The Airborne Toxic Event
Encyclopedia
The Airborne Toxic Event is an American indie rock
band from Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
. It consists of Mikel Jollett (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Chen (guitar, keyboards), Noah Harmon (electric bass, upright bass, backing vocals), Daren Taylor (drums) and Anna Bulbrook (viola, keyboards, tambourine, backing vocals). The band released its debut self-titled album in 2008 and released its follow-up album, All at Once
, on April 26, 2011.
Named after a section of the book White Noise
, by Don DeLillo
, the group is known for its blend of rock music and orchestral arrangements, having performed frequently with the Calder Quartet, a string quartet based in Los Angeles. The group has also played concerts with the Louisville Orchestra
and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra
.
, and was himself diagnosed with a genetic autoimmune disease
that led to the development of two cosmetic conditions: Alopecia areata
and Vitiligo
. This quick succession of traumatic events spurred a period of intense songwriting, and it was around this time that he first met Taylor through a mutual friend in the Silver Lake, Los Angeles.
Throughout the summer of 2006, Jollett and Taylor rehearsed several of Jollett’s songs, including early incarnations of "Wishing Well," "Missy," and "Innocence," which would eventually appear on the band’s debut album. After a few months of rehearsals, Jollett ran into Bulbrook one night at El Gran Burrito, a popular outdoor Mexican
restaurant in Silver Lake. Trained in orchestral and chamber music
, she had just moved to Los Angeles from New York
. Though they were just acquaintances at the time, he remembered that she played the violin
and asked her to attend one of his and Taylor’s rehearsals. Afraid to bring her more expensive violin to a rock rehearsal, she agreed to bring her viola instead. Jollett then asked Harmon, a Tucson native and graduate of the Herb Alpert School of Music at the California Institute of the Arts
, to join his fledgling band, having seen him perform in Los Angeles with other acts and been impressed with his background in rock and jazz
, as well as his skill with the upright bass. At the time, Harmon was performing with multiple rock and jazz bands while teaching guitar to children both in East Los Angeles
as part of CalArts' Community Arts Partnership, and at Arroyo Seco Park (Highland Park, CA) as part of its "Art in the Park" program. He refused at first, and it wasn’t until months later—after several shows—that Harmon agreed to join the group full-time. Chen and Jollett, meanwhile, had already known each other for five years. They first met through a mutual friend while both were living in San Francisco and working as writers. After a few years of living in New York, Chen made a return to his hometown of Los Angeles, upon which Jollett contacted him and asked if he’d be interested in playing the keyboard in the band. Chen replied that he, in fact, played guitar and eventually filled the role as lead guitarist.
Prior to the formation of the band, and to supplement his fiction
writing, Jollett supported himself as a freelance writer, contributing to NPR
, Los Angeles Times
, Filter
and Men's Health
, among other organizations. Soon after the formation of the band, he concentrated only on fiction. In the summer of 2008, McSweeney's
issue 27 published one of Jollett’s short stories, The Crack, which appeared between short stories by Liz Mandrell and Stephen King
. In keeping with his literary background, Jollett named the band after a section of the postmodern novel White Noise, which won the National Book Award
in 1985. In the book, a chemical spill from a railcar releases a poisonous cloud, dubbed by the military and media as an "airborne toxic event." The reason for choosing this as the name of the band, he has stated, is that the event described in the novel triggers a fear of death and a sense of mortality that fundamentally alters the protagonist’s outlook on himself, his family, and his life. The band was born of a similar life-altering sequence of events, and thus, the themes of mortality and media consumption that arise from the novel’s toxic cloud serve as a major impetus for the band’s creative drive.
The Airborne Toxic Event played its first show at the Echo, a venue in Echo Park
, in October 2006—less than a month after it was fully formed. The show was well attended, and the following month, the band played the CMJ Music Marathon
. In December 2006, Rolling Stone
named the group one of the "Top 25 Bands on MySpace
." The band went on to receive positive feedback and reviews from music blogs and press, most notably the L.A. Weekly and the Los Angeles Times
, the latter of which named the group one of the top three L.A. bands to watch in 2008. Previous bands to receive this distinction include Cold War Kids
and Silversun Pickups
.
In the summer of 2007, the U.K. indie label Square Records released a 7-inch single of the Airborne Toxic Event song "Does This Mean You Are Moving On?" To support the release, the band embarked on a ten-day tour of the U.K., playing shows in London
and Brighton
. Upon returning, the band recorded 14 tracks with producer Pete Min at his home studio in the Atwater Village, Los Angeles, while continuing to perform around Los Angeles. Ten of the tracks recorded at Min’s home would later comprise the band’s debut album.
In December 2007 the band premiered the song "Sometime Around Midnight" with a live performance of the song on Indie 103.1
's local music show " Check One Two
." In January 2008, the band played a five-show weekly residency presented by Indie 103.1 at the popular Silver Lake venue Spaceland
, chronicled in a short YouTube
video titled "Thursdays in January". During the second-to-last week of the residency, Los Angeles Commercial Radio stations KROQ-FM
and Indie 103.1 (KDLD
) officially added the as-yet-unsigned band's song "Sometime Around Midnight" to regular rotation. Providence
's WBRU
, Seattle's KEXP-FM, San Francisco’s Live 105 (KITS
), San Diego’s 91X (XETRA-FM
), Boston
's WFNX
, and Sacramento's KWOD
106.5 soon followed suit, showing significant support for the group.
In April 2008, after an extensive courtship from major labels, the Airborne Toxic Event signed with the indie label Majordomo Records
, based in Los Angeles. Soon after that, on April 24, the band made its national television debut as the musical guest on the late-night NBC
talk show Last Call with Carson Daly
.
..
The record was received with mostly favorable reviews from such outlets as the Los Angeles Times
, Newsweek
, Q
, Entertainment Weekly
, and Drowned in Sound
, among others. Notably, the Boston Herald
named the band's album "The Debut Album of the Year." In addition, on Dec 6, 2008, iTunes
named "Sometime Around Midnight" the #1 Alternative Song of the Year on their Best of 2008 list. One exception was the review on the music website Pitchfork Media
, by Ian Cohen, who gave the record 1.6 out of 10 stars and accused the band of imitating the worst aspects of bands such as Arcade Fire, The Strokes
, and Interpol
. In response, the band released a statement saying that it does not take reviews too seriously and criticized Pitchfork for basing their critiques on "a band's ability to match a certain indie rock aesthetic" rather than a band's other merits, and claiming that much of the review "reads less like a record review and more like a diatribe against a set of ill-considered and borderline offensive preconceptions about Los Angeles".
To promote the album, the band released a series of one-take acoustic videos for each song on the record, filmed in different locations around Los Angeles. Each video was released in the order of the track listing on the album each week, with the final video ("Innocence") released in the first week of August to coincide with the album release. Some of the locations included the Los Angeles River
, Griffith Park
, and the Colburn School
Conservatory of Music. Two of the acoustic videos featured the band performing in moving vehicles; "Does This Mean You’re Moving On?" was performed in a car on Sunset Boulevard
, while "Something New" was performed on a boat at Marina Del Rey with Taylor both steering the boat and tapping a snare drum with his free hand.
