TheSTART
Encyclopedia
TheStart is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 rock
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 from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, formed in 1998. Their current lineup includes Aimee Echo
Aimee Echo
Aimee Echo is an American vocalist. She is the ex-frontwoman of Human Waste Project and currently the vocalist of TheStart and Normandie.Aimee is also a practitioner and Authorized teacher of Ashtanga Yoga. She began practicing Yoga with Noah Williams and Kimberly Flynn in Los Angeles in 1999...

, Jamie Miller, Lance Webber and Chelsea Davis.

Early history and Shakedown! (1998 - 2001)

Aimee Echo
Aimee Echo
Aimee Echo is an American vocalist. She is the ex-frontwoman of Human Waste Project and currently the vocalist of TheStart and Normandie.Aimee is also a practitioner and Authorized teacher of Ashtanga Yoga. She began practicing Yoga with Noah Williams and Kimberly Flynn in Los Angeles in 1999...

 and Jamie Miller met in the late 1990s while touring with their former bands, Human Waste Project
Human Waste Project
Human Waste Project was a band from Huntington Beach, California with Aimee Echo on vocals, Mike Tempesta on guitar, Jeff Schartoff on bass, and Scott Ellis on drums. They released their album E-lux in 1997 and broke up soon after.- History :...

 and Snot
Snot (band)
Snot was an American rock band from Santa Barbara, California. Formed in 1995, the band released their debut studio album Get Some with founding vocalist Lynn Strait in 1997 and disbanded after his death in 1998. In 2008, the lineup of guitarists Mike Doling and Sonny Mayo, bassist John Fahnestock...

. They formed a band called Hero in the fall of 1998 with Aimee on vocals, Jamie on guitar/bass/synthesizer, Scott Ellis on drums, and Mike Smith
Mike Smith (guitarist)
Mike Smith is a musician, best known as the former guitarist of Snot, TheStart, and Limp Bizkit. Currently he is the singer and guitarist for the band Evolver.- Rumbledog :...

 on guitar. Within only two weeks of writing songs, their first show was on September 9, 1998 at The Dragonfly. They played numerous gigs throughout Los Angeles, including opening for Orgy
Orgy (band)
Orgy is an American synth rock band formed in 1996, from Los Angeles, California. Orgy described their music as "death pop".-History:Orgy was formed in 1996 by vocalist Jay Gordon and guitarist Ryan Shuck. Bassist Paige Haley, guitarist Amir Derakh, and drummer Bobby Hewitt soon completed the line-up...

. In 1999, they recorded their first demo. It featured "Gorgeous," "Hang On Me," "Flying Machine," and "Be Mine." "Gorgeous" and "Hang On Me" would later be re-recorded for their debut album.

In July 1999, Hero were signed to 143 Records/Atlantic Records and recorded their debut album named "Circles." The band was forced to change their name, as "Hero" was found to be already taken. At the suggestion of Aimee's mother, they changed it to TheStart. The name would soon prove prophetic, as they would be one of the first bands of the new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

 revival. Mike Smith left in October 2000 so Jamie Miller switched to guitar only and Jeff Jaeger (previously with 30 Seconds To Mars
30 Seconds to Mars
30 Seconds to Mars is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1998. Since 2007, the band has consisted of actor Jared Leto , Shannon Leto and Tomo Miličević...

) was brought in as the new bassist. They left 143 Records but eventually signed with The Label, a sub-label of Geffen Records, and finally released the album in 2001, retitled Shakedown!
Shakedown!
Shakedown! is the debut album by TheStart. The album was recorded in 1999, although it was not released until 2001.-Track listing:#"Shakedown!" – 3:21#"Gorgeous" – 3:28#"Communion" – 4:08#"Melt" – 3:21#"Hang On Me" – 4:14#"Dirty Lion" – 3:32...

.

