SafetySuit

SafetySuit is an American rock band from Tulsa, Oklahoma, currently based in Nashville, Tennessee. Their 2008 major label debut album Life Left to Go featured songs "Stay" and "Someone Like You", the former first achieving fame by climbing to No. 1 on the VH1 Top 20 Video Countdown. In January 2012, SafetySuit followed with their second album These Times, notable for its songs "Let Go" and "These Times". The album peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and topped the iTunes album chart. Several singles from each of their albums have charted and have been featured on television shows such as Kyle XY and The Hills. Both album releases were met highly favorably by critics, and the band is known for its very energetic live performances. They have toured with many notable artists including 3 Doors Down, The Script, Collective Soul, Ryan Star, Hoobastank, Parachute, Daughtry, and the Goo Goo Dolls.

History

Origins, Day After Yesterday, and Crew EP (2004-2006)

SafetySuit originated as a band called Crew, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was originally composed of singer Doug Brown, drummer Tate Cunningham, bassist Jeremey Henshaw, and guitar players Curtis Lloyd and Jesse Carey, who met while attending Oral Roberts University. After winning a local battle of the bands, Crew began to increase in popularity in their hometown of Tulsa, OK so the band recorded and co-produced Day After Yesterday with local producer David John. Curtis and Jesse left the band soon after to pursue other careers, and guitarist Dave Garofalo joined the band a few months later. In 2004 the band decided to relocate to Nashville, Tennessee and retitled Day After Yesterday to create the Crew EP. In the summer of 2005, the members of Crew were introduced to producer Greg Archilla and recorded a 4 song EP called Stay. The band continued to grow in popularity locally until they played a showcase at 12th & Porter where they were signed by Universal. After signing their record deal, the band changed their name to SafetySuit to avoid legal problems down the road.^[1][2]

Life Left to Go (2007-2009)

SafetySuit recorded their debut full-length album Life Left to Go in 2007, once again with producer Greg Archilla. In February 2008, the band released their first single "Someone Like You" before releasing Life Left to Go on May 13, 2008. The album was met with a strong reception among critics, and the album reached number five on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart.

The album saw the release of two additional singles, most notably "Stay", which experienced success on several Billboard charts in 2009, including the Hot AC, Top 40, and Pop 100, and on VH1's Top 20 Countdown, reaching number one. The song "Annie" was also released as a single, "Anywhere But Here" was featured in an episode of the television series Kyle XY, and "Something I Said" and "What If" were also featured on the MTV television show "The Hills".

These Times and Hallelujah EP (2010-2012)

In 2010, the band went back into the studio to begin work on their second album with producers Howard Benson, Ryan Tedder, and Espionage. Their first attempt at recording new material was scrapped in late 2010, as the band did not feel the songs lived up to their standards and started over. On March 21, 2011 the band announced on Facebook that the first single off the new record would be titled "Get Around This," produced by Espionage, and available for download on April 19, 2011. On July 6, 2011 the video for "Get Around This" premiered on www.noisecreep.com. A second single "Let Go" debuted on September 2 by way of a Facebook application on the band's page and was officially released on September 20. The video for "Let Go" ended 2011 peaking at number eight on VH1's Top 20 Countdown.

It was announced on July 19, 2011 via a video tweeted by lead singer Doug Brown, that SafetySuit's second album These Times^[3] would be released on October 18, after being pushed back by the band's move from Universal Motown to Universal Republic during the summer of 2011. However, on September 3, the band announced via their official Twitter^[4] that the release date of These Times was changed to November 1, 2011. On October 18, the SafetySuit announced that their label had pushed the album release date back again, this time to January 2012. At the same time, they debuted an online stream of the album opener "Believe". The release date for These Times was soon after set for January 10, 2012^[5] and was released exclusively through iTunes on January 3. During this time, Doug Brown wrote the song "May" for James Durbin's album Memories of a Beautiful Disaster.

Upon release, These Times debuted at number 7 on the Billboard 200^[6] and at number 1 on the iTunes Top Albums chart.^[7] Several songs also debuted on the iTunes Top Pop Songs Chart; "Believe" reached number 60, "Never Stop" reached 65, and "Let Go" reached 146. Additionally, "Believe" reached 179 on the iTunes Top Songs Chart and "Never Stop" number 196. The video for the third single from the album, "These Times", was released on January 6, 2012. As of February 26, 2015, the official video has over 1.3 million views on YouTube. The band joined Mike Sanchez and Daughtry on the Break the Spell Tour starting in March. On September 7, 2012, they embarked on their first headlining tour in Philadelphia, PA supported by Go Radio and Taylor Barrett.