Beginning in July 2008, the band embarked on a series of tours in support of the album, which continued for approximately a year and a half. After touring various summer festivals, the band embarked on a North American tour opening for The Fratellis
in the fall of 2008.
Following that, the group played its "30 Shows in 30 Days" tour of the United Kingdom
in November, during which it performed 30 nights in a row entirely in England
and Scotland
. The tour incorporated a month-long residency at the Dublin Castle, located in London's Camden Town
. The band has largely attributed its subsequent success in the U.K. to this tour, which also included shows in Derby
, York
, Birmingham
, Northampton
, Leicester
, Aldershot
, Yeovil
, Hayle
, Southampton
, Liverpool
, Carlisle, Middlesbrough
, Manchester
, Hull
, Leeds
, Oxford
, Brighton
, Nottingham
, Barrow-in-Furness
, Stoke-on-Trent
, Cardiff
, Bristol
, Sheffield
, Preston, Dundee
, Glasgow
, and Fife
.
In January 2009, the Airborne Toxic Event embarked on its first headlining tour, beginning in the U.K., followed by two months in the United States
and Canada
. Meanwhile, bolstered by an unexpected addition to the playlist at the U.K.’s BBC Radio 1
—an unusual occurrence for an unsigned American band—the group released its debut through an independent distributer in the UK on February 9, 2009. Also during this time, the group began performing on television with the Calder Quartet, a Los Angeles-based string quartet featuring Bulbrook’s brother on second violin. The quartet had previously played with the band for its record-release show at the El Rey Theatre
in Los Angeles in August of 2008, as well as appearing in two of its one-take acoustic videos, for "Sometime Around Midnight" and "Innocence." They joined the band for three television performances during the first half of 2009, including the Late Show with David Letterman
on January 16, 2009, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
on April 14, 2009, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! on May 14, 2009. Soon after the Letterman performance, which garnered worldwide attention, the band’s single “Sometime Around Midnight entered the top 10 on the U.S. Alternative Radio Chart.
The band toured almost constantly for the remainder of the year, throughout North America, the U.K., and continental Europe, performing during the summer at several festivals, including Coachella
, Lollapalooza
, T in the Park
, Fuji Rock, the Reading and Leeds Festivals
, Oxegen
, Latitude Festival
, FM4 Frequency Festival
, Pukkelpop
, A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise
, and the Sasquatch! Music Festival
. The group’s final tour for its debut album began on September 17, 2009 in Pomona, California
and concluded in Oxford
, U.K. on November 14. By the end of 2009, "Sometime Around Midnight," was the #10 Most Played Song at Alternative Radio for the year. It peaked at #4 and sold over 400,000 copies in the US. The band's debut album spent 8 weeks at #1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Chart (53 weeks in total on the chart) and has sold over 200,000 copies domestically and 300,000 worldwide.
The group made five music videos for the album, for "Does This Mean You’re Moving On?" directed by Jason Wishnow, "Happiness is Overrated," directed by Jon Danovic, "Gasoline," directed by Billy Johnson, and "Sometime Around Midnight"—for which there were two separate videos, directed by Wishnow and D. J. Caruso
.
In early March 2009, the Airborne Toxic Event signed with Island Records
.
On March 10, 2009, during a live radio broadcast with U2
at the Metro Chicago
, host Shirley Manson
of Garbage
asked the band to name some of its favorite songs. Bassist Adam Clayton
chose "Sometime Around Midnight" as one of his selections, commenting that he felt he would be listening to their album the rest of the year. During its U2 360° Tour
, U2 made a habit of playing a recording of the song in stadiums before taking the stage.
On May 20, 2009, an entire episode of Last Call with Carson Daly was devoted to the Airborne Toxic Event, featuring interviews and excerpts from a show at the Glass House in Pomona, California.
On December 4, 2009, the Airborne Toxic Event played its final show in support of its debut album, giving a sold-out performance at the Frank Gehry
-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall
in Downtown Los Angeles
. The show was presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic
and was the last of 354 shows performed by the band on its debut album cycle. The group was accompanied by the Calder Quartet, the Lalo Guerrero Children's choir, the The Belmont High School
marching band, Mexican Baile Folklorico
dancers, and a number of guest musicians, including horn players and an accordionist.
, the young Iranian woman who was killed during the protests of the disputed 2009 presidential election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran
. In conjunction with Amnesty International
, the band also launched a website, nedaspeaks.org, to raise awareness about Agha-Soltan’s death and the human rights struggle in Iran. The music video features a series of animated stills depicting the events surrounding Agha-Soltan’s death, interspersed with text.
As part of its website, the band encouraged visitors to submit a photo of themselves holding a sign reading "I am Neda." Celebrities who participated in the project include Alyssa Milano
, Paul Haggis
, and Ne-Yo
, among others. All proceeds from the sale of the single on iTunes were donated to Amnesty International. In addition, the band held a benefit concert at the Echo in Los Angeles on May 25, 2010. One of the attendees at the show was Jimmy Delshad
, mayor of Beverly Hills and the highest-ranking Iranian American elected official in the United States.
in London on September 30.
The film, directed by Danovic, features the Airborne Toxic Event’s December 4, 2009 Walt Disney Concert Hall performance in its entirety, interspersed with a behind-the-scenes narrative chronicling the band’s extensive preparations for the show. The non-concert footage includes extensive rehearsals with the Calder Quartet, the Belmont High School marching band, and the Lalo Guerrero children's choir. Stylistically, the film splices rehearsal footage with concert footage for most of the songs performed, in addition to switching between black-and-white and color video. The performance features non-album tracks, including the title track "All I Ever Wanted," "A Letter to Georgia," "Duet," and "This Losing." It also includes cover versions of "Goodbye Horses
," by Q Lazzarus
, "The Book of Love" by The Magnetic Fields
, and "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?
" by the Ramones
. The DVD release also includes an additional CD containing an audio recording of the entire concert.
In support of the DVD release, the group spent September and October 2010 on a sold-out, three-week North American and U.K. acoustic tour, with the Calder Quartet joining them for the North American leg of the tour. They performed at a series of non-traditional venues, including the Sixth & I Synagogue in Washington D.C., Town Hall in New York, Trinity Church in Toronto, the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre
in Los Angeles, and the Union Chapel
in London. In John Earls News of the World
review of the Union Chapel show, he wrote "Debuting seven terrific new songs to make the heart soar, Toxic's stirring tunes certainly get in the bloodstream."
, was released on April 25, 2011 in Europe, and April 26 in North America. Written during the latter half of 2009 and most of 2010, the record was produced in Los Angeles by Dave Sardy
, who also produced albums by Oasis
, Band of Horses
, LCD Soundsystem
, Wolfmother
, and Autolux
. An acoustic version of one of the songs from the album, "Half of Something Else," appeared on the soundtrack for the film Going the Distance
, directed by Nanette Burstein
and starring Drew Barrymore
and Justin Long
.
On January 22, 2011, the band played a concert with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Boettcher Concert Hall
in Denver, debuting orchestral arrangements of songs from All at Once, in addition to those from the first record. Previously, it performed with the Louisville Orchestra at The Kentucky Center
for the Performing Arts’ Whitney Hall on January 30, 2010, as part of the orchestra’s "BB&T Strings Attached" series.