The 1234 and Death via Satellite EPs (2002 - 2003)

After touring with Weezer and Incubus for the rest of the year, TheStart returned home only to find that The Label was shutting down. Not willing to give up, Aimee and Jamie decided to buy their own touring van and do everything themselves. Scott Ellis instantly left the band, so Brian Ferraro joined as the new drummer. In 2002, they recorded and released The 1234 EP
The 1234 EP
The 1234 is an EP by TheStart. It was recorded and released in 2002, limited to only 500 copies. The recording and pressing of the record was self-financed by the band, and it was only available through their website or on tour. All three tracks would later be released on the Death Via Satellite...

independently. Only 500 copies were made and the band sold it at their shows and online.

The summer of 2002 proved to be successful for TheStart as they went on their first headlining tour with Scarling.
Scarling.
Scarling. is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, whose core members are Jessicka and Christian Hejnal-Addams. The band formed in 2002. They have released two albums, Sweet Heart Dealer and So Long, Scarecrow.-Name:...

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

. They gathered up $800 to record a self-titled EP, which would later be re-released under the name Death via Satellite. It was released in August with the help of Smallstone Records and Newblack Records. With little to no press at all, the band sold thousands of the EP on tour and on their website. Later that year, TheStart went on their first European/UK tour with Sparta
Sparta (band)
Sparta is an American band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 2001. Founding members Jim Ward and Tony Hajjar are former members of post-hardcore group At the Drive-In...

 and Strung Out
Strung Out
Strung Out is a Californian punk rock band from Simi Valley, California, formed in 1992. They are known mainly for their musical style, which fuses aspects of punk rock and heavy metal to form their primary sound. They have released seven albums on Fat Wreck Chords and appeared on numerous...

.

In January 2003, AFI
AFI (band)
AFI is an American alternative rock band from Ukiah, California that formed in 1991. They have consisted of the same lineup since 1998: lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backup vocalist Adam Carson, with bassist Hunter Burgan and guitarist Jade Puget, who both play keyboard and contribute...

 invited TheStart to open up for them. TheStart continued to jump on tours, including Vaux, The Used and Coheed and Cambria. Having had a tour with Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band that formed in McHenry, Illinois, in 1996. The band's line-up consists of Matt Skiba , Dan Andriano , and Derek Grant...

 still planned in June, TheStart borrowed friends Todd O'Keefe and Justin Rocherolle from The Green And Yellow TV to fill in as Brian Ferraro was let go.

Nitro Records and Initiation (2003 - 2005)

Erick Sanger met TheStart when his previous band, Kissing Chaos, had played a show with them in Texas. He told Aimee he loved TheStart and would like to be in the band if they ever needed him. Bringing along friend Billy Brimblecom, Jr. to play drums, the lineup was finalized in July 2003. That summer they opened tours for Ozma, Onelinedrawing
Onelinedrawing
Onelinedrawing was the solo project of Jonah Matranga, best known as the vocalist for the indie rock band Far. It traces its origins back to 1995, when Matranga began making a series of home recordings that "weren't made with the intention of anyone hearing them." Four years worth of these...

, and Taproot
Taproot (band)
Taproot is a four-piece rock group from Ann Arbor, Michigan. They are most known for their hit single "Poem" , as well as a number of other singles from 2000 to the present.-Pre-formation:...

.

Nitro Records
Nitro Records
Nitro Records is an independent record label created and owned by Dexter Holland and Greg Kriesel . They started the label in 1994. The label is famous for being an incubator for punk rock artists who have subsequently become successful, most notably AFI...

 had been watching TheStart since they played with AFI. TheStart were signed in October 2003 and Death Via Satellite was re-released with new artwork. They then joined the first Girlz Garage tour along with Lennon Murphy
Lennon Murphy
Lennon Anne Murphy, named after musician John Lennon, is a singer-songwriter out of Hendersonville, Tennessee, United States.-Early life:Murphy was born in Ronkonkoma, Long Island, New York on March 31, 1982. When she was four years old, Murphy and her mother moved to Hendersonville, Tennessee,...

, Brassy and Lillix.

