Strung Out, Rufio, Mute, We Are The Union

Strung Out is a punk rock band from Simi Valley, California, formed in 1992. They are known mainly for their musical style, which fuses aspects of punk rock and metal to form their primary sound. They have released nine albums on Fat Wreck Chords and appeared on numerous compilations and skate/surf videos. They have played on the Warped Tour and continue to tour internationally.

The original lineup consisted of vocalist Jason Cruz, guitarists Jake Kiley and Rob Ramos, bassist Jim Cherry and drummer Adam Austin. After releasing a self-titled 7" record, they became one of the first bands to be signed to Fat Wreck Chords, the record label owned and operated by Fat Mike of the band NOFX. Austin left the band in 1992 and was replaced by Brad Morrison who also left the band and was replaced on drums by Jordan Burns, formerly of fellow Simi Valley natives Ten Foot Pole. Their first album, Another Day in Paradise, was released in May of 1994. Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues followed in 1996. In 1998 they released The Skinny Years...Before We Got Fat, a compilation album of their pre-Fat Wreck Chords material.

The band showed notable musical growth on their 1998 album Twisted by Design, which was both speedy and technical but also punk-based and with darker overtones. The album established a mixture of the fast, poppy sound the band had established with Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues but mixed it with more atonality and more abstract song structures. Bassist Jim Cherry left the band in 1999 and went on to play in Pulley and Zero Down, but died of heart failure in 2002. He was replaced by Chris Aiken, whose musical background had a strong impact on the 2000 album The Element of Sonic Defiance, which continued in the fast, melodic punk tradition of the band while introducing more hard rock and metal elements.

In 2002 the band released their fourth full-length album An American Paradox, their first release to appear in the Billboard Top 200. The initial production run contained a bonus song entitled "Don't Look Back". A video was filmed for the song "Cemetery" and was included on several punk rock video compilations. In 2003 they recorded and released a live album as part of the Fat Wreck Chords Live in a Dive series. Exile in Oblivion, was released in 2004, with a video filmed for the song "Analog." Strung Out released their sixth full-length album, Blackhawks Over Los Angeles on June 12, 2007.

In March 2009, Strung Out released a compilation of B-sides, demos, and covers called "Prototypes and Painkillers" with material from all eras of the band's history. Many of these tracks have been on various punk compilations and/or were included in their "Live in a Dive" recording.

On September 29, 2009, Strung Out Released a their 7th studio album titled Agents of the Underground.

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Rufio is a melodic punk rock band from Rancho Cucamonga, California. All the members of the band went to the same high school together. The band was formed when original bassist Jon Berry was in freshman year in college and the other three band members were in the final year of high school. The other three band members are Scott Sellers (Vocals/Guitar), Mike Jimenez (Drums), and Clark Domae (Guitar). Guitar players Scott and Clark were acquaintances at young ages as they grew up together. Scott then met lead bassist Jon Berry, and they began playing together immediately in various groups and sessions, as well as purchasing a 4-track to record the songs they have written together. After Berry and Scott began recording music, they asked Mike to play drums for them and listen to their recordings. Shortly after the addition of Mike, Clark joined and the band was formed. The band got their name from the character Rufio, leader of the Lost Boys from the Peter Pan-inspired film Hook.

Rufio released their debut recording in 2001 on The Militia Group label, Perhaps, I Suppose, which was interpunk.com's top selling album ever for at least 3 years, only recently eclipsed by Operation Ivy's Energy. The band returned in June 2003 with MCMLXXXV (released on the Nitro label), which was recorded with the aid of producer Nick Rasculinecz who has also recorded with Foo Fighters and Rancid. Rufio went on to play on the Warped Tour that summer following the release of their second album. Their third album The Comfort of Home was released in July 2005. Again, the band went on to join tour that fall with MxPx and Relient K after the "The Comfort of Home" release.

In late January, 2006 bassist Jon Berry and drummer Mike Jimenez left the band. Berry is currently in Runner Runner and Jimenez is in Science Fiction Theater. Following the loss of these two members the band pulled out of their tour with No Use For A Name in early 2006. While no official statement has been made regarding a breakup, in a recent interview No Use For A Name acknowledged as much.

On Thursday 5th April 2007 the band announced on their MySpace page that they were to have an official farewell show on June 1st 2007 at The Glass House, Pomona CA followed by a South American tour. The statement in full reads: "Farewell show and South American tour. well... its been a while friends... and we've finally decided that its time to do an official farewell show with all the members of Rufio on June 1st. We thought it would be a good way to show our appreciation to all our hometown friends and fans who have supported us from the very beginning. We figured the Glasshouse would be a very appropriate venue to host the show and we hope to see ALLLL of you there! we'll be playing a variety of songs, and even oldies we rarely play! Its going to be a sad night but it also means the birth of new projects and new music! We're also going down to South America in june for one last hoorah. we're very excited about this. there are some shows posted right now, and more will be posted later. we cant wait to party with you crazy south americans! come party with us one last time! Love, Rufio."