On February 1, 2011, the Airborne Toxic Event released two separate first singles from the album in North America and Europe, respectively. In North America, the single was "Changing," while in Europe, it was "Numb." In its October 9, 2010 issue, Music Week wrote, "The LA group's new material is the sound of a band defining their identity. Produced by Dave Sardy, this is confident, ambitious and radio-friendly."
Also on February 1, 2011, the band embarked on a one-month tour of continental Europe, comprised partly of three simultaneous musical residencies in Amsterdam
(Mondays), Berlin
(Tuesdays), and Paris
(Fridays). Other cities visited on the tour, on Wednesdays and Thursdays, were Antwerp, Münster
, Hamburg
, Munich
, Cologne
, Frankfurt
, and Zurich
. In addition, the band played HMV Group
's Next Big Thing music festival at Heaven
in London on February 10.
As a follow-up to the series of one-take acoustic videos released in the lead-up to its first album, the group announced the "Bombastic" on February 15, 2011—a series of similar one-take acoustic videos of all the songs from All at Once, directed by Danovic. As with the first series, the band indicated that it would release one video each week. The first video released was a performance of All at Once’s title track, featuring the Calder Quartet, the Lalo Guerrero School of Music children's choir, and music students from the Plaza de la Raza Community Center in East Los Angeles. On February 22, the Airborne Toxic Event released its second "Bombastic" video, a performance of the song "All for a Woman" inside the First Baptist Church in Koreatown, Los Angeles. The March 2nd release featured a slightly different arrangement of "All I Ever Wanted," performed with the Calder Quartet at the Colburn School Conservatory of Music. On March 9, 16, 22, and 30, and April 7, 13, 20, and 27 the band released acoustic versions of "It Doesn't Mean a Thing," "Welcome to Your Wedding Day," "The Kids Are Ready to Die," "Strange Girl," "Changing," "Numb," "Half of Something Else," and "The Graveyard Near the House," respectively.
On March 4, 2011, the Airborne Toxic Event released two music videos for its singles "Changing" and "Numb," both from All at Once. Both were directed by Danovic. The video for "Changing" features members of the Strikers All-Stars, a Los Angeles-based dance crew known for its community outreach, as well as collaborations with artists such as Rihanna
and Lil Wayne
. The video for "Numb" premiered on MTV
UK.
Following a showcase in March at Stubb's BBQ for 2011's South by Southwest
music conference, the band embarked on a North American and European tour in support of All at Once, which began on April 4 in Nottingham, UK. Of these, 15 shows comprised what the band dubbed the "Origins Tour," consisting of five shows each in London, Los Angeles, and New York. Beginning with the smallest venues in each city, these 15 dates encompassed a range of differently sized venues in which the group has played since its inception. For the North American leg that followed, the tour's opening slot was filled by Voxhaul Broadcast, from Los Angeles, and then later by Mona
from Nashville. The tour concluded on June 16 in Sacramento, CA.
The band appeared in the season finale of Gossip Girl
, “The Wrong Goodbye,” which aired on May 16, playing "All for a Woman" and "Changing." Reaching #4 on the Alternative Song charts, "Changing" was also featured, throughout June and July, on a television trailer for Crazy, Stupid, Love
, starring Steve Carrell and Ryan Gosling
.
On July 26, 2011 the group announced its Fall World Tour, with dates in North America and Europe, beginning on October 9 in Denver and concluding on December 6 in Tempe, AZ. Mona and The Drowning Men, both of whom toured with the band previously, are set to open most of the North American dates. One of the shows for the tour is a headlining slot for LA Weeklys annual "LA 101" festival, scheduled for October 23, 2011 at the Gibson Amphitheatre
.
On September 30, 2011 the band performed its second single, "All I Ever Wanted," with the Calder Quartet on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
On October 21, 2011, the Airborne Toxic Event released the official video for "All I Ever Wanted," stating that both the song and the video are loosely based on the short story "The Hitchhiking Game" by Milan Kundera
.
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band from Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
Los Feliz, also Rancho Los Feliz is an affluent, hilly neighborhood in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, named after its land grantee José Vicente Feliz....
. It consists of Mikel Jollett (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Chen (guitar, keyboards), Noah Harmon (electric bass, upright bass, backing vocals), Daren Taylor (drums) and Anna Bulbrook (viola, keyboards, tambourine, backing vocals). The band released its debut self-titled album in 2008 and released its follow-up album, All at Once
All at Once (album)
All at Once is the second studio album from Los Angeles based indie-rock band The Airborne Toxic Event, released April 26, 2011.- Track listing :All songs written by Mikel Jollett, unless otherwise noted.# "All at Once" - 5:16...
, on April 26, 2011.
Named after a section of the book White Noise
White Noise (novel)
White Noise, the eighth novel by Don DeLillo, is an example of postmodern literature. Widely considered his "breakout" work, the book won the National Book Award in 1985 and brought him to the attention of a much larger audience. Time included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels...
, by Don DeLillo
Don DeLillo
Don DeLillo is an American author, playwright, and occasional essayist whose work paints a detailed portrait of American life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries...
, the group is known for its blend of rock music and orchestral arrangements, having performed frequently with the Calder Quartet, a string quartet based in Los Angeles. The group has also played concerts with the Louisville Orchestra
Louisville Orchestra
The Louisville Orchestra is the primary orchestra in Louisville, Kentucky and has been called the cornerstone of the Louisville arts scene. It was founded in 1937 by Robert Whitney and Charles Farnsley, Mayor of Louisville...
and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra
Colorado Symphony Orchestra
Colorado’s only full-time professional orchestra, the Colorado Symphony embraces a tradition of musical excellence by presenting a diverse array of symphonic performances throughout the year...
.
Formation and early history (2006–2007)
Initially a writer and essayist, Jollett began seriously writing songs with an acoustic guitar following a week in March 2006, during which he underwent a break-up, learned his mother had been diagnosed with cancerCancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
, and was himself diagnosed with a genetic autoimmune disease
Autoimmune disease
Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. In other words, the body actually attacks its own cells. The immune system mistakes some part of the body as a pathogen and attacks it. This may be restricted to...
that led to the development of two cosmetic conditions: Alopecia areata
Alopecia areata
Alopecia areata is a medical condition in which hair is lost from some or all areas of the body, usually from the scalp. Because it causes bald spots on the scalp, especially in the first stages, it is sometimes called spot baldness. In 1–2% of cases, the condition can spread to the entire scalp ...
and Vitiligo
Vitiligo
Vitiligo is a condition that causes depigmentation of sections of skin. It occurs when melanocytes, the cells responsible for skin pigmentation, die or are unable to function. The cause of vitiligo is unknown, but research suggests that it may arise from autoimmune, genetic, oxidative stress,...
. This quick succession of traumatic events spurred a period of intense songwriting, and it was around this time that he first met Taylor through a mutual friend in the Silver Lake, Los Angeles.