TheStart began to record their second full-length album, Initiation
Initiation (theSTART album)
Initiation is the second full length album by TheStart that was released in 2004. The CD includes an enhanced feature with commentary by Aimee Echo on recording the album, as well as a music video of the single "Like Days."-Track listing:...

, in February 2004. In March, they embarked on another UK tour, this time with The Offspring
The Offspring
The Offspring is an American punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1984. Known as Manic Subsidal until 1986, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Greg K. and drummer Pete Parada...

. They continued to tour with The Offspring for North America, opening beside The (International) Noise Conspiracy
The (International) Noise Conspiracy
The Noise Conspiracy is a Swedish rock band formed in Sweden in the late months of 1998. The line-up consists of Dennis Lyxzén , Inge Johansson , Lars Strömberg , and Ludwig Dahlberg . The band is known for its punk and garage rock musical influences, and its impassioned left-wing political stance...

 and Auf Der Maur. They embarked on a co-headlining tour with The AKAs throughout July.

On August 24, Initiation was released on Nitro Records
Nitro Records
Nitro Records is an independent record label created and owned by Dexter Holland and Greg Kriesel . They started the label in 1994. The label is famous for being an incubator for punk rock artists who have subsequently become successful, most notably AFI...

. Unfortunately it seems with good must come bad, as drummer Billy Brimblecom, Jr. announced the same day that he would be leaving the band. TheStart took a month off then resumed headlining tours with new drummer Frank Zummo. For a few shows, Adrian Young
Adrian Young
Adrian Samuel Young is the drummer for the rock band No Doubt.-Biography:Young's parents were hippies. He has four brothers: Alex, Damian, Jeff and Aaron. His father is a teacher in Cypress CA and his stepmother, Jeanne, is currently suffering from ALS...

 of No Doubt
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...

 filled in for drums.

In February 2005, Goldfinger
Goldfinger (band)
Goldfinger is a Los Angeles pop punk/ska punk band that formed in 1994. Currently, the band is composed of vocalist/guitarist John Feldmann, guitarist Charlie Paulson, bassist Kelly LeMieux, and drummer Darrin Pfeiffer...

 asked TheStart to be on their animal rights tour, as both bands have vegetarian and vegan members. In the next few months, TheStart had another co-headlining tour, this time with Showbread.

In July, they were very excited to begin a tour with Head Automatica
Head Automatica
Head Automatica is a Dance Rock band, formed by Glassjaw frontman Daryl Palumbo with Jarvis Holden, formerly of Give Up the Ghost or American Nightmare, Jim Greer, and Brandon Arnovick.-History:...

 but less than halfway through it, Daryl Palumbo (Head Automatica singer) got sick and was hopitalized. The rest of the tour was cancelled. So TheStart jumped on the Team Sleep
Team Sleep
Team Sleep is an American experimental alternative rock group led by singer/guitarist Chino Moreno, better known for fronting the Sacramento-based band Deftones....

 tour for the rest of the month. In August, Garbage
Garbage (band)
Garbage are an alternative rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. The group consists of Scottish singer Shirley Manson and American musicians Duke Erikson , Steve Marker and Butch Vig . All four members are involved in songwriting and production...

 invited TheStart to be the only opener on their last North American tour.

Metropolis Records and Ciao, Baby (2006 - 2008)

March 2006 had TheStart joining The Birthday Massacre
The Birthday Massacre
The Birthday Massacre is a synthrock band, based in Toronto, Canada. The band formed in 1999, known then as Imagica...

 for a month long tour. They continued on touring until the summer when longtime bassist Erick Sanger was unexpectedly let go. Drummer Ed Davis also departed to join Juliette and the Licks
Juliette and the Licks
Juliette and the Licks was an American rock band led by actress Juliette Lewis. Other band members included guitarist Craig Fairbaugh and guitarist Emilio Cueto, bassist Jason Womack and drummer Ed Davis. Their popular songs include "You're Speaking My Language" and "Hot Kiss"...