On Tuesday, August 4th 2009, Rufio posted a myspace blog announcing that they were already in the midst of a new C.D.

Rufio released their newest EP on January 19, 2010. It is titled, "The Loneliest EP," and it features four brand new tracks. Released through The Militia Group, the tracks include "All That Lasts," and "The Loneliest." The other tracks are acoustic versions of the previous two songs. New members of Rufio include Taylor Albaugh (bass) and Terry Stirling (drums).

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There is more than one artist with this name:


1) Mute is a melodic punk band from Quebec.

http://www.myspace.com/mutepunkrock

2) Mute is an alternative rock band from Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

http://www.myspace.com/mute-band

3) Mute is an Screamo/Powerpop Band From Colombia.

www.myspace.com/rockmute

4) Mute is an alternative rock band from the United Kingdom.

www.myspace.com/mutemusicmute

5) Mute is a rock, ska, funk band from Warsaw-Poland.

http://www.mute.prv.pl

6) Mute is a pop, rock, '80s sounded band from Japan.

http://mute.cc/

7) Mute is an electronic band from Ecuador.

http://myspace.com/mutecitydade

8) Mute was earlier the name of the swedish pop/rock/indie band "early to bed"

http://myspace.com/earlytobed
http://www.earlytobedmusic.com

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Band Members:
Reed Wolcott - Vocals, Guitar
Brandon Benson - Bass, Vocals
Ricky Weber - Lead Guitar
Jim Margle - Drums
Mike Babcock - Trombones

Unhappy with the current state of ska music, We Are The Union decided to stick out their own necks and tried to change things for the better in the summer of 2005. Getting a paycheck is not on their agenda. Instead of following typical ska punk conventions, WATU takes a harder-nosed approach to the genre. With influences ranging from Philadelphia/New Jersey favorites Lifetime and Kid Dynamite, and bands like Slapstick and This Is A Standoff, they rage with the best of them while still retaining a heightened sense of melody. Their love for fast music, horns and their incredibly short attention spans are a simple explanation for why WATU sound the way they do. Over the past two and a half years, they have also been incredibly hardworking. With nearly a dozen tours in the US and UK under their belt in this short span of time, they've now thrown caution to the wind and continue to be on the road full time. This will surely add to the list of heavy hitters they've shared the stage with that includes The Suicide Machines, The Mighty Mighty BossTones, Less Than Jake, Zebrahead, Strung Out, Rufio, Polar Bear Club, No Trigger, Banner Pilot, Shook Ones, Mustard Plug, Set Your Goals, The Flatliners, Voodoo Glow Skulls, Make Do And Mend, Spring Heeled Jack, Bomb! The Music Industry, The Aquabats, Four Year Strong, Such Gold, Fireworks, Hostage Calm, Transit, The Wonder Years, The Swellers, A Loss For Words, and Hellmouth. Their work ethic cannot just be applied to their tours either. Their first full-length 'Who We Are', self-released in the summer of 2007, was given away for free by the band via the Internet. Their generosity was met with a rapidly surging fan base and an offer to have the record released in Japan via InYaFace Records. Their expectations for the band are simple. They want to keep making music they love while touring relentlessly in order to provide people with a positive environment for fun and the venting of frustration. Paper + Plastick saw the youthful exuberance and the amount of integrity this young bunch of punks had and quickly wanted to become involved. 2010 brings the release of 'Great Leaps Forwards', the Billy Bragg-inspired new full length from We Are The Union. Already outselling their previous releases, WATU hit Canada and the US in support of “Great Leaps Forward” with Strung Out (Fat Wreck Chords) and Rufio in August and September before heading to the UK for dates with Less Than Jake and Zebrahead in November. The band spent the first quarter of 2011 writing and recording an EP at Drasik Studios in Chicago, IL for a summer release on Paper + Plastick records. In April of 2011, shortly after they finished tracking, they hit the eastern US with The Forthrights, The Fad, Green Room Rockers, Stuck Lucky and The Brunt Of It on the Ska Is Dead Presents: Young Guns tour. The band spent June and July 2011 on a full-US co-headlining tour with New Jersey pop-punk band I Call Fives, featuring support from Handguns and The Story So Far. In March of 2012, We Are The Union will head out with celtic punk legends The Tossers for a short run of midwest and east coast shows. More info, including official dates and ticket links, at http://listn.to/wearetheunion http://wearetheunion.tumblr.com http://www.myspace.com/wearetheunion http://www.purevolume.com/wearetheunion http://www.twitter.com/wearetheunion



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