Throughout the summer of 2006, Jollett and Taylor rehearsed several of Jollett’s songs, including early incarnations of "Wishing Well," "Missy," and "Innocence," which would eventually appear on the band’s debut album. After a few months of rehearsals, Jollett ran into Bulbrook one night at El Gran Burrito, a popular outdoor Mexican
Mexican cuisine
Mexican cuisine, a style of food that originates in Mexico, is known for its varied flavors, colourful decoration and variety of spices and ingredients, most of which are native to the country. The cuisine of Mexico has evolved through thousands of years of blending indigenous cultures, with later...
restaurant in Silver Lake. Trained in orchestral and chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
, she had just moved to Los Angeles from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Though they were just acquaintances at the time, he remembered that she played the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and asked her to attend one of his and Taylor’s rehearsals. Afraid to bring her more expensive violin to a rock rehearsal, she agreed to bring her viola instead. Jollett then asked Harmon, a Tucson native and graduate of the Herb Alpert School of Music at the California Institute of the Arts
California Institute of the Arts
The California Institute of the Arts, commonly referred to as CalArts, is located in Valencia, in Los Angeles County, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the United States created specifically for students of both the visual and the...
, to join his fledgling band, having seen him perform in Los Angeles with other acts and been impressed with his background in rock and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, as well as his skill with the upright bass. At the time, Harmon was performing with multiple rock and jazz bands while teaching guitar to children both in East Los Angeles
East Los Angeles, California
East Los Angeles is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, United States...
as part of CalArts' Community Arts Partnership, and at Arroyo Seco Park (Highland Park, CA) as part of its "Art in the Park" program. He refused at first, and it wasn’t until months later—after several shows—that Harmon agreed to join the group full-time. Chen and Jollett, meanwhile, had already known each other for five years. They first met through a mutual friend while both were living in San Francisco and working as writers. After a few years of living in New York, Chen made a return to his hometown of Los Angeles, upon which Jollett contacted him and asked if he’d be interested in playing the keyboard in the band. Chen replied that he, in fact, played guitar and eventually filled the role as lead guitarist.
Prior to the formation of the band, and to supplement his fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
writing, Jollett supported himself as a freelance writer, contributing to NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, Filter
Filter (magazine)
FILTER, the publication that promises us that "Good music will prevail," is a seasonal American music and off-beat entertainment magazine. It features commentary and photos of up-and-coming musicians and filmmakers ranging from actors to writer-directors...
and Men's Health
Men's Health (magazine)
Men's Health , published by Rodale Inc. in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, United States, is the world’s largest men’s magazine brand, with 44 editions around the world. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands. It covers fitness, nutrition, sexuality, lifestyle and other aspects of...
, among other organizations. Soon after the formation of the band, he concentrated only on fiction. In the summer of 2008, McSweeney's
McSweeney's
McSweeney's is an American publishing house founded by editor Dave Eggers.Apart from its book list, McSweeney's is responsible for four regular publications: the quarterly literary journal,...
issue 27 published one of Jollett’s short stories, The Crack, which appeared between short stories by Liz Mandrell and Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
. In keeping with his literary background, Jollett named the band after a section of the postmodern novel White Noise, which won the National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
in 1985. In the book, a chemical spill from a railcar releases a poisonous cloud, dubbed by the military and media as an "airborne toxic event." The reason for choosing this as the name of the band, he has stated, is that the event described in the novel triggers a fear of death and a sense of mortality that fundamentally alters the protagonist’s outlook on himself, his family, and his life. The band was born of a similar life-altering sequence of events, and thus, the themes of mortality and media consumption that arise from the novel’s toxic cloud serve as a major impetus for the band’s creative drive.
The Airborne Toxic Event played its first show at the Echo, a venue in Echo Park
Echo Park, Los Angeles, California
Echo Park is a hilly neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, northwest of Downtown Los Angeles and southeast of Hollywood.-History:At the end of the 19th century, when the hills were still covered with native vegetation, a horse-drawn streetcar line served the dirt road that is now Echo Park Avenue...
, in October 2006—less than a month after it was fully formed. The show was well attended, and the following month, the band played the CMJ Music Marathon
CMJ Music Marathon
CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival is put on by CMJ Network. CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival 2010 is scheduled for October 19–23 and will be headquartered at New York University and other downtown NYC venues.- History :...
. In December 2006, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
named the group one of the "Top 25 Bands on MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
." The band went on to receive positive feedback and reviews from music blogs and press, most notably the L.A. Weekly and the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, the latter of which named the group one of the top three L.A. bands to watch in 2008. Previous bands to receive this distinction include Cold War Kids
Cold War Kids
Cold War Kids are an American indie rock band from Long Beach, California. Band members are Nathan Willett , Jonnie Russell , Matt Maust , and Matt Aveiro .-History:...
and Silversun Pickups
Silversun Pickups
Silversun Pickups is an alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2002. The band comprises Brian Aubert, Nikki Monninger, Christopher Guanlao, and Joe Lester....
.
In the summer of 2007, the U.K. indie label Square Records released a 7-inch single of the Airborne Toxic Event song "Does This Mean You Are Moving On?" To support the release, the band embarked on a ten-day tour of the U.K., playing shows in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
. Upon returning, the band recorded 14 tracks with producer Pete Min at his home studio in the Atwater Village, Los Angeles, while continuing to perform around Los Angeles. Ten of the tracks recorded at Min’s home would later comprise the band’s debut album.
In December 2007 the band premiered the song "Sometime Around Midnight" with a live performance of the song on Indie 103.1
's local music show " Check One Two
Mr. Shovel's Check One Two
Mr. Shovel's Check One Two was a radio show that aired on Indie 103.1 in Los Angeles, Ca. from Feb. 2004 - Jan. 2009. The show which featured local and unsigned artists was created and hosted by Mr. Shovel Mr. Shovel's Check One Two was a radio show that aired on Indie 103.1 in Los Angeles, Ca....
." In January 2008, the band played a five-show weekly residency presented by Indie 103.1 at the popular Silver Lake venue Spaceland
Spaceland
Spaceland was an alternative rock/indie rock nightclub in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, that existed between 1995 and 2011. The club was formerly a gay disco called Dreams...
, chronicled in a short YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video titled "Thursdays in January". During the second-to-last week of the residency, Los Angeles Commercial Radio stations KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
and Indie 103.1 (KDLD
KDLD
KDLD is a commercial radio station in Santa Monica, California, broadcasting to the Los Angeles area on 103.1 FM. KDLE is a commercial radio station in Newport Beach, California, broadcasting to the Orange County area on 103.1 FM....
) officially added the as-yet-unsigned band's song "Sometime Around Midnight" to regular rotation. Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
's WBRU
WBRU
WBRU is a commercial alternative rock radio station in Providence, Rhode Island that broadcasts on 95.5 FM. It was the first student-owned-and-operated campus radio station in the United States when it started as the Brown Network at Brown University in 1936...
, Seattle's KEXP-FM, San Francisco’s Live 105 (KITS
KITS
KITS is a San Francisco, California, USA-based radio station broadcasting at 105.3 MHz. The station is owned by CBS Radio and programs a modern rock format. The station also broadcasts on HD channel L2, locally on Comcast cable channel 986, and is streaming online.-Hot Hits:The station's...
), San Diego’s 91X (XETRA-FM
XETRA-FM
XETRA-FM — branded 91X, and sometimes identified as XTRA-FM — is an English language, Mexican-owned modern rock music station broadcasting from Tijuana, Baja California on 91.1 MHz. The studios are located in the Mira Mesa area of San Diego...
), Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
's WFNX
WFNX
WFNX is a New England commercial alternative rock radio station. The station began broadcasting on Monday, April 11, 1983. It was one of the first American commercial stations to play alternative rock and has become a leading radio station for breaking new alternative music.WFNX broadcasts on 101.7...
, and Sacramento's KWOD
KWOD
KBZC is a commercial radio station in Sacramento, California, broadcasting on 106.5 FM. The Entercom-owned outlet airs a Rhythmic Adult Contemporary format.-History:...
106.5 soon followed suit, showing significant support for the group.
In April 2008, after an extensive courtship from major labels, the Airborne Toxic Event signed with the indie label Majordomo Records
Majordomo Records
Majordomo Records is an indie record label formed as an imprint of Shout! Factory, a Los Angeles-based audio/video label started by the founders of Rhino Records. The label's products are distributed through Sony BMG in the United States, Universal Music in Canada and Pinnacle in Europe...
, based in Los Angeles. Soon after that, on April 24, the band made its national television debut as the musical guest on the late-night NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
talk show Last Call with Carson Daly
Last Call with Carson Daly
Last Call with Carson Daly is an American late night talk show that is broadcast on NBC. The show is hosted by Carson Daly, the half-hour show featuring celebrity interviews, documentary-style coverage of a topic, and musical performances. Last Call airs weeknights at 1:35 a.m. Eastern / 12:35 a.m....
.
The Airborne Toxic Event (2008–2009)
On August 5, 2008, the band released its first full-length album, The Airborne Toxic Event, featuring ten of the 14 songs recorded at Min’s home studio at the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008. On August 1, coinciding with the release, the group performed "Sometime Around Midnight" on Late Night with Conan O'BrienLate Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
..
The record was received with mostly favorable reviews from such outlets as the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
, Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, and Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
, among others. Notably, the Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
named the band's album "The Debut Album of the Year." In addition, on Dec 6, 2008, 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....
named "Sometime Around Midnight" the #1 Alternative Song of the Year on their Best of 2008 list. One exception was the review on the music website Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
, by Ian Cohen, who gave the record 1.6 out of 10 stars and accused the band of imitating the worst aspects of bands such as Arcade Fire, The Strokes
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
, and Interpol
Interpol (band)
Interpol is an American indie rock and post-punk revival band from New York City. Formed in 1997, the band's original line-up consisted of Paul Banks , Daniel Kessler , Carlos Dengler and Greg Drudy . Drudy left the band in 2000 and was replaced by Sam Fogarino...
. In response, the band released a statement saying that it does not take reviews too seriously and criticized Pitchfork for basing their critiques on "a band's ability to match a certain indie rock aesthetic" rather than a band's other merits, and claiming that much of the review "reads less like a record review and more like a diatribe against a set of ill-considered and borderline offensive preconceptions about Los Angeles".
To promote the album, the band released a series of one-take acoustic videos for each song on the record, filmed in different locations around Los Angeles. Each video was released in the order of the track listing on the album each week, with the final video ("Innocence") released in the first week of August to coincide with the album release. Some of the locations included the Los Angeles River
Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles River is a river that starts in the San Fernando Valley, in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
, Griffith Park
Griffith Park
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America...
, and the Colburn School
Colburn School
The Colburn School is a music, dance, and drama school located in downtown Los Angeles adjacent to the Museum of Contemporary Art and across the street from the Walt Disney Concert Hall...
Conservatory of Music. Two of the acoustic videos featured the band performing in moving vehicles; "Does This Mean You’re Moving On?" was performed in a car on Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
, while "Something New" was performed on a boat at Marina Del Rey with Taylor both steering the boat and tapping a snare drum with his free hand.
Beginning in July 2008, the band embarked on a series of tours in support of the album, which continued for approximately a year and a half. After touring various summer festivals, the band embarked on a North American tour opening for The Fratellis
The Fratellis
The Fratellis were an indie rock band from Glasgow, Scotland. The band consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist Jon Fratelli , bass guitarist Barry Fratelli , and drummer and backing vocalist Mince Fratelli .The band released 2 albums during their career, Costello Music in 2006 and Here We Stand in...
in the fall of 2008.
Following that, the group played its "30 Shows in 30 Days" tour of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in November, during which it performed 30 nights in a row entirely in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The tour incorporated a month-long residency at the Dublin Castle, located in London's Camden Town
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
. The band has largely attributed its subsequent success in the U.K. to this tour, which also included shows in Derby
Derby
Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
, York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
, Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, Aldershot
Aldershot
Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland about southwest of London. The town is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council...
, Yeovil
Yeovil
Yeovil is a town and civil parish in south Somerset, England. The parish had a population of 27,949 at the 2001 census, although the wider urban area had a population of 42,140...
, Hayle
Hayle
Hayle is a small town, civil parish and cargo port in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River and is approximately seven miles northeast of Penzance...
, Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Carlisle, Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
, Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
, Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
, Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, Preston, Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, and Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
.
In January 2009, the Airborne Toxic Event embarked on its first headlining tour, beginning in the U.K., followed by two months in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Meanwhile, bolstered by an unexpected addition to the playlist at the U.K.’s BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
—an unusual occurrence for an unsigned American band—the group released its debut through an independent distributer in the UK on February 9, 2009. Also during this time, the group began performing on television with the Calder Quartet, a Los Angeles-based string quartet featuring Bulbrook’s brother on second violin. The quartet had previously played with the band for its record-release show at the El Rey Theatre
El Rey Theatre
El Rey Theatre is currently a live music venue in the Miracle Mile area of the Mid-Wilshire region in Los Angeles, California. "El Rey" means "The King" in Spanish....
in Los Angeles in August of 2008, as well as appearing in two of its one-take acoustic videos, for "Sometime Around Midnight" and "Innocence." They joined the band for three television performances during the first half of 2009, including the Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
on January 16, 2009, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
on April 14, 2009, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! on May 14, 2009. Soon after the Letterman performance, which garnered worldwide attention, the band’s single “Sometime Around Midnight entered the top 10 on the U.S. Alternative Radio Chart.
The band toured almost constantly for the remainder of the year, throughout North America, the U.K., and continental Europe, performing during the summer at several festivals, including Coachella
Coachella
Coachella may refer to;*Coachella, California*Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival...
, Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
, T in the Park
T in the Park
T in the Park is a major British music festival that has been held annually since 1994. It is named after its main sponsor, the brewing company Tennents. It was originally held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire but since 1997 has been held at a disused airfield in Balado, Kinross-shire...
, Fuji Rock, the Reading and Leeds Festivals
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
, Oxegen
Oxegen
Oxegen is an annual music festival in Ireland held since 2004, sponsored by Heineken. As of 2007, 2008, 2009, the festival has been cited as Ireland's biggest music festival. And by 2009, the festival is cited as the greenest festival, being a 100% carbon neutral event in Ireland. It was previously...
, Latitude Festival
Latitude Festival
The Latitude Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk, England. It was first held in July 2006....
, FM4 Frequency Festival
FM4 Frequency Festival
The FM4 Frequency Festival, also Frequency Festival or just Frequency, formerly Vienna City Festival, is a music festival that took place near Salzburg until 2008 Austria, usually every August. In 2009 the Festival moved to St. Pölten...
