daughtry is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Daughtry and as the fourth-place finalist on the fifth season of American Idol, from which he was eliminated on May 10, 2006...
, after he performed "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" on the show. The single shot up to the Top 10 download list on 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....
and stayed there for a number of days. This also sparked interest in other Fuel songs, which began to appear in the Top 100 download chart on iTunes. On March 3, 2006, judge Randy Jackson
Randy Jackson
Randall Darius "Randy" Jackson is an American bassist, singer, record producer, music manager, A&R executive, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is best known as a judge on American Idol and executive producer for MTV's America's Best Dance Crew...
stated in an interview that Daughtry had been offered the opportunity to become Fuel's new lead singer. Fuel confirmed their interest on their official website. On May 11, 2006, Abercrombie and Bell appeared on the TV show Extra
Extra (TV series)
Extra is an American entertainment television news program covering events and celebrities which debuted on September 5, 1994 in syndication. It is produced at Victory Studios in Glendale, California by Telepictures Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Distribution...
to officially offer Daughtry the job. However, though flattered, Daughtry turned down this offer. The public offer to Chris Daughtry to be Fuel's next singer was a publicity stunt made at a point where the new singer was already chosen, had made three demos, and got green light from Sony. According to Carl Bell, they were seriously talking for several weeks, but as his popularity grew, Daughtry's label would not let Daughtry out of his contract.
By this time also, Tommy Stewart
Tommy Stewart
Tommy Stewart is an American rock drummer, currently for the rock band Lo-Pro. He is probably best known for his stint with heavy metal band Godsmack...
, formerly of Godsmack
Godsmack
Godsmack is an American heavy metal band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is composed of founder, frontman and songwriter Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rombola, bassist Robbie Merrill, and drummer Shannon Larkin...
, was named as Fuel's drummer on Fuel's Myspace page.
New singer chosen
On June 8, 2006, Bell announced that the band has found a new lead singer but were waiting confirmation from the record label to announce it. Still, they officially entered the studio in mid-August with producer Scott HumphreyScott Humphrey
Scott Humphrey is a Canadian record producer and mix engineer. He began his music career as a keyboard player and programmer. He is best known for his work with multiplatinum recording artist Rob Zombie and has co-written, co-produced and mixed all of his records up until 2007's Zombie Live...
to start recording their fourth album. Due to other commitments Stewart was not available to play drums on the album, so Tommy Lee
Tommy Lee
Thomas Lee Bass , best known as Tommy Lee, is an American musician and founding member of glam metal band Mötley Crüe. As well as being the band's long-term drummer, Lee founded rap-metal band Methods of Mayhem, and has pursued solo musical projects...
and Josh Freese
Josh Freese
Josh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....
performed drums in his place. The band has posted photos from within the studio fairly often on the band's website and MySpace.
On March 9, 2007, Carl Bell officially announced that Fuel's next album, complete with new band members, was fully mixed and going to mastering, and on April 19, 2007, he posted on Fuel's official website that their new lead singer has been confirmed as Toryn Green
Toryn Green
Toryn Green is the vocalist for hard-rock band For The Taking, and the former vocalist for Fuel.He also was the touring lead vocalist for the band Apocalyptica and performed in both of its 2008 US Worlds Collide Tours...
.
Angels & Devils (2007)
On May 15, 2007, Bell announced the title of the new album - Angels & Devils - set to be released on August 7, 2007. On June 19, 2007, Fuel's first single from their new album, "Wasted TimeWasted Time (Fuel song)
"Wasted Time" is a song by Fuel and the lead single from their fourth studio album Angels & Devils, released on June 19, 2007. Written by guitarist Carl Bell, it is the first single by the band to feature new lead singer Toryn Green...
", was released into rock radio and internet download and peaked at #24 on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. A second single, "Gone," was released on October 23.
Fuel performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Friday August 10, 2007.
Angels & Devils debuted on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
at #42, selling about 15,000 copies in its first week.
Playlist: The Very Best of Fuel (2008)
On October 20, 2008, Sony'sSony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
catalog division Legacy Recordings
Legacy Recordings
Legacy Recordings is Sony Music Entertainment's catalog division. It was founded in 1990 by CBS Records under the leadership of Jerry Shulman, Richard Bauer, Gary Pacheco and Amy Herot to handle reissues of recordings from the vast catalogues of Columbia Records, Epic Records and associated...
released the album Playlist: The Very Best of Fuel on their Playlist series.
