Biography Wikipedia
Wikipedia:
God Fires Man is an American rock band that formed in the summer 2006 in Brooklyn, New York. The band consists of Arthur Shepherd (vocals/guitar), Joseph Grillo (vocals/guitar), John Wilkinson (bass), and Drew Thomas (drums).
Former bands
The members of God Fires Man have been involved in several bands before GFM’s creation. Arthur Shepherd has been part of Mind Over Matter, Errortype: Eleven, Instruction, while along with God Fires Man is also currently a member of Gay For Johnny Depp (using the name Marty Leopard). Joe Grillo has been a member of Garrison and Instruction, while he is currently an active member in both Gay For Johnny Depp (using the name Sid Jagger) and I Hate Our Freedom. John Wilkinson was previously a part of The Symphony Case, who were formed in 2004. Drew Thomas is a current member of the band Bloody Social.
Formation and debut album
God Fires Man was formed in 2006 following the disbandment of Instruction, in which both Arty and Joe were members, and after the duos creation of the band Gay For Johnny Depp. God Fires Man, whose name started out as “Fires”, released a 5 track EP, following it with a tour in the United Kingdom in January 2007 with Hundred Reasons and Kids in Glass Houses. After God Fires Man toured the UK, they signed a record deal with InDeGoot Recordings, and XTRA Mile in the UK. They then recorded their debut album, “A Billion Balconies Facing the Sun” with Ethan Dussault (Cave In, Lot 6) and Brian Virtue (Audioslave, Deftones, Jane's Addiction, Chevelle)". Subsequent to the albums release in March 2008, God Fires Man went on a US tour with Filter, while also sharing a stage with acts like Taking Back Sunday, Thursday, 65daysofstatic, and Scott Weiland. God Fires Man was also named one of iTunes “Top 10 New Rock Artists” in 2008.
Life Like
In January 2009, God Fires Man finished their second album titled Life Like for a June 26, 2009 release. Life Like was produced by Alex Newport (At The Drive In, Mars Volta, Death Cab for Cutie, The Melvins), and released on Arctic Rodeo Recordings (EU/JP). Swimming against the current of music conformity, Life Like was originally released on vinyl LP format. On September 22, 2009, Life Like became available for purchase on iTunes. In October and November 2009, God Fires Man toured in Germany with the Picture Books, which was GFM's first time as a headliner. God Fires Man also played at the 20th anniversary show for the music magazine Visions. At the end of the year, iTunes named Life Like as one of the best rock albums in 2009 in their “iTunes Rewind 2009”.
Past Shrugs (2005-2009)
Past Shrugs is a compilation album featuring God Fires Man songs from 2005-2009 that were not released on either of the bands two full length studio albums. Past Shrugs features songs from the bands Dark EP along with all of the bonus tracks found on versions of Life Like. Along with those songs, God Fires Man premiers four songs never released. The album was released to iTunes in May 2010.