, Pukkelpop
Pukkelpop
Pukkelpop is an annual music festival which takes place near the city of Hasselt, Belgium in mid-to-late August. It is held within a large enclosure of fields and woodland—between a dual carriageway called Kempische Steenweg—in the village of Kiewit, approximately 7 km north of Hasselt...
, A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise
A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise
A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise, also known as simply Lowlands, is a music festival, held annually in the Netherlands in August. Lowlands has about 55,000 visitors, over 200 acts and more than ten stages every year which are named according to the NATO phonetic alphabet apart from the Grolsch...
, and the Sasquatch! Music Festival
Sasquatch! Music Festival
Sasquatch! Music Festival is a music festival held annually at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington. It is presented by the House of Blues. There is an emphasis on indie rock bands and singer-songwriters, although there are also alternative rock, hip hop and comedy acts...
. The group’s final tour for its debut album began on September 17, 2009 in Pomona, California
Pomona, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Pomona had a population of 149,058, a slight decline from the 2000 census population. The population density was 6,491.2 people per square mile...
and concluded in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, U.K. on November 14. By the end of 2009, "Sometime Around Midnight," was the #10 Most Played Song at Alternative Radio for the year. It peaked at #4 and sold over 400,000 copies in the US. The band's debut album spent 8 weeks at #1 on Billboard's Heatseekers Chart (53 weeks in total on the chart) and has sold over 200,000 copies domestically and 300,000 worldwide.
The group made five music videos for the album, for "Does This Mean You’re Moving On?" directed by Jason Wishnow, "Happiness is Overrated," directed by Jon Danovic, "Gasoline," directed by Billy Johnson, and "Sometime Around Midnight"—for which there were two separate videos, directed by Wishnow and D. J. Caruso
D. J. Caruso
Daniel John "D.J." Caruso is an American director and producer. Caruso has directed the films Disturbia, Two for the Money, Taking Lives, The Salton Sea, Eagle Eye and I Am Number Four. He has also directed television episodes for shows such as The Shield, Over There, Smallville, and Dark Angel...
.
In early March 2009, the Airborne Toxic Event signed with Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
.
On March 10, 2009, during a live radio broadcast with U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
at the Metro Chicago
Metro Chicago
This page is about the concert hall; for the metro region surrounding Chicago, see Chicago metropolitan area.Metro is a concert hall at 3730 N. Clark Street in Chicago, Illinois that plays host to a variety of local, regional and national emerging bands and musicians. The Metro was first opened in...
, host Shirley Manson
Shirley Manson
Shirley Anne Manson is a Scottish recording artist and actress, best known internationally as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Garbage. For much of her international career Manson commuted between her home city of Edinburgh to the United States to record with Garbage but now lives and...
of 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...
asked the band to name some of its favorite songs. Bassist Adam Clayton
Adam Clayton
Adam Charles Clayton is a musician, best known as the bassist of the Irish rock band U2. Clayton has resided in County Dublin since the time his family moved to Malahide when he was five years old in 1965...
chose "Sometime Around Midnight" as one of his selections, commenting that he felt he would be listening to their album the rest of the year. During its U2 360° Tour
U2 360° Tour
The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2009 album No Line on the Horizon, the tour visited stadiums from 2009 through 2011. It was named for a stage configuration that allowed the audience to almost completely surround the stage...
, U2 made a habit of playing a recording of the song in stadiums before taking the stage.
On May 20, 2009, an entire episode of Last Call with Carson Daly was devoted to the Airborne Toxic Event, featuring interviews and excerpts from a show at the Glass House in Pomona, California.
On December 4, 2009, the Airborne Toxic Event played its final show in support of its debut album, giving a sold-out performance at the Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall
Walt Disney Concert Hall
The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Avenue, 1st and 2nd Streets, it seats 2,265 people and serves as the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and the...
in Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
. The show was presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Los Angeles Philharmonic
The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September...
and was the last of 354 shows performed by the band on its debut album cycle. The group was accompanied by the Calder Quartet, the Lalo Guerrero Children's choir, the The Belmont High School
Belmont High School (Los Angeles, California)
Belmont Senior High School is a public high school located at 1575 West 2nd Street in the Westlake community of Los Angeles, California. The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District.-History:...
marching band, Mexican Baile Folklorico
Baile Folklorico
Baile folklórico, literally "folkloric dance" in Spanish, is a collective term for traditional Latin American dances that emphasize local folk culture with ballet characteristics - pointed toes, exaggerated movements, highly choreographed. As mentioned below, baile folklórico owes its inception to...
dancers, and a number of guest musicians, including horn players and an accordionist.
Neda Speaks (2010)
On June 7, 2010, the Airborne Toxic Event released a song and video titled "Neda," in recognition of the one-year anniversary of the Death of Neda Agha-SoltanDeath of Neda Agha-Soltan
Footage of the death of Neda Agha-Soltan drew international attention after she was killed during the 2009 Iranian election protests. Her death was captured on video by bystanders and broadcast over the Internet and the video became a rallying point for the opposition...
, the young Iranian woman who was killed during the protests of the disputed 2009 presidential election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. In conjunction with Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, the band also launched a website, nedaspeaks.org, to raise awareness about Agha-Soltan’s death and the human rights struggle in Iran. The music video features a series of animated stills depicting the events surrounding Agha-Soltan’s death, interspersed with text.
As part of its website, the band encouraged visitors to submit a photo of themselves holding a sign reading "I am Neda." Celebrities who participated in the project include Alyssa Milano
Alyssa Milano
Alyssa Jayne Milano is an American actress and former singer, known for her childhood role as Samantha Micelli in the sitcom Who's the Boss? and an eight-year stint as Phoebe Halliwell on the series Charmed. She was also a series regular on the original Melrose Place portraying the role of...
, Paul Haggis
Paul Haggis
Paul Edward Haggis is a Canadian screenwriter, producer, and director. He spent his early career producing and directing various American and Canadian television network series.-Early life and education:...
, and Ne-Yo
Ne-Yo
Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. , better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. Beginning his career as a songwriter, Ne-Yo penned the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario...
, among others. All proceeds from the sale of the single on iTunes were donated to Amnesty International. In addition, the band held a benefit concert at the Echo in Los Angeles on May 25, 2010. One of the attendees at the show was Jimmy Delshad
Jimmy Delshad
Jamshid "Jimmy" Delshad is an Iranian-American politician in the state of California. He became Mayor of Beverly Hills on March 21, 2007 and again on March 16, 2010. He is the first Iranian-American to hold public office in Beverly Hills.-Biography:...
, mayor of Beverly Hills and the highest-ranking Iranian American elected official in the United States.
All I Ever Wanted: Live from Walt Disney Concert Hall (2010)
On July 14, 2010, the band announced the release of the documentary DVD and CD All I Ever Wanted: Live From Walt Disney Concert Hall, on September 7, 2010 in North America and October 4, 2010 in Europe. The North American release date was later moved to September 29, 2010. The film premiered at the Vista Theatre in the Los Feliz, Los Angeles on September 2, 2010, at the Sunshine Theater in New York on September 9, and at the Raindance Film FestivalRaindance Film Festival
Raindance is an independent film festival and film school that operates from various cities including: London, New York, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Budapest, Berlin and Brussels...
in London on September 30.
