|
|
Tom DeLonge carefully crafts his newest project through several dimensions
Tom DeLonge - guitar David Kennedy - guitar Atom Willard - drums Ryan Sinn - bass
Guitarist Tom Delonge fell into a deep funk when the members of Blink-182 split in early 2005.
So when he wanted to find an outlet to escape the darkness he was feeling, he did what any other depressive might do: he formed a multimedia supergroup dedicated to offering fans the total musical experience.
DeLonge hand-picked his band mates, bringing along friend and guitarist David Kennedy from his prior solo project Box Car Racer for the ride. Offspring and Rocket from the Crypt drummer Atom Willard, and Distillers former bass-player Ryan Sinn completed the band that would become Angels and Airwaves.
DeLonge said the band name came to him one day while he was driving. He played around with the initials of the name "Angels and Airwaves" and found that if he inverted the middle A, it spelled AVA, the name of his daughter, so the name stuck.
With DeLonge acting as producer, the band went into the studio. AVA turned to some unique methods of inspiration as they wrote their songs. They would play Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey on a big-screen TV in a darkened room, and hang posters of World War II battles and scenes of destruction all around the room. The work on the record began in March of 2005 and lasted over a year.
The new band worked on more serious-minded anthems than any of Delonge’s previous work. He concentrated on expressing his personal feelings through the metaphors such as the endless hope of space and the similar conflicts in love and war.
Calling upon influences from Delonge favorites such as The Edge, Peter Gabriel, The Cure and The Who, the new record "We Don't Need to Whisper." debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart on May 23, 2006. The CD is said to be named after the first words that DeLonge said as a test into a microphone at the beginning of their recording sessions at his home studio.
DeLonge suggest that listeners get the full intended effect by listening in a darkened room with headphones on to help you feel as if you are you're flying through the clouds.
The first single, "The Adventure," is getting heavy rotation on radio and the web.
But the band’s sound is only the beginning of the experience Delonge’s has pictured in his mind. He now plans to add a visual dimension to express the emotions conjured up by the record. Angels and Airwaves appears in a series of short films for each song on the group's debut album. The shorts will have a sci-fi feel to capture that space feel Delonge is searching for.
A CGI-based feature film with a World War II theme named "Valkyrie Missile" is also in development. DeLonge said the movie will deal with finding love in the middle of the war and will ultimately reflect people’s everyday struggles in life.
The movie had been slated for release through iTunes for DeLonge's 30th birthday in December 2005. After discussions with their record label, Geffen, the band decided to push back the release. A trailer for the movie can be found on the band’s website at www.angelsandairwaves.com/
The band has released a music video for "The Adventure," and also released a short film for "It Hurts" through the website.
On May 26, 2006 "We Don't Need To Whisper" was certified gold in Canada. The album has also gone silver in the U.K.
"Do It For Me Now" will be released in the US as the second single, followed by It "It Hurts.” The order will be flipped in the UK with "It Hurts" released first and followed by "Do It For Me Now.”
AVA was the featured House Band on MTVU for two weeks and the “Angels and Airwaves” MTV2 Makes the Video Do it For Me Now” special premiered, both in July 2006.
The band is currently touring with openers Taking Back Sunday, Head Automatica, and The Subway, in a multi media explosion that seems to be more rock opera than rock concert.
And that is exactly the way Tom DeLonge wanted it.
Matilda Ege July 2006
Return to my Angels and Airwaves page or my music page The creator of this page is in no way affiliated with Angels and Airwaves. The creator of this page is simply a fan that made a page about Angels and Airwaves Biography and more. Website © 2000-2008 mattsmusicpage.com. All rights reserved. Operated by MM Page, LLC
|
|