Grand Theft Audio

Grand Theft Audio was an alternative rock band formed in London, England in 1998. It was signed to London-Sire Records in 1999 and produced their only album Blame Everyone in 2000 until the band split up in 2003 due to the record label being dissolved in 2003. It has a lineup of ex-3 Colours Red guitarist Chris McCormack, producer and bassist Ralph Jezzard, frontman; vocalist and ex-Real TV star Jay Butler and ex-The Wildhearts drummer Ritch Battersby.^[3]

Formation and early years (1997–1999)

Grand Theft Audio (who were originally known as "The Infidels", before the band learned of the existence of several other combos with the same moniker) came together out of the friendship and musical rapport that had developed while its four members were in separate bands.

Musical style and influences

Frontman Jay Butler said once in an interview when asked about the band's musical style:^[4] "In England at the moment, there's a big divide between rock bands, metal bands and electronica bands," Butler notes. "It's like you can't have a song that's catchy if you're a rock band, and you're not supposed to rock if you're an electronica band. But we don't look at music that way, so we took all the little bits that we liked and bastardized them to build the kind of band we wanted to be in. We wanted to create a band that was like all of your favorite bands at the same time." We wanted something with lots of hooks, but also with a bit of rock backbone to it, something that was so annoyingly sing along that you either had to love it or hate it. Our bottom line is: does it rock, does it sound good and does it make you want to go out and do something? We don't have any interest in being this week's flavor of the month; we don't want to be a band that's just recognized by journalists and other musicians."^[5]

Lineup

• Ralph Jezzard (bass/keyboards) (1998–2003)
• Chris McCormack (guitar) (1998–2003)
• Jay Butler (vocals & frontman) (1998–2003)
• Ritch Battersby (drums) (1998–2003)^[6]

Discography

• Blame Everyone (2000)

Soundtrack appearances

• "Stoopid Ass" on Dude, Where's My Car?
• "We Luv U" on Dude, Where's My Car? and FIFA 2001
• "As Good As It Gets" on Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec

References