The film, directed by Danovic, features the Airborne Toxic Event’s December 4, 2009 Walt Disney Concert Hall performance in its entirety, interspersed with a behind-the-scenes narrative chronicling the band’s extensive preparations for the show. The non-concert footage includes extensive rehearsals with the Calder Quartet, the Belmont High School marching band, and the Lalo Guerrero children's choir. Stylistically, the film splices rehearsal footage with concert footage for most of the songs performed, in addition to switching between black-and-white and color video. The performance features non-album tracks, including the title track "All I Ever Wanted," "A Letter to Georgia," "Duet," and "This Losing." It also includes cover versions of "Goodbye Horses
Goodbye Horses
"Goodbye Horses" is a 1988 song sung by Q Lazzarus. It was written and produced by William Garvey. There are three versions of the song, of lengths 3:12, 4:20, and the extended version at 6:28....
," by Q Lazzarus
Q Lazzarus
Q Lazzarus is a female American singer, best known as a one hit wonder for the 1988 song "Goodbye Horses", which was featured in Married to the Mob, The Silence of the Lambs , Clerks II, Lakai Footwear's Fully Flared, Rockstar's videogame Grand Theft Auto IV, EA's videogame Skate 3, and TV shows...
, "The Book of Love" by The Magnetic Fields
The Magnetic Fields
The Magnetic Fields is the principal creative outlet of singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt...
, and "Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?
Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?
"Do You Remember Rock 'n' Roll Radio?" was the second single by American punk rock band the Ramones from their fifth studio album, End of the Century. It was released on May 16, 1980. This song and the album itself marked a complete change in the Ramones' sound...
" by the Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
. The DVD release also includes an additional CD containing an audio recording of the entire concert.
In support of the DVD release, the group spent September and October 2010 on a sold-out, three-week North American and U.K. acoustic tour, with the Calder Quartet joining them for the North American leg of the tour. They performed at a series of non-traditional venues, including the Sixth & I Synagogue in Washington D.C., Town Hall in New York, Trinity Church in Toronto, the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre
John Anson Ford Amphitheatre
The John Anson Ford Amphitheatre is a 1421-seat performing arts theatre in Los Angeles, California. The theatre is owned and operated by the County of Los Angeles, and run through a three-way partnership between the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and the...
in Los Angeles, and the Union Chapel
Union Chapel, Islington
The Union Chapel is a Grade II* listed church and music venue in Islington, North London, England, located on Compton Terrace.An example of Victorian gothic architecture, it was designed by James Cubitt, and constructed between 1874 and 1877, with further additions 1877-90, providing an ambitious...
in London. In John Earls News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
review of the Union Chapel show, he wrote "Debuting seven terrific new songs to make the heart soar, Toxic's stirring tunes certainly get in the bloodstream."
All at Once (2011)
The Airborne Toxic Event's second album, All at OnceAll at Once (album)
All at Once is the second studio album from Los Angeles based indie-rock band The Airborne Toxic Event, released April 26, 2011.- Track listing :All songs written by Mikel Jollett, unless otherwise noted.# "All at Once" - 5:16...
, was released on April 25, 2011 in Europe, and April 26 in North America. Written during the latter half of 2009 and most of 2010, the record was produced in Los Angeles by Dave Sardy
Dave Sardy
David Sardy is a Brooklyn born-and-raised composer, musician, songwriter, and record producer- Biography :...
, who also produced albums by Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
, Band of Horses
Band of Horses
Band of Horses, originally briefly known as Horses, are an American rock band formed in 2004 in Seattle by Ben Bridwell. They have released three studio albums, the most recent and most successful of which is 2010's Grammy nominated Infinite Arms...
, LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem
LCD Soundsystem was a prominent American dance-punk band from New York City. It was fronted by American singer-songwriter and producer James Murphy, co-founder of record label DFA Records...
, Wolfmother
Wolfmother
Wolfmother is an Australian rock band from Erskineville, Sydney. Formed in 2000, the group was originally a trio composed of vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, bassist and keyboardist Chris Ross and drummer Myles Heskett. Wolfmother released their self-titled debut album in October 2005,...
, and Autolux
Autolux
Autolux is an avant-garde rock group consisting of Eugene Goreshter , Greg Edwards and Carla Azar...
. An acoustic version of one of the songs from the album, "Half of Something Else," appeared on the soundtrack for the film Going the Distance
Going the Distance (2010 film)
Going the Distance is a 2010 romantic comedy film directed by Nanette Burstein, and starring Justin Long and Drew Barrymore. The movie began filming in New York City in July 2009, and was released on September 3, 2010.-Plot:...
, directed by Nanette Burstein
Nanette Burstein
Nanette Burstein is an American film and television director. Burstein has produced, directed, and co-directed many documentaries which have won her many awards and nominations, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary and the Sundance Special Jury Prize for Documentary.-Life and...
and starring Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
and Justin Long
Justin Long
Justin Jacob Long is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Galaxy Quest, Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball, Live Free or Die Hard, He's Just Not That into You, Drag Me to Hell, and Youth in Revolt, and his personification of a Mac in Apple's "Get a...
.
On January 22, 2011, the band played a concert with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra at Boettcher Concert Hall
Boettcher Concert Hall
Boettcher Concert Hall, located in Denver, Colorado, was the first symphony hall in the round in the United States. Built in 1978, as a home for the Denver Symphony Orchestra, the hall is part of the Denver Performing Arts Complex, the second largest performing arts complex in the United States...
in Denver, debuting orchestral arrangements of songs from All at Once, in addition to those from the first record. Previously, it performed with the Louisville Orchestra at The Kentucky Center
The Kentucky Center
The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, located in Louisville, is a major performing arts center in Kentucky.The Kentucky Center also hosts artworks by Alexander Calder, Joan Miró, John Chamberlain, Jean Dubuffet and others....
for the Performing Arts’ Whitney Hall on January 30, 2010, as part of the orchestra’s "BB&T Strings Attached" series.
On February 1, 2011, the Airborne Toxic Event released two separate first singles from the album in North America and Europe, respectively. In North America, the single was "Changing," while in Europe, it was "Numb." In its October 9, 2010 issue, Music Week wrote, "The LA group's new material is the sound of a band defining their identity. Produced by Dave Sardy, this is confident, ambitious and radio-friendly."
Also on February 1, 2011, the band embarked on a one-month tour of continental Europe, comprised partly of three simultaneous musical residencies in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
(Mondays), Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
(Tuesdays), and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(Fridays). Other cities visited on the tour, on Wednesdays and Thursdays, were Antwerp, Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, and Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
. In addition, the band played HMV Group
HMV Group
HMV is a British global entertainment retail chain and is the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company also operates in Hong Kong and Singapore. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index...
's Next Big Thing music festival at Heaven
Heaven (nightclub)
Heaven is a Superclub in London, England which appeals predominantly to the gay market. It is located underneath Charing Cross railway station in Central London, just off Trafalgar Square.-Early history:...
in London on February 10.
