My Passion

MY PASSION are Laurence René (Vocals, Guitar), Jonathan Gaskin (Drums, Vocals, Electronics), John Be (Guitar) and Simon Rowlands (Bass, Synth), four young men with a fearless, rebellious intention, DIY ethics and a genre-smashing electronic induced metallic punk sound. My Passion's story has only just begun yet there is enough to write a gripping tale of adventure and immortality here.... My Passion's world so far has consisted of endless touring and promotion. The story started in the unlikely leafy Herts suburbs of London back in 2006, Childhood friends with a shared vision and determination, Intent on creating a huge sound and the theatre to match that hit the audience hard and either had you screaming for more or running in fear. Word quickly spread as they took their energetic show on the road, racking up almost 500 shows at the last count! Crowds swelled due to word of mouth about the exciting live performance, as well as with those who discovered My Passion online via their Myspace page (www.myspace.com/mypassion) run by the band themselves with over 70,000 friends and plays of well over a Million. The band met producer John Mitchell (Enter Shikari, You Me At Six, Funeral For a Friend) at one of their headline shows. Falling in love with the production and the chemistry between the band and producer Mitchell they went on to record their debut album with him. In their hideout in Reading John & the band worked for a month capturing a collection of killer tracks entitled “Corporate Flesh Party” which was dropped at the end of June(UK) to critical acclaim. The band are set to hit the studio again in April 2010 to record the follow up album which is highly anticipated by both the music industry and the hordes of dedicated My Passion followers. Live is where My Passion display their pure passion for what they do and win over any of their sceptics! Most recently being the band on everyone's lips after an overwhelming response on the 2010 Kerrang Relentless Tour with All Time Low, The Blackout & Young Guns! The band have also shared the bill with bands as varied as The Automatic, The Faint , Lacuna Coil, Sweden's Chart toppers Dead By April. One of the biggest tours to date was as special guests to Kill Hannah’ on a 36 date tour of the UK and Europe, where an early morning exploding tour bus in the Swiss Alps saw the band lose everything they owned apart from their instruments and their enthusiasm. Even this high drama and cheating of death didn’t stop the tour! A personal recommendation from Kill Hannah led to My Passion joining the sold out Innerpartysystem UK tour early in 2009, then a text message out of the blue from Jeffree Star saw them joining him once more on his last UK tour. 2009 saw My Passion hit the festival circuit in a big way, with slots at Liverpool Sound City, Camden Crawl, Download, T In The Park , Underage Festival. And Stagedive Dayout in Sweden. My Passion followed this up with a 30 date UK headline tour to celebrate the release of Corporate Flesh Party, starting the tour playing on a rooftop in Central London, and ending it by playing to 500 believers from a stage that they built in a church in Camden town! Alongside their ferocious tour schedule, My Passion have been busy developing their own merchandising brand “My Passion Fashion”, a hugely successful range which has sold in the thousands online and at sold out shows all around Europe. One look at the band’s myspace shows that everyone in their top friends is proudly displaying their My Passion Fashion as the cult continues to grow! This May the band join forces with the hugely successful American company Hot Topic for their launch in the UK, this features My Passion modelling exclusive ranges for the website and in the press. 2009 saw My Passion exploding into the wider world and the consciousness of new music lovers, grabbing a top 3 spot in the Kerrang best of 2008 end of year Readers Poll, Number one spot in Rock Sound magazine and also in the Top 10 MySpace Ones to Watch in 2009! The band has since been featured heavily in Kerrang! Magazine including a poster before the debut album had even been released and secured a covermount CD spot and feature in Rock Sound, as well as articles in Big Cheese and Disorder magazine and Metal Hammer. Some huge brands have jumping on board to endorse and support a band doing everything for themselves including Red Bull, Hughes & Kettner, EBS, Blackstar, Roland, Korg, Vigeur Basses, Stagg, and Cort Guitars (now designing a custom signature my passion guitar!). Things went from strength to strength for My Passion, with a nomination for Best British Newcomer at the 2009 Kerrang! Awards, and new synth rock single “Day Of The Bees” in the top 10 primetime playlist on Kerrang! NME & Scuzz Television. This received airplay on Radio 1's Rock show, XFM and was championed by Bruce Dickinson on BBC6. Now in a new decade it feels like this is the time for something as fresh and exciting as My Passion, from the success on the Kerrang tour brings us to the most recent acheivement, the band's first major Magazine Front cover feature for Kerrang Magazine February 2010! From here My Passion will release their next single in April with exciting Rock Track “Crazy & Me” followed by a new video set for prime playlist on all major Rock Channels, An XFM live session this spring before hitting the studio for album number 2. Come May the band return to the UK & Europe again with Kill Hannah for the last tour before the festival season, with lot's being lined up for the band across the summer. The huge popularity of the music, merchandise and My Passion’s determination to work till they drop has meant they have been able to fund tours and gain a rabidly addicted fan base without any outside backing, through their own hard work built upon the key ingredient that gave the band their name, (my) Passion. The music may not scream punk in a traditional sense but all the rebellious intentions and an attitude to follow their own path, driven by pure desire and the thrill of engulfing fans inside their world, exciting those who see and hear it will soon make My Passion one of those unconventional success stories that arise once in a generation to win the hearts of millions.