. They brought in friends Lance Webber (ex-Man Will Surrender / The Art Of Safecracking) on bass and Colin Strahm (of The Johns) on drums.

The band was once again without a label as they had parted ways with Nitro Records. Though on Halloween 2006, they announced their signing with Metropolis Records
Metropolis Records
Metropolis Records is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based record label, distributor, and mail-order store specializing in the post-industrial field such as electro-industrial, synthpop, futurepop, darkwave, and gothic musical genres....

 and began work on their new album. Aimee and Jamie wrote and recorded the new songs entirely by themselves this time.

The band began playing again in March, until Echo was asked by the Teddybears to do vocals on their tour in April, which included a stop at the Coachella festival. When she returned, they hit the road with Front Line Assembly
Front Line Assembly
Front Line Assembly is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy. Influenced by early Industrial acts such as Cabaret Voltaire, Portion Control, D.A.F., Test Dept, SPK, and Severed Heads, FLA has developed its own unique sound while combining...

. Drummer Frank Zummo had returned for a stint replacing Colin Strahm.

The new record, Ciao, Baby
Ciao, Baby
Ciao, Baby is the third full-length album by TheStart. It was released June 5, 2007. Ciao, Baby sees the band drawing inspiration from influences such as goth/industrial artists Bauhaus, Tones on Tail and Nine Inch Nails or the alternative electronica/glam sounds of Garbage, Goldfrapp, Roxy Music...

, was released on June 5, 2007. They played the whole cd live at the record release show at Safari Sam's on June 14. Singer/drummer Chelsea Davis of Digital Black joined the band on drums as they prepared to tour in support of the album. In July 2007, the band released on their Myspace page a cover of the song "Cities in Dust" by Siouxsie and the Banshees, one of the band's life-long musical inspirations. The song was intended to be featured in promotion on the third Resident Evil film.

The track "Blood On My Hands" was released as a digital only single on October 16, 2007 and featured a remixed version of the song by Chris Vrenna of Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...

. TheStart spent the end of 2007 opening shows for She Wants Revenge
She Wants Revenge
She Wants Revenge is an American musical duo, based in San Fernando Valley, California. The group's debut album She Wants Revenge was released in early 2006, with three singles to follow...

. Ironically, founding drummer of TheStart and ex-Human Waste Project member, Scott Ellis, plays drums for She Wants Revenge, making it the first time the three founding members of TheStart have toured together since 2002.

In March 2008, the title track "Ciao, Baby" was used on The L Word
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...

and "Wartime" was used on Lipstick Jungle
Lipstick Jungle (TV series)
Lipstick Jungle is an American comedy-drama television series created by DeAnn Heline and Eileen Heisler for NBC Universal Television Studio . The hour-long series was based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Candace Bushnell, who also served as executive producer alongside...

during broadcast of these television shows. Also in March, TheStart took up residency at Crash Mansion including a final show with a reunion set from Human Waste Project.

In April 2008, the song "Rat Tat Tat" written by Jamie Miller, Aimee Echo and Chelsea Davis with Street Drum Corps was released on the Street Drum Corps album "We Are Machines".

On October 10, 10 years after they had broken up, Human Waste Project and Snot reunited for a show at the Key Club in Los Angeles.

Normandie, B-sides compilation and future (2009 - present)

In February 2009, the band's MySpace announced a side-project band by Aimee, Jamie and Chelsea called Normandie. As of June, they are recording a debut album. The band stresses that theSTART and Normandie are entirely separate projects.

The band also previously uploaded "Queen 4 A Day" and "All I Ever Wanted", two out-takes from Ciao, Baby, to their MySpace. They later announced their intentions to release a compilation of b-sides, but further information on these plans has yet to surface, though the band has made personalized b-side compilation CDs for fans at their shows.

theSTART were featured on Engine Room Recordings
Engine Room Recordings
Engine Room Recordings is an independent record label with a roster of Indie rock and Alternative rock musicians. Beyond marketing and distribution for its artists, the label does booking and artist management....

 recent compilation album, Guilt by Association Vol. 3
Guilt by Association Vol. 3
Guilt by Association Vol. 3 is a compilation album released November 15, 2011 by Engine Room Recordings. Like its previous installments, Guilt by Association Vol. 1 and Guilt by Association Vol. 2, Guilt By Association Vol...