On August 28, 2012, SafetySuit released the four-track Hallelujah EP through iTunes. The EP included a cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah", a wedding version of "Never Stop", an orchestral version of "Anywhere But Here", and an acoustic version of "Let Go".

Self-titled third studio album (2013-present)

On June 26, 2013, the band announced that they were recording their third studio album.^[8] "On Your Side," the first single off the upcoming album, was released to iTunes on December 3, 2013.^[9] The album was originally planned to be released in early 2014. On January 7, 2014, the band tweeted that news about the album and tour were coming soon, but they had been absent from social media since then. On January 7, 2015, exactly one year to the day of their previous post, the band finally reappeared on social media by tweeting and posting of an image containing the words 'Don't call it a comeback' and the caption 'Now what were we saying...?'.^[10] On January 9, 2015, the band posted a picture of the upcoming album's track listing.^[11] On January 12, 2015, the band released a 15-second video clip on Instagram and Facebook with a preview of the song "Perfect Color."^[12][13]

On September 17, 2015, the band announced the second single off of the album, "Looking Up".^[14] On October 23, 2015, the single was surprise released to iTunes.^[15]

On January 28, 2016, the band kicked off their 2016 Winter Tour in Columbus, Ohio. It's their first tour since 2012.

On February 2, 2016, the band released the third song from their forthcoming album, entitled "Pause", to iTunes and Amazon Music.

On August 15, 2016, the band posted a photo on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook indicating that their next album would be released in October 2016 and would be accompanied by a new tour with Goo Goo Dolls.^[16]

The band posted on Instagram that their self-titled third studio album would be released on November 4, 2016.^[17] On October 25, the band announced on Instagram a headline tour in 2017. ^[18]

Band members

Current

• Doug Brown – vocals, rhythm guitar (2002–present)
• Dave Garofalo – guitar (2004–present)
• Jeremy Henshaw – bass (2002–present)
• Tate Cunningham – drums (2002–present)

Former

• Jesse Carey – guitar (2002–2004, with Crew)
• Curtis Lloyd – guitar (2002–2004, with Crew)

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Promotional singles

Other charted songs

Music videos

References

• http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/interviews/interviews/safetysuit_frontman_keep_striving_forward_no_matter_what_happens.html

1. ↑ True, Chris (2008-05-15). "AllMusic biography". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2011-12-04. 
2. ↑ "SafetySuit Nation biography". Safetysuitnation.com. Retrieved 2011-12-04. 
3. ↑
4. ↑
5. ↑ "SafetySuit Set New Date For 'These Times' :: Rock Access – Rock News". Rockaccess.net. Retrieved 2011-12-04. 
6. ↑
7. ↑ "ORU-connected SafetySuit tops iTunes charts with new album :: Tulsa World". Retrieved 2012-01-05. 
8. ↑
9. ↑ https://twitter.com/SafetySuit/status/404011779246014464
10. ↑ https://twitter.com/SafetySuit/status/552977819987628032
11. ↑ http://instagram.com/p/xpWFiJyr2h/
12. ↑ http://instagram.com/p/xxbYUzyr2B
13. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153161937224734&set=vb.10964124733&type=3&theater
14. ↑ https://instagram.com/p/7vUO_JSr1Y/
15. ↑ https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/looking-up–single/id1051357812
16. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BJIqFyvDYS1/
17. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BLuBBCzD86S/?taken-by=safetysuit
18. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BL_wu92DRu1/?taken-by=safetysuit
19. ↑ "SafetySuit Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 12, 2010. 
20. ↑ "SafetySuit Album & Song Chart History - Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 12, 2010. 
21. ↑ http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/ALBUMS.html
22. ↑ "SafetySuit Album & Song Chart History - Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved September 6, 2012. 
23. ↑ "SafetySuit Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved February 20, 2013. 
24. ↑ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BCQUWS0
25. ↑ "SafetySuit Album & Song Chart History - Rock Digital Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 15, 2012. 

External links

• Official website