Re-Fueled (2009)
Since concluding the tour for Angels & Devils, Fuel had shown little activity. News related to Fuel came up when in 2009, former frontman Brett Scallions got together with Jeff Abercrombie to start playing Fuel material under the group name Re-Fueled. According to Scallions, "Jeff and I have remained friends, he called me up a while back and we decided - let’s go out and have fun because he and I haven't played together in a while. It just seemed like the timing was right." Scallions has also recruited former BuckcherryBuckcherry
Buckcherry is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California formed in 1995. The band released two albums, Buckcherry and Time Bomb , before partially dissolving in the summer of 2002. In 2005, lead vocalist Josh Todd and lead guitarist Keith Nelson reformed Buckcherry and released a new album...
guitarist Yogi, and former Candiria
Candiria
Candiria are an American band from Brooklyn, New York. They blend various styles of music, including heavy metal, hardcore, jazz, hip hop and ambient. Candiria have often dubbed their sound "urban fusion".- History :...
drummer Ken Schalk to round out the lineup. The band has put together a list of tour dates for the fall where they are expected to be playing all the classic Fuel songs, from the band’s first three albums.
Re-Fueled to become new Fuel?
In February 2010, Philadelphia's WMMRWMMR
WMMR is an active rock radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, broadcasting at 93.3 MHz FM. The station is owned by Greater Media....
announced that Fuel, "re-grouped with original singer Brett Scallions
Brett Scallions
Brett Allen Scallions is an American musician. He is currently the lead vocalist for current lineup of Fuel after being the vocalist for the original incarnation of the band from 1993 to 2006. During that time, the band released multiple albums including the double platinum Something Like Human...
", will be performing at their annual MMR*B*Q concert. There were also rumors of other festival dates being in the works. The limited information given led to believe that the original Fuel had rejoined their forces. However, Carl Bell's stand in the alleged reunion raised questions, even more so since there was no official confirmation from the band at that time. To add to the dubiousness of the situation, Toryn Green
Toryn Green
Toryn Green is the vocalist for hard-rock band For The Taking, and the former vocalist for Fuel.He also was the touring lead vocalist for the band Apocalyptica and performed in both of its 2008 US Worlds Collide Tours...
stated on his MySpace that it seemed to be Re-Fueled promoting their own shows under the name of Fuel.
On March 2, 2010, Brett Scallions announced via the Fuelies Message Board that the "Fuel" advertised will consist of the current Re-Fueled line-up: Brett Scallions, Yogi, Ken Schalk, and new Re-Fueled bassist Brad Stewart (formerly of Shinedown), leaving him the only member of the old Fuel left in the band. The band embarked on world tour in April 2010.
The situation was clarified further by Scallions: "It won’t be the same as the original Fuel. Unfortunately things aren’t really resolved between Carl and myself and Jeff has decided that he no longer wants to tour. All I’m asking from you guys is that you at least give me a chance to give you a great show. You gave Carl that chance when he was the only one on the stage. Some of you have already commented on how you won’t be making this one. Well, you just might miss something great."
The band had been on hiatus since the end of Angels & Devils tour. Carl Bell's messages at the Fuelies website suggested that there were problems, "between record legal issues", that were yet to be solved. In an interview for Rockin' Music Reviews from November 2007 Bell expresses his frustration over the limited support the latest album Angels & Devils received from the label. In another interview from November 2007, Bell tells Tunelab how right before Angels & Devils was released he lost his "A&R guy" of 9 years at Epic Records, Ben Goldman, who had signed Fuel to Sony 550 Music back in 1997. In Spring 2008, the band was in talks with Sony about releasing "Leave The Memories Alone" as the third single from the album, due to notable rise in sales after its appearance in "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair's
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
farewell video tribute in the March 31, 2008 episode of "Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
" in WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
programming, but that never came about. Instead, the negotiations to part ways with Epic after ten years were started. Until Scallions' announcement, there had been no updates on band status since March 2009.
New Fuel confirmed
On April 8, 2010, the reformation of Fuel was finally confirmed in an official press release. Also the Fuel MySpace and Facebook were updated with the new line-up and tour dates. The new band website is www.fuelrocks.com."There is only one original of anything" exclaims Scallions, "and that includes Fuel. The original lineup with Carl, Jeff, Jody and myself will always be something special to all of us, and our first Fuelies (a term for Fuel fans) but it has been thirteen years since the original lineup was intact, and since then many great musicians have come and gone. The lineup I put together for Fuel is not meant to replace or diminish what any of the original members created. Just the opposite, it is to give our fans a live destination, and to keep the Fuel name alive for a new generation to discover. Maybe someday we'll all get on the same page and play together again, but life happens and the next thing you know you just can't jump on a bus and take off for a month, let alone a year."
Original bassist Jeff Abercrombie is currently the owner/operator of Thud Studios. Original lead guitarist and principal songwriter Carl Bell is producing new music for a diversified group of artists. Bell has also been busy writing for film and television.
When reached for comment Bell stated, " Look, Brett sang all of this stuff on the bands biggest records, so it's pretty clear that the fans want to hear him singing Fuel songs, and that is what they are going to get. Our fans are important and they deserve a Fuel, even if it isn't an original lineup. Who knows maybe someday there will be an all original reunion. I have learned to never say never."
In an interview given to Philadelphia's 93.3 WMMR backstage of MMRBQ on May 23, 2010, Scallions talks about using the name "Fuel". "This is Fuel. We are Fuel. I worked out a deal where everybody's happy. I just told everybody, look I wanna do this my way, let me give this a shot, so everybody gave me their blessing and I'm going out and having some fun." Scallions also states that there is no animosity between him and Carl Bell. "We worked out a deal. We made an agreement with each other and we both been very civil to each other in our conversations."
It was later announced on June 25, 2010 that former Shinedown
Shinedown
Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed in 2001 and founded by members Brent Smith , Brad Stewart , Jasin Todd , and Barry Kerch . A few line-up changes followed, and the band's current line-up consists of Smith and Kerch, the band's only two remaining original...
guitarist Jasin Todd had joined the band to replace Yogi Lonich on lead guitar.
Recording plans
In the May 2010 interview for 93.3 WMMR, Scallions told how the next Fuel record with the new lineup is coming together as a collaborative effort. "We have been writing on the bus during this tour, and we've got so many really, really cool riffs and songs are molding together in a really awesome way, I'm so excited. (...) This is four guys that love to write which we're doing together as a band."Recently the band played a new song live, "a taste of things to come", as Scallions described the song, and entitled the song "Headache". It was said to be reminiscent of Sunburn and Something Like Human.
On Fuelies message board, Brett Scallions stated, "As some of you may know, we have been playing a new song I wrote called Headache. We just went into Matt Sorum's studio and recorded it! It came out so badass! I can't wait for you all to hear it. It has yet to be determined if it will be an actual Fuel song or if there will be another Fuel record. All of that will be determined and negotiated in the near future."
However shortly after, Scallions then posted that "Headache" will be apart of the upcoming World Fire Brigade album. However, on the new tour the band has played the song calling it "a taste of the future." This could mean that Headache will be apart of the upcoming album which Scallions stated is due out next summer. New songs were featured in the setlist entitled, "I Can See the Sun" and "What We Can Never Have". The band also started adding more songs from the Something Like Human album, including Scallions own penned, "Knives". Scallions is sure that a new Fuel album will indeed be released in the summer of 2012.
On the Fuelies message board, Scallions hinted that the band had been writing and also hinted at the possibility of a new Fuel record after a fan on the board requested the band return to Australia. It is currently unknown if the material will be written for Fuel or revert back to World Fire Brigade.
2011
After nearly two years, Carl Bell finally publicly addressed the new Fuel as well as the fans. In order to show that there was no bad blood between them Carl posted a message on their Myspace which read, Hello all! Hope all is well with all of you. Just wanted to say I hope you all had a great Christmas season and here's hoping that 2011 is your best year yet!! Happy New Year!!! May it be peaceful, prosperous, and all in all a perfect year for all of you. As always, thanks again for your interest in Fuel. Your concern is always appreciated by me. All the best this New Year, Carl. It is still unclear when Fuel plan to record new material, or whether or not Carl Bell will be included in the line up in the near future.As of January 2011, Yogi Lonich has since returned to the band as lead guitarist. Jasin Todd has left the band on good terms.
As of March 2011, Brett Scallions has started a new band called World Fire Brigade The lineup for World Fire Brigade includes all current members of Fuel in addition to Smile Empty Soul vocalist/guitarist Sean Danielsen.
The re-formed Fuel performed at The Bamboozle
The Bamboozle
The Bamboozle is an annual rain-or-shine, three-day music festival held in New Jersey. Every year, new bands compete for spots during the two days. The event evolved out of the Skate and Surf Festival.- The Characters:...
in East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....
on May 1, 2011.
The band played Bethlehem Musikfest alongside Buckcherry, however Yogi Lonich was not on stage. A friend of Scallions, Martin Estrada sat in and played lead for the show. Brett Scallions announced on his official facebook page that Yogi Lonich was dismissed from the band. Scallions stated that Lonich was not committed or loyal to the band, and the two were in a "heated discussion" so therefore he is no longer playing with the band. Scallions also hinted that there is in fact a new Fuel record in the works and also introduced the band's new lead guitarist, Andy Andersson. The band will continue its tour and will also be playing new material during the sets. Scallions also noted that Lonich was never in World Fire Brigade, but rather recorded lead solos on some songs that will be released on the upcoming album.
In September Fuel performed an acoustic version of their new song "I Can See The Sun" at Legendary Dobb's. Fuel have also played this song at other shows.
Fuel have also been performing "What We Can Never Have" a new song, at various shows.
In November 2011, Brett reported that Ken Schalk was in the process of laying down the drums tracks for 2 new Fuel songs. It has also been reported that the new Fuel record is set for a tentative mid-2012 release.
Current lineup
- Brett ScallionsBrett ScallionsBrett Allen Scallions is an American musician. He is currently the lead vocalist for current lineup of Fuel after being the vocalist for the original incarnation of the band from 1993 to 2006. During that time, the band released multiple albums including the double platinum Something Like Human...
- lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1993–2006, 2010–present) - Andy Andersson - lead guitar, keyboards (2011-present)
- Brad StewartBrad StewartBrad Stewart is a professional musician best known for his work with hard rock band Shinedown. However, he now plays in Amaru, Society Red, Fuel, and Burn Season-Shinedown:Brad was the second member to join Shinedown after vocalist Brent Smith...
- bass guitar, backing vocals (2010–present) - Ken Schalk - drums, percussion (2010–present)
Former members
- Yogi Lonich - Lead guitar, backing vocals (2010, 2011)
- Jasin Todd - lead guitar (2010)
- Toryn GreenToryn GreenToryn Green is the vocalist for hard-rock band For The Taking, and the former vocalist for Fuel.He also was the touring lead vocalist for the band Apocalyptica and performed in both of its 2008 US Worlds Collide Tours...
- lead vocals (2006–2010) - Carl BellCarl Bell (musician)Carl Bell is an American musician and producer born January 9, 1967 in Kenton, Tennessee. He founded the hard rock band Fuel with long-time friend and band member Jeff Abercrombie. Bell was the principal songwriter and lyricist for the band and performed guitar and backing vocals from the band's...
- lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1993–2010) - Jeff Abercrombie - bass guitar (1993-2010)
- Tommy StewartTommy StewartTommy Stewart is an American rock drummer, currently for the rock band Lo-Pro. He is probably best known for his stint with heavy metal band Godsmack...
- drums, percussion (2006–2010) - Kevin Miller - drums, percussion (1998–2004)
- Jonathan MoverJonathan MoverJonathan Mover is an American drummer who has worked with a number of artists including Aretha Franklin, Fuel, Alice Cooper, Shakira, Julian Lennon, GTR, Everlast, The Tubes, Mick Jagger, Steve Howe, Peter Frampton, Oleander, Celine Dion, Elton John, Stuart Hamm, They Might Be Giants, Frank...
- drums, percussion (1997–1998) - Jody Abbott - drums, percussion (1993–1997) (as Small the Joy and Fuel)
- Erik Avakian - keyboards (1993–1996) (as Small the Joy)
Touring members
- Rev Jones - bass guitar (2004)
- Tommy StewartTommy StewartTommy Stewart is an American rock drummer, currently for the rock band Lo-Pro. He is probably best known for his stint with heavy metal band Godsmack...
- drums (2005) - Ronny Paige - bass (2007–2008)
- Jonathan MoverJonathan MoverJonathan Mover is an American drummer who has worked with a number of artists including Aretha Franklin, Fuel, Alice Cooper, Shakira, Julian Lennon, GTR, Everlast, The Tubes, Mick Jagger, Steve Howe, Peter Frampton, Oleander, Celine Dion, Elton John, Stuart Hamm, They Might Be Giants, Frank...
- drums (2011)
Discography
- Sunburn (1998)
- Something Like HumanSomething Like HumanEarly promotional press editions of the album included the songs "Sister Mary Innocent" and the Scallions penned "Bruises", which ultimately were left off the final sequence of the album which was released to stores. Neither of these recordings have been released publicly by the band...
(2000) - Natural Selection (2003)
- Angels & Devils (2007)