The Gaslight Anthem

The Gaslight Anthem rose out of the fertile punk scene of New Brunswick, NJ, flaunting a unique style that melded the influence of Bruce Springsteen, Wilson Pickett, and various Motown groups with the rough, emotional grit of Hot Water Music and Jawbreaker. The band -- comprised of vocalist/guitarist Brian Fallon, bassist Alex Levine, drummer Benny Horowitz, and guitarist Alex Rosamila -- began establishing a hometown audience after forming in 2005, and their soulful punk rock attracted wider attention upon the release of their first full-length album, Sink or Swim. Arriving in May 2007 via the local imprint XOXO Records, the album garnered accolades from punk zines and blogs alike. The increasing popularity was enough to score gigs with the likes of Against Me! and the Draft, and by the end of 2007, the Gaslight Anthem had played over 200 shows.

The band managed to secure enough down time between tour dates to record a four-song EP, Señor and the Queen, in Austin. The EP appeared in early 2008, as did an offer to join the roster of the California-based indie label SideOneDummy Records. The Gaslight Anthem signed with SideOneDummy and released their sophomore effort, The '59 Sound, later that year. Featuring a rough, rousing sound that took its cues from Social Distortion's melodic punk and Bruce Springsteen's heartland rock, the album found an audience not only in America -- where eMusic deemed it the number one record of 2008 -- but also in Europe, where Bruce Springsteen joined the musicians during their set at the 2009 Glastonbury festival. Following the Glastonbury performance, sales of The '59 Sound grew by 200%, whetting the public's demand for a follow-up.

The Gaslight Anthem rounded out the year by playing additional festivals -- including Lollapalooza, Pinkpop, Reading, and Leeds -- before returning to the studio in early 2010. Working again with Ted Hutt, the same producer who helped them shape The '59 Sound, the bandmates wrote and recorded the songs that eventually comprised their third album, American Slang.

from Wikipedia:

The Gaslight Anthem is an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey, consisting of Brian Fallon (lead vocals, guitar), Alex Rosamilia (guitar, backing vocals), Alex Levine (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Benny Horowitz (drums, percussion). They released their first album, Sink or Swim, on XOXO Records in May 2007, and their second album, The '59 Sound, on SideOneDummy Records in August 2008. The band's third album, American Slang, was released on June 15, 2010.

History

Sink or Swim (2007–2008)

The Gaslight Anthem's full length debut Sink or Swim was well received by both independent music review sites such as punknews.org, AbsolutePunk.net, and more mainstream publications such as Spin.com.

A 4-song EP titled Señor and the Queen was released on February 5, 2008 through Sabot Productions. A double-7" vinyl version of the EP was also released on standard black vinyl, as well as limited edition pressings on clear vinyl, red vinyl (500 copies), and white vinyl (100 copies).

The '59 Sound (2008–2009)

The band's second full-length album, The '59 Sound, was released on August 19, 2008 through SideOneDummy Records. The record was produced by Ted Hutt and features Hot Water Music's Chris Wollard and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones's Dicky Barrett as guests. The album was voted the #1 album of 2008 by eMusic, and received a high rating from Pitchfork Media.

The title of the first song on the album named Great Expectations makes reference to the character Estella of the Charles Dickens' book.

In 2008, the band covered "God's Gonna Cut You Down" for the Johnny Cash tribute album All Aboard! A Tribute to Johnny Cash. In 2009, the band's song "I'da Called You Woody, Joe" was featured as part of the soundtrack of the video game Skate 2 and Skate It. The band sometimes covers Tom Petty's "American Girl" and "Refugee" live.

In 2009, The Gaslight Anthem supported Social Distortion on their European tour and was announced as a support act for Bruce Springsteen at Hyde Park Calling.

At Glastonbury Festival on June 27, 2009, Bruce Springsteen joined the band on stage during their performance of "The '59 Sound." Brian Fallon later contributed to Springsteen's headlining set, performing the song "No Surrender." At London's Hard Rock Calling festival on June 28, the band was again joined by Springsteen on stage and again performed "The '59 Sound." As with Glastonbury, Fallon contributed to Springsteen's headlining set and joined him in singing "No Surrender".

On August 6, 2008 the band made British music history becoming the first band to ever appear on the cover of Kerrang! magazine without the magazine having previously written about them. Kerrang! called them "The best new band you'll hear in 2008." In addition, the band has received airplay on BBC6 Music, and embarked on a UK & European tour in November. In August 2009, The Gaslight Anthem won the 2009 Kerrang! Award for "Best International Newcomer".

