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All Music Guide:
Chronic Future was formed by four teenaged musicians in Phoenix in the mid-'90s. After building up a strong local following, the group released their independent eponymous debut in 1996 and had a local radio hit with their odd homage to the valley of the sun, "Scottsdale." Averaging 13 years of age, the members of Chronic Future (vocalist Mike Busse, drummer Barry Collins, guitarist/vocalist Ben Collins, and bassist Brandon Lee) produced a very timely brand of pop-inflected rap-rock that echoed 311, Rage Against the Machine, and other alternative radio hit makers. This timeliness and the group's energetic live performances made them hometown heroes with the Phoenix-area rock set, establishing an unheard of momentum for such a young group of musicians. Chronic Future, while lyrically amateur and slightly derivative overall, still demonstrated that these youngsters had a grip on the craft of songwriting and controlled their instruments with the deftness of players twice their age. Things were heating up business-wise after the success of the band's debut, but the quartet wisely took its time, went to school, and focused on growing up and perfecting their musical skills before eventually signing with Beyond Music at the end of the decade. The brand new label (started as an offshoot from the huge Left Bank music management company) actually chose Chronic Future as their first signing. Chronic Future now had the means to record a much more professionally produced follow-up to their spirited but somewhat messy debut. The dynamically superior 4 Elements was released exactly four years after the homegrown Chronic Future, and the band got to support the effort with several tours opening for the likes of Face to Face and other big national draws. With a tighter sound, 4 Elements has a cohesiveness and maturity that completely overshadows the band's debut, but the disc still failed to project an entirely individual, accomplished vision. Released in 2000, the major-label debut was a little too scattered to be seriously considered along with more successful rap-rock artists, but the guys were still very young and there were some hopeful signs for the future. Chief among them is the impressive vocal work of Busse, the Arizonan's flow showed considerable improvement on 4 Elements, as did his singing. Collins' guitar playing also added some fine riffing that proved to also be much improved. Chronic Future deserve credit for their considerable accomplishments at such a young age, and seem to possess the potential to rival their genre's premier bands. It's not certain that rap-rock or metal will remain as popular as it was in the late '90s and Chronic Future still have some catching up to do. But if history is any indication, it's hard to count these guys out. They possess the talent, instincts, and work ethic to make things happen, so alt-rock fans shouldn't be surprised if the name Chronic Future begins spilling frequently from the lips of modern rock fans and DJs around America.
Wikipedia:
Chronic Future was a band from Scottsdale, Arizona. The band was formed in 1995 when their average age was 14. They achieved a short period of mainstream success with the album Lines in My Face, as well as the album's hit single, "Time and Time Again". The band consisted of vocalist Mike Busse, guitarist Ben Collins, bassist Brandon Lee and drummer Barry Collins, who are all founding members.
The band then operated under their independent label, Modern Art Records, and released the Modern Art EP online under this new label. The band has worked very independently after their departure from Interscope Records, rarely playing live and releasing albums independently as well as releasing online demos and purchasable songs. The band's early/mainstream style was a mixture of hip hop and punk rock, but the band has now progressed into a unique fusion style of hip hop/electronica/alternative. The band's vocal style incorporates three vocalists: Mike Busse, Ben Collins and Brandon Lee.
History
Formation and early history: 1995-2000
Chronic Future began their musical career in the summer of 1995, and a year or so later, they released their first self-titled album when the band members were at an average age of 14. The album gained popular local airplay, but achieved no commercial success, and is now very rare, only available for purchase on such sites as Amazon.com or eBay. Their followup, 4 Elements, was released in 2000, and was even less successful, with only a few songs being praised. 4 Elements was released on Beyond Records, and the band toured with such bands as Face to Face.
Mainstream success: 2000-2004
From 2000 to 2004, the band signed their first major label deal with Interscope Records, and their third full-length was soon to follow in mid 2004. The band released a promotional EP called the Lines in My Face EP, featuring three songs from the album as well as two rare songs. Soon after, the band released the album Lines in My Face, reached #18 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. The album's single "Time and Time Again" saw airplay on MTV and MTV2 and reached #40 on the Billboard Modern Rock charts, as well as being featured in the video game Burnout 3: Takedown and MVP Baseball 2004.
Earlier during that year, the band recruited Ryan Breen from Back Ted N-Ted, to play second guitar on the road. He joined as a full time member, but then quit to begin on a solo music project of his own, which later became Back Ted N-Ted. He was replaced by Mike Loy, who after the release and recording of Lines in My Face, left to embark on his own musical ventures.
Notably, Lines in My Face featured more metal-orientated guitar styles, as well as Brandon Lee taking on a role as another lead vocalist.
Independent work: 2006-2009
Chronic Future left Interscope Records for an unknown reason in 2006. Several CF members also collaborate with Back Ted N-Ted, although it now appears that Brandon Lee is pulling double duty as a live member of Ryan Breen's solo project Back Ted N-Ted. At around this time, Mike Busse started a solo, hip-hop oriented side project with Charlie Brand of Miniature Tigers called The Future Lords. On 1 October 2006, Ben Collins officially launching Modern Art Records in partnership with Epic Records, but have now denounced their partnership with Epic Records. Collins signed Back Ted N-Ted, as well as the Miniature Tigers, Brothers Backward, Foxglove Hunt, Gospel Claws and The Future Lords.
The band released a limited edition album, This and of That, in late 2006 for online purchase through their now inactive official website. The band had made a sudden change from their rap rock style to a electronica/alternative/hip-hop crossover style by changing their guitar sounds from the traditional rock sound to an electronic sound. Chronic Future had actually previously experimented with this style and uploaded demos of some of the songs from This and of That to their official website, as well as other unreleased demos. The album was limited to merely 1000 copies. The album featured Ryan Breen, the band's former rhythm guitarist, doing programming.
The band recruited DAGGRR (live guitarist for Back Ted N-Ted) in 2007 to play rhythm guitar for several shows, though he left shortly in 2008 to support both Miniature Tigers and Back Ted N-Ted's live shows. Chronic Future performed at the West Coast show of The Bamboozle in Irvine, California on April 6, 2008.
Just before the release of the Modern Art EP, the following statement on their Myspace page appeared on the 29th of October, 2008:
We stand by our new material. We are really excited about this EP and nothing is going to change how we feel when we listen back to what we just finished recording. This music is exciting to us! We have never wished to repeat ourselves...we all made a pact a long time ago that we'd rather break up the band then make music that don't inspire our brains. We've never tried to be anything we are not...If you can't accept our new direction, we understand. We still love you all. Feel free to comment away, we welcome your thoughts.
— Chronic Future
On November 11, 2008 an EP entitled Modern Art EP was released on iTunes. The album further demonstrated their crossover style, but with far more melodic music than demonstrated on This and of That. The digital EP featured re-recordings of demos previously uploaded to Chronic Future's website and Myspace page. The song "Rocket Science" was converted into techno/alternative/hip-hop from its original punk/rap style. By popular demand from the bands fans, a limited edition demo compilation, Demoitis, was released in April 2009.
Hiatus: 2009-present
Chronic Future has stopped updating their official Myspace page and no information on the band is available on their previous record label's official website. No band activity has taken place since the July 21, 2009 post about Chronic Future merchandise on their official Myspace page. However, a personal email from guitarist Ben Collins explained that the band members have all moved to New York City and that the Chronic Future project "isn't over yet".
According to Ben Collins' personal Facebook page, he has left the band as of January 2010.