As a follow-up to the series of one-take acoustic videos released in the lead-up to its first album, the group announced the "Bombastic" on February 15, 2011—a series of similar one-take acoustic videos of all the songs from All at Once, directed by Danovic. As with the first series, the band indicated that it would release one video each week. The first video released was a performance of All at Once’s title track, featuring the Calder Quartet, the Lalo Guerrero School of Music children's choir, and music students from the Plaza de la Raza Community Center in East Los Angeles. On February 22, the Airborne Toxic Event released its second "Bombastic" video, a performance of the song "All for a Woman" inside the First Baptist Church in Koreatown, Los Angeles. The March 2nd release featured a slightly different arrangement of "All I Ever Wanted," performed with the Calder Quartet at the Colburn School Conservatory of Music. On March 9, 16, 22, and 30, and April 7, 13, 20, and 27 the band released acoustic versions of "It Doesn't Mean a Thing," "Welcome to Your Wedding Day," "The Kids Are Ready to Die," "Strange Girl," "Changing," "Numb," "Half of Something Else," and "The Graveyard Near the House," respectively.
On March 4, 2011, the Airborne Toxic Event released two music videos for its singles "Changing" and "Numb," both from All at Once. Both were directed by Danovic. The video for "Changing" features members of the Strikers All-Stars, a Los Angeles-based dance crew known for its community outreach, as well as collaborations with artists such as Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
and Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
. The video for "Numb" premiered on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
UK.
Following a showcase in March at Stubb's BBQ for 2011's South by Southwest
South by Southwest
South by Southwest is an Austin, Texas based company dedicated to planning conferences, trade shows, festivals and other events. Their current roster of annual events include: SXSW Music, SXSW Film, SXSW Interactive, SXSWedu, and SXSWeco and take place every spring in Austin, Texas, United States...
music conference, the band embarked on a North American and European tour in support of All at Once, which began on April 4 in Nottingham, UK. Of these, 15 shows comprised what the band dubbed the "Origins Tour," consisting of five shows each in London, Los Angeles, and New York. Beginning with the smallest venues in each city, these 15 dates encompassed a range of differently sized venues in which the group has played since its inception. For the North American leg that followed, the tour's opening slot was filled by Voxhaul Broadcast, from Los Angeles, and then later by Mona
Mona (band)
Mona is an American rock band from Nashville, Tennessee. The band rose to fame when they appeared as part of the BBC's Sound of 2011 poll; which was revealed on 5 December 2010. The band were also crowned the Brand New for 2011 title at the MTV Awards...
from Nashville. The tour concluded on June 16 in Sacramento, CA.
The band appeared in the season finale of Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
, “The Wrong Goodbye,” which aired on May 16, playing "All for a Woman" and "Changing." Reaching #4 on the Alternative Song charts, "Changing" was also featured, throughout June and July, on a television trailer for Crazy, Stupid, Love
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Crazy, Stupid, Love. is a 2011 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, written by Dan Fogelman, and starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, Analeigh Tipton, and Kevin Bacon...
, starring Steve Carrell and Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling
Ryan Thomas Gosling is a Canadian actor and musician. He first came to public attention as a child star on the Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Club and went on to appear in other family entertainment programmes including Are You Afraid of the Dark? , Goosebumps , Breaker High and Young Hercules...
.
On July 26, 2011 the group announced its Fall World Tour, with dates in North America and Europe, beginning on October 9 in Denver and concluding on December 6 in Tempe, AZ. Mona and The Drowning Men, both of whom toured with the band previously, are set to open most of the North American dates. One of the shows for the tour is a headlining slot for LA Weeklys annual "LA 101" festival, scheduled for October 23, 2011 at the Gibson Amphitheatre
Gibson Amphitheatre
The Gibson Amphitheatre is a theatre located in Universal City, California, USA. It seats up to 6,189 for concerts, including 6,089 chairback seats...
.
On September 30, 2011 the band performed its second single, "All I Ever Wanted," with the Calder Quartet on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
On October 21, 2011, the Airborne Toxic Event released the official video for "All I Ever Wanted," stating that both the song and the video are loosely based on the short story "The Hitchhiking Game" by Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera
Milan Kundera , born 1 April 1929, is a writer of Czech origin who has lived in exile in France since 1975, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1981. He is best known as the author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, and The Joke. Kundera has written in...
.
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US 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... |
US Rock |
US Heat Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
BEL Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... |
UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
||
| The Airborne Toxic Event The Airborne Toxic Event (album) The Airborne Toxic Event is the self-titled debut album by the American alternative rock band The Airborne Toxic Event, first released in the US on August 5, 2008 by Majordomo Records/Shout! Factory. The album was re-released by Island Records on March 16, 2009 following the band's signing to the... |
|
108 | 35 | 1 | 70 | 35 |
| All at Once All at Once (album) All at Once is the second studio album from Los Angeles based indie-rock band The Airborne Toxic Event, released April 26, 2011.- Track listing :All songs written by Mikel Jollett, unless otherwise noted.# "All at Once" - 5:16... |
Island Records Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group... |
17 | 5 | — | — | 61 |
Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Does This Mean You're Moving On? |
|
| Happiness Is Overrated |
Universal Records Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:... |
Live albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| All I Ever Wanted: Live from Walt Disney Concert Hall Walt Disney Concert Hall The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, California is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand Avenue, 1st and 2nd Streets, it seats 2,265 people and serves as the home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and the... |
|
Singles
| Year | Song | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US 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... |
US Adult |
US Alt |
US Rock Rock Songs Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs... |
BEL Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... |
CAN Alt Canadian rock/alternative chart The Canadian rock/alternative chart was first published on June 11, 1995 by RPM magazine under the name Alternative 30. The song which held the number-one spot on this first chart was "More Human than Human" by White Zombie... |
CAN Rock Canadian rock/alternative chart The Canadian rock/alternative chart was first published on June 11, 1995 by RPM magazine under the name Alternative 30. The song which held the number-one spot on this first chart was "More Human than Human" by White Zombie... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
||||
| 2008 | "Gasoline" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | The Airborne Toxic Event | |
| "Sometime Around Midnight Sometime Around Midnight "Sometime Around Midnight" is a song by The Airborne Toxic Event from their self titled debut album, and was released as a UK single on February 2, 2009.... " |
115 | 27 | 4 | — | 29 | — | — | 33 | |||
| 2009 | "Wishing Well" | — | — | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Does This Mean You're Moving On?" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2011 | "Changing" | 104 | — | 4 | 16 | — | 16 | 29 | — | All at Once | |
| "All I Ever Wanted" | — | — | 22 | 45 | — | 42 | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | |||||||||||
Other appearances
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Muppets: The Green Album Muppets: The Green Album Muppets: The Green Album is a cover album of popular Muppet songs by various contemporary music artists. The album was released by Walt Disney Records on August 23, 2011 on CD and as a digital download in the iTunes Store.... |
|
Music videos
- "Does This Mean You're Moving On?" (2007, Directed by Jason Wishnow)
- "Sometime Around Midnight" (2008, Directed by Jason Wishnow)
- "Gasoline" (2008, Directed by Billy Johnson)
- "Sometime Around Midnight" (2009, New Version, Directed by D.J. Caruso)
- "Happiness is Overrated" (2009, Directed by Jon Danovic)
- "Changing" (2011, Directed by Jon Danovic)
- "Numb" (2011, Directed by Jon Danovic)
- "All I Ever Wanted" (2011, Directed by Jon Danovic)