, released November 15th, 2011. On the album the band covered Kickstart My Heart
Kickstart My Heart
"Kickstart My Heart" is a Grammy Award-nominated song by the American rock band Mötley Crüe, originally released on their 1989 album, Dr. Feelgood. The song has also been used numerous in media, including the trailers for Robert Rodriguez's family comedy Shorts and the Disney/Pixar film Cars...

by Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...

.

Band members

Current
  • Aimee Echo
    Aimee Echo
    Aimee Echo is an American vocalist. She is the ex-frontwoman of Human Waste Project and currently the vocalist of TheStart and Normandie.Aimee is also a practitioner and Authorized teacher of Ashtanga Yoga. She began practicing Yoga with Noah Williams and Kimberly Flynn in Los Angeles in 1999...

     – lead vocals (1998–present)
  • Jamie Miller – synthesizers (1998–present), bass (1998–2000), guitars (2000–present)
  • Lance Webber – bass, guitars (2006–present)
  • Chelsea Davis – drums, percussion (2007–present)

Albums & EPs

  • Shakedown!
    Shakedown!
    Shakedown! is the debut album by TheStart. The album was recorded in 1999, although it was not released until 2001.-Track listing:#"Shakedown!" – 3:21#"Gorgeous" – 3:28#"Communion" – 4:08#"Melt" – 3:21#"Hang On Me" – 4:14#"Dirty Lion" – 3:32...

    (2001)
  • The 1234 EP
    The 1234 EP
    The 1234 is an EP by TheStart. It was recorded and released in 2002, limited to only 500 copies. The recording and pressing of the record was self-financed by the band, and it was only available through their website or on tour. All three tracks would later be released on the Death Via Satellite...

    (2002)
  • Death Via Satellite EP
    Death Via Satellite EP
    Death Via Satellite is an EP by TheStart. It is their first release on Nitro Records, though it was originally released as "TheStart EP" on Smallstone Records. The Nitro release can be considered superior, as it includes a data track featuring the video for "The 1234" and revamped artwork...

    (2003)
  • Initiation
    Initiation (theSTART album)
    Initiation is the second full length album by TheStart that was released in 2004. The CD includes an enhanced feature with commentary by Aimee Echo on recording the album, as well as a music video of the single "Like Days."-Track listing:...

    (2004)
  • Ciao, Baby
    Ciao, Baby
    Ciao, Baby is the third full-length album by TheStart. It was released June 5, 2007. Ciao, Baby sees the band drawing inspiration from influences such as goth/industrial artists Bauhaus, Tones on Tail and Nine Inch Nails or the alternative electronica/glam sounds of Garbage, Goldfrapp, Roxy Music...

    (2007)

Singles

  • "Gorgeous" (2001)
  • "The 1234" (2003)
  • "Like Days" (2004)
  • "Blood On My Hands" (2007)

Compilations

  • Kickstart My Heart
    Kickstart My Heart
    "Kickstart My Heart" is a Grammy Award-nominated song by the American rock band Mötley Crüe, originally released on their 1989 album, Dr. Feelgood. The song has also been used numerous in media, including the trailers for Robert Rodriguez's family comedy Shorts and the Disney/Pixar film Cars...

    (Mötley Crüe
    Mötley Crüe
    Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...

     cover) from Guilt by Association Vol. 3
    Guilt by Association Vol. 3
    Guilt by Association Vol. 3 is a compilation album released November 15, 2011 by Engine Room Recordings. Like its previous installments, Guilt by Association Vol. 1 and Guilt by Association Vol. 2, Guilt By Association Vol...

    (2011).

External links

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