Biography All Music Guide Wikipedia
All Music Guide:
Led by powerhouse vocalist Cassadee Pope, Hey Monday debuted their fizzy emo-pop sound with 2008's Hold on Tight. The band formed in West Palm Beach, FL, where Pope was first discovered at a regional music conference. Although still in high school, the singer drew attention from A&R execs with her voice, which recalled the radio-ready wail of Avril Lavigne and Paramore's Hayley Williams. She then formed a band with fellow teenagers Jersey Moriarty (bass), Elliot James (drums), and guitarists Mike Gentile and Alex Lipshaw. Shedding their original name (Blake) in favor of Hey Monday, the group eventually won over A&R exec Jay Harren, who signed the band to Columbia Records. Hey Monday then entered the recording studio with S*A*M & Sluggo, the production team behind albums by Metro Station and the Academy Is..., and readied the release of their debut record.
Hold on Tight arrived in October 2008 under a joint partnership with Columbia and Pete Wentz's own label, Decaydance. The group spent the next year touring, supporting Fall Out Boy and All Time Low as well as spending some time as a headlining act. Near the end of 2009, drummer James left the band and was replaced by Patrick McKenzie. The band then spent the first half of 2010 recording new songs (with session drummer Stacy Jones behind the drum kit), and released the six-song EP Beneath It All in August.
Wikipedia:
Hey Monday is an American rock band from West Palm Beach, Florida, formed in 2008 and are currently on a hiatus as of December 2011. They released their debut album Hold on Tight in 2008 which produced notable singles "Homecoming" and "How You Love Me Now". The album was followed up with their 2010 EP Beneath It All, which achieved moderate commercial success and Candles EP in 2011. The Christmas EP came on December 6 later that year. The group has toured extensively both as supporting acts and headliners.
History
Formation and Hold on Tight
Hey Monday was formed in March 2008 after Cassadee Pope and Mike Gentile's former band Blake broke up. Pope and Gentile wanted to continue playing music and began holding auditions for a new band around their local Florida music scene. Pope and Gentile quickly joined forces with drummer Elliot James who then recruited rhythm guitarist Alex Lipshaw. Soon afterward they enlisted bassist Michael "Jersey" Moriarty and Hey Monday was formed. They were discovered when Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz heard one of their demos while he was in the Crush Management office. Wentz wanted to sign them to his label, Decaydance, but Columbia Records was also interested so the band ended up signing a joint deal with both labels. They recorded their debut album, Hold On Tight, throughout the summer of 2008 and it released later that fall on October 7 to very minor commercial success; it charted on Billboard Heatseekers albums. Soon after their debut album dropped, Hey Monday began extensive touring with the likes of The Academy Is..., We The Kings, The Cab, This Providence, A Rocket To The Moon, VersaEmerge, and Cash Cash. That following year they supported Fall Out Boy on both their major U.S. and international tours. Their popularity grew and the band went on their first headlining tour with This Providence, The Friday Night Boys, Stereo Skyline, and The Bigger Lights as support. They also headlined a few dates in Europe. In the fall of 2009 they supported All Time Low on the Glamour Kills Tour.
Departure of Elliot James
Following the band's first headlining tour overseas in the UK, Elliot announced that he would be leaving the band. Elliot went on to tour with the group The Scene Aesthetic and founded a new group Break Blossom. He is still a supporter of the band and it's respective members.
Beneath It All (2010)
Hey Monday spent the beginning of 2010 finishing the writing and recording of Beneath It All, which was originally going to be their second full-length studio album. After the writing and recording process, they went on the 2010 Alternative Press Tour with The Summer Set, Every Avenue, The Cab and NeverShoutNever. The band also played Bamboozle's Main Stage on Sunday, May 2. On June 24, the group officially announced Beneath It All on their website with a release date of August 17. On July 23, Cassadee Pope announced that Beneath It All would be released as a 6 song EP rather than a full-length album. She also said that a full-length album will be out very early next year and they will be touring for a longer period of time. Hey Monday then played the entire Warped Tour 2010 on the Altec Lancing stage. The band performed two songs from Beneath It All on Jimmy Kimmel live on September 22, 2010, the lead single "I Don't Wanna Dance" and "Wish You Were Here". Although Cassadee Pope and Mike Gentile were the only official members of the band at the performance the fill-in musicians wore shirts with the absent band member's pictures on them. Hey Monday appeared in the fourth episode of the TV series Hellcats, called "Nobody Loves Me But My Mother".
Departure of Michael "Jersey" Moriarty
Following the band's performance at Warped Tour, the group announced that Jersey would be leaving the band. Chris Gentile has since then been filling in on bass. Jersey is now doing a solo project and has released an EP named Oh Boy Here We Go. He is still a supporter of the band.
Post–Beneath It All & Hiatus (2011–present)
On February 8, 2011, Hey Monday re-released their second EP, Candles, digitally and a music video for "Candles" on March 9. "Candles" was used for a duet on Glee's episode Original Song done by Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson for a Regionals performance. In the spring of 2011, Hey Monday toured with All Time Low, Yellowcard, and The Summer Set on The Dirty Work Tour. In May 2011, Hey Monday played in Indonesia and went on a South American tour with Nevershoutnever that following August. In the fall of 2011, Hey Monday departed from the record labels Decaydance and Columbia. The band self-released The Christmas EP digitally on December 6, 2011 to iTunes and other digital outlets; it peaked in the top 10 of iTunes's Albums. On December 16, vocalist Cassadee Pope and guitarist Mike Gentile announced the band is currently on hiatus via their personal profiles on the social networking sites Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Pope also announced that she will be embarking on a solo acoustic tour of the United States in January and February 2012 in hopes of jumpstarting her solo career.