On August 7, 2009, The Gaslight Anthem performed at Lollapalooza in Chicago, and played at Pinkpop on June 1, 2009.

The band performed at the UK's Reading and Leeds Festivals in late August, and has finished an extensive North American headline tour set for September and October. Murder By Death, Frank Turner, The Loved Ones, Jesse Malin, The Measure (SA), and Ninja Gun performed in the support slots on this tour.

American Slang (2010)

The Gaslight Anthem entered the studio once again with producer Ted Hutt to record their second album for SideOneDummy Records.

The band's new album, titled American Slang, was released on June 14, 2010 in the UK and June 15, 2010 in the USA [1]. According to frontman Brian Fallon, the songwriting on the new album is different than on the band's previous efforts. He names the Stones, Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton and Derek and the Dominoes as influences.

In addition to 5 UK dates, the band have been confirmed to play at festivals including Bonnaroo Festival, The Austin City Limits Music Festival, Southside Festival, Hurricane Festival, Hard Rock Calling, Rock Werchter, The Guernsey Festival of Performing Arts, A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise, Reading and Leeds Festivals and Øyafestivalen.

Details of North American tour dates were announced on April 27, 2010 on a new website for American Slang.

The Gaslight Anthem toured the UK and Europe at the end of 2010 with support from Chuck Ragan and Sharks. They performed two songs from American Slang on Episode 6, Series 37 of Later... with Jools Holland, originally broadcast in the UK on 22 October 2010.

Untitled album (Work in Progress)

As of July 2010, Fallon said he was already working on new material.

On his blog, Fallon stated the band would start writing their record in January 2011. However, prior to playing on Pinkpop in June 2011, Fallon stated that they've just started working on the new album and that it won't be released for at least a few months. In the same interview Fallon said only one song was finished so far, referencing to "Biloxi Parish" which they performed on stage at Pinkpop 2011. Fallon stated that the band's next record will sound closer to their breakthrough record, The '59 Sound, rather than American Slang. During this time, Fallon will also be working with good friend, Ian Perkins putting the finishing touches on their side project, The Horrible Crowes.

The Gaslight Anthem are scheduled to play this year's Download Festival. and at this year's Bamboozle Festival in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

On October 6th, 2011; The Gaslight Anthem announced via Facebook that they have officially signed with Mercury Records. They stated that they were sorry to leave their friends at Side One Dummy, but felt that the change was necessary for their musical career.

On October 14, 2011, The Gaslight Anthem announced that their last show before going into the studio to record their new album would be on December 9th at the Asbury Park Convention Hall.

On 12 January 2012, the band announced via their Twitter feed that they would be recording the following week in Nashville. An anticipated date for release has not been set.

Description and influences

"[T]he Gaslight Anthem is part of a rich tradition of New Jersey punk, spanning the Misfits to the Bouncing Souls." The Gaslight Anthem's music also embraces many elements of the Jersey Shore sound. Brian Fallon's fondness for Springsteen, a significant influence on their music, is a fact celebrated by fans and critics alike. However the band claims they never set out to sound like the New Jersey icon. Representative of such views, one critic wrote, "The Gaslight Anthem are like something out of speculative fiction: this is what pop music would be if Springsteen hadn't listened to his producer, let The Ramones record Hungry Heart, and launched the C.B.G.B.'ers into megastardom.". Drummer Benny Horowitz and guitarist Alex Rosamilia stated that "We're more Bruce Springsteen appreciators. We didn't start listening to him until we joined the band. I always liked his songs when I heard them, but I wasn't a big fan until I met Brian [Fallon]."

Following the release of their third full-length album, American Slang, Fallon himself said, "There's so much else that we look at for our sound and influences that you don't want to be notched in with one guy," Fallon explains. "There's a lot of things [Springsteen] does that I admire. We come from a lot of the same places but a lot of different places, too. But at the same time, that's a good thing to be compared to. I think it's one of those things we're gonna have to wear until it wears out." Of the Springsteen comparisons, Rosamilia also added, "I think there's enough out there on the Internet about that already."

Joe Strummer has often been spoken about and referenced by lead singer Brian Fallon and the song "I'da Called You Woody, Joe," is a tribute to the legendary Clash frontman. Fallon has a tattoo of Strummer. As stated in multiple interviews with members of the band, there is an influence of the motown genre. This influence was exemplified and magnified on the album The '59 Sound.

Brian Fallon has stated several times that without The Replacements there would be no Gaslight Anthem, as they are heavily influenced by them, especially their song 'Left of the